IN THIS ISSUE No.107 - 01.05.2002
In this issue: KM supplier puts assets up for sale - Keystone deadline extended - Money Claim site shortlisted for award - Beachcrofts buy new library system - InterAction with Citrix - iManage in Swiss deal - HotDocs alternative debuts - Lawyer partners with The Judge - ProLaw gets West Group techie - New library system ready to launch - Next issue: 15.05.2002

KM SUPPLIER PUTS ASSETS UP FOR SALE
Dan Wagner's eight year career as a dotcom entrepreneur seems to have come to an end when it was announced earlier this week that his latest venture - the Smartlogik knowledge management software company - was selling off its assets after failing to find a buyer.

Wagner first appeared on the scene in the UK in 1994 when he launched the MAID online information service. In 1997 he bought the Dialog online information division of the US publisher Knight Ridder for £210 million but subsequently sold the most of the business three years later for £174 million and renamed the rump BrightStation. Last year BrightStation became Smarlogik and raised £13.5 million in a rescue share placing however this week the company revealed it had just £400K left to settle debts, leases and salaries. Despite inviting over 70 companies to look at its assets, the company has failed to find a buy for its KM software business, including its legal market specific product SmartLegal.

KEYSTONE BID DEADLINE EXTENDED
The offer period for Keystone shareholders to respond to the takeover bid made by Solution 6 has been extended to close next (8 May) at 3:00pm London time. The extension is to allow remaining shareholders and owners of Keystone warrants to respond to the offer document. At the time the extension decision was made, acceptances had been received in respect of over 80% of Keystone shares and 53% of warrants.

MONEY CLAIM ONLINE SHORTLISTED FOR E-GOVERNMENT AWARD
Money Claim Online has been shortlisted for the Government Computing Innovation Awards 2002. It is one of four nominees in the category for the best project for services - government to citizen. The online service, launched in February this year, enables consumers and businesses to make claims to recover money owed by logging on to www.courtservice.gov.uk/mcol Over 2,700 claims have already been made over the web. Previously people wanting to make a claim would have had to either collect the forms from their local county court or print them off the Court Service web site and then either return them to court in person or by post. The winners will be announced on 12 June 2002 at the Government Computing conference at the London Business Design Centre. The Awards are organised by Government Computing magazine.

BEACHCROFT WANSBROUGHS BUYS NEW LIBRARY SYSTEM
UK top 25 law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs has chosen Fretwell-Downing Informatics' OLIB7 product as its new library and information management system. Lawyers will be able to access the system via a web browser interface. Commenting on the deal Sue Jarvis, Head of Library Services at Beachcroft Wansbroughs said "We were particularly impressed with OLIB7's ability to manage both serials and looseleafs as this a service which has become a must for legal libraries. Other features such as the Legal Information Resources (LIR) Thesaurus have allowed us to enrich the catalogue records and improve access to resources."

In a related development, Fretwell-Downing Informatics has just secured £3.2m in funding from investors to enable the company to continue expanding its operations. FDI managing director Robin Murray said the investment would be used to grow the company's Sheffield based head office and R&D facilities, as well as expand its operations in Australia/New Zealand and North America. FDI has recently been demerged from the Fretwell-Downing Group. Advising FDI were teams from KPMG Corporate Finance and law firm Irwin Mitchell. www.fdgroup.com/fdi

FROM RUSSIA WITH CITRIX
Interface Software has certified the compatibility of its InterAction client relationship management (CRM) system with the Citrix MetaFrame XP platform. The move was prompted by the growing number of customers deploying InterAction through MetaFrame XP as an alternative to conventional fat client Windows LAN/WAN link. One such practice is Macleod Dixon, a 220 lawyer firm based in Calgary with offices in Russia, Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Brazil.

iMANAGE EXTENDS EUROPEAN PRESENCE
DMS supplier iManage has extended its presence in Continental Europe via a partnership agreement with Swiss-based SAW System Management AG who will now be marketing the iManage WorkSite application within the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

NEW DOCUMENT ASSEMBLY PRODUCT DEBUTS
Innovative Software Products of Virginia has just launched a new document assembly program for Word 97+. Called Pathagoras, its author Roy Lasris says it is "aimed at those attorneys (and their staff) who have tried and given up on HotDocs and thinkDocs - which is the reason why I started writing the program in the first place - or who are afraid to try such programs."

At its most basic level, Pathagoras assigns a DOS directory to a number. Thereafter calls and saves to the directory are made via that number. At its most sophisticated use, the program allows a user to create a complex document via a user controlled screen by just answering a series of preset (by the user) questions. Other features allows the user potential access to every document in every directory on every computer on a network with no mouse action whatsoever. www.pathagoras.com

FIRST DEDICATED E-COMMERCE LAW UNIT SETS UP IN GUERNSEY
A firm in the UK offshore financial centre of Guernsey has become the first in that island to set up a dedicated e-commerce law team. Headed by former London solicitor Peter Wilding, the unit of six lawyers will also administer a new web site at www.e-lawoffshore.com tailored specifically for businesses in this growing industry sector. The unit is a new arm of the expanding Guernsey firm, Babbe Le Pelley Tostevin, which was formed two years ago following a merger. It is now the island's third largest firm. Mr Wilding is a 10 year qualified lawyer who practised in London with Withers and Hill Dickinson.

At a recent presentation to the island's Association of Online Enterprise, Mr Wilding outlined what he saw as the Island's main business areas that were best placed to take advantage of Guernsey's offshore status. He said that those operations in offshore banking and financial services, data hosting, intellectual property management, gambling and electronic product sales were likely to be first to garner business in the new economy.

THE LAWYER GROUP ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE JUDGE
The Lawyer Group, publishers of The Lawyer newspaper and the Lawtel service, has just announced it has teamed up with after-the-event (ATE) insurance service The Judge. Providing independent information on all types of ATE through a range of online and offline services, The Judge is available via www.thejudge.co.uk and Lawtel Personal Injury, the online legal resource for PI practitioners www.lawtel.com

The Judge received high-profile recognition in the prominent Court of Appeal case regarding ATE insurance and reasonable costs, Callery v. Gray, currently awaiting judgment in the House of Lords. Lord Justice Brooke encouraged practitioners to make use of The Judge in order to obtain the most up-to-date information on ATE insurance premiums and reassurance that the premium would not be found to be unreasonable.

As the only available searchable database of its kind, The Judge's Database Service provides both an archive of historical information dating back to April 2000 (the date from which the rules on recoverability apply) as well as access to the most up-to-date information on ATE insurance premiums. This enables claimant solicitors to source likely premiums on behalf of clients, as well as providing defendant solicitors with retrospective information to help with a challenge to the level of premium. Full details of insurers together with policy breakdown and analysis are included. All types of policy are covered including: conditional fee agreement (CFA), both sides' costs, and opponents' costs only.

The Judge's Broking Service enables solicitors to submit details of a case just once and The Judge then presents the case to a panel of up to seven leading ATE insurers who, between them, provide insurance for practically any type of case. The Judge finds the most competitive quotes for the most suitable policy - ensuring value for money for the client and reassuring the solicitor that their ATE insurance would not be found to be unreasonable. Single application fees for cases start at £99 for personal injury cases, and are fully refundable out of any commissions received.

WEST GROUP TECH EXPERT MOVES TO PROLAW
ProLaw Software has appointed Jay Levine to Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Levine will oversee and support all future software development for the legal software developer. Prior to accepting his new position with ProLaw, Levine held positions within the Thomson Corporation and West Group, most recently as vice president of eWeb Solutions, where he oversaw the development of West's WestWorks solutions product lines.

NEW LIBRARY SYSTEM READY FOR LAUNCH
Infotrieve reports that it has completed its Project Springboard, a push to enhance its technology platform and systems capability in preparation for new product launches in the fields of on-demand professional journal article distribution services and web-enabled virtual library platforms. The first of Infotrieve's new products will be unveiled at the Special Libraries Association annual conference in Los Angeles in June. www.infotrieve.com