What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition

Transcription

1 What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition Contents This document describes the new features in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition. This Edition is designed for smaller firms, as a partner product to Amicus Attorney Premium Edition. Event Display Color Based on Category... 2 Progressive Priority levels... 5 Show Adjournments... 8 Allowing Others to Access Your Appointments Associating a Document or with an Event New File Intake enhancements Team Availability Business Card Enhancements Favorites IMPORTANT NOTE TO AMICUS ACCOUNTING USERS: Integration requires a compatible version of Amicus Accounting To check your version, choose About from the Help menu. Hardware & Software Requirements documents for both products are available from the Support > Technical Resource Guides section of our website. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 1

2 Event Display Color Based on Category The Amicus Calendar makes it easier to manage your practice. Your firm can now optionally assign colors to Event Categories. Any Appointments and To Do s assigned to those Categories will show in the corresponding color in Calendar and Tasks module views, Event Details, and the Event lists of File and Contact Details and Dailies Dashboard Pages. Appointments will have a colored background, and To Do s will have a colored background or Done box, depending on the view. Calendar Today view: Calendar Week view: What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 2

3 Event Details: Event list in File Details: Assigning colors To assign colors to Event Categories, open the Configure > Calendar > New Entries tab in Amicus Administrator, select a Category, and click Edit. In the Select Color box, select None or a particular color. The same color may be assigned to more than one Category. The default color (if None is assigned) is light blue. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 3

4 Group Calendar option A new option on the Group Calendar screen allows users to choose between Color by User (to show Events colored differently for each Team Member, as in previous versions of Amicus) or Color by Category. Outlook Contacts & Calendar Link Outlook 2007 supports color categories. For visual consistency, we recommend that you assign the same colors to the same Categories in both applications. Ensure that all Amicus Event Categories have a corresponding entry in the Master Category List or in each Team Member s Outlook Category list. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 4

5 Progressive Priority levels You can now better manage your tasks by setting To Do s to have their Priority levels increase automatically, either the longer they remain on your list or as they near their Deadlines. You may also directly edit the Priority level of a To Do at any time. To set Progressive Priority for a To Do In Event Details, select the Progressive Priority checkbox and set the desired criteria for increasing the Priority level. The options available depend on whether or not the To Do has a Deadline: If the To Do does not have a Deadline, select the frequency with which its Priority level should increase based on the number of days the task has been on your list. For example, consider a Low Priority To Do with a start date of October 1 set to increase every 7 days. Its Priority will automatically increase level-by-level as shown in the following table: Date Change Rule Applied Priority Oct. 1 (Start & Set) Low Oct. 8 7 days on list Soon Oct days on list Avg. Oct days on list High Oct days on list Top The setting is not retroactive. In the above example, if the To Do is not set for Progressive Priority until October 19 (when it was already on your list for 19 days), its Priority will increase by only one level on the 20 th, not two. (It is changed overnight, by the morning of the 20 th, by the Daily Checks process.) Date Change Rule Applied Priority Oct. 1 (Start) Oct. 19 (Set) Low Low Oct (or more) days on list Soon Oct days on list Avg. Oct days on list High. Nov days on list Top What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 5

6 If the To Do has a Deadline, select the intervals at which its Priority level should increase relative to its Deadline. For example, consider a Low Priority To Do with a start date of October 1 and a Deadline of October 30 set on or before October 1 to increase 10, 5, and 1 day prior to that Deadline. Its Priority will automatically increase level-by-level as shown in the following table: Date Change Rule Applied Priority Oct. 1 (Start & Set) Low Oct days prior Soon Oct days prior Avg. Oct day prior High Oct. 30 (Deadline) High The setting is not retroactive. For example, if the above sample To Do is not set for Progressive Priority until October 21 (or its start date is October 21), its Priority will increase by only one level on the 25 th, not two. Date Change Rule Applied Priority Oct. 1 (Start) Oct. 21 (Set) Low Low Oct days prior Soon. Oct day prior Avg. Oct. 30 (Deadline) Avg. This feature is not available on Someday, Milestone, Repeating, or Done To Do s. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 6

7 To set your Progressive Priority defaults New To Do s can be set for Progressive Priority by default. To do this, select the Progressive option on the Calendar > New Entries tab of Preferences. The default Progressive Priority criteria can be set from the Calendar > Other tab of Preferences. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 7

8 Show Adjournments Now you can track your adjourned Appointments at a glance. When you flag your Appointments to track adjournments you will automatically be prompted to provide the reason for the adjournment at the time of rescheduling. An instance remains visible on your Calendar on the original Appointment date in a disabled state (grey font) with the adjournment date appended to its title. Subsequent adjournments of the same Appointment behave in the same manner. And each adjournment reason is tracked and appended to the History for later reference. The following terms are used when describing this feature: Adjourned instance means an Appointment that has been adjourned to another date. Current instance means an Appointment on the date to which it was last adjourned. Setting an Appointment to track adjournments To enable adjournment tracking simply open the Appointment Details and select the Show Adjournments checkbox. We recommend that you set this flag at the time of creating your court-related appointments. This will ensure that all adjournments will be tracked as they occur. Show Adjournments is not available in Repeating Appointments, Dependent Linked Appointments, or Appointments created via the CompuLaw Link. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 8

9 Adjourning an Appointment To adjourn an Appointment first ensure that the Show Adjournments option is selected. Change the Date to the new date and in the dialog that appears enter the reason for the adjournment. This information is stored, along with the original date and the adjournment date, as part of the Adjournment History. A current instance of the Appointment now appears on the new date: An adjourned instance of the Appointment is left on the old date in a disabled, with its title indicating the date to which the Appointment was adjourned: The text [Adjourned to DATE] is added to the beginning of the Title, the Remind Me field is set to no reminder and the Milestone flag is cleared. Any Dependent Linked Events are moved to the current instance of the Appointment. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 9

10 Working with the current instance of an Adjourned Appointment Changing information (Title, Notes, assignments, etc.) in the current instance of the Appointment flagged to Show Adjournments can be done just as in any other Appointment. These changes will not be reflected in the adjourned instances. The Show Adjournments checkbox is disabled as soon as an Appointment has adjournment history. If you Delete the current instance, you are given the option of deleting it alone, or both it and all of its adjourned instances. To view or edit an Appointment s history of adjournments, click History in the Event Details. If the Appointment has been adjourned more than once, multiple adjournments are listed, each showing the next scheduled date. To edit the reason for an adjournment, select it in the list and click Edit Reasons. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 10

11 Working with an adjourned instance of an Appointment Adjourned instances are easy to identify on your Calendar. They appear with a grey font and have the adjournment details appended to their Title. If an Appointment is adjourned more than once, each adjourned instance will display in Calendar views on the date that they were adjourned from, as well as in Event lists). Each will indicate the date to which it was next adjourned. The adjourned instance provides a permanent reference it cannot be edited, copied, or rescheduled. It can be deleted only if the current instance is deleted. When you open an adjourned instance most of the details are disabled. You can still view the Adjournment History (see above), print the Event, create a Time Entry on it, or expand its Notes. Adjourned instances can be searched for and will appear in Reports and Calendar printouts. If you select an adjourned instance when creating a Precedent from File Details, the current instance is used instead in the Precedent. When using the Transfer License function, all future non-personal Appointments are reassigned to the new Team Member whether they be adjourned or current instances. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 11

12 Special Considerations for Outlook integration When changes are made in Amicus: If the current instance of an Appointment flagged to track adjournments is rescheduled in Amicus, both the current and adjourned instances will be exchanged to Outlook as appropriate. Any deletions of adjourned instances made in Amicus will be exchanged to Outlook as appropriate. When changes are made in Outlook: If the current instance of an Appointment flagged to track adjournments is rescheduled in Outlook and then exchanged to Amicus, that instance will appear in Amicus on its new date, with an entry in its Main Note indicating that the Event was adjourned from date & time according to Outlook rescheduling. However, an adjourned instance will not be created and the Adjournment History will not list the rescheduling. To take full advantage of the Show Adjournments feature, reschedule Appointments in Amicus rather than in Outlook. In order to ensure proper tracking, any changes or deletions of adjourned instances made in Outlook will not be exchanged to Amicus. Similarly, deletions of current instances will not be exchanged to Amicus. (These will be noted in the Error Log.) If you have made changes to adjourned instances in Outlook, resetting the Link will cause those changes to be overwritten (because the reset exchange is done first from Amicus to Outlook). Special Considerations for Palm integration We recommend for those who still use the direct link with Palm devices that support the Palm Desktop and HotSync Manager 4, that Appointments flagged to track adjournments be changed or deleted in Amicus. Those who use a three-way synchronization of their Palm via Outlook should refer to the section above. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 12

13 Allowing Others to Access Your Appointments You may set a new preference to grant selected Team Members access to your Appointment details from the Group Calendar, even if the Team Member is neither on the Appointment nor on the File with which the Appointment is associated. Team Members without this special access will continue to see those Appointments as Unavailable in the Group Calendar. You can change your preference whenever desired. For example, you could grant Team Members access permanently or just temporarily for example, while you are away on vacation. To set this preference, open the Calendar > Other tab of Preferences. In the new option, click the Select Team Members icon and select the Team Members you want to be able to access your Appointment details. From the Group Calendar, the selected Team Members will be able to view, open, edit, delete, and print your Appointments. This broader access does not extend to the Calendar Find function, nor does it permit a Team Member to open the details of associated Files or Contacts that they could not otherwise access. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 13

14 Associating a Document or with an Event A Document or related to an Event can now be associated with and made conveniently available to those assigned to the Event. For example, you could associate a Notice of Motion Document with a Draft and file Notice of Motion To Do, or associate an containing directions to your client s office with an Appointment. Associating a Document with an Event In Event Details, click the Select Document button next to the Document label. (If a File is not yet associated with the Event, the Select a File dialog appears first. That File will be automatically associated with the Event.) In the Select a Document dialog, highlight the desired Document and click OK. If you later want to disassociate the Document from the Event, click the Select Document icon and, in the Select a Document dialog, click None. This will not delete the Amicus Document record. However, What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 14

15 removing the Document from its File (that is, deleting the Document record from Amicus) will also remove the Document association from the Event. You may associate a Document with an Event only if the Document is on the File associated with that Event, and you are on that File. Associating an with an Event (from the Event) In Event Details, click the Select button next to the label. If a File is not yet associated with the Event, the Select a File dialog appears first. To associate a File with the Event, select the File and click OK. Otherwise simply click Cancel. In the Select an dialog, filter the list as appropriate: by date, and to saved on the File or Contact on the Event. Then select the desired Saved and click OK. If you later want to disassociate the from the Event, click the Select icon and, in the Select an dialog, click None. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 15

16 Associating an with an Event (from the ) If you create a To Do from a Saved , the will be automatically associated with the new To Do: In an Details dialog, click Follow Up. In a Communications list, select an , right-click on the list, and choose Make This a To Do from the context menu that appears. Opening a Document or from the Event Team Members on an Event can open the associated Document only if they are on the File that the Document is associated with. Similarly, Team Members can open an associated regardless of who it belongs to, provided they are on the File that the is associated with. (In both cases, that same File must be associated with the Event.) In Event Details, click the i" button to the right of the Document or . What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 16

17 New File Intake enhancements Your firm s New File Intake Forms can now be customized so that users are prompted to perform specified actions upon opening a new File. For example, when a user reaches the end of the New File wizard and clicks Save & Open, a dialog can prompt the user to create a standard letter to the Client requesting a Retainer. Or, when opening a new Real Estate File, the user can be prompted to apply the appropriate Precedent that automatically sets up a series of To Do s and Appointments on the File. Completing an Intake Form with Actions If certain actions are recommended or required upon opening new Files, the New File Action Items dialog will appear when your new File is saved and opened. The following dialog shows all actions: To perform the Actions, simply click the corresponding buttons: Check Conflicts Opens the Check Conflicts dialog with the Full Name of the Client on the File automatically filled in. If you did not assign a Client to the new File, this Action does not need to be completed. Apply Precedent Applies the indicated Precedent, creating a series of appropriate Events on the File. Generate Document Generates a single document based on the Master Document indicated. If the Master Document contains Contact variables, the Client s information will be merged in those variables. If the Master Document contains Party variables, information for all People on the File will be merged in those variables. Send Opens a blank message dialog, with the Client s primary address in the To field and the Short File Name in the Subject field. If you have not assigned a Client to the new File, or that Client does not have a primary address, the message dialog will not appear and the Action does not need to be completed. Actions marked with an asterisk are required. When finished performing Actions on the File, click Close. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 17

18 Configuring New File Intake Forms with Actions When customizing New File Intake Forms, the Team Administrator can assign one or more of the Actions listed above to the Basic or File Type-specific Intake Forms. Actions are configured for an entire Form, not for any particular Pages of the Form. Each Action can be specified only once for a particular new File intake. For example, it is not possible to assign Precedent A to the Basic Form and Precedent B to a File Type-specific Form, nor can Precedents A and B be both assigned to a single Form. If a particular Action is selected on the Basic Form, it will be automatically selected on all File Typespecific Forms. For example, if the Generate Document Action is selected on the Basic Form, it will appear in the New File wizard for all new Files this Action cannot be excluded or changed for any specific File Types. If the Apply Precedent or Generate Document Action is selected on any File Type-specific Forms, that Action cannot be changed from the Basic Form. TIP: Regardless of whether the Check Conflicts or Send Action is selected on any File Type-specific Forms, you can automatically clear that Action from all File Type-specific Forms by first selecting it on the Basic Form and then clearing it there. To configure Actions in New File Intake Forms: In Amicus Administrator, open the Configure menu and choose Files. Click the New File Intake tab. Choose which Intake Form you wish to add or edit: a Basic or a File Type-specific: For the Basic Form, select Action Items (ALL new Files) in the drop-down list to the right of the Page Name field. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 18

19 For a File Type-specific Form, select Action Items (This File Type) in the drop-down list to the right of the Page Name field. To set Actions, select the desired checkboxes in the list of available Actions at the right and make all selections where necessary (e.g. select a Precedent). To make an Action required, right-click on it and choose Is Required. An asterisk appears next to required Actions. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 19

20 Team Availability You can now check on the current availability of all Team Members from anywhere in Amicus Attorney. This can assist you when trying to contact, locate, or schedule something immediate for another Team Member. Receptionists, assistants, and administrators will find the utility especially useful. Viewing Team Availability To view availability information, choose Team Availability from the Amicus menu in any module. The dialog shows current information for each Team Member: In Office whether or not they are physically in the office Expected Back if not in the office, when they are expected back Current Availability details on their availability Amicus Login whether they are logged in to or out from their Amicus Attorney Main Office, and when they last logged in or out You may sort the list by clicking any of the column headings (with the exception of the Expected Back column). To refresh the dialog with the most current information, click Refresh. The last refresh date and time are shown. To send an or Sticky to one or more Team Members, select them in the list, right-click, and choose or Send Sticky. To print the information, click Print. Editing Team Availability In Office and Expected Back columns When a Team Member logs in to Amicus (provided they are not logging in Offline or in a Secondary Office) or goes Online, they are automatically marked In Office. To mark any Team Member as in or out of the office, simply select or clear their In Office checkbox. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 20

21 If you mark a Team Member in, their Expected Back field is cleared automatically. If you mark them out, the Expected Back dialog appears so that you may enter a date and time for their return. To assist you, default values are provided automatically in this dialog: If the user has an Appointment scheduled to start within the next 30 minutes, the end time of that Appointment is provided. Otherwise, the date and time default to either 1 hour from now (if the current time is before 5 pm) or 9 am the next business day (if the current time is 5 pm or later). Current Availability column You can set your Availability Status or let Amicus automatically provide your Current Availability details based on your Calendar schedule. To set your availability (or that of another Team Member whose Office you are currently logged into), to a status such as Working from Home or Do Not Disturb, make a selection in the Set My Current Availability As list box and click Apply. Clicking Apply will immediately update the database so that other Team Members will also see that value. Note that the Availability Status list is customizable for your firm by your Team Administrator (see the following section). To let Amicus set your availability based on your Calendar schedule, select <Let Amicus set my availability> in the Set My Current Availability As list box. The information shown will be the first of the following that applies: Unavailable (time span) if you currently have an Appointment. (If the Appointment has a Category of Court, Closing, Lunch, or Vacation, that Category will be displayed in place of Unavailable.) Available if you are in the office and do not currently have an Appointment Expected Back Date/Time if you are out of the office and your expected back date and time are known To Be Confirmed if you are out of the office and, according to your calendar, were expected back before now What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 21

22 Customizing the Availability Status List Team Members can choose to set their Availability Status rather than have Amicus calculate their availability based on their Calendar. This can be helpful, for example, when a Team Member does not wish to be disturbed. This list can be customized by your Amicus Administrator from Users > Users Management > Availability Status. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 22

23 Business Card Enhancements Business Cards are a handy reference for Contact information. New icons on the Business Card provide a quick and easy way to produce an envelope or cover letter addressed to a Contact. New labels indicate at a glance which of a Contact s phone, address, and other details are currently displayed, and the right-click menu options make the Business Card more interactive. Identifying which details are shown on a Business Card A down arrow at the right indicates that the Contact has more than one address, phone number, fax number, etc. The label next to the down arrow indicates which type of information you have currently selected for display: H for Home, H2 for Home 2, B for Business, A for Assistant, C for Cell, etc. Right-click options on a Business Card The context menu that appears when you right-click on a Business Card now provides the following options: Edit Contact to edit the Contact record Copy to copy the selected text, if any Copy Address to copy the name, the job title (for the currently selected Card: Home, Business, or Other), and the currently displayed company and address Copy All Text to copy the name, the job title (for the currently selected Card: Home, Business, or Other), and the currently displayed company, address, phone number, fax number, and Web or address What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 23

24 Generating cover letters and envelopes from the Business Card To generate a cover letter or envelope for a Contact, simply click the corresponding icon at the left on their Business Card. The variables assigned in the letter or envelope template determine the information that will used. For example Business Address variables will always use the Business Address, and Contact Address variables will use information for the card currently selected (Office, Home, or Other). If you want to use the information currently displayed, use the new right-click Copy Address function to replace the text in the generated letter or envelope. Configuring the Letter and Envelope templates for Business Cards In Amicus Administrator, choose Configure > Other > Business Card and select the appropriate Master Document templates for use when users generate cover letters and envelopes (and fax cover sheets) from the Business Card. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 24

25 Favorites Now you can designate specific items as your Favorites and conveniently access them from your Dailies module. For example, you might add the Files you are currently working on this month, and the Contacts on those Files, as Favorites. You could then view them on a Dailies Page of your choice in lists entitled My Favorite Files and My Favorite Contacts. And the new Favorites filter in the Contact and File selection dialogs make it handy for you to assign these items to phone calls, appointments, etc. To get you started, Amicus provides you with a Favorites Dashboard Page in your Dailies module that includes list views of your favorite Files, Contacts, Library Pages, Notes, and Documents. From this single view you can work with your Favorites just as you can from the various modules specific to these items. You can redesign and customize this Dashboard Page as you see fit. Adding items to your Favorites To designate individual items (Files, Contacts, Library Pages, Notes, or Documents) as Favorites, just select them in a list in the appropriate module and then choose Add to Favorites from either the Edit menu or the right-click shortcut menu. To remove items from Favorites, select them in the Favorites list, right-click, and choose Remove from Favorites. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 25

26 Working with Favorites Items you have designated as Favorites are accessible from any Dashboard Page in your Dailies module that contains the relevant list view. By default a My Favorites Dashboard Page is provided. It contains each of the available Favorites lists. This Page can be viewed by selecting it in the navigation list of the Dailies module. Favorites can be added to any of your custom Dashboards. In a My Favorites list you can: Sort the columns in the list Double-click to open the details of each item Use the right-click shortcut menus, such as printing, opening, creating a Time Entry, etc. To remove the Favorites designation from an item, first select it, right-click, and choose Remove from Favorites. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 26

27 Selecting Favorite items for assignment Designating individual Files and Contacts as Favorites allows for quick selection of these items when assigning them to Events, Phone Calls, Messages, etc. In the Select dialog, you can now filter the available items shown to My Favorites. Managing the My Favorites Dashboard To make the My Favorites Page your default Dailies view, from your Preferences open the Dailies Pages tab, select My Favorites in the list, and click the Set as Default button. As with your other custom Dashboards, you can edit the layout or change the elements of the My Favorites page. In the Dashboard Designer you can resize, rearrange, or even remove the lists you don t need, or replace them with other types of Dashboard items that you use frequently. You may also delete this Dashboard Page if desired. For more about designing Dashboards, see Working with Dailies > Designing a Dashboard Page in the User Help. What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 27

28 Adding My Favorite lists to other Dashboards When designing your Dashboards, Favorites are available as new List View elements that can be added to any customizable Page. Open the Dashboard Designer for the desired Page, select List Views in the Type of View field in the control panel, and then drag the desired My Favorite Section to the desired position at the right. For further information, contact Gavel & Gown Software Inc. Phone: Fax: Copyright 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. All rights reserved. AMICUS and AMICUS ATTORNEY are registered trademarks, and AMICUS ACCOUNTING,AMICUS MOBILE, AMICUS MOBILE SERVER, and DO are trademarks of Gavel & Gown Software Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owner. Gavel & Gown Software Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks other than its own. January 2010 What s New in Amicus Attorney 2010 Small Firm Edition 2010 Gavel & Gown Software Inc. 28