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Platforms are gaining popularity in legal. Legal organizations can lease or subscribe to integrated software or build their programs on platforms and not suffer from depending on a single vendor for services.

On the Salesforce Lightning Platform, the company's flagship CRM software is available with more than 5,000 apps in the AppExchange. These apps can extend other software on the platform, such as AdvoLogix, a web-based matter management offering since 2006, focused on Fortune 100 companies and midsize to large law firms.

AdvoLogix provided me a user account to demonstrate the software from December 2019 to January 2020. Most user experience is unique to AdvoLogix, which centralizes all case information, automates customized workflows, manages critical dates and events, and allows legal professionals to collaborate on all aspects of matter management and client services.

Users have access to other features related to the Lightning platform, such as building blocks to create apps and custom pages without coding (no code), prebuilt templates, and automatic processes to connect to third-party and legacy systems. There are Lightning apps for accounting, billing and invoicing, Salesforce CRM, and more.

AdvoLogix shares objects with the Lightning Platform, so data on accounts, contacts, events, and tasks in matter management are equivalent in Salesforce CRM and other apps on the Lightning Platform. To get started, all I needed was a web browser.

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Tester's Notes

AdvoLogix runs in any web browser. A user who can navigate a browser with basic knowledge of how search boxes, tabs, dropdown lists, and other navigation tools will speed your success.

AdvoLogix Figure 1 Figure 1: The AdvoLogix user interface (UI) has a persistent toolbar with access to tabbed resources; a filtered, global search window; favorite web pages (star), and global actions (+) to create contacts, events, tasks, and time entries; log calls and check for conflicts. Here, configurable dashboards report status on mattes and budgets.

The sticky footer in the UI provides access to quick links to everyday tasks, most recent tasks, multi-timers, a date calculator for deadlines, and an intake launcher. AdvoLogix supports configurable intake templates or forms to triage new matters via workflows.

All things revolve around matters in AdvoLogix. But one matter does not fit all cases. From the Matters tab, view cases with tabbed resources for matter details, documents, calendars, and financials in time, expense, and budgets.

AdvoLogix Figure 2 Figure 2. The matter type (litigation) workflow displays at the top and proceeds from initial investigation to pleadings, discovery, and trial. Matter tasks display in activity plans, comprising tasks and activities. The right text box shows quick links to other matter data and a matter search bar.

I created new matters using forms organized by matter types, such as general litigation, immigration, investigation, tax, and tort. For example, general litigation has several form fields for key dates (engagement date, date responded, date filed, trial date, projected closure date, closed date) displayed in a timeline at the top of the matter. The litigation matter also has data for expected billings and settlement date, worst case settlement date and amount, estimated cost, and allocated time.

If a matter type did not have a field I expected, it was easy enough to add it with Salesforce's Object Manager tool and make it accessible to a matter type. The device also made it easy to edit and create matter record types using mouse clicks without coding. I created a matter for mergers and acquisitions with a workflow from investigation and due diligence to document review in a deal room.

Matters support process automation, which includes process approvals, flows, and workflows. Flows can automatically read and write data in fields, collect and display information, manipulate data, and execute business logic. Workflows can assign tasks to users or roles, update fields, send email alerts, and transmit secure outbound messages via an application programming interface (API) in XML format. I created an approval process for intake forms, legal hold notification alerts, and used Process Builder to make a legal hold process for matters—all using clicks and picks from drop-down lists and search results. Short of creating a process, it's easy to clone and edit one to get started.

AdvoLogix has built-in, essential document management and document assembly features, which are like the mail-merge features in Microsoft Word. The system uses the native document wrapper in Salesforce to categorize and organize documents by matter. Files can be accessed in the context of a workflow, previewed, and downloaded for review and edit. AdvoLogix lacks advanced features for checking documents in and out and version control. Customers can use third-party integrations from the likes of Box, Dropbox, and NetDocuments.