OPSIS News & Info

I am writing to advise you of some changes taking place within IRIS, which will lead to a better focus for IRIS Legal.

After 10 years in charge at IRIS, a year of which was spent as Acting Managing Director of IRIS Legal, Martin Leuw has decided to step down as CEO and move to a Non-Executive role in the business.  This will enable him to pursue other business interests, whilst remaining involved in the development of IRIS as a business.

During Martin’s tenure as Group Chief Executive Officer, IRIS has grown rapidly to become one of the largest private software companies in the UK, with 1,200 employees and c. 60,000 customers including over 5,500 legal services providers. Given its current size and range of operations, the Board has decided that following Martin’s decision to stand down, better customer focus can be achieved by formally separating the IRIS business into two, with IRIS Accountancy Solutions being run independently from IRIS Software Group, which includes IRIS Legal. The two operating divisions remain in exactly the same capital structure as previously.

IRIS is not being sold.

The Board has initiated a search for a new CEO for IRIS Software Group. Neal Roberts will act as CEO in the interim while continuing as Group Chief Financial Officer; otherwise the current management team remains unchanged.

What does it mean to IRIS Legal and to you?

There is no change, whatsoever, to the management of IRIS Legal and I remain as Managing Director with full P&L responsibility for the business. I can reassure you that IRIS Legal is not being sold.

However, the change in structure does allow a greater emphasis on customer focus and attention on the different parts of the IRIS business, including the Legal sector.

At a time of significant change in our industry we need to remain clearly focused on how we can help you to face these changes and prepare for future challenges. We will continue to work hard with various industry and legislative bodies to ensure that we deliver the necessary software and services you require as well as additions to your solution so that you can continue to be successful.  We will also continue to work with our colleagues in the Accounting business so that we can provide networking opportunities for our law firms and barristers chambers with our accounting firms.

I would like to reassure you that the changes being implemented are for the good of the business and will only help to strengthen our position as the market leading provider of software and services for law firms and chambers.

If you have any questions regarding the changes, please do not hesitate to contact me via legal@iris.co.uk or speak with your Account Manager.

Kind Regards

Doug Hargrove
IRIS Legal Solutions - Managing Director

March 7th, 2011 | Tags: England News, NI News, OPSIS News, ROI News | Category: England News, NI News, OPSIS News, ROI News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Do you Tweet? If not, why not?

You might be interested in keeping up to date with OPSIS software release announcements and news by following us on Twitter.com.

OPSIS now has a Twitter account which will be updated with any new posts made on this OPSIS News & Info blog, and of course any “tweets” that we make, or “re-tweets” related to the legal profession which may be of interest to our clients.

Simply click the Follow Me button below.

If you don’t yet have a Twitter.com account you will need to Sign Up. This is very quick and surprisingly easy to do; if you’ve been meaning to join Twitter but never got round to it, perhaps now is the time!?

Once signed in just click the +Follow button under the OpsisPMS profile details.

Twitter is currently one of the most popular and fastest growing social networking resources in the world, using a real-time short messaging service to keep you in touch with the latest trends and groups of interest to you, and allowing you to participate in the Twitter community quickly and easily.

The Twitter ethos is brevity and minimalism, where the word spreads very fast.

It’s all about getting the point across in short text snippets called “tweets”, and if necessary providing fuller detail by means of links to blogs, websites, pictures, videos, and so on.

Twitter is ideal for those on the move, and well catered for by “plug-ins” in internet browsers, or applications on mobile phones and PDA devices.

We highly recommend trying Twitter.

February 9th, 2011 | Tags: OPSIS News, OPSIS Support | Category: England News, NI News, OPSIS News, OPSIS Support, ROI News, Releases |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Opsis Hosted

Are you fed up with wasting time and money on IT issues?

IRIS’ OPSIS Hosted provides the latest technology in the Cloud creating clear advantages for the smaller firm by offering a hassle free IT setup with many on-going benefits.

IRIS currently have over 1700 users of legal cloud computing software on hosted systems, all of whom are benefiting from the service they receive in terms of 24/7 fee earner and support staff access, data security and predictable IT spend.  Now we can extend that ability to your firm.

Benefits include:

Increased productivity:
Whether you are in the office, working from home or sitting on a beach as long as you have internet access your work can be completed helping to increase the productivity of you and your staff.

No need to be wasting time fixing problems – one stop shop:
How much time and money is wasted with downtime due to IT problems?  How much time do you spend trying to fix these issues only to be told that you need to spend more to fix the problem? OPSIS Hosted allows you to make one phone call and we will do the rest leaving you to be able to carry on with what you excel in.

Predictable monthly fees:
With hosted you pay a fixed fee monthly. This enables you to budget for your IT spend.  Because upgrades are included in the fee there are no hidden charges and no sudden expenditure. Hosted eliminates worries about upgrades and licence costs.

No expensive IT outlay - again!
The cost of any firm’s hardware and also the cost of IT staff to maintain the equipment are generally a lot more than the cost of a Hosted environment. Very limited equipment and skills are required on site for a Hosted software as a service solution (SaaS); you just need an internet connection.

Why worry again about your IT setup? Let IRIS become your one stop shop which will leave you to increase your fees and grow your business.

If you would like to learn more please contact Antonia Levens;

• telephone Antonia on 0844 815 5570 or
• e-mail us at legalexecs@iris.co.uk

Alternatively follow this link to learn more about OPSIS Hosted legal cloud computing software as a service at our website. You will find downloadable FAQs explaining what cloud computing is, and more details about our online legal practice management software.

February 7th, 2011 | Tags: Accounts, Case Management, OPSIS News, OPSIS Sales | Category: England News, NI News, OPSIS News, ROI News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Comments (1)

Following the IRIS Legal World conference which took place last October, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the progress being made. Feedback from customers who attended the events was very positive and we feel it is important to reiterate the key messages from the conferences and how they can positively impact your firm and as such we would like to invite you to attend one of our Refresher Road-shows in London in early March.

These events will show you how to maximise the benefits from your investment in your current OPSIS system and additionally give you the opportunity to find out more about the existing capabilities of the system and provide you with many hints and tips and an introduction to the client support portal, which many users have found extremely useful. You can also put your questions to the OPSIS product and account management teams.

We are very pleased with the progress made on the OPSIS roadmap and indeed with the positive feedback given by clients to the removal of end of life dates.

Two half day sessions are being held at:

IRIS Legal office in Fleet St, London on Tuesday 8th March:

• AM session starting at 8.30am
• PM session starting at 1.00pm

Note: 1.5 CPD points can be claimed by attendance at the road-shows and as a delegate bonus all attendees will be entitled to a 20% discount off the next training day booked by the end of March 2011.

Due to anticipated demand, we would appreciate it if each firm could limit attendees to no more than 2 employees. The road-shows will last approximately 3 hours and if you would like to attend one of the road-shows or require further details please either;

• download,  complete and print the Faxback and return to Fax: 01274 851631,
• telephone Antonia on 0844 815 5570 or
• e-mail us at legalexecs@iris.co.uk

I hope that you will be able to join us at one of the refresher road-show sessions and if you are interested in joining the OPSIS User Group please e-mail me at opsisusergroup@iris.co.uk

Kind regards

Peter Gill
IRIS Legal

More »

January 19th, 2011 | Tags: Case Management, Conferences, England News, Millennium, OPSIS News, SCM, Solo, User Group | Category: England News, Exhibitions, OPSIS News, User Group |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Millennium Accounts V5.81.3

Millennium Accounts Version 5.81.3 is available for download.

Millennium Accounts release 5.81.3 is only required where LSC are rejecting Bulk uploads. (Due to LSC changing how the submission should be performed, affected by Eligible Client Indicator. Any submissions other than the new Housing types; Housing, HPPO, HPWA, HPCO may be affected). If in doubt, please contact our Helpdesk.

We are dedicated to making sure our product keeps pace with the requirements for Legal Aid practitioners, you can help by giving us your views and feedback.

For more information, release notes and downloads of the latest Millennium Accounts software go to our website Software Releases page.

Sincerely
OPSIS Support Team

January 18th, 2011 | Tags: England News, Legal Aid, Millennium, NI News, Releases | Category: England News, NI News, OPSIS Support, Releases |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

During the Christmas 2010 and New Year holiday the OPSIS Support/HelpDesk will operate on a reduced support team cover from the hours of 9.00am to 5.30pm on Wednesday 29th to Friday 31st December.

The Helpdesk will be closed all day on Christmas Day, Boxing Day bank holidays (Mon 27th/Tue 28th)
and New Year’s bank holiday (Mon 3rd).

The Helpdesk answerphone message will also be changed, explaining the above too.

May we take this opportunity to wish you a
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2011

Best Wishes
OPSIS Support Team

December 17th, 2010 | Tags: OPSIS Support | Category: England News, NI News, OPSIS Support, ROI News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Millennium Accounts V5.81.1

Millennium Accounts Version 5.81.1 is available for download.

IMPORTANT: The Legal Aid 5.81 upgrade needs to be implemented, by customers, AFTER their November LSC submission extract.

Information for Providers using the “CLS Claim 1 Form”

The Legal Services Commission have removed the October 2010 version of the Claim 1 Form which was released in Millennium Accounts 5.81.0.

The LSC have stated that “Incorrect versions of forms are at risk of being rejected and returned to providers with a request to use the current version”.

If you produce the CLS Claim 1 Form from Millennium Accounts we recommend that you install 5.81.1 which includes the correct version of the form (November 2009).

We are dedicated to making sure our product keeps pace with the requirements for Legal Aid practitioners, you can help by giving us your views and feedback.

For more information, release notes and downloads of the latest Millennium Accounts software go to our website Software Releases page.

Sincerely
OPSIS Support Team

November 30th, 2010 | Tags: England News, Legal Aid, Millennium, NI News, OPSIS Support, Releases | Category: England News, Legal Aid, NI News, OPSIS Support, Releases |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Millennium Accounts V5.81

Millennium Accounts V5.81

Millennium Accounts Version 5.81 is available for download to cater for the Criminal Legal Aid Changes effective 15th November 2010 (was 14th October but postponed on appeal).

IMPORTANT: This Legal Aid 5.81 upgrade needs to be implemented, by customers, AFTER their November LSC submission extract.

This extract needs to be done (even if not submitted to LSC) BEFORE you need to use the new format matter types (ie with procurement area & access point etc) as these CANNOT be used on an LSC submission until your December extract i.e. for submission in January 2011.

Release notes as follows:

More »

November 12th, 2010 | Tags: England News, Legal Aid, Millennium, NI News, OPSIS Support, Releases | Category: England News, Legal Aid, NI News, OPSIS Support, Releases |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment

Solve your PII/Risk Management Requirements

Sign up to an OPSIS Practice Management Solution Workshop being held in Dublin.

Whether you are a new or an existing customer, you can learn about solutions to the various demands you are facing in satisfying current and future business practice standards required by the Legal Services Authority (LSA) and practice insurance providers.

OPSIS Practice Managment Solutions are an excellent choice for:-

1. Helping you and your practice meet the ever developing PII demands.

2. Helping you to:

• Manage risk, including management reporting, compliant accounting and KPI reporting.
• Completing customer due diligence CDD
• Managing critical dates
• Complying with Money Laundering regulations
• Undertakings register
• Client Conflict checks and reporting
• Case file reviews
• Practice terms communication and recording (Section 68 Reporting)
• Billing accurately for all work done, including credit management.

3. We are also synchronising our current and future solutions to meet the market recognised LQ & Outsource QM practice standards.

We are pleased to invite you to one of a series of presentations being held at;

Fitzwilliam Hall,
Fitzwilliam Place,
Dublin
Republic of Ireland

on:-

27th October 2010 10.00am – 1.00 pm (Existing customers)

27th October 2010 2.00pm – 4.00 pm (New customers)

and

25th November 2010 10.00am – 1.00 pm (Existing customers)

25th November 2010 2.00pm – 4.00 pm (New customers)

These sessions will demonstrate the latest OPSIS Practice Management Solutions and upcoming developments.

Each session is worth 1 CPD point.

To book your place on one of the road-shows or request further details please either;

Telephone Steve or Antonia on (0044) 844 815 5570
or
E-mail us at legalexecs@iris.co.uk

Jimmy Scullion

Kind Regards

Jimmy Scullion – IRIS Legal Business Development Manager

P.S. All customers attending the events will also receive generous discounts on additional time saving and revenue generation modules for new and existing solutions.

October 8th, 2010 | Tags: OPSIS News, OPSIS Sales, ROI News, Workshops | Category: OPSIS News, ROI News |  Print This Post |  Email this Post | Leave a comment