Birmingham Showcase

From Online Settlement To Conveyancing Tools

Editor's Note: Here are some of the new products and services showcased at the March National Legal Office and Legal Services Exhibition in Birmingham, U.K.

ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

TheClaimRoom.com

(From left): Graham Ross, David Street and Guy Levensohon

TheClaimRoom.com, launched at the show, the is an online area and "blind" bidding tool for resolving monetary disputes and customer complaints, reports the Cheshire company. All bid amounts are undisclosed to the other side, and a binding settlement can be created when bids come within a pre-agreed proximity.

Confidential communications areas allow text-based negotiations (both party-to-party and lawyer/representative-to-client), the company says.

There's also an area for recording side agreements or "Part 36" offers.

Information: Reader Response no. 213.

wecansettle.com

Liverpool's www.wecansettle.com offers "blind bidding" with 128 bit encryption, digital certificates and a confidential password-protected system.

There is no charge unless a settlement is reached, and bids can be made 24/7.

Parties can make as many sealed bids as they wish, via the Internet, with the assistance of an independent built-in electronic referee, that declares a settlement when the two sides are close enough to do a deal.

Bids are never revealed to opponents, the company explains.

Information: Reader Response no. 214.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Oyez Legal Technologies

Paul Hickmott and Jane Aiton

London's Oyez Legal Technologies offers information management, presentation (courtroom) and outline services.

The company can handle document imaging, printing, pagination, including OCR (optical character recognition).

It also offers indexing, technical support and data conversion, and other consultant services, Oyez reports.

Information: Reader Response no. 215.

CASE MANAGEMENT

Legal Web.tv

Legal Web.tv is a new digital television service that delivers its content via the Internet, in the form of Webcasts. A joint venture of Legal News Media, (the

publisher of Legal Technology Insider newsletter) and Rollingball Digital Television, it will offer focuses on reports and commentary about the latest developments in legal technology, and new media law.

Future plans include a series of short movies, covering keynote presentations given at major legal conferences and seminars, says Charles Christian, LTI's publisher and Law Technology News columnist.

Rollingball has produced training programs for law firm inhouse networks and Intranets, notes Christian.

Legal Web.tv content is available for syndication on third-party Web sites.

See www.legalweb.tv for updates.

Information: Reader Response no. 216.

LEGAL RESEARCH

OpenURL

Swets Blackwell has integrated OpenURL technology for its electronic journal service, SwetsnetNavigator

OpenURL allows transportation of metadata between an information resource and an institutional service component, thus providing broader access to resources and services.

Swets Blackwell also recently announced the launch of its e-procurement linking services, as well as an agreement with IBM to develop Web-based information management products and services.

Corporate clients now can access Swets Blackwell's online catalog, which contains 150,000 titles. With the addition of the new services, clients can place orders from Ariba, SAP or Commerce One systems, reports the company, which is headquartered in the Netherlands.

Information: Reader Response no. 217.

CRIMINAL LAW

Crimprog

On the grounds of Birmingham's National Exhibit Center.

Crimprog is a specialized case management system for criminal lawyers, reports Balecrest Ltd., which is headquartered in Haywards Heath. Lawyers can track client details (personal, contact, financial, dependants) and matter details (such as police data, offenses, bail information, court details, case reviews, etc.).

The program also offers conflict of interest checks; prosecution, defense and correspondence checklist; hearings records; phone logs; form letters; time recording; and more.

Information: Reader Response no. 218.

REAL ESTATE

TransAction Online

Top, from left: Marshall Prentice, Katie O'Sullivan, Micky Chilman. Front: Stephanie McInnes.

TransAction Online is a licenses service for the National Land Information Service, the U.K.'s National Land Information Service, and is designed to improve the conveyancing process associated with buying and selling property.

Mac-Donald Dettwiler has been awarded a seven year license to create the "data hub" that provides access to land and property information on the national and local levels, via the Internet.

Registered users can search the system, and send online forms to the appropriate agencies for processing.

For each query, a current Ordinance Survey map is displayed on the computer screen, allowing exact property boundaries to be marked. Payment for requests is handled automatically, and search responses can be returned electronically, or via DX or post.

Information: Reader Response no. 219.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

Acumen

Top from left: Neil Parkin, Retrieval Solutions; Lee Garton, Nicholas Gomersall, and (front) James Urie, of Acumen Business Solutions.

Acumen Business Solutions Ltd., headquartered in London, has launched two new versions of its file tracking and document management software.

* Aware Access, which is based on Microsoft Corp.'s Access softwareº, is a database and data sharing application intended for small firms with up to 20 partners.

* Acu-Tag uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to tag and track documents and other office equipment.

The thin, flexible, battery-free tags consist of an integrated circuit and antenna. The tags can be laminated and affixed to a variety of items, the company reports.

Information: Reader Response no. 220.