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5 Ways Law Firms can Maintain Control of Client Matter Management as Microsoft Teams use Proliferates

Microsoft Teams is fast becoming the default collaboration environment across all sorts of organisations. More than 20 million people using it daily now [1], and legal professionals are no exception.

Indeed, use of Teams by law firms and corporate legal departments has risen sharply, as the platform becomes a hub for project, practice area and client/matter-related collaboration – especially as Microsoft has positioned Teams as the replacement for Skype for Business.

But with this exploding Teams-based productivity come some risks from an information and document management perspective. In a legal context, it is important that firm-related communications and interaction with content are still coordinated with consistency, so that the latest outcomes and versions of documents are easy to pinpoint. There also needs to be robust security provision, to ensure that sensitive materials and related communications cannot be circulated to unauthorised recipients, within or beyond the organisation’s boundaries.

That’s why we’ve created a new white paper with practical advice for legal operations managers, so that law firms and their clients can enjoy everything Microsoft Teams has to offer, without loss of control.

Specifically we look at:

1. Cohesive matter management & visibility

This is about ensuring that (1) the creation of Teams that are linked to existing client or matter content stores and information; (2) there is clear visibility of, and linkage between, existing Teams that may be related; and (3) there is some level of control over who can create new Teams and the parameters used to define and format them (to make light work of search/navigation).

All of these controls can be set within our Repstor Custodian for Legal product suite, which provides robust governance of collaboration and information management natively within Office 365, across Microsoft Teams and any linked content repositories.

2. Naming conventions & classifications
Applying standard names and classifications to Teams is an important aid to navigating Teams, finding the latest status information quickly, and applying any controls related to information privacy or retention (e.g. how long content should be kept for, before it is archived or deleted).

Repstor Custodian for Legal encourages the use of agreed/standardised names and details of Team properties, making it easy to locate and link related Teams and apply these kinds of discrete controls. It provides easy, intuitive navigation using a hierarchical approach to related Teams – such as sub-Teams for linked matters or their dependent elements – and uses customisable graphical dashboards to present these to legal professionals or finance teams, for easy at-a-glance viewing.

3. Content coordination across platforms/maximising DMS compliance
Importantly, Custodian for Legal can provide links to legacy document management systems, allowing for the free flow of documents between existing systems and Teams, with a complete audit of changes within the system of record.

In conjunction with its Repstor Affinity automated email filing capability, managed natively from within Outlook, Repstor Custodian for Legal also keeps control of email-based matter activity. It ensures that matter-related correspondence and attachments are stored in the main content repository, yet can be linked easily to Team collaboration spaces, while observing any privacy/compliance controls.

4. Security & sharing
Here we look at the implications of legal professionals collaborating routinely or in ad-hoc ways with clients and other external parties, as well as internally – necessitating appropriate safeguards to lock down sensitive matter content.

By applying structure and governance, whether via approvals and/or strict classifications, it is possible for firms to give legal professionals the freedom to collaborate productively across boundaries, without risk of information leakage.

5. Lifecycle management/classification continued
Finally, from an IT/Teams decluttering perspective, and for regulatory reasons, it’s important that Team workspaces and the information within them are not allowed to linger indefinitely on servers.

Strong, structured classification and automated, rules-based lifecycle management, as available through Repstor Custodian for Legal, ensure that nothing is left to chance and that Teams are archived or deleted at the right time.

Download the full white paper here.

[1] Microsoft Teams just hit 20 Million daily active users , beating its rival Slack once again, Business Insider, November 2019

5 ways to maximise MS Teams & avoid compliance headaches

Microsoft Teams is fast becoming the business world’s default collaboration environment. Today, more than 13 million people using it daily, and 19 million weekly [1].

To cement the successful use of Teams in their own organisations, however, information managers need to ensure they have sufficient control over related activity. After years of perfecting policies, balancing controls and adhering to the latest Data Protection requirements, organisations don’t want to risk inadvertently undermining those efforts. That is, they need to avoid giving employees carte blanche to set up Teams for any purpose or topic, in any format and with random naming.

It’s something we’ve explored in detail in a new, practical white paper. We advocate that, to get the best from MS Teams, without opening a new can of worms, companies need to adopt best-practice governance – as they have in all other aspects of team collaboration and content management.

In the paper, we set out some proactive measures organisations can take to maintain order.

In brief, these include:

1. Governance/Team creation
This is about governing Teams as any other collaborative workspace – with equivalent consideration to who can create them, where and what for, and with appropriate controls, templates and rules. Such controls can be set within Repstor Custodian products, which provide comprehensive and intuitive information governance natively from within Office 365 – across Teams and SharePoint.

2. Naming conventions & classifications
Applying standard names and classifications to Teams is a great aid to governance, simplifying Teams discovery, as well as housekeeping and overall lifecycle management – eg the level of privacy that needs to be applied, and the relevant retention rules.

Custodian encourages the use of agreed naming conventions and Team property descriptions, making it easy to locate and link related Teams, and apply discrete controls to certain content, as appropriate. It also provides easy, intuitive navigation using a hierarchical approach to linked Teams, and graphical dashboards for easy, at-a-glance lookup.

Managers can tailor the dashboards to the groupings they want to see, and decide how to structure the links between related Teams. There’s also scope to add links to external portals and information, such as training videos, so everything appears in one place.

3. Content management
While the use of Teams is predicted to drive down the use of email, this means of communication is not going to go away.

Custodian, in conjunction with its Repstor Affinity automated email filing capability, which is managed natively from within Outlook, encourages users to file and access content centrally in the designated workspace/Team collaboration area.

Custodian also provides links to existing document management systems forming an organisation’s main systems of record or repository, maintaining strong information governance. It also provides a complete audit of changes to any of this content.

4. Security & sharing
Growth in collaboration, especially with external parties, can introduce privacy and security implications, without the right safeguards to lock down certain content. Even when employees are using private channels to share content, it is necessary to secure commercially-sensitive documents or information, or GDPR-protected data.

By applying structure and governance, Custodian supports the freedom for users to collaborate productively across organisational boundaries without risk of policy or regulatory infringement – ensuring that sensitive information does not leak from the organisation.

5. Lifecycle management/classification continued
Whether from an systems hygiene or regulatory compliance perspective, Team workspaces and the information within them should not be allowed to linger indefinitely on servers or in archives.

Strong classification and automated lifecycle management via Repstor Custodian ensure that Teams are archived or deleted at the right time, supported by timely reminders and prompts.

Freedom through control
Ultimately, ensuring good governance around MS Teams is about allowing employees the freedom to collaborate spontaneously, with sufficient control of content over the short- and the longer-term.

Download the full white paper here.

Automating Task Management with Microsoft Teams and Planner

Join our experienced presenters as we guide you through Microsoft Planner and then demonstrate how Repstor can further improve this experience using our suite of products.

Expect to come away with practical tips and tricks spanning 4 important areas: –

  • What is Microsoft Planner?
  • Why Microsoft Planner improves task and work management in the modern workplace
  • How you can Integrate Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Teams quickly
  • How Repstor integration can significantly improve task and work management through Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Teams

See all our Microsoft Webinars.

Latest Microsoft Teams™ Webinar from Repstor will Explore How Planner™ Integration Can Transform Task & Work Management

Latest Microsoft Teams™ Webinar from Repstor will Explore How Planner™ Integration Can Transform Task & Work Management

  • Highly experienced Microsoft Office 365 practitioners will give best practice tips on how combining Teams & Planner can help colleagues collaborate more efficiently
  • Attendees will also learn how to further improve the user experience of Planner & Teams with Repstor’s ECM capabilities, embedded in Microsoft Office 365

Belfast, January 10th , 2020 – Repstor, the ECM software and matter management specialist, has today announced the next in its series of practical Microsoft Teams™ webinars, focused on the productivity benefits of integrating Teams with Microsoft Planner.
In the latest session, on Monday January 14, Repstor’s experienced Microsoft Teams practitioners, Fergus Wilson and Richard Barbour, will walk through the many benefits of Microsoft Planner – a web-based tool designed to help small groups of colleagues collectively organize plans and assign and track project-based tasks in a visual and open way.
Specifically, they will highlight how integrating MS Planner with Microsoft Teams can enhance productivity benefits – for example by making Planner a tab within Microsoft Teams to give all team members up-to-date visibility of who’s working on what and which deadlines are looming.
The webinar will demonstrate how Repstor can further transform group task-based productivity with additional integrated content management capabilities.

Full of practical takeaways, the webinar will cover:

  • The features and benefits of Microsoft Planner
  • How it improves task and work management in the modern workplace
  • How to quickly and easily integrate MS Planner & Teams to maximize productivity
  • How Repstor integration can further enhance task/ work management via Planner & Teams

The Planner webinar is the latest in a series of practical sessions hosted by Repstor, designed to equip those managing MS Teams deployments with practical tips to get the best from the powerful, popular collaboration platform.
The MS Teams/Planner webinar will take place on Monday January 14 at 10:30 GMT & 9:30am PT/ 12:30pm ET

Attendees can register and request reminders here.

Repstor, which comprehensively addresses Teams management through its Custodian product suite, and provides rich value-added content management capabilities natively within Office 365, recently published 2 timely white papers exploring practical considerations in the light of proliferating MS Teams adoption:

5 Ways to Maximize Microsoft Teams & Avoid Information Compliance Headaches, aimed at CIOs & information compliance managers, targets common pain points as enterprise use of MS Teams proliferates. Download the paper here.

5 ways to keep control of matter management as Microsoft Teams becomes the default collaboration platform for legal professionals looks more specifically at implications for legal operations managers as law firms standardize on MS Teams for discussing and processing client matters. Download the paper here.

Making Microsoft Teams™ work for Professional Services

Whether you work in accountancy, financial services or real estate: Join our experienced presenters as we guide you through how to best maximize Microsoft Teams in your organization. Using Repstor technology we will demonstrate how to get the best from this powerful platform, without introducing new risk around content management.

Expect to come away with practical tips and tricks spanning 5 important areas: –

  • Governance/Team creation
  • Team naming conventions & navigation
  • Content Management
  • Security & content sharing
  • Lifecycle management/Team classification

See all our Microsoft Webinars.

5 ways to maximise Microsoft Teams™ and avoid information compliance headaches

Join our experienced presenters as we guide you through how to best maximize Microsoft Teams in your organization. Using Repstor technology we will demonstrate how to get the best from this powerful platform, without introducing new risk around content management.

Expect to come away with practical tips and tricks spanning 5 important areas: –

  • Governance/Team creation
  • Team naming conventions & navigation
  • Content management
  • Security & content sharing
  • Lifecycle management/Team classification

See all our Microsoft Webinars.

Repstor Helps Organisations Maximise their Microsoft Investment with Latest Content Management Tools at AIIM UK Forum, London

Repstor is showcasing the new product features at the AIIM Forum in London on 22nd June.

London, 22 June 2016

Leading ECM adoption specialist Repstor, today announced the launch of the latest version of its Outlook content management tools Repstor affinityTM and assist 3.3. 

Repstor is showcasing the new product features at the AIIM Forum in London on 22nd June. Repstor products are perfect for users who spend a lot of time in Microsoft® Outlook® and want to manage all of their content from there, as its seamless integration with Outlook means the products are simple and easy to use, creating happy users.

Using Repstor affinity and assist enables users to file emails and documents accurately into their chosen repository directly from Outlook – without asking them to learn anything new. Repstor products plug straight into Outlook and leverage all the features of SharePoint or other ECM system, but in an on-screen environment familiar to users. They don’t slow down Outlook’s performance and because they are easy to use, people use them.

Advanced Filing

With release 3.3 Repstor has taken filing to a new level. With Jump to folder and Quick File finding and filing information has always been easy.  However, now you have even more options by allowing you to search for a parent level folder and then browse its child folders in the search window.

The Quick File and Jump to Folder dialogs now support expanding any folders from search results, recent locations or Repstor assist suggested locations. This allows users to locate a folder and then drill down to lower levels to identify the correct folder to use.

Document Template Creation

Repstor assist now gives users the ability to create Placeholders. Placeholders provide basic document generation for documents created within Repstor affinity.  They help users to create documents consistently and use the properties associated with individual users, departments, clients, projects etc. by creating a template that can then be inserted into Word documents and/or updated in bulk with their current values. Repstor assist now provides the ability to sync SharePoint lists of individual user placeholders.

Comparison Everywhere – further extending Repstor and Microsoft Office 365 Integration

Repstor affinity and assist provide enhanced email and content management by providing deep integration with Office 365 and the Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint products. In addition to the ability to compare the contents of two affinity documents in Word and convert documents accessed from affinity to Adobe PDF directly from Microsoft Word, users can now also compare Word documents with their previous SharePoint versions within affinity. When filing Word documents to a Repstor folder affinity will now notify users if there’s a matching file and provide an option to compare the documents.  Customers can also integrate this with more advanced comparison applications if required.

Improved Repository Support

Repstor affinity 3.3 adds to the already extensive multiple repository support provided by extending the existing support for HPE Content Manager, formerly Records Manager to include:

  • Full support for the new HPE Content Manager service API
  • Search and add classifications as a set of folders in affinity
  • Prompt for the Record Type when adding folders

Click here to request a demo of affinity and assist release 3.3

Supporting Resources:

About Repstor
Repstor was created to inspire ECM Adoption. We are dedicated to developing products that enable collaboration and compliance for the Outlook-centric workforce. Repstor’s products make access to content systems easy and intuitive for users, by providing access to them within the familiar interface of Microsoft® Outlook®.   By making access to the content system easy and intuitive for users, we overcome the main cause of failed deployments of ECM systems – failure of users to adopt the system.

Our products are ideal for mobile, remote and semi-disconnected users especially in industries like Professional Services, Legal, Oil and Gas, Public Sector and other regulated industries.  We significantly reduce change management costs when rolling out systems, improve ROI for existing systems, and fully support Microsoft Office 365.

Repstor and CompanyNet will be joined by Hymans Robertson at AIIM Forum

Barry Smart, IT Director at Hymans Robertson is confirmed….

London, 26th May 2016

Barry Smart, IT Director at leading pensions, benefits, and risk consultancy Hymans Robertson, will be joining Repstor and CompanyNet on stage at this year’s AIIM Forum UK on 22nd June, Ibis London Earls Court (ILEC).

In the session, Barry will talk about their newly implemented Client Information Management (CIM) system which has transformed the way they record, manage and use information about their customers, enabling them to better manage the entire customer lifecycle.

Barry is confirmed to talk alongside Repstor and CompanyNet. CompanyNet, a leading business solutions provider implemented the solution at Hymans Robertson. Repstor is an ECM Adoption specialist, whose affinity and CRM Link products have been deployed in Hymans Robertson as part of the CIM solution. The session will provide insight on how the CIM system has been designed to help Hymans Robertson enrich the overall customer experience.

Barry Smart PR_smallBarry is delighted to be talking about his insight into this exciting programme, “CIM is all about delivering a great service to our clients, by harnessing the latest technology to transform the way we record and manage information across the end to end lifecycle.”

 

 

Andy headshot PR_smallAndy Hamilton, CEO at CompanyNet, is especially excited about this year’s event, “This will be our second year at AIIM Forum UK having become an AIIM Member earlier this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase such a successful project and we are delighted Barry will be joining us on stage to talk about CIM and the exciting innovation that is being rolled out to their organisation.”

 

Repstor team“We are a regular sponsor of the AIIM UK event and are looking forward to a successful show. We are excited to be joined this year by CompanyNet and Barry from Hymans Robertson to share this success story and the ease with which the Repstor products have been deployed as part of this project ensuring end user productivity and adoption,” said Alan McMillen, CEO at Repstor.

 

AIIM Forum UK is a must attend event for information professionals that regularly attracts over 300 attendees. The theme of this year’s forum is “Time to Transform Your Information Processes”. If you are attending, please visit Repstor at stand 7 and CompanyNet at stand 13 for more information and a chance to see CIM for yourself.

About Hymans Robertson LLP 
Founded in 1921, Hymans Robertson is one of the longest established independent actuarial firms in the UK. We deliver a full range of services including actuarial, investment consulting, enterprise risk management, third-party pensions administration and communications consulting. Our client base includes FTSE 100, FTSE 250, privately owned firms and financial institutions. We’re also recognised leaders in the field of public sector pensions. For more information see www.hymans.co.uk.

About CompanyNet
CompanyNet is a leading independent software-based solutions company that continues to build upon two decades of experience at the front line of technology, with our distinct expertise. We are passionate about what we do and have a professional pride, acute attention to detail, track record for delivery, and exemplary levels of customer satisfaction with a reputation for excellence.

We are dedicated to building upon and extensively customise proven Microsoft platform to help enable our customers to increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve customer service to gain competitive advantage. We build upon technologies (SharePoint, Dynamics CRM and SQL Server) to develop a uniquely-fitting solution for your organisation and its requirements.

CompanyNet is flying the flag as Scotland’s only Gold accredited Dynamics CRM partner as well as acquiring Europe’s first gold level in both Dynamics CRM and SharePoint; making us, as Microsoft would say, “trusted experts using innovative technology supported by Microsoft.”

For more information please visit: www.company-net.com

About Repstor
Repstor was created to inspire ECM Adoption. We are dedicated to developing products that enable collaboration and compliance for the Outlook-centric workforce. Repstor’s products make access to content systems easy and intuitive for users, by providing access to them within the familiar interface of Microsoft® Outlook®.   By making access to the content system easy and intuitive for users, we overcome the main cause of failed deployments of ECM systems – failure of users to adopt the system.

Our products are ideal for mobile, remote and semi-disconnected users especially in industries like Professional Services, Legal, Oil and Gas, Public Sector and other regulated industries.  We significantly reduce change management costs when rolling out systems, improve ROI for existing systems, and fully support Microsoft Office 365.

ForFarmers Selects Repstor custodian for Legal

The legal department of ForFarmers has selected the custodian for Legal product as its new document, email and legal project management system….

London, 18 April 2016

Repstor, ECM adoption and Matter Management specialist, is proud to announce that the legal department of ForFarmers has selected the custodian for Legal product as its new document, email and legal project management system. Transform Data International (TDI), the BeNeLux based partner of Repstor, will lead the implementation for ForFarmers.

During the upcoming weeks TDI will work with the ForFarmers organization to ensure a smooth implementation and to setup training sessions for the legal team.

Vince van de Weijer

“We are delighted to be able to add ForFarmers as a new customer, and that the Repstor custodian solution is such a good match to their technical and business requirements,” said Vince van de Weijer, General Manager at Transform Data International.

 

Ilse Niehof ForFarmers_smallIlse Niehof, Legal Counsel Business at ForFarmers commented, “We evaluated the Repstor custodian solution and found that it clearly fits with our technical legal strategy and from a business perspective, it is definitely the most appropriate solution for our needs.”

 

Supporting Resources:

About ForFarmers
ForFarmers is an internationally operating company active in the area of conventional and organic total feed solutions for livestock. With sales of approximately 9.1 million tons of feed annually, ForFarmers is a market leader in Europe. With its products, ForFarmers offers customers additional knowledge and advice in the areas of feed, animal keeping and business development. Net sales amounts to €2.2 billion.

About Transform Data International (TDI)
Transform Data International was founded to help organizations optimize the overall productivity of their workforce by reselling and implementing ECM, Mobility and Cloud solutions.
TDI specializes in finding solutions for making the optimal use of information, for instance to support decision-making processes or day-to-day operations that require the availability of accurate data.
TDI has a special focus on professional services and legal markets to help companies and corporate departments manage their information in an easy and intuitive way to be compliant and efficient.
Learn more about Transform Data International and custodian for Legal and Professional Services on our website www.transformdata.eu or contact us via info@transformdata.eu.

About Repstor
Repstor was created to inspire ECM Adoption. We are dedicated to developing products that enable collaboration and compliance for the Outlook-centric workforce.  Repstor’s products make access to content systems easy and intuitive for users, by providing access to them within the familiar interface of Microsoft® Outlook®.  By making access to the content system easy and intuitive for users, we overcome the main cause of failed deployments of ECM systems – failure of users to adopt the system.

Our products are ideal for mobile, remote and semi-disconnected users especially in industries like Professional Services, Legal, Oil and Gas, Public Sector and other regulated industries.  We significantly reduce change management costs when rolling out systems, improve ROI for existing systems, and fully support Microsoft Office365.

Repstor encourages a Microsoft approach to Matter Management at the British Legal Technology Forum 2016

Repstor is exhibiting at the ‘British Legal Technology Forum 2016’ at the Old Billingsgate, London on Tuesday, 8th March 2016…

London, 7 March 2016

Repstor, ECM adoption and Matter Management specialist, is proud to announce it is exhibiting at the ‘British Legal Technology Forum 2016’ at the Old Billingsgate, London on Tuesday, 8th March 2016.

With over 1,200 visitors from the world of law and legal technology expected to attend the 2016 event, The British Legal Technology Forum will bring together the most respected professionals from both the legal and commercial technology sectors to examine and explore the systems, strategies, processes and platforms that will drive law firms and legal businesses into the next decade and beyond.

Repstor will be showcasing its “custodian for legal” product which enables firms to maximize their Microsoft investment to provide Legal Matter Management.

Legal professionals will confirm that email is still their primary communication tool and that they need an intuitive solution to manage emails as part of a matter.  custodian is this solution – it enables users to manage matter related emails and documents together, avoiding the issue of isolated email content and applying consistent structures for managing matter based content. By utilizing the powerful and familiar interface of Microsoft® Outlook® custodian ensures the highest level of user-adoption and minimizes the need for migrating complex and costly legacy systems.

Repstor custodian extends Office 365TM/SharePoint®, to deliver a complete matter management solution by providing matter-centric collaboration, document and email management capabilities directly within Office 365/SharePoint. Most importantly, this capability is provided seamlessly within Outlook. Users can also work on or offline and access content from multiple different sources in addition to the matter management system.

custodian also allows firms to ensure that they maximize investments in Microsoft technologies, and can take advantage of the broader Microsoft platform including analytics, compliance, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and so on.

Alan McMillen from Repstor will be speaking on the demonstration stage at 10:25. Alan will discuss how to achieve high performance remote access to your DMS (Document Management System) and use your Microsoft investment to deliver enhanced Matter Management.

If you are attending the ‘British Legal Technology Forum 2016’, come and see Repstor at stand #A4.

Event Details

Event:  British Legal Technology Forum 2016
Date:   8th March 2016
Time:   08:30 – 18:30
Venue:  Old Billingsgate, London
Address:      16 Lower Thames St, London, EC3R 6DX
Nearest Tube:  Monument / London Bridge / Tower Hill

Supporting Resources:

About Repstor

Repstor was created to inspire ECM Adoption. We are dedicated to developing products that enable collaboration and compliance for the Outlook-centric workforce.  Repstor’s products make access to content systems easy and intuitive for users, by providing access to them within the familiar interface of Microsoft® Outlook®.   By making access to the content system easy and intuitive for users, we overcome the main cause of failed deployments of ECM systems – failure of users to adopt the system.

Our products are ideal for mobile, remote and semi-disconnected users especially in industries like Professional Services, Legal, Oil and Gas, Public Sector and other regulated industries.  We significantly reduce change management costs when rolling out systems, improve ROI for existing systems, and fully support Microsoft Office 365.