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Episode #15 - Business Intelligence Round Table

As the need for more detailed reporting grows in firms, so does the need for advanced technology.  Hear how firms are using the latest Business Intelligence technology with PerfectLaw®.


Full Transcript

00:00:00 Anthony Beasley

So good afternoon everybody.

00:00:01 Anthony Beasley

This is Anthony with Perfect Law software.

00:00:03 Anthony Beasley

This is of course the Lions Den podcast and we thought we do something very interesting.

00:00:08 Anthony Beasley

Today we get a lot of folks who are transitioning when it comes to reporting to business intelligence.

00:00:14 Anthony Beasley

It's a buzzword that a lot of people have used for a lot of years and not understanding what true business.

00:00:20 Anthony Beasley

Intelligence is sometimes people get caught up in spreadsheets and not.

00:00:25 Anthony Beasley

The product is supposed to do for you, so today we have a very special group of people they these are long time users.

00:00:33 Anthony Beasley

For some folks of perfect law who have implemented the perfect law, business intelligence product and and they have some great stories that they would like to share with folks, we also have the team of specialists.

00:00:46 Anthony Beasley

Here at perfect law, who actually work with the firms in setting it up, configuring it, rolling it out, training, getting people moving along to what the product can do for you.

00:00:55 Anthony Beasley

So with that said, what I'd like to do is turn it over to the conversation to Cindy Celebraci.

00:01:01 Anthony Beasley

Cindy is one of our fantastic users out of Cleveland, OH.

00:01:05 Anthony Beasley

Who has used the product her and I've had some personal conversations onto.

00:01:10 Anthony Beasley

What is to?

00:01:11 Anthony Beasley

What the product is meant for her and I think it would.

00:01:13 Anthony Beasley

Be great for her to share that.

00:01:14 Anthony Beasley

With you so with that said.

00:01:17 Cynthia Celebrezze

Thanks D'anthony, so yeah I work in law firm in Cleveland, OH when we first came over to perfect law was in 2018.

00:01:27 Cynthia Celebrezze

And most of our reporting was just very one dimensional and it was all run through just access databases and and that.

00:01:38 Cynthia Celebrezze

Sort of thing.

00:01:40 Cynthia Celebrezze

When we transitioned over to perfect law at that time, the entire firm was going through a transition because our managing partner left and our administrator left and the administrator was the only person who.

00:01:52 Cynthia Celebrezze

Really knew how to.

00:01:53 Cynthia Celebrezze

You know work with the reports that he had created.

00:01:57 Cynthia Celebrezze

And Meryl can tell you it was just so much fun.

00:02:02 Cynthia Celebrezze

Recreating everything under a completely new software system, but over time since then the amount of information and the multiple dimensions of that information that we are able to pull out of our systems.

00:02:21 Cynthia Celebrezze

You know we're able to.

00:02:22 Cynthia Celebrezze

They can make decisions and more clearly see not just who's being productive in our firm, but specific matter classes.

00:02:32 Cynthia Celebrezze

You know how costs per person relate to what that person is producing per matter class and that helps us.

00:02:44 Cynthia Celebrezze

I mean we.

00:02:44 Cynthia Celebrezze

Can even have it down to the client level and the matter class level so we can actually look at the demographics.

00:02:52 Cynthia Celebrezze

Of our clients and what matters were what type of matters were doing for them.

00:02:57 Cynthia Celebrezze

And who's working on it and how much that?

00:02:59 Cynthia Celebrezze

Person costs so you know I.

00:03:01 Cynthia Celebrezze

Refer to it sort of as.

00:03:05 Cynthia Celebrezze

It's like brains.

00:03:06 Cynthia Celebrezze

It's like doing brain surgery on our data.

00:03:08 Cynthia Celebrezze

You know, it's micro precision surgical level data calling, and for me personally it's super fun because that's kind of how my brain works anyways.

00:03:20 Cynthia Celebrezze

So you know, Maryland, I get into these conversations.

00:03:25 Cynthia Celebrezze

We go down this rabbit hole, but somehow we always seem to come up.

00:03:28 Cynthia Celebrezze

With exactly what we're looking for.

00:03:30 Cynthia Celebrezze

And I mean, it's it's been tremendous for the firm as far as decision making and and analyzing what we're doing and how we're spending our time.

00:03:40 Cynthia Celebrezze

And essentially that's what we're all selling, right?

00:03:42 Cynthia Celebrezze

We're all selling time.

00:03:44 Cynthia Celebrezze

And now you need to know what it is that you're.

00:03:46 Cynthia Celebrezze

Getting for that time, oh.

00:03:49 Cynthia Celebrezze

Well, that's pretty much about it.

00:03:52 Cynthia Celebrezze

You know it's a continually evolving project.

00:03:55 Cynthia Celebrezze

I mean, every single time I have a new question, I'm writing a new report and it also it also provides a lot of flexibility in terms of.

00:04:04 Cynthia Celebrezze

Things where you know partner redemptions or.

00:04:08 Cynthia Celebrezze

Uh compensation structures, right?

00:04:12 Cynthia Celebrezze

So we're actually able to offer these personalized compensation structures for attorneys that.

00:04:19 Cynthia Celebrezze

You would not.

00:04:19 Cynthia Celebrezze

Normally be able to sort of.

00:04:21 Cynthia Celebrezze

Get that information and do all these different percentages on different things.

00:04:26 Cynthia Celebrezze

Now I just refreshed today to change.

00:04:28 Cynthia Celebrezze

The date and there you go, right?

00:04:31 Cynthia Celebrezze

So it's really great.

00:04:32 Cynthia Celebrezze

It's it's one of.

00:04:33 Cynthia Celebrezze

My favorite parts.

00:04:34 Cynthia Celebrezze

Of perfect law.

00:04:36 Anthony Beasley

OK, well thank you Cindy for that comment.

00:04:39 Anthony Beasley

We really appreciate.

00:04:40 Anthony Beasley

I'm glad it's been a huge help for you.

00:04:42 Anthony Beasley

'cause I know we've talked about some of the things that you've had to deal with.

00:04:44 Anthony Beasley

As it relates to COVID.

00:04:46 Anthony Beasley

And just how life has changed for us all.

00:04:49 Anthony Beasley

And it's it's great to hear that that was a huge help for you.

00:04:52 Anthony Beasley

Now Charlie Dough has a very interesting and unique view of.

00:04:55 Anthony Beasley

Business intelligence, since their firm is a patent firm, and.

00:05:00 Anthony Beasley

You know the patent practice from a process standpoint of all the products that we produce is probably some of the more intensive products out there, just in how they work in the way they look at things.

00:05:12 Anthony Beasley

And some of the types of things that Charlie needs to report on.

00:05:15 Anthony Beasley

So Charlie.

00:05:16 Anthony Beasley

With that said, I would love for you to tell us, you know, give us your view of what.

00:05:21 Anthony Beasley

Has been a great thing or something about the PERF log business intelligence that's been a change for you.

00:05:27 Charlie Doe

Uhm, OK, well the biggest change for me as Meryl has drugged me kicking and screaming through some of this transition.

00:05:37 Charlie Doe

Uhm, has has been a report that I was doing manually that would take me about 40 to 50 hours to compile.

00:05:48 Charlie Doe

Uhm, that we can now run in about, you know, a minute, assuming everything's been posted.

00:05:55 Charlie Doe

Which of course is always the big catch.

00:05:58 Charlie Doe

You know making sure that.

00:06:02 Charlie Doe

We all think that only what we do matters.

00:06:05 Charlie Doe

In our firms, but that's.

00:06:06 Charlie Doe

Not true, you know we have to cut.

00:06:08 Charlie Doe

Yeah, you know that's been a A.

00:06:10 Charlie Doe

Good reminder that you know you have to make sure that you know all your.

00:06:16 Charlie Doe

Batch files actually got posted and things like that, so for.

00:06:20 Charlie Doe

Me, it's just.

00:06:21 Charlie Doe

Freed up some of my time, it's allowed us to look at profitability a little more realistically. You know, we all have all of us who have been in law firms for any length of time, and we've been in perfect law for, you know, since I think 2000 and.

00:06:42 Charlie Doe

14 if I remember right, we have our own definition of profitability in our firms.

00:06:51 Charlie Doe

Everybody created their profitability model and what they're going to cost and who they're going to charge, what and all of those decisions, which constantly change as you move through.

00:07:02 Charlie Doe

You have new owners.

00:07:03 Charlie Doe

You have, you know, new players in the game, so having to sit down and actually come.

00:07:09 Charlie Doe

Commit to this is what we're going.

00:07:12 Charlie Doe

To do, I don't.

00:07:13 Charlie Doe

Care if you're the special snowflake of this week we're still using.

00:07:17 Charlie Doe

What we all agreed.

00:07:19 Charlie Doe

Upon and having that be a concrete, dependable foundation, I think is the best piece of this.

00:07:30 Charlie Doe

UM module and I had the old by.

00:07:33 Dorrie Farlee

Or, you know.

00:07:34 Charlie Doe

The former version, whatever you want to call it.

00:07:36 Charlie Doe

So we have quite a bit of of profitability capabilities.

00:07:41 Charlie Doe

But we didn't have the UM.

00:07:45 Charlie Doe

You know, once you make these decisions.

00:07:48 Charlie Doe

They follow and and they.

00:07:50 Charlie Doe

Track through all of your.

00:07:51 Charlie Doe

Reports so you know I.

00:07:53 Charlie Doe

Don't have to run or.

00:07:55 Charlie Doe

Actually, I don't have to refresh a different from a different place each time I want to run a report, you know, so I mean I.

00:08:04 Charlie Doe

Think just the the.

00:08:07 Charlie Doe

The dependability of the data.

00:08:10 Charlie Doe

Once you get through that process and.

00:08:13 Charlie Doe

That's the hardest part in a law.

00:08:15 Charlie Doe

Firm to get people to talk about.

00:08:16 Charlie Doe

Profitability is who gets charged for what.

00:08:20 Charlie Doe

You know?

00:08:20 Charlie Doe

So is that person.

00:08:22 Charlie Doe

A full time.

00:08:23 Charlie Doe

Equivalent, or half you know, at what point in a person's tenure do they become a full time equivalent?

00:08:30 Charlie Doe

I mean, we had to have.

00:08:31 Charlie Doe

Those discussions all over again because once.

00:08:34 Charlie Doe

You have that.

00:08:36 Charlie Doe

In the system, as Mel can attest to, it's like wait a minute.

00:08:41 Charlie Doe

This doesn't balance well.

00:08:42 Charlie Doe

That's 'cause we have.

00:08:42 Charlie Doe

People in the wrong place.

00:08:44 Charlie Doe

Yes, so I think just the stable.

00:08:48 Charlie Doe

Formulas and getting the understanding and telling people no, you can't modify it.

00:08:54 Charlie Doe

This quarter is not going to be.

00:08:55 Charlie Doe

A different formula.

00:08:56 Charlie Doe

Than last quarter.

00:08:57 Charlie Doe

You know we're going to stick with it.

00:08:59 Charlie Doe

I also really, really like the new report writer.

00:09:04 Charlie Doe

I don't know how many of you have had a chance to get in there and play around with some of those.

00:09:09 Charlie Doe

New reports, but the new report writer gives you.

00:09:13 Charlie Doe

Uh, a much broader range of.

00:09:19 Charlie Doe

You know templates or whatever you want.

00:09:21 Charlie Doe

To call them, you know the.

00:09:22 Charlie Doe

Out of the box kind of stuff and they're really easy to modify.

00:09:28 Dorrie Farlee

Which the old report writer wasn't.

00:09:30 Lisa Kelly

So there's a lot of.

00:09:31 Charlie Doe

Stuff you can do for yourself and.

00:09:33 Charlie Doe

I you know I.

00:09:34 Charlie Doe

Think that's a real important?

00:09:36 Charlie Doe

Improvement for perf.

00:09:40 Charlie Doe

But overall, I think it's.

00:09:41 Charlie Doe

A whole lot of work.

00:09:42 Charlie Doe

Getting started, you know everybody needs to be realistic and say you know you're going to commit.

00:09:48 Charlie Doe

It's a lot of work to.

00:09:49 Charlie Doe

Get started, but once it's in place.

00:09:52 Charlie Doe

It works really slick and dumb.

00:09:56 Charlie Doe

Well, you know, we just haven't had.

00:09:57 Charlie Doe

Any performance issues or any?

00:10:01 Charlie Doe

You know issues other than our setup, which that's on us.

00:10:04 Charlie Doe

That's not really on perfect law.

00:10:06 Charlie Doe

But it's, uh, a way more.

00:10:08 Charlie Doe

Complicated process than I think most people realize, and you know, when you make the commitment.

00:10:14 Charlie Doe

As everybody on this call has made that commitment.

00:10:17 Charlie Doe

You know you've gone through most of it, if not all of it.

00:10:20 Charlie Doe

I think all of us look back and say we had no idea how complicated.

00:10:24 Charlie Doe

It was going.

00:10:25

To be, you know.

00:10:27 Anthony Beasley

OK, now Jerry, you know he's always a very interesting person to hear from.

00:10:33 Anthony Beasley

Because Jerry, you know some people.

00:10:35 Anthony Beasley

It's like a a marriage in the divorce.

00:10:38 Anthony Beasley

To say you did something twice.

00:10:39 Anthony Beasley

As always a hard thing you know and for Jerry to have implemented perfect law at 2 firms.

00:10:46 Anthony Beasley

And to have seen the range of products over has to be close to 15 to 16 years.

00:10:52 Anthony Beasley

Now Jerry, that you've been one of our users.

00:10:55 Anthony Beasley

I mean to to have that experience is always a great thing, so for him to take on something like this is it's a plus for us I feel.

00:11:03 Anthony Beasley

But it's also a testament to him seeing.

00:11:06 Anthony Beasley

How we have changed and how we've grown over the years.

00:11:09 Anthony Beasley

From a product standpoint, so Jerry, we would love for you to tell us a little bit about you know your experience and you know how you see things and how you're using the product for yourself.

00:11:19 Gerald DeMaria II

First of all, thank you for referring to.

00:11:21 Gerald DeMaria II

Me as interesting.

00:11:22 Gerald DeMaria II

I'm gonna give you my wife phone number so you can get the ball later and and.

00:11:27 Gerald DeMaria II

Let her know that.

00:11:28 Gerald DeMaria II

So, ah, thank you for that. But yes, I've been with perfect law since 2006. We converted midway through that year.

00:11:40 Gerald DeMaria II

Uhm, at my prior fun and now at my newer firm where I've been for the past four years, we converted to perfect law here.

00:11:49 Gerald DeMaria II

Uh, back in 2018, so I've certainly seen a few renditions and and upgrades over the years and that has been one of I would say.

00:12:04 Gerald DeMaria II

One of the reasons most important reasons when I came to the this new fund that I I really wanted to go with perfect one because.

00:12:12 Gerald DeMaria II

They are constantly innovating and they're constantly moving forward and they have the term was used earlier, I believe by Cynthia flexibility in their product.

00:12:27 Gerald DeMaria II

Uhm, not just in.

00:12:29 Gerald DeMaria II

Reporting, but in many different.

00:12:31 Gerald DeMaria II

Areas, but reporting especially.

00:12:34 Gerald DeMaria II

I mean, I think we all take, you know, we've been on PERF log for quite a while now and I think we take for granted that the types of reports you can you can do coming here from another firm.

00:12:46 Gerald DeMaria II

We obviously.

00:12:47 Gerald DeMaria II

But when I got here that we were using another prod.

00:12:51 Gerald DeMaria II

And just simple little tasks.

00:12:52 Gerald DeMaria II

With that reporting you couldn't do.

00:12:54 Gerald DeMaria II

You couldn't include or exclude certain criteria on a on a you know ad hoc report.

00:13:01 Gerald DeMaria II

Uhm, which I found appalling because I I I think I use that that just that long feature on a daily basis.

00:13:10 Gerald DeMaria II

So there are certainly just simple things like that.

00:13:13 Gerald DeMaria II

But that perfect law has built into the software to make reporting flexibility and ease for me as an administrator and someone who's in charge of finance to be able to quickly run all sorts of different level reports on.

00:13:34 Gerald DeMaria II

Since we have embarked on the Buy Path, Maryland, I worked very closely, probably to.

00:13:44 Gerald DeMaria II

Both of our.

00:13:44 Gerald DeMaria II

Chagrins on an extremely I would say complex report for you know, fee crediting for compensation purposes.

00:13:55 Gerald DeMaria II

Where you know we just kind of had all these criteria that we wanted to to hit and take into consideration on receipts, not just when the receipt was received, but, you know, give that receipt.

00:14:10 Gerald DeMaria II

Pay off the entire.

00:14:11 Gerald DeMaria II

Bill, where they're write offs.

00:14:13 Gerald DeMaria II

Where they're write downs, we wanted to be able to tell percentage thresholds on all that stuff before we would agree to pay out money, because obviously you get a receipt.

00:14:24 Gerald DeMaria II

In that doesn't tell the whole.

00:14:25 Gerald DeMaria II

Story you have to look.

00:14:26 Gerald DeMaria II

You have to.

00:14:27 Gerald DeMaria II

Look back and see how that was.

00:14:29 Gerald DeMaria II

Affected were there.

00:14:30 Gerald DeMaria II

Breakdowns on the pre bill.

00:14:32 Gerald DeMaria II

Was there any time rate?

00:14:34 Gerald DeMaria II

Walk up after the receipt was received.

00:14:38 Gerald DeMaria II

Uhm or not so.

00:14:40 Gerald DeMaria II

You know just the.

00:14:41 Gerald DeMaria II

Complexity of the reports that you can run up we feel is invaluable to how we run our business here.

00:14:50 Gerald DeMaria II

And looking at profitability numbers.

00:14:53 Gerald DeMaria II

Uh, of course, across the fund, but in different practice areas across people and things like that, just.

00:15:00 Gerald DeMaria II

Being able to have.

00:15:01 Gerald DeMaria II

That drilldown ability.

00:15:04 Gerald DeMaria II

At your fingertips.

00:15:07 Gerald DeMaria II

Is you know invaluable to me and I and I really see it in other.

00:15:12 Gerald DeMaria II

Products I mean.

00:15:13 Gerald DeMaria II

We, I'm sure we all get these calls from different.

00:15:16 Gerald DeMaria II

Software vendors and things like that.

00:15:18 Gerald DeMaria II

And you know most of them.

00:15:20 Gerald DeMaria II

Now all these fancy browser web based things that look nice.

00:15:25 Gerald DeMaria II

But when you start to drill down on the.

00:15:27 Gerald DeMaria II

Reports and and things like that they.

00:15:29 Gerald DeMaria II

They just don't have.

00:15:31 Gerald DeMaria II

The the horsepower behind them to be able to give what you really need.

00:15:37 Gerald DeMaria II

Sure for a small firm, they'll probably be more than adequate, but if you're running any type of complexity, you're going to find out really quickly that they don't have those reports available.

00:15:51 Gerald DeMaria II

Nor do they really always have the ability to give you customer courts, which is another huge thing I've always found over the years with perfect law.

00:16:02 Gerald DeMaria II

Being able to customize so many different pieces of reports and pieces of the software and our needs has been just fabulous.

00:16:11 Gerald DeMaria II

And so I, I just don't think you you can get that anywhere else.

00:16:17 Gerald DeMaria II

Certainly you won't get it with the.

00:16:18 Gerald DeMaria II

Large players in.

00:16:19 Gerald DeMaria II

The market because and.

00:16:22 Gerald DeMaria II

They they don't tend to do those type of customizations and now you're gonna get it on the smaller players because they just don't have the bandwidth to do that.

00:16:32 Gerald DeMaria II

So we've been very fortunate, and you know, it's been a long journey with perfect law and we continue to go down the road.

00:16:41 Gerald DeMaria II

But we're always seeing new things.

00:16:43 Gerald DeMaria II

Which is important.

00:16:45 Anthony Beasley

OK, thanks Jerry, you know you're definitely one of those clients that we've appreciated for a very long time.

00:16:51 Anthony Beasley

Like I said that the fun thing about Jerry is, you know, after coming to perfect law and some of the things that he's been able to help us with to improve the product for some folks, but also his willingness to talk to people about it and to take on.

00:17:05 Anthony Beasley

Sometimes the newer stuff that some people kind of take a step back from so I don't know about that.

00:17:10 Anthony Beasley

But Jerry is always giving us a fair chance in a fair shot, and it's always been a great thing, and he's always found success, which is one of the things that I really I really enjoy about working.

00:17:19 Anthony Beasley

With him now the next.

00:17:22 Anthony Beasley

Two people that we're going to talk to.

00:17:24 Anthony Beasley

Won't necessarily talk to us from the standpoint of using the product, but they are in the process of implementing the product and doing those.

00:17:32 Anthony Beasley

Those things that Charlie and Cynthia have talked about and getting going, and some of the the complex stuff that they're going to learn.

00:17:41 Anthony Beasley

So I thought it would be great to have them on and talk about.

00:17:44 Anthony Beasley

What they've experienced so far and kind of after hearing.

00:17:48 Anthony Beasley

From three put people who are actually using it day-to-day and giving testimony to what it can do for them.

00:17:55 Anthony Beasley

Kind of giving us a little insight into what they can look forward to.

00:17:58 Anthony Beasley

So with that said, Dori Farley is at one of our firms in in Georgia, and you know, we have a very interesting relationship.

00:18:05 Anthony Beasley

We don't have a lot of Georgia firms, but when they bought us.

00:18:08 Anthony Beasley

You know?

00:18:10 Anthony Beasley

They bought us wanting to move forward when it comes to insurance defense products and technology and some of the things that a lot of the firms around her wish they had and now they have it and they are probably hands down our biggest cheerleaders in the Southeast and we love working with them.

00:18:27 Anthony Beasley

So Dory, after hearing what everyone has to say.

00:18:30 Anthony Beasley

What are some of your comments and thoughts?

00:18:33 Dorrie Farlee

Well, we came from.

00:18:36 Dorrie Farlee

From the caseload software, I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with it, but it's like a uh 1988.

00:18:45 Dorrie Farlee

DOS based version of software?

00:18:47 Dorrie Farlee

I mean just really old, very antiquated, very little in the way of importing even less in the way of write offs.

00:18:57 Dorrie Farlee

And if you.

00:18:58 Dorrie Farlee

Attempt to get us a, uh, paralegals time entered.

00:19:04 Dorrie Farlee

That was not going to happen.

00:19:06 Dorrie Farlee

So it really was very unhelpful when we were trying to gauge productivity of our paralegals and our associates and partners.

00:19:17 Dorrie Farlee

So we were very glad to get rid of this. We've been on this software since mid 2019.

00:19:26 Dorrie Farlee

And and we've really liked it.

00:19:29 Dorrie Farlee

I mean, it's.

00:19:30 Dorrie Farlee

That a lot.

00:19:30 Dorrie Farlee

We've learned a.

00:19:31 Dorrie Farlee

Lot and as several of you have pointed out.

00:19:35 Dorrie Farlee

I mean there's features with this.

00:19:37 Dorrie Farlee

Stuff all over the place.

00:19:39 Dorrie Farlee

Uhm, but right now we come, but we're primarily looking at the the BI reporting and Meryl and Lisa had been wonderful and trying to help us figure it out.

00:19:53 Dorrie Farlee

I am not a programmer and some of the stuffs brings me back to college years ago.

00:20:00 Dorrie Farlee

Which I'm not really enthused about.

00:20:03 Dorrie Farlee

But we we have gotten two or three reports that are working well now, and once they they start to work then it's really interesting to get the partners reactions on how much data they can actually see in a form that's.

00:20:23 Dorrie Farlee

Easy for them to understand before you know.

00:20:27 Dorrie Farlee

If you know.

00:20:28 Dorrie Farlee

You spout a bunch of Excel numbers at them, and they're like I don't know what you're talking about.

00:20:33 Dorrie Farlee

But you know, show them that you know attorney A and attorney B comparing them side to side.

00:20:42 Dorrie Farlee

You know you may really love going out to the local bar with this one, but it's the other one that's getting all your billing so that they're it's we're learning a lot.

00:20:56 Dorrie Farlee

We've got a lot left to learn, but but like I said, Maryland Lisa are helping us with that and I'm trying to not go to college every time we get on a call.

00:21:09 Dorrie Farlee

But but it is nice.

00:21:10 Dorrie Farlee

We do like the product.

00:21:13 Anthony Beasley

That's great now.

00:21:16 Anthony Beasley

Last but not least, from the client side of things is Chris Vickers.

00:21:19 Anthony Beasley

I call her miss Perfect Law Midwest and beyond because of all the people who have used perfect law for a very long time.

00:21:27 Anthony Beasley

She was a client when I came here.

00:21:29 Anthony Beasley

Years ago, and we've had the the pleasure working together, she's helped me out at some shows in Chicago.

00:21:36 Anthony Beasley

She started user group in Chicago that now is the kind of the foundation basis for what we do nationally.

00:21:41 Anthony Beasley

But if there is.

00:21:42 Anthony Beasley

A business partner who definitely you know you want to give her an.

00:21:45 Anthony Beasley

Award for, you know, being a great.

00:21:49 Anthony Beasley

Partner is definitely Chris and I know that this is something Chris you guys are.

00:21:53 Anthony Beasley

You know you're working towards.

00:21:54 Anthony Beasley

It's not something that's in place yet.

00:21:56 Anthony Beasley

But there's some things happening and you guys are going to be moving forward.

00:22:00 Anthony Beasley

So if you can tell us a little bit about, you know what's driving you to.

00:22:02 Anthony Beasley

Where where the other firms are already at.

00:22:06 Anthony Beasley

And some of the things you can look.

00:22:07 Anthony Beasley

Forward to that would be great.

00:22:09 Chris Vickers

Sure hi everybody.

00:22:11 Chris Vickers

Uhm, I think.

00:22:12 Chris Vickers

Anthony said my name is Chris Vickers. I worked at. We did McAuliffe in Chicago for 35 years. When I started we had 10 lawyers. We now have 68 lawyers and four locations.

00:22:25 Chris Vickers

In Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana and of course Illinois.

00:22:30 Chris Vickers

We cover all this that those States and workers comp.

00:22:33 Chris Vickers

Defense and civil defense.

00:22:35 Chris Vickers

Uhm, perfect law has my heart.

00:22:38 Chris Vickers

They've always been there for me.

00:22:40 Chris Vickers

I don't even know where I'd be today.

00:22:42 Chris Vickers

Wouldn't be my permit, but not perfectly.

00:22:44 Chris Vickers

I won't go anywhere without it.

00:22:46 Chris Vickers

I I love working in the system.

00:22:48 Chris Vickers

It was a great upgrade for us.

00:22:51 Chris Vickers

We two like eudore.

00:22:53 Chris Vickers

We came from a lot of DOS programs back in the day.

00:22:56 Chris Vickers

PC Law was a failed.

00:22:59 Chris Vickers

Building a docket program when I started.

00:23:03 Chris Vickers

And, uhm, we had a couple fails.

00:23:07 Chris Vickers

Uhm purchases and installs.

00:23:09 Chris Vickers

Before I was blasted by imperfect law at at a VA show.

00:23:13 Cynthia Celebrezze

Of course, by.

00:23:14 Chris Vickers

Then we're all skeptical about all the can do can do answers, but I put him through the wringer and and they they came through with bells and whistles, and I've never looked back up.

00:23:27 Chris Vickers

The program just continues to improve every time I turn around.

00:23:33 Chris Vickers

When I need something new, it's already there either because of the likes of all of you and your input and wish list or our own, and I think it's a wonderful tool for law firms.

00:23:46 Chris Vickers

I think every platform should have this.

00:23:48 Chris Vickers

Program we have front and back office. We have every module I can have I believe, except by I've been pushing by since 2013.

00:23:59 Chris Vickers

And I know you all know lawyers like I do and they it's not that they don't want to listen to you, they just have a hard time letting go of a lot.

00:24:07 Chris Vickers

Of money at once.

00:24:09 Chris Vickers

So we're here now and I'm excited about it.

00:24:13 Chris Vickers

I do a lot of the reports, the special custom reports myself.

00:24:19 Cynthia Celebrezze

Umm they don't take me.

00:24:23 Chris Vickers

A week, but they take me long enough and I know the system could make.

00:24:26 Chris Vickers

It better for.

00:24:27 Chris Vickers

Me, you know we're getting into areas now.

00:24:30 Chris Vickers

Even new managing partner and he's a little more business thinking than the one before they had one before.

00:24:36 Chris Vickers

It was great, but I I they have a really hard.

00:24:39 Chris Vickers

Time with numbers lawyers.

00:24:42 Chris Vickers

You know boys didn't go to school for accounting, so it's our job to help them try to understand their own business from a financial perspective.

00:24:51 Chris Vickers

And that's not easy.

00:24:53 Chris Vickers

I mean, start throwing numbers, item and report sentiment there their eyes googly.

00:24:58 Chris Vickers

So, uhm.

00:24:59 Chris Vickers

We're getting better I'm getting, but at least I have a managing partner now that like I said, he's a little more business minded as far as numbers go, so.

00:25:10 Chris Vickers

We are.

00:25:13 Chris Vickers

Wanting to do more.

00:25:16 Chris Vickers

Detail on our profit and loss by lawyer by client.

00:25:21 Chris Vickers

By matter I mean I have the basic information.

00:25:24 Chris Vickers

But sometimes we we need to get into areas.

00:25:27 Chris Vickers

Where Jerry alluded to.

00:25:28 Chris Vickers

Do such as you.

00:25:32 Chris Vickers

You know profit by like class by matter by client how?

00:25:37 Chris Vickers

Much is that.

00:25:37 Chris Vickers

How much?

00:25:38 Chris Vickers

How much did that cost?

00:25:39 Chris Vickers

How much of that 1 meter cost the firm if that Lori was?

00:25:42 Chris Vickers

Only working on that case for a whole quarter.

00:25:45 Chris Vickers

So I'm excited and I worked with Meryl for year.

00:25:48 Chris Vickers

She's amazing and the whole team is amazing.

00:25:50 Chris Vickers

But I always know I'm in.

00:25:52 Chris Vickers

Good hands and I'm going to.

00:25:53 Chris Vickers

Learn a whole lot more.

00:25:54 Chris Vickers

And it just makes me.

00:25:55 Chris Vickers

All the wiser and dumb.

00:25:59 Chris Vickers

We are in the process of preparing for the install.

00:26:03 Chris Vickers

I'm ready for the next phase and I I know, I know.

00:26:07 Chris Vickers

Now of course, now that we have this in the in the queue, my friends like.

00:26:10 Chris Vickers

Once again, to start lending.

00:26:12 Chris Vickers

Like hold on, it's going to be a process.

00:26:14 Chris Vickers

It's gonna take a lot of time.

00:26:15 Chris Vickers

I just prepare him.

00:26:16 Chris Vickers

It's not going to be snapping.

00:26:18 Chris Vickers

Like the other programs, but.

00:26:20 Chris Vickers

I just can't say enough kudos.

00:26:22 Chris Vickers

A perfect law for what they do for law firms, and I'm glad to be a partner.

00:26:25 Chris Vickers

And I'm glad for my support team there.

00:26:29 Anthony Beasley

K thanks Chris.

00:26:30 Anthony Beasley

We really appreciate it and again, you know I hate that this year we didn't get a chance to do the ABA show and hopefully soon 'cause you know, I kind of miss my one year.

00:26:40 Anthony Beasley

My trip to Chicago once a year to go and hang out downtown and enjoy.

00:26:45 Anthony Beasley

You know, hanging out with firms like yours and I and I at least once.

00:26:49 Anthony Beasley

A year dinner with clients so.

00:26:50 Chris Vickers

Company if there's anything open anymore I think happens is close, sadly.

00:26:54

Yeah no.

00:26:56 Anthony Beasley

I know.

00:26:57 Anthony Beasley

Not least.

00:26:57 Chris Vickers

Chicago is not the same as it was.

00:27:00 Anthony Beasley

Well, we'll see, we'll see.

00:27:01 Anthony Beasley

Trust me, it's probably still better than than what a lot of people deal with day to day.

00:27:04 Anthony Beasley

'cause it's a little bit of a change compared to.

00:27:06 Anthony Beasley

Seeing the same old thing every day all the time.

00:27:09 Chris Vickers

Yeah, it's just the COVID has really had a kind of a negative impact on the city, the the commuter traffic is not there the the commuters have not come back to the city.

00:27:09 Cynthia Celebrezze

Look at.

00:27:18 Chris Vickers

OK, well like for instance if Union Station has 40,000 commuters every day on a on a Goodyear, the COVID has dramatically impacted the commute. Going into this I can.

00:27:29 Chris Vickers

Tell you that.

00:27:29 Chris Vickers

The trains my my stop is like the highest traveled.

00:27:33 Chris Vickers

Stop in the in all these systems around here and my parking lot holds 3000 cars and there's probably not even 200 cars in the parking lot.

00:27:43 Anthony Beasley

And that is a huge change.

00:27:45 Anthony Beasley

Yeah, you sync.

00:27:46 Anthony Beasley

But I'm looking forward.

00:27:46 Chris Vickers

There's no one on the streets, I mean.

00:27:47 Chris Vickers

It's just bizarre, bizarre oh.

00:27:50 Chris Vickers

Cloud cloud world?

00:27:52 Anthony Beasley

Yeah, all right well.

00:27:55 Anthony Beasley

Lisa is a very interesting person as well.

00:27:58 Anthony Beasley

At at the end of the day, it's always nice when you have somebody who comes to the company.

00:28:06 Anthony Beasley

Has law firm experience and you know they bring a little bit of that experience with them and that's how we grow internally as a company.

00:28:13 Anthony Beasley

But when she has perfect law experience, it's always another huge plus and then to take on some of the projects that she works with, which are typically some of those add ONS that people hate to look on their proposal and see is optional.

00:28:26 Anthony Beasley

And then when they're talking to me and I remind them.

00:28:28 Anthony Beasley

This isn't something you tackle day one.

00:28:30 Anthony Beasley

This is a phase two or a phase.

00:28:32 Anthony Beasley

It's three and for Lisa to be working with Meryl on the back end of all that, it's always, you know, that's a a great thing.

00:28:39 Anthony Beasley

So, Lisa, we'd love to hear from your perspective, and not, you know, you you have some law firm experience, but you also have.

00:28:46 Anthony Beasley

Obviously you have a great background in working with projects like these, because that's.

00:28:52 Anthony Beasley

You know?

00:28:52 Anthony Beasley

That's what you're here to.

00:28:52 Anthony Beasley

Do and so if you you know can give us a little bit of insight from your point of view.

00:28:58 Anthony Beasley

That would be great.

00:29:04 Anthony Beasley

You're you're muted, Lisa.

00:29:10 Lisa Kelly

Hey, thanks for 34 years. I was a comp troller for a law firm and I remember the days when.

00:29:11

OK.

00:29:23 Lisa Kelly

Reporting and designing reports was painstaking.

00:29:27 Lisa Kelly

It was really difficult and dumb.

00:29:31 Lisa Kelly

But when we transitioned.

00:29:33 Lisa Kelly

To perfect law in 2012 and I started using the the business intelligence product.

00:29:41 Lisa Kelly

Come there.

00:29:44 Lisa Kelly

It was amazing because.

00:29:45 Lisa Kelly

What was so very valuable, valuable to me was.

00:29:52 Charlie Doe

That we could take.

00:29:54 Lisa Kelly

Tables from a.

00:29:57 Lisa Kelly

We could take tables from, you know, the different aspects like your work table, your bills tabled, your receipts table and you could make one report which we never used to be able to do that before.

00:30:10 Lisa Kelly

I mean, it was very difficult to report on all of those aspects of the company and the beautiful thing about.

00:30:16 Lisa Kelly

Business intelligence is.

00:30:18 Lisa Kelly

That, and it's been well said already, but.

00:30:21 Lisa Kelly

The beautiful thing of business intelligence intelligence is that.

00:30:26 Lisa Kelly

You really get to know your business better and you can.

00:30:31 Lisa Kelly

You can you know you can understand the figures and it's taking all that detail and putting it into meaningful pieces of data and and you know so it's pretty exciting to be working with Meryl and.

00:30:48 Lisa Kelly

Learning even deeper aspects of business intelligence and so you know, I'll keep mine simple and short because really Meryl is the pro.

00:31:02 Anthony Beasley

Go ahead girl.

00:31:04 Anthony Beasley

Yeah Meryl, now Meryl.

00:31:05 Anthony Beasley

Meryl here Meryl is a you know when I came here I'm I won't get to how many years ago it's well, I'll just say I've been here for it is the longest tenured employment I've had since I've been working, and that's that speaks volumes to the company, but the the neat thing is, is.

00:31:24 Anthony Beasley

And you know, all the years we work, you know, as I remind people when when you sign with us, one of the first emails you always get from me, I talk about.

00:31:31 Anthony Beasley

Welcome to the.

00:31:32 Anthony Beasley

Perfect law family and it truly has become as much a part of your own personal family for a lot of us.

00:31:40 Anthony Beasley

Mel and I.

00:31:41 Anthony Beasley

I'm originally from Georgia.

00:31:42 Anthony Beasley

She she lives there so she knows, you know.

00:31:45 Anthony Beasley

Waffle House were coming when I when I come to town meeting Mel going to sit down and have a late morning breakfast and talk because you know we just enjoy it and it's it's just great but she's one of the smartest people I've ever met.

00:31:58 Anthony Beasley

Somebody that I I can guarantee you when you give her a project and things that you want to get done, she's going to get it done.

00:32:04 Anthony Beasley

And I've watched her work with a lot of different things from early years and workers comp in a couple of other areas that she's done a lot of work for us and to say that she is kind of the the the real strength behind the by product.

00:32:18 Anthony Beasley

You know you can design A product all day long, but it's the people that make it work and she makes it work.

00:32:23 Anthony Beasley

I I have had nothing.

00:32:24 Anthony Beasley

But great comments from a lot of different clients.

00:32:27 Anthony Beasley

Clients that I knew in the beginning were going to be some really hard pressing clients to please.

00:32:32 Anthony Beasley

And in the end they end up being pleased.

00:32:34 Anthony Beasley

So now you know we'll end up the call by giving you an opportunity to talk to people about, you, know the experience of what it takes to make this work form some of the things that you have, you know, seen in rolling it out with the different people, but some of the things you know from your knowledge.

00:32:52 Anthony Beasley

About what it can do for him.

00:32:56 Christine Vickers

But I'm not really.

00:32:56 Christine Vickers

Sure how to follow up all of that.

00:32:59 Christine Vickers

Uhm, but you know, listen, this is very much a mutual admiration society from all standpoints, because those of you that have talked and sung by praises.

00:33:10 Christine Vickers

Uhm, you know?

00:33:11 Christine Vickers

It's it's because.

00:33:12 Christine Vickers

You've gotten out of it.

00:33:13 Christine Vickers

What you've put in, and it's a really important thing for for people to wrap their heads around when it comes to when it comes to the by product.

00:33:23 Christine Vickers

You know some of you maybe learned that a little bit the hard way, you know?

00:33:27 Christine Vickers

But but by is.

00:33:28 Christine Vickers

It it's never.

00:33:29 Christine Vickers

It's never a quick.

00:33:30 Christine Vickers

Thing uhm?

00:33:32 Christine Vickers

It's you know in.

00:33:33 Christine Vickers

A, in the simplest of circumstances.

00:33:36 Christine Vickers

You know where you're still probably.

00:33:38 Christine Vickers

Looking at six months and then what?

00:33:40 Christine Vickers

You know 6 maybe nine months, and then when we start getting into situations, I'm just going to use you guys as an example.

00:33:45 Christine Vickers

Charlie and Cindy where your you know your performance metrics and your cost.

00:33:52 Christine Vickers

Calculations are so intricate and so specific and so detailed.

00:33:58 Christine Vickers

I'm so detailed I.

00:34:00 Christine Vickers

Know Charlie, we're getting to the tail end of 1 project that we've been at for probably close to a year.

00:34:06 Christine Vickers

Uhm, you know, and Cindy well in Sydney special in her own right?

00:34:10 Christine Vickers

Because she really has just taken it, learned, learned it upside down and run with it.

00:34:16 Christine Vickers

So when Cindy calls for help, it's because.

00:34:19 Charlie Doe

She knows what.

00:34:20 Christine Vickers

It is she wants to do.

00:34:21 Christine Vickers

She knows where.

00:34:21 Christine Vickers

The data is but.

00:34:22 Christine Vickers

There's just that last.

00:34:23 Christine Vickers

Little link that she hasn't found.

00:34:27 Christine Vickers

And to you.

00:34:27 Christine Vickers

Chris, I say uhm.

00:34:29 Christine Vickers

You know, yes, we are.

00:34:30 Christine Vickers

We're going to be getting started momentarily and.

00:34:34 Christine Vickers

And yes, you know you know you and I like you, said, have worked together for many, many.

00:34:38 Christine Vickers

Years as I have.

00:34:39 Christine Vickers

With just about everybody here and and.

00:34:43 Christine Vickers

And we're going to.

00:34:44 Christine Vickers

Take our time and we're going to do.

00:34:45 Christine Vickers

It right, and then it's going to.

00:34:48 Christine Vickers

It's going to clean up.

00:34:50 Christine Vickers

Your you know your your productivity and profitability.

00:34:55 Christine Vickers

Calculation and really hopefully save you a ton of time.

00:35:00 Christine Vickers

Uhm, so it's a it's a.

00:35:03 Christine Vickers

It's a big project.

00:35:04 Christine Vickers

It's a lot of work for everybody for us and for you, but it's really, really, really worth.

00:35:10 Christine Vickers

It in the end.

00:35:11 Christine Vickers

And that's all I can say.

00:35:13 Christine Vickers

So it's all yours, Anthony.

00:35:15 Anthony Beasley

OK well guys I really appreciate the time that you've given us today.

00:35:19 Anthony Beasley

I mean I I don't.

00:35:20 Anthony Beasley

From from my point of view.

00:35:24 Anthony Beasley

I I am the person, you know I I make no bones about it.

00:35:27 Anthony Beasley

I love what I do here perfectly.

00:35:28 Anthony Beasley

I'm the first person that a lot of people, if not, I'd say 95 to 99% of the people who are buying perfect law.

00:35:35 Anthony Beasley

I'm the first voice.

00:35:36 Anthony Beasley

You hear I'm the guy that's nagging you about what you want, what you need, setting up demonstrations, you know.

00:35:43 Anthony Beasley

We're talking about proposals and all the other stuff, and then I hand you off to either sales.

00:35:49 Anthony Beasley

One of the sales people here that works with me or to the team.

00:35:51 Anthony Beasley

If you sign with me and you get started and you know what makes this work is.

00:36:00 Anthony Beasley

Everybody is willing to put forth the effort for their own personal reasons at their own firm.

00:36:06 Anthony Beasley

But the people who gain from it are the people who have no idea that it even exists.

00:36:14 Anthony Beasley

Uhm, the experiences from every one of you somebody else has gained from it.

00:36:20 Anthony Beasley

I'd literally, in Full disclosure was talking to a firm on that had a chance to look at.

00:36:27 Anthony Beasley

But Dorris firm does, and they were literally blown away.

00:36:30 Anthony Beasley

Literally added.

00:36:32 Anthony Beasley

We're talking directly with the managing partner and no one else who actually worked one on one with one of doors, partners to kind of understand what they have versus what perfect law has to offer.

00:36:42 Anthony Beasley

And he just flat out said there is no equal for that.

00:36:46 Anthony Beasley

You know the things just the most.

00:36:48 Anthony Beasley

Basic things they do day to day that he saw shambles doing like nothing you know and for him he couldn't believe that that even.

00:36:56 Anthony Beasley

This, but when you go to the you know business intelligence and you start looking at what it does and I've known you know, being here and and hearing all the different back and forth that go on when you have to bring on a product like this from day one.

00:37:10 Anthony Beasley

And in the beginning it's a dream.

00:37:13 Anthony Beasley

You know it's just a dream, you just have to have a belief that this this exists and that it's possible and it's people like Meryl there in the early days that says this is possible, we can make this happen and it's people like Cindy and Charlie and Jerry who say, you know what?

00:37:27 Anthony Beasley

Let's let's step out there and go out on this.

00:37:29 Anthony Beasley

Edge and see what we can do and they found out that it can do not just what the advertisement is, but a lot more and that's.

00:37:39 Anthony Beasley

The that's the best.

00:37:39 Anthony Beasley

Feeling is when you guys are saying hey, you.

00:37:41 Anthony Beasley

Know it's working.

00:37:42 Anthony Beasley

It's it's giving me one of the most pleasurable conversations I had throughout COVID was with Cindy when she just literally told me.

00:37:50 Anthony Beasley

Anthony, this is what this product has meant for.

00:37:52 Anthony Beasley

US, and that's that's what this is all about.

00:37:56 Anthony Beasley

So the people who hear this as much as folks like Dorian and Chris who are moving into the product and who are taking the next step as much as they all gain immediately once they get started.

00:38:08 Anthony Beasley

The fun part is the people who have no idea what's possible.

00:38:13 Anthony Beasley

You know they're still living in their dream and you're living there.

00:38:17 Anthony Beasley

And that's the best part, because when they're sitting at home, I'm sorry.

00:38:21 Anthony Beasley

Sitting at the office late at night trying to get spreadsheets done and I remember, you know I worked with Cindy through her her entire cell cycle and I'll never forget when Cindy says, yeah, I got these spreadsheets and it's taken me weeks to get them done.

00:38:32 Anthony Beasley

And by the time I get them done, gonna have to maybe start all over again.

00:38:35 Anthony Beasley

'cause something changed so I never get it done.

00:38:38 Anthony Beasley

You know, and knowing that, that was one of those things that she wanted to change at the firm and to see that.

00:38:43 Anthony Beasley

That has worked for her.

00:38:44 Anthony Beasley

That's what this is all about, and you know, I really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your day to share with so many other people who will hear this.

00:38:53 Anthony Beasley

To let them know that not only does it work, but to the level of how it works, folks like Jerry who have their story, Charlie who has her story.

00:39:03 Anthony Beasley

You know a lot of IP firms.

00:39:05 Anthony Beasley

They they don't have that.

00:39:07 Anthony Beasley

That mindset that Charlie has.

00:39:10 Anthony Beasley

You know, they're still living in a dream world that now you know.

00:39:13 Anthony Beasley

Long as my docketing system works, that's all that really.

00:39:15 Anthony Beasley

Matters to me.

00:39:18 Anthony Beasley

Even though they still have a business to run and for Charlie, you know, to be able to say I can, you know we're improving the way we run our business and our profitability because we can see things that you can't see.

00:39:27 Anthony Beasley

You know a client to a client that matters.

00:39:31 Anthony Beasley

And it matters across the board for us.

00:39:33 Anthony Beasley

Also, I really appreciate everyone taking the time out of their day to.

00:39:36 Anthony Beasley

Here this of course we're going to produce this.

00:39:39 Anthony Beasley

This is going to go in with our podcasts, and we're going.

00:39:41 Anthony Beasley

To make sure that people hear about it and the next events will be in touch.

00:39:47 Anthony Beasley

With some of the things going on here we have any pre bill event that we're going to have to reschedule and then we're going to get back to what we started a few weeks ago with some of the training for the folks that participated in the outlook training that I did.

00:40:00 Anthony Beasley

I really appreciate your time there as well.

00:40:03 Anthony Beasley

But for anyone listening to this, you know we're going to be doing even more training as time goes on.

00:40:08 Anthony Beasley

I know we're going to circle back.

00:40:10 Anthony Beasley

We have some some SSRS of the month events to do, but this event was one of the ones I felt was very important to have as much as you can sit down and show people on a screen.

00:40:22 Anthony Beasley

Hey check out this this great report.

00:40:25 Anthony Beasley

I think that sometimes when people are looking at software you know nice pictures and diagrams.

00:40:31 Anthony Beasley

Don't tell the story but the people who are actually putting the work in and.

00:40:37 Anthony Beasley

Saying I can do a B&C, and here's why. That's what tells the story, and being able to have that story told was a.

00:40:44 Anthony Beasley

It was a a great plus four song, so thank you.

00:40:47 Anthony Beasley

I look forward to the next event.

00:40:49 Anthony Beasley

You guys.

00:40:50 Anthony Beasley

For the folks that can look forward to snow, please look forward to it.

00:40:53 Anthony Beasley

Forced as we can.