Software is a Service

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With hundreds of cases live at any one time, busy law firms need to have an efficient record system if they are to deliver the type of customer service their clients demand and deserve. Tom Melville explains why Madderns chose CPA Inprotech to help it fulfil its clients’ needs.

Stroll around Adelaide’s business district and you’ll witness Australia’s economic success in action. The companies which occupy the modern high-rises and stately Victorian edifices lining the streets of South Australia’s capital are some of the most dynamic in the country. On one of these streets – in Hindmarsh Square – is an organisation which plays a major part in underpinning all this enterprise and innovation.

Founded in 1968, Madderns of Adelaide is one of Australia’s leading patent and trademark attorney firms. Comprising 12 attorneys and a team of paralegals, Madderns provides its many local and international clients with practical, cost effective advice in fields ranging from mechanical engineering to communications, and from life sciences to biotechnology. As the industries of Adelaide and the country as a whole have developed, so has Madderns, explains principal Tom Melville: ‘We’ve been lucky enough to have some very good locally-based clients whose businesses have grown in recent years and the firm has grown with them.’

When dealing with the volume of cases Madderns now handles it’s important to have as efficient a record system as possible. CPA Inprotech has been invaluable in that respect, says Tom: ‘On any given day I’ll deal with half a dozen to a dozen jobs. These days people need a quick response. With CPA Inprotech I can bring up on screen a particular patent or trademark case straightaway. I particularly like the attachments tab – I use that a lot. I can bring up any documents, and I don’t have to go and physically grab the file.’

A specialist area
Madderns already had an appreciation of technology – it was the first patent attorney firm in Australia to provide general IP information on its website. To stay on the cutting edge, the firm then decided to update its internal record system. Many options were considered, including developing its own system, but they opted for a third-party provider instead: ‘I suppose philosophically we believe you should do what you’re best at, and we’re obviously not software developers,’ says Tom. ‘We’re aware it’s a fairly complex and specialised area, and we know many other firms that have purchased CPA Inprotech. Plus we’ve had a good experience with CPA in the past – they have a good knowledge of our business.’

Producing sophisticated status reports for clients is now a routine activity rather than a time-consuming, labour intensive operation.

Previously, Madderns used a locally developed UNIXbased IP management system. But this system was not being updated to reflect new laws. It was important for them to ensure their clients were not disadvantaged by this.

Improved productivity
Madderns first implemented the Case & Name Module in the late 1990s, then last year added the Accounting Modules. Today, Madderns uses CPA Inprotech to manage its entire practice and to improve collaboration with clients through the Client WorkBench Module.

CPA Inprotech has been designed specifically for legal practices that manage complex IP matters and Madderns makes extensive use of that functionality. The installation was initially challenging for the firm, but it was well worth the effort, says Tom: ‘The implementation of the accounts module in 2005 was smooth, but when we first started in about 1998, it was a big task. Because of the limitations inherent in the old system, data translation was quite complicated, and data for many fields that had not previously existed had to be entered.

Almost all Madderns’ employees now use the software on a daily basis. The firm has found that use of standard templates and automatic letter generation has improved productivity, while the increased consistency and accuracy of correspondence sent to clients has enhanced client service.

Producing sophisticated status reports for clients is now a routine activity rather than a time-consuming, labour intensive operation. And thanks to the new integrated Accounting Modules there is now only one database to maintain and all relevant client details are available to everyone in the organisation.

‘That’s another thing I like about CPA Inprotech,’ adds Tom. ‘It’s continually updated with improved customisation.’

Madderns sees its relationship with CPA as a lasting one: while CPA has helped to improve Madderns’ already high quality service, the firm has been equally impressed with CPA’s own service. ‘Particularly their user group conferences,’ says Tom. ‘We find those very beneficial. Not only from the point of view of learning from CPA, but interacting with other firms. It’s a little like joining a club.’

This article was first published in IP Review, issue 16

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