DataCert and Elite Provide e-Billing and Secure Connectivity to Law Firms
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 29, 2001–DataCert, a leading provider of e-Billing services, and Elite Information Systems, Inc., a worldwide leader in practice and financial management systems for professional service firms, today announced a partnership to provide e-Billing solutions and e-Business connectivity for Elite’s product lines. This partnership provides Elite clients a clear path for connectivity to each of its corporate clients, enabling them to send electronic invoices, documents and other information seamlessly through a single, secure connection.
Monty Lunn, vice president of Elite, views the partnership with DataCert as a big step in extending Elite’s application functionality beyond the law firm firewall to connect directly and securely with corporate law department systems. “Law firms are increasingly extending their applications and businesses to connect with corporate counsel,” says Lunn. “Elite was looking for a solution to secure the movement of invoices, timekeeper data and other information to clients. DataCert’s ShareDoc/LEGAL(TM) allows us to offer this functionality to our customers without having to build it. We view DataCert as the de facto standard for secure connectivity in the legal industry.”
ShareDoc/LEGAL, DataCert’s legal market product, and Elite’s time and billing application operate in a collaborative environment to translate invoice formats — using advanced Web technologies and XML (eXtensible Markup Language) — into any common format used by a legal department. ShareDoc/LEGAL then delivers the invoice securely and directly into Elite’s Law Manager case management system. This migration into Law Manager enables full tracking and reporting capabilities, and allows corporations and their law firms to agree on business rules and validations. These are applied to the invoice data in order to guarantee the receipt of pre-approved invoice information.
“The advantages are clear,” says Jeff Hodge, vice president of market initiatives for DataCert. “Apart from their Elite applications, law firms do not require any software or hardware. All users require is a Web browser, which allows them to move invoices and other data directly to clients. This can be done using the most sophisticated data security model offered today, with the guarantee that invoices will arrive pre-checked, validated and ready for approval and payment.”
Chris Poole, chairman and CEO of Elite, and Eric M. Elfman, president and CEO of DataCert agree, “This partnership puts e-Billing and information-transfer initiatives into the law firm’s court, enabling them proactively to create robust information transfer-networks with minimal cost and effort,” said Elfman. Both Poole and Elfman view this initiative as a logical progression, following the recent, explosive growth of e-Billing and connectivity. “Law firms can now be proactive in building e-Billing networks and connectivity with clients,” says Poole. “This type of networking is giving firms increasingly new, competitive advantages in an increasingly inter-connected legal community.”
About Elite Information Systems
Elite Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Elite Information Group, Inc., (Nasdaq:ELTE) is an international provider of a comprehensive suite of financial and practice management software products. Elite also provides consulting services to legal and professional service organizations of all sizes and is currently utilized by over one-third of the top 1,000 law firms and more than half of the top 100 U.S. law firms. In addition, professional services markets include accounting, consulting, public relations, financial services, actuarial, government, software, security, insurance, market research and systems integration. For more information, contact Elite at 323/642-5200 or visit their Web site at www.eliteis.com.
About ShareDoc/LEGAL(TM)
ShareDoc/LEGAL is designed to move sensitive information between law firms and their clients. Special tools allow ShareDoc/LEGAL to facilitate electronic invoicing by translating e-Billing information from different law firm billing-packages into something that their clients can more easily understand and use. ShareDoc/LEGAL works behind firewalls to integrate e-Billing seamlessly into existing case management and financial systems. ShareDoc/LEGAL can interpret any invoice format that a law firm provides, and then standardize the invoice into a common format used by legal departments.
About DataCert
DataCert is a provider of e-Business services for the secure exchange of information between trading partners and applications. Their proprietary technology serves as a “smart bridge” among companies to enable the flow of information along supply chains, a projected $79 billion market. DataCert focuses on client-centered marketplaces to help companies eliminate redundant processes and reduce costs. The service also extends the business processes of the enterprise beyond traditional barriers directly to trading partners, so that their software applications can communicate — helping to create more effective business Webs. For more information contact DataCert at 713/572-3282; or, visit their Web site at www.datacert.com.