Continuing WTC Coverage

Photos by Monica Bay

President's Corner

West Buys ProLaw

William Bice

TAKING the legal community by surprise, Minnesota's West Group used the annual LawNet conference to announce is purchase of Provolution Corp. -- the feisty outfit that makes ProLaw Software. The privately-held company is based in Albuquerque, and was founded by its president and C.E.O. William Bice. Terms were not disclosed.

ProLaw software provides both "front office" and "back office" tools, offering case, relationship and document management, as well as billing and accounting. ProLaw will be the center for West Group's law practice management systems development and marketing programs, including its WestWorks product and practice development libraries, says West president Michael Wilens.

The acquisition signals an acceleration of West's expansion into law firm practice management, says Wilens. Bice and his management team will remain in place, and in New Mexico.

Reader Response no. 224.

Online Services

DealCentral Targets M&As

CASECENTRAL INC. has launched DealCentral Service, its new online technology that offers secure, online document collaboration and authentication for mergers, acquisitions, venture funding and public offering.

The Web-based system allows professionals to collaborate, access documents and organize confidential information within a simple, secure environment, says the San Francisco company. It includes "deal rooms" and "data rooms," with a simple interface.

Reader Response no. 227.

Operating Systems

Microsoft Ships Windows XP

REDMOND'S Microsoft Corp. says it's on schedule to ship the latest version of its operating system, Windows XP, on October 25. Bill Gates, chair and chief software architect, says the new OS builds on "the momentum of the Internet."

It will be offered in a "home edition" and a "professional" version, says Gates. The new edition focuses more atention on digital music and photography, instant messaging, and home networking, says Microsoft. It also adds more sophisticated security tools.

Reader Response no. 225.

Trial Tools

TimeMap 2 Debuts

FLORIDA'S DecisionQuest has scheduled the release of the latest version of its chronology graph creation software, TimeMap2.

The company plans to launch the latest version of the chronology software on Oct. 15, it says.

The software helps lawyers and other legal professionals create chronology graphs that clarify demonstrative evidence.

The software's most obvious use is for courtroom displays, but it also can be used in client interviews, to help visualize key facts of a case, suggests the company, based in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Users can import data in litigation support database programs such as Concordance or Summation, reports Decision-Quest. New features include instant time scale breaks and syle options, support for rich text, flexible flag positioning, and the ability to pass facts back and forth between Time-Map and CaseMap (the company's software that helps users organize their cases).

The new upgrade also offers the ability to handle visuals that are up to 20 pages wide, it says.

Reader Response no. 226.