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  • Follow your nose to InfiniGlobe at LegalWeek 2019!

    January 10, 2019 InfiniGlobe had a great 2018, but we’re excited to kick off the New Year by exhibiting at LegalWeek 2019 in New York from January 28-31! Come visit us at LegalWeek, Booth #2302 in the Americas Hall at the Midtown Hilton (same floor as lunch – just follow your nose)! We want to hear about your pain points and define how InfiniGlobe can help you improve day to day operations through technology and best-practices, adding value and reducing costs. What is LegalWeek? LegalWeek is one of the industry-leading legal technology conferences, and features forums and workshops on Legal CIO, Legal Marketing, Business of Law and Legal Diversity & Talent Management, as well as a packed exhibit floor of established and emerging vendors. LegalWeek is the best opportunity for legal professionals to put their finger on the pulse of the Legal Technology market – the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and innovation is invaluable. Come visit us at Booth 2302! InfiniGlobe provides software technologies and consulting services for Corporate Legal Departments and Law Firms. Our team of unparalleled technical and subject matter experts has dedicated their careers to empathizing with and empowering clients to not only maintain best practices but to rise as industry leaders setting the next practice. What about you? Are you or your colleagues planning on attending LegalWeek 2019? Are you interested in attending? We would love to meet with you in New York to discuss how InfiniGlobe can help your legal department improve operations through technology and best-practices, adding value and reducing costs. Contact us for information at info@InfiniGlobe.com or on LinkedIn or Twitter.

  • InfiniGlobe Achieves ISO/IEC 27001 Certification

    September 26, 2018 NEWPORT BEACH, CA – Schellman & Company, an ANAB and UKAS Accredited Certification Body, certified InfiniGlobe LLC as compliant with all of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification requirements – an information security standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The scope of the certification extends to every level of InfiniGlobe’s operations included in the Information Security Management System (ISMS), from cloud-based computing and IT to asset management, access control, human resources security, vendor management, and application security. ISO 27001 is a globally recognized standard for the establishment and certification of a secure and enduring ISMS. The standard specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving a documented ISMS within the context of the organization’s overall business risks. It sets forth a risk-based approach that focuses on adequate and proportionate security controls that protect information assets and give confidence to interested parties. “The advent of newer technologies and increasing adoption of Cloud Computing systems introduces new risks and cyber threats such as data breaches. By committing to a world class security standard, we plan to keep ahead of evolving data security threats and ensure our clients’ data is safe” said Mori Kabiri, President and CEO of InfiniGlobe LLC. “Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 certification is important to us because it gives our clients and prospects confidence that when they entrust us with their information, we are independently accredited to keep that information safe and secure. In addition, our employees and operations greatly benefit from the systematic ISMS framework, helping us run our organization according to best practices.” Obtaining ISO 27001 certification required a comprehensive and thorough external audit carried out by Schellman, joining InfiniGlobe to the select group of just over 1500 Companies in the US actively carrying this certificate. “Achieving ISO 27001 certification is a great achievement for any organization. InfiniGlobe was able to demonstrate an effective Information Security Management System with the assistance and support of a solid management team and consistent processes. Their accomplishment speaks to the commitment they have to addressing information security risk throughout their services.” said Ryan Mackie, Principal of Schellman & Company, LLC. View the official press release here. ABOUT INFINIGLOBE InfiniGlobe LLC is a software technology and consulting company headquartered in Newport Beach, California, offering software solutions and professional services. With decades of experience working in legal technologies and a prominent reputation of consistently and passionately helping clients solve their problems, the InfiniGlobe team enables them to overcome the challenges and complexities of technology through simple, intuitive design solutions. At InfiniGlobe, we don’t believe in the finite – in what just works; we believe in the infinite – in purpose, collaboration, and achievement. To learn more, please visit http://www.infiniglobe.com. ABOUT SCHELLMAN Schellman & Company, LLC is a leading national provider of attestation and compliance services – and the only company in the world that is a CPA firm, an ISO Certification Body, a globally licensed be PCI Qualified Security Assessor Company, a HITRUST assessor, and a FedRAMP 3PAO. Renowned for expertise tempered by practical experience, our professionals provide superior client service balanced by steadfast independence. Schellman’s approach builds successful, long-term relationships and allows our clients to achieve multiple compliance objectives using a single third-party assessor.

  • Safer in the cloud or on the ground? The importance of vendor cloud security.

    September 13, 2018 For legal professionals, moving to the cloud has lowered costs, increased operational efficiency, and expanded security control. For others, the increasing number of cyber breaches is a clear warning against becoming easy targets for hackers. In any case, the legal sector is a warehouse of sensitive and confidential data and necessary steps need to be taken to reduce risk, whether data is digital or physical. For offices that still operate primarily in hard-copy, there are well-known and widespread risks, from documents being left out and taken home, to faxes and scans sent to the wrong recipient. In a study done on 5 major industries, including the financial and governmental sectors, the combined percentage of data breaches due to physical loss, stationary device loss, and unintended disclosure ranged from 18.6% to 44.7%. Back in 2012, a survey done by Legal IT Professionals asking respondents whether they were willing to move key applications to the cloud showed that most responded with “overwhelming skepticism” with an almost-even split with 45% for and 46% against. In a more recent survey done by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) in 2017 however, the conversation seems to have changed from “maybe we will” to “when we will.” It reports that those surveyed predict that the adoption of cloud-based solutions is steadily increasing, rising from 51% in 2016 to 63% in 2017. Even for those whose primary networks are not cloud-based, it’s hard to find an organization that doesn’t employ cloud technology in some way, whether it’s using Dropbox to share files, or Office 365 to correspond with colleagues and clients. “54% of law departments specifically highlight the importance of external data security practices for their vendors.” The trend seems to be catching on in the legal industry, despite plenty of hesitance from law departments and law firms combined. The biggest concerns are regarding information security, which is understandable, considering the sobering statistics being reported. 1,579 data breaches were reported in 2017, at least 2.8 billion records were exposed in 2017 and 2018 alone, and $3.62 million averaged as the total cost of a data breach in 2017. The CLOC reported that 66% of legal organizations stated that internal data security was a growing focus with 54% of law departments specifically highlighting the importance of external data security practices for their vendors. However, there is growing agreement that storing data on the cloud is better than on the ground. “Using the cloud is safe, as long as legal organizations do their due diligence.” Storing information in the cloud is a risk mitigator for protecting against natural disasters, with backups enabling system restores within minutes. Decreasing need for in-house servers and secondary datacenters, companies and firms can reduce hardware costs and better plan for disaster recovery. Not to mention the increased security measures cloud-based systems enforce, from role-based access control to multi-factor authentication to compliance reports and logs. There’s no question that cloud-based applications also improve efficiency and increase productivity, enabling attorneys and employee to work from anywhere and through various devices. Many state bar associations (such as Massachusetts and California), have concluded that using the cloud is safe, as long as legal organizations do their due diligence. Due Diligence is the key to how you can protect yourself. With increasing pressure on the legal industry to do all they can to protect their information, law departments and firms alike, everyone really, needs to carefully select and thoroughly vet their third-party cloud providers and vendors to ensure they can provide proof that they process, and store data using best practices and hold verifiable certifications and accreditations. Wise companies and firms must turn to their technology partners and ensure that vendors’ information security policies and processes align with their own security and compliance objectives as well as those of their clients and partners. No one can afford to assume their third-party providers have information security considerations in mind and data protection policies and procedures in place. Any vendor can claim to have secure environments to host data (and many do), but most lack verification. Why? Because it’s a lengthy and costly process to alter operations processes, achieve genuine certifications, and be recognized for it. But that’s not your concern – if vendors are handling your sensitive and critical information, you should insist on proof of compliance and specify security requirements in your vendor selection process. “Wise companies and firms must ensure that vendors’ information security policies and processes align with their own security and compliance objectives.” One trusted and rigorous certification is the ISO 27001:2013 standard designed for organizations in any industry but is particularly pertinent for SaaS vendors, especially those which operate in the cloud. It not only ensures that information is secured from a technical and organizational perspective, it requires guidelines and processes for managing risk and implementing controls that continuously test compliance. ISO 27001 requires management to systematically assess security risks and impacts, design, and implement controls to address potential vulnerabilities and to review and revise controls over time. Furthermore, verified certifications can only be attained through a rigorous 3 step auditing process performed over several months and re-verified annually by third-party accredited certification bodies recognized by government-authorized parties. Unfortunately, most vendors, particularly in the United States have not gone through the certification process and will often refer their prospects and clients to their cloud-service providers’ certifications, such as Microsoft or Amazon. This is highly misleading and risky, as those service providers only ensure the security of their own infrastructure, platforms, and software. Vendor software and data are not in the cloud-service providers’ ISO scopes. That’s why it is of the utmost importance to make sure your technology vendors carry their own certifications. So how can you tell? Start by asking all of your vendors these questions: Do you carry any security certifications, such as ISO 27001, and who is your certification body? What are your company-specific policies and procedures on information security? How often do you perform security risk assessments to identify and measure risks, and do you keep a log of security and risk incidents? What are your organization’s internal policies regarding user access and account security? How do you encrypt data at rest and in transit, and what kinds of controls and processes are in place for intrusion detection, monitoring, and threat detection? How often are vulnerability scans and penetration tests performed? How do you store and what is your retention policy regarding client data? How do you securely and permanently delete client data? Do you enforce your third-party partners and contractors to follow the same security and risk compliance measures, and how often are reviews of these contracts and partners performed?

  • Let’s Interact in Austin, TX!

    September 10, 2018 As a Mitratech TeamConnect implementation partner, InfiniGlobe is proud to be a sponsor for the Mitratech 2018 Interact Conference. Interact is a great collaborative event where end-users and developers of Mitratech products such as the Matter Management System TeamConnect gather to share ideas and explore new innovations and opportunities. The Mitratech team has organized an engaging program for the event, and we can’t wait to meet you during, in between, and after sessions, so make sure to stop by our booth and chat with us about our TeamConnect Tools. InfiniGlobe provides software technologies and consulting services for the Legal Industry. Our team of unparalleled technical and subject matter experts has dedicated their careers to empathizing with and empowering Corporate Legal Departments to not only maintain best practices but to rise as industry leaders setting the next practices. What about you? Are you or your colleagues planning on attending Interact 2018? We would love to meet with you in Austin to discuss how InfiniGlobe can help your legal department improve operations through technology and best-practices, adding value and reducing costs. Contact us at info@InfiniGlobe.com or on LinkedIn or Twitter.

  • The Legal Industry: A Perfect Target for Hackers

    August 30, 2018 Among the multitude of industries that store and process information, the legal sector handles some of the most sensitive and critical data. Organizations rely on their legal team and outside vendors to secure their information from competitors, opposing parties, and any other prying eyes. Information is the most valuable asset in the legal industry and keeping it secure is paramount to success. A new threat is striking the legal sector – hackers. In fact, in March 2016, the Cyber Division of the FBI warned that hackers are specifically targeting international law firms, seeking confidential data. This trend has continued through 2017, as noted by The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) stating that there was a 173% increase in data security incidents in the legal sector between Q3 and Q4. It’s clear why a survey published in the General Counsel Excellence Report found that 31% of GCs are concerned with cybersecurity and privacy. But why has the legal industry seen such a sharp rise in the rate of attacks and become a prime target for cyber criminals? 1. Valuable Information Corporate Law Departments and law firms store tons of confidential information that can be extremely financially and strategically valuable. Opposing counsel, business competitors, and foreign agents can use the information to manipulate markets or threaten parties. For example, a cyberattack against the computer networks of two major New York law firms in which servers were penetrated, malware installed, and Merger and Acquisitions partners’ emails exfiltrated was instigated by three foreign nationals who levied this information to make millions through insider trading. 2. Backdoor Access The relationship between clients and their outside counsel is based on high levels of trust, and often unauthorized access to a legal network can lead to unauthorized access to client networks. The legal sector is now not only responsible for protecting its own data, but is also responsible for access to that of its clients. It is well understood in the hacker community that one of the best ways to penetrate a company’s network is to infiltrate the networks of partners and vendors. 3. Industry Culture There is also the historic prioritization of financial success over security and compliance within the legal sector. In the past, many firms have spent time and money on efforts to increase profitability, while law departments focused on saving costs. Thus, information security has been less of a priority and has made the legal industry more vulnerable than other industries such as financial and insurance. What was once an afterthought has become a point of focus for many firms and law departments, security and compliance now primary IT initiatives. Increased regulation has also driven this shift. Domestically, states such as California, Massachusetts, and Illinois have expanded their laws and definitions to enact more stringent requirements for protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Internationally, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in May 2018, applies to the entirety of Europe, with some countries further building on it, such as the UK’s Data Protection Act. Increased scrutiny isn’t just coming from governmental bodies, it’s coming from within the legal community as well. The American Bar Association (ABA) made amendments to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.1 in August 2012 stating that in order “to maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.” The following year a special Cybersecurity Legal Task Force within the ABA was delegated to investigate the growing problem of intrusions into the computer systems and networks utilized by lawyers and law firms. Their report stressed that “these breaches undermine the legal profession as a whole by threatening client confidentiality, the attorney-client privilege, and the broader confidential lawyer-client relationship.” What now? As network security breaches are becoming more common, the search for financially-feasible solutions has become a primary focus for firms and legal departments. With 93% of large companies and 87% of small businesses in the UK are reporting at least one security incident, and governments and leading industry organizations putting the pressure on, there’s a growing question of how best to protect data. For corporate law departments that utilize technology vendors to manage and store their sensitive information, it is imperative that those vendors also prioritize information security and are equipped with creditable security certifications. For firms, securing collaborative environments with legal departments has become a point of focus, thus it’s important to find technology tools that handle the relationship and exchange of information securely. Here at Counself, we take information security seriously so lawyers can focus on their work and clients with peace of mind. Find out more about Counself Risk and how you can use it to manage your vendor risk here as well as the value we place on information security here. Sources: American Bar Association. August 2013 Resolution. Report no. 118, American Bar Association, 2013. American Bar Association. AUGUST 2012 AMENDMENTS TO ABA MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT. American Bar Association, 2012. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest of Macau Resident and Unsealing of Charges Against Three Individuals for Insider Trading Based On Information Hacked from Prominent U.S. Law Firms. By Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, 27 Dec. 2016. Dixon, Creighton, et al. “Notable New State Privacy and Data Security Laws – Part One.” S&W Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Blog, 13 Feb. 2017. Friedman, Gabe. “FBI Alert Warns of Criminals Seeking Access to Law Firm Networks.” Big Law Business, Bloomberg Law, 11 Mar. 2016. The Global Legal Post. The General Counsel Excellence Report. The Global Legal Post, 2015. Kongnso, Fedinand Jaiventume. Best Practices to Minimize Data Security Breaches for Increased Business Performance. Walden University, 2015. O’Donoghue, Cynthia, and Eleanor Brooks. “ICO publishes its 2017/2018 Annual Report.” Technology Law Dispatch, Reed Smith, 31 July 2018. Security and Compliance Play Critical Roles in Protecting IT Assets of Law Firms and Their Clients.

  • Legal Services RFP – Step by Step

    July 23, 2018 Are your In-House Counsel facing a matter that requires specialized substantive expertise? Is your Legal Department in need of a new contract management solution? From handling complex legal issues to new legal technologies to an internal team that is too busy to start new projects and handle all the old ones… issuing an RFP is a great opportunity for you and for your vendors. What is an RFP? An RFP or Request for Proposal is a document that a Company posts to generate bids from potential law firms or vendors for a specific, desired solution. The RFP document details exactly what the Company is looking for and outlines a method to evaluate and assess the submitted proposals fairly. Step One – There’s No ‘I’ in Team The first step in issuing your RFP is to put together your team! Your internal team will have varying responsibilities including but not limited to drafting the RFP document, locating firms or vendors, reviewing proposals, and selecting the right firm. Your team will have to identify key stakeholders to lay out organizational goals and objectives. Most importantly, you must establish a budget and a timeline that will help guide your evaluation process. Step Two – Strike Pen to Legal Pad Drafting the Request document is generally the most difficult and time-consuming task of the RFP process. Most companies try to create a one-size or use canned templates that are both too vague and too specific, and thus illicit irrelevant or generalized responses. Other RFP formats can be cumbersome and complicated which can result in ‘would be’ (yet qualified) responders to run with fear! The best drafted RFPs are clear, concise, and organized. Drafters should explain the purpose or background of their project, layout the scope of work required, detail finances such as payments or incentives, and explain the process for evaluation and reward. Step Three – Cast a Wide Enough Net Finding target law firms or vendors to respond to your request can be a daunting task. Your team should do their due diligence, research firms in order to understand their qualifications, weaknesses, and shortcomings. Most law firms will be familiar with you but there are many firms you may not know about. Do not limit your list of qualified vendors to only those with whom you have prior working relationships. At the same, a fair warning to make sure you do not “bid shop” and end up drowning in a sea of unqualified vendors. Remember, part of the RFP process is fairness; target your invitations to those that are qualified and capable of completing the task at hand. Also, keep in mind that your team is responsible for the administration and evaluation of the responses. Your budget will quickly be exhausted if you cast your net too far and too wide. Step Four – Evaluate (Don’t Hate) Evaluating responses must be done methodically to ensure accuracy and fairness. Generally, the process laid out by your team should contain a “scoring” or “scorecard” method where criteria are weighted and evaluated based on needs and priorities. Based on the scorecard, law firms or vendors can more easily be shortlisted and/or eliminated. Be sure to check certifications (diversity, information security, etc), completed cases, specializations, conflicts, and Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFA). From your short list, you can then request interviews and supporting documentation to help you further narrow, evaluate and select the finalist that can best provide a solution for your team and your company. Step Five – Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate Although you have selected a firm, the negotiation process is just beginning. At the end of the day, responses are merely proposals that can be accepted or declined. You can continue to refine the scope based on information discovered during the RFP process, and as your team has developed their understanding of the project. After negotiations, your legal team will finalize and execute an Agreement or Statement of Work, thereby ending the Request for Proposal process. It can seem like a lot of work (and it kind of is, if you don’t have the right tools) but an RFP is an easy, quick, and passive way to increase your spending efficiency, lower your costs, and build new relationships and opportunities. If you’re a legal professional and are interested in adopting RFx workflows to add value and pull waste from your vendor procurement and management, check out Counself’s features, and contact us for a demo!

  • Rising from the Rubble: A New Legal Industry

    July 18, 2018 In 2008, the Great Recession rocked the world economy and shattered paradigms. In the decade that followed, the legal industry — a seemingly impenetrable monolith of stone, now fractured and collapsing — has struggled to repair the fissures that mar what was once the unchallenged power of elite law firms. Thus far, these efforts have been a band-aid over a deep wound, a surface-deep façade: expenses were cut, partners de-equitized, growth slowed, rates increased if not realized. In other words, Big Law—the old kings of the industry—pulled back on the levers of past glory in order to achieve a semblance of the old equilibrium. A decade since the Great Recession, that façade is crumbling to reveal that the cracks beneath have only grown larger. But what lies underneath? The curtains are being pulled back to reveal something new, something better—a new, innovative legal industry. Those who are prepared can see the signs of the changes unfolding. Despite consecutive years of overall economic growth since 2008, the number of legal jobs has yet to recover to pre-recession levels. Demand for law firm services has flat-lined or is on the decline. Corporations are investing their legal spending in in-house law departments instead of on outside counsel. The age of the billable hour is on its way out. Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs) are taking over. As of 2015, AFAs accounted for $21.1 billion of outside counsel spending. In 2017, Corporate Counsel Magazine reported that 26% of corporate legal spending on outside counsel was structured under an AFA. Law firms are losing market shares to increasingly beefed-up corporate legal departments and the rapid growth of alternative legal service providers (ALSPs). These ALSPs, though still only accounting for a tiny fraction of total US law firm revenues, are being empowered by the advancement of information technologies to chip away at ever greater portions of law firm revenues. In turn, the growth of ALSPs empowers corporations to take advantage of greater positions of leverage against law firms. Meanwhile, the Big Four accounting firms are preparing to bite off their slice of the US law revenue pie, with each firm targeting global legal revenues of $1 billion by 2021. The solid foundation of the old legal industry is giving way. Today, it is hunt or be hunted, as firms compete with each other over the ever-shrinking pool of corporate legal spending. Those firms that are the first to adopt the new principals of efficiency and value-oriented services are eating up the slow and outdated, as top-performing law firms consume those unwilling to change. The truth is that the 2008 recession was not the cause of this paradigm shift, but merely the accelerant. The financial turmoil of the Great Recession hid a much greater force that has been brewing ever since the advent of the personal computer and the World Wide Web—the technological advancement of the information age. For those who stubbornly resist, change can seem to be the enemy. But for those in the legal industry who are willing to embrace change—firms and corporations alike—the future is bright. For law firms, technology means increased efficiency, reduced overhead, and greater profits realized with less effort. For corporations, technology is the realization of total information parity in the marketplace. In the newly legal industry, the client and agent will no longer wage war—they’ll become true partners, under an innovative paradigm of a virtual marketplace that will significantly reduce or perhaps even eliminate the burdens of the old business. For the future leaders of the industry, technology is regenerating and rejuvenating the practice of law in the 21st century. A leaner, meaner, sleeker legal industry is waiting to be unveiled underneath the cracks of the old. It will take the coordinated integration of technology—custom-tailored to the needs and desires of all members of the legal industry—to finish the work of sculpting out the new. A legal industry freed from the constraints of the old paradigm, re-imagined within the unified framework of a virtual legal marketplace. Faster, more efficient; fairer, more transparent; simpler, yet more powerful; unified, yet more diverse than ever. And it’s coming faster than you think. The future of the legal industry is not waiting to be built. It’s already here. Are you ready? Sources: Center for the Study of the Legal Profession & Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, 2018 Report on the State of the Legal Market, Jan. 10, 2018 (the “2018 Report”) Forbes Legal Council, “The Future of The legal Industry,” com, Nov. 10, 2016. BTI Consulting Group, BTI State of Alternative Fee Arrangements, 2016 (“State of AFAs”) Jennifer Williams-Alvarez, “GCs May Get Rid of Underperforming Firms in 2017, Survey Says,” Corporate Counsel, Jan. 31, 2017. Citi Bank & Hildebrandt Consulting LLC, 2018 Client Advisory, 2017

  • Legal Management Software Implementation – Hybrid Methodology

    June 11, 2018 If you have been involved in any enterprise software implementations, you know that an Implementation Methodology is not just a series of steps and activities to follow. It has to be an efficient and flexible approach designed on informed analysis, lessons learned, best practices, and corporate culture. In the past two decades of implementing ELM (Enterprise Legal Management) systems for Corporate Law Departments, I have found that a phase-based methodology that employs iterative cycles within phases is more successful than a traditional waterfall approach. This hybrid methodology enables feedback early and often during the project, resulting in fewer surprises and stronger buy-in among end users. Depending on the project size and complexity, the number of phases and iterations may vary, but a typical mid-size project can be broken down into the following: plan, define, design, build, deploy, and support. 1. Plan When developing your project plan, incorporate a phased and iterative strategy that fits into both business culture and IT policies. Breaking down deliverables into smaller segments that build upon each other and working through iterations allows you to keep your client informed with consistent updates and to ensure you’re meeting objectives through regular feedback. Similarly, by distinguishing phases in your plan, you can define timeline boundaries for activities such as requirement gathering, building, testing, and roll-out. As we all know, open-ended projects often result in missing deadlines, being over budget, and unhappy stakeholders. 2. Define Next, you should take time to define your technology, solutions, and capabilities to best support the client’s business goals. An experienced SME (Subject Matter Expert) who knows the specific practice areas your clients operate in will save your time significantly by helping to interview the key business users, review the current processes, share best practices, and articulate the desired user requirements. At the same time, engaging technical SME and IT throughout the definition process will help to make sure the functionalities can be implemented within the scope of selected or candidate systems. 3. Design During the design phase, instead of just duplicating existing processes in the new solution, try to understand how the client really wants to work. Often a more effective solution can be found by helping your client rethink their processes through flexible and innovative solutions, which will improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. Take some time to analyze processes, interfaces, data and workflows throughout the project’s life cycle, looking for opportunities to re-engineer less-efficient processes and ensure that the improvements your client is looking for are realized. Again, keep your technical SME and IT engaged, especially as a part of the system specifications documentation, which will be your configuration blueprint. Have regular meetings with business and IT to show and discuss your design; you will find early feedback invaluable down the road. 4. Build The build phase includes all of the activities necessary to develop and create the solution components, including mock-ups, configuration, customizations, and integrations. Modern technology solutions tend to provide a high degree of flexibility in configurations to satisfy the needs of various practice areas and their legal processes. At the same time, without experience and knowledge of Design Principals, this flexibility can cause significant complexities in the product, leading to long-term support problems. There are many reasons that you may like to go for customization, but we always encourage the project team to first consider alternative solutions using out-of-the-box functionalities. This can save client time and money in future upgrade projects. Don’t keep business users and IT in the dark during this phase, schedule regular weekly meetings with them, present the results of your work, and seek feedback. This will be one of the main differences between Hybrid and traditional models. 5. Deploy Deployment encompasses all activities needed to plan for the roll-out, such as pre-production, production go live and training. Coordinate all required tasks with the IT team ahead of time to ensure a smooth deployment. Always stage and test before going live. Training is vital to the success of any new system implementation. It helps drive user adoption and accelerate your ROI (Return on Investment). It can be a good idea to supplement your standard training curriculum with customized guidance to assist your clients with the development of their own training strategy, approach, and education plans. 6. Support Once your system is live, provide floor support, answering questions and addressing any issues that arise. While in many cases training the trainer is advised, you must ensure that clients can still rely on you as a backup resource or supplement to their internal team. Business evolves and no system will be perfect for handling all future needs. Following best practices in early design and build phases will reduce the client’s cost for maintenance and future enhancements. As technology advances, adopting methodologies such as this Hybrid one has become easier, efficient and more effective. With proper planning and upfront project team training, not only will you find you enjoy the project with less stress, but that there also won’t be any surprises which will result in increased client satisfaction & loyalty.

  • InfiniGlobe Earns EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Certification from US Department of Commerce

    April 16, 2018 Certification Reinforces Commitment to Global Security and Privacy in Handling Personal Data NEWPORT BEACH, CA – InfiniGlobe, a leader in legal technology consulting and professional services, has been certified by the European Union and the U.S. Department of Commerce under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework for the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the EU to the U.S. supporting transatlantic business. To join the voluntary Privacy Shield Framework, InfiniGlobe self-certified the U.S. Department of Commerce and publicly committed to comply with the framework’s requirements. InfiniGlobe completed a rigorous process, altering and aligning company policies with the more stringent regulations before receiving its certification. “We take data governance very seriously at InfiniGlobe,” said InfiniGlobe’s Chief Information Security Officer, Oliver Freeman. “Our clients are very important to us, so it is our priority to assure them and their affiliates that their confidential, private, and secure information is safeguarded and that we have the most updated and appropriate protection and privacy in place.” Designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework reflects the new requirements for foreign exchanges of personal data for commercial purposes. In 2016, Privacy Shield was approved as the new framework to protect the transfer of personal data between the EU and the U.S., replacing the former Safe Harbor framework. Because data protection and security standards are ever-changing, enterprises and international customers rely on their technology providers to help them keep data safe and processes compliant. The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Certification that InfiniGlobe has achieved is another milestone in its ongoing commitment to uphold privacy standards for customers. To view InfiniGlobe’s Privacy Policy, click here. For more information about the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, visit www.privacyshield.gov. About InfiniGlobe InfiniGlobe LLC is a software technology and consulting company headquartered in Newport Beach, California, offering a broad range of professional services and software solutions for the legal industry. With decades of experience working in legal technologies and a prominent reputation of consistently and passionately helping clients solve their problems, the InfiniGlobe team enables Corporate Legal Departments and Law Firms alike to overcome the challenges and complexities of technology through simple, intuitive design solutions. At InfiniGlobe, we don’t believe in the finite – in what just works; we believe in the infinite – in purpose, collaboration, and achievement. To learn more, please visit www.infiniglobe.com.

  • Metrics, KPIs, Analytics: What do they mean for a legal department?

    May 11, 2017 Any time there is talk about using data to drive decision-making, we hear words like Metrics, KPIs, and Analytics thrown around; in some cases, they are used almost interchangeably. Distinguishing between these terms is integral and a proper grasp of these concepts and their application aids in understanding and distinguishing the different factors and processes while making decisions. Let’s define each term and discuss the intricate differences between them that appear so similar. “A Metric is something we can measure: a value, or a quantity.” This is a general definition of Metrics - there are plenty of numbers and statistics your company, department, and you personally generate that give your work context and help you monitor productivity. The most useful Metrics are precisely selected so that each of them has an actionable meaning for the organization. Having said that, there can be 100s of metrics to choose from and build off. Here are some examples of relevant metrics in a corporate legal department: # Total Cases # Closed Cases # Vendors # in-house Attorneys % Staff Turnover $ Department outside spend “A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a measurable expression for the achievement of a desired level of results in an area relevant to the entity’s activity.” Once leadership sets the department’s objectives, you will need to measure your progress toward your goals. KPIs grow naturally from an organization’s objectives and they are being measured periodically to tell you whether or not you are on track. Everything starts with Metrics, but when information reflects the achievement of a desired state, what was formerly known as a Metric will be called a KPI. In other words, all KPIs are Metrics, but not all Metrics are KPIs. Here is an example to clarify. The ‘# Open Cases’ usually isn’t vital data for a legal department. It doesn’t give you information about the achievement of a desired state. But let’s look at it from another point of view – the average ‘# Open Cases‘ of each Practice Area might be significantly more meaningful and provide historical insight for predictive decision making. Sometimes, such as in this case, KPIs can be analyzed in tandem to give more powerful insight. Here are some examples of generally relevant KPIs in a corporate legal department: % Legal spending from company revenue % Legal staff per employees ratio # Cases handled by attorney $ Cost to close case # Transnational cases per attorney # Hours spent per case by attorneys # Time to close non-trial cases “A KRI (Key Risk Indicator) is a metric that provides an early warning regarding an increased risk exposure in a certain area of operations” KRIs are measures that enable managers to identify potential losses before they happen and take a proactive approach to mitigate the risk. Effective KRIs should be predictable (provide early warning signals) and comparable (track over a period of time – trends) For example, a high level of average ‘% Case budget variance’ for a vendor or department can indicate problems in estimating the work, scope creep, and so on. If this KRI is not monitored and mitigated in a timely fashion, it may negatively impact the department’s budget. Some examples of KRIs you could consider in your legal department are: % Legal spending from company revenue % Law department budget variance % Cases successfully solved % Budgeted cases handled within budget “Analytics is the extensive and systematic use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis and explanatory and predictive models to drive fact-based actions for effective management” Analytics is the process of turning Metrics, KPIs and KRIs into meaningful information that program staff and agency leaders can use to make decisions. It helps in monitoring an organization or program’s performance and directs leaders to where they need to focus greater attention. Analytics is a critical piece of performance management, which typically involves establishing goals, monitoring progress with specific measures and making adjustments along the way to improve performance and more effectively and efficiently achieve the set goals. For example, Analytics information can answer these business questions for a legal department leader: What is the estimated Legal Department budget for next year? Which work should be done in-house and what kinds we should outsource? Which vendor has the highest return on investment? How can we demonstrate return on investment? What are my alternative options for negotiating the cost of work? Which cases are better to settle rather than go to trial? KPI / KRI Workshop One of the challenges for many organizations is around developing and managing the above indicators. To define a comprehensive list of KPIs and KRIs, it is fundamental to seek and receive inputs from internal as well as external entities and sources. A workshop would be a good starting point to discuss, identify and prioritize the indicators based on your organization’s goals. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of any organizations. References/Credits: Key Performance Indicator Infographic – http://kpiinstitute.org Earson, D. L., Ogden, J. and Schoff, D. L., How to measure the effectiveness/ value of Legal Departments, Association of Corporate Counsel

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