VendorView Report
LexisNexis Examen - CounselLink

Published: 11/02/2009
Analyst: RMC
Vendor Briefing Completed: No
Full Report Available: No


Synopsis 

LexisNexis Examen's CounselLink product is an integrated matter management system with electronic billing (e-billing).  The CounselLink product is sold to law departments, and is marketed as a broad, general practice system for all practices areas. The predecessor company, Examen, was acquired by LexisNexis in 2005. 

While not offering specialized IP capabilities, the CounselLink product offers a well positioned, competitive solution for companies seeking to implement e-billing for the IP function.  The product's strong general practice features, configuration flexibility and mature user interface lends itself well to working for the IP function.  CounselLink is not a core IP docketing system, and companies should understand limitations of the solution as applies to their specific IP needs.

In addition to CounselLink, LexisNexis Examen also provides complimentary invoice processing services.  This provides its customers with "100% compliance" by providing an outsourced invoice intake process.  A client's outside counsel can submit their invoices in any format - paper, email, faxed or scanned - and LexisNexis Examen will manually enter the invoices into the company's system.


Company Information

Founded:1990 (Examen acquired 2006)
Legal Name:LexisNexis Examen
Office(s):Sacramento, CA (HQ); U.S., Europe; Asia
Management:Kipp Johnson (CEO); Kevin O'Connell (EVP, Sales); Marcus Linden (COO)


Product and Technology Overview

Product Name:CounselLink 
Version (Date):L5.0_ASE_12.5.3_V8 (2009)
Platform:J2EE
Database(s):
Hosting:SaaS
Services:Implementation; data conversion; custom; administrative services
License Model:Annual subscription; metrics based
Maintenance:Included in subscription


Modules/ Key Features

NameFeatures
Matters
  • General electronic file that support client defined types
  • Budgets at matter level; by matter type
  • Auto populated budgets based on law firm and matter type
  • Law firm budget entry and company approval workflow
  • Budget performance at matter level
  • Law firm assignments; workflow for assignment approval
  • Invoices (actual costs) and budgets at matter level
  • Contacts (both internal and law firm)
  • Documents (electronic; categories; security permissions)
  • Notes (ad hoc, notes to file)
  • Audit history
Invoices
  • Automated workflow for intake and approval
  • Interface to payment systems
  • Detailed line item entries
  • Allocation across multiple departments / budgets
  • UTBMS standard task coding
  • Client custom task coding
  • Roll up costs by task type / description
  • Automated fee guidelines by law firm and matter (budget)
  • Flagging of out of guideline costs
  • Budget v. actual reporting
  • Accept multiple electronic formats
  • Invoice administrative services
  • Access for law firms
  • Multi-currency support
  • VAT and European tax rules / compliance
Law Firms
  • Manages all law firms for the company
  • Attorney contact information
  • Budget / billing details
  • Authorization and approval workflow rules
  • Assignment tracking and performance reporting
Documents
  • Electronic documents stored at matter level
  • Support all document types
  • Emails (incoming/outgoing)
  • Categorized by type
  • Document searching across entire system
  • Full text searching documents
  • Notes
Calendar
  • Events / tasks at matter level
  • Event rule sets based on matter types; client custom rules
  • User assigned tasks; internal and external
  • Notifications and alerts via email
  • Consolidated view of events/tasks by user
Reports
  • Standard report library
  • Calculated value performance reports
  • Graphical based reports (charts)
  • Ad hoc report builder (business user capable)
  • Back-end access for custom reporting
Searching
  • Advanced field searching
  • Full text searching
  • Document searching (full text)
Interfaces
  • EDI to corporate finance and ERP systems
  • EDI / API interface to docketing systems


Other Highlighted Features or Capabilities

  • LEDES data standard compliant
  • Management Dashboard
  • SmartReview natural language invoice categorization
  • Martindale-Hubbell online directory
  • SAS-70 Certified hosting
  • SSL 128-bit encryption
  • Invoice Processing Services


Additional Information


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eports and other information published by Hyperion Research are the opinions of Hyperion Research. The information contained herein, comes from sources considered reliable, and is corroborated and checked when possible. Errors or inaccuracies may exist. Vendor related information may or may not come directly from the vendor itself. Reports are often the result of compiling information from multiple sources. We disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information, and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. By accessing this document, whether free or for a paid fee, the user has acknowledged and agreed to this Disclaimer and Terms of Use. Copyright © 2009-10 - Hyperion Global Partners, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden.



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