Centerbase, known for its cloud legal practice management platform for mid-sized law firms, announced the beta launch of its native document management integration. Thanks to Microsoft SharePoint’s capabilities, users can create, share, store, and manage documents without leaving the Centerbase platform.
Contrary to standalone paid solutions that were once considered state-of-the-art, Centerbase has developed a native solution embedded directly into its platform that streamlines document management for law firms by harnessing the robust capabilities of the Microsoft ecosystem.
This move aligns with Centerbase’s objective of providing an all-in-one platform where legal professionals can work seamlessly, without the need to maneuver back and forth between applications. The platform’s user-friendly workflows, based on Microsoft technology that most firms are already familiar with, are designed to make user adoption swift and help firms build on their existing technology investments.
Rob Joyner, senior vice president of business development, sees this launch as a stepping stone to “future-proof” customers so they are positioned to harness advancements in artificial intelligence and other technologies as they emerge. In a demonstration of the new document management system, Joyner stated, “Covid made us move to the cloud faster than anything else and faster than we all anticipated. Now AI is causing shifts and interest in legal tech again. We are making sure we’re ‘future-proofing’ and setting up our customers so they’re ready to adopt new technology as soon as it becomes relevant.”
The previous document management function offered by Centerbase could have been described more accurately as a document repository rather than a full DMS. However, with this new addition, the native file explorer system can now be directed towards SharePoint, optimizing the use of SharePoint space that firms are already paying for, but with it being fully integrated with Centerbase’s matters, workflows, and other features.
This upgrade gifts users with document-management features like version control, OCR, and e-signatures. Documents can now be added to automated workflows within Centerbase for saving and generating documents, while the system also enables the tracking of time spent working on documents via Centerbase’s Automated Time Capture feature. Furthermore, users can now send a document for signature via DocuSign directly within Centerbase and keep an eye on its progress, or perform conflicts of interest checks globally without needing to search a separate DMS.
An enhancement to this feature with a more robust home-page dashboard is slated for release by Centerbase later this year. Users will then be able to view all relevant information about their matters, plus their timekeeping and billing, in one place. Each individual matter will also be accompanied by a dashboard displaying all essential information related to that matter and the matter’s financials.
Centerbase also integrates directly with Microsoft Outlook, enabling users to manage emails and calendars without needing to exit the primary platform. This lessens the inefficiencies caused due to application fatigue and streamlines an attorney or paralegal’s workflow. Furthermore, Joyner points out, the platform’s Automated Time Capture feature allows users to capture an additional six hours per month, on average. With the integration of Outlook and the addition of document management via SharePoint, they can capture even more productive time.
Technical sales director Chris Zink highlights another advantage of underpinning Centerbase with Microsoft products – the elimination of data replication or synchronization between applications since users can directly access SharePoint, Outlook email, and Outlook calendars.
Tracy Clodfelter, director, product marketing, sums it up stating that the ultimate goal is to create a platform where legal professionals can work all day without constantly needing to juggle multiple software. As she puts it, “They can come to a single platform and do all the things they need to do – they don’t have to go back and forth, they don’t have to have add-ins, they don’t have to do any of that. It makes them much more effective, much more efficient. Everything’s in one place.”
The new document management feature will first release in a beta form, followed by a general release expected in March. The initial release will include the SharePoint integration, with more features set to follow afterwards.
Discover more about Centerbase at the LawNext Legal Technology Directory.