Technology makes a difference for Texas law firm

When Peterson Law Group in Texas opened its doors, Chris Peterson, a principal with the firm, wanted to create a virtual law firm that would leverage a Web-based practice management system and extensive use of social media.

Peterson explains, “When the firm was established in 2008, we knew we wanted to convert our attorneys’ existing records and go to a paperless office system, but we weren’t sure of the best way to do it.” The firm worked with AgniTEK, which suggested Fortis from Westbrook Technologies. “They thought it would be a good fit for us,” Peterson says. “The price point was a lot better than some of the other software we were looking at, and Fortis has the functionality we need.”

Peterson continues, “Our goal was to speed up retrieval with full-text indexing and OCR capabilities, and provide a safety net to prevent misfiling documents.” E-mail is the most common type of communication archived in Fortis, using a “send to Fortis” button from the Microsoft Outlook interface.

Peterson Law Group has stored more than 500,000 documents in Fortis to date, according to Westbrook Technologies. The firm also archives accounts payable, human resources and tax information.

The firm utilizes Fortis in combination with on- and off-site network backup for disaster recovery. “The attorneys in the Gulf Coast all learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Ike about what happens if your office is closed by a natural disaster,” Peterson says. “If something were to happen, we would be up and running in a matter of a few hours without losing anything. Our use of technology is a differentiating factor for the firm. When you’ve practiced law the old way, and then start practicing law using technology and automation, you notice a huge difference.”