Capture More Billable Hours with CMS

Legal55 integrates with CMS to:

1. Cache validation data (clients, matters, timekeepers, etc)
2. Initialize user data (phone extension, name, windows login ID)
3. Export time entries

The Network Appliance automatically handles these processes, and settings can be managed through the web interface to the Network Appliance.

Gray Plant Mooty Mooty & Bennett PA, a 160-attorney firm based in Minneapolis, benefited from the elimination of manual steps in the import process. Said Kerri Edwards, Time & Billing Supervisor, “the ease of not having to run an importer anymore is wonderful. There are human errors that can happen with the generic import process and now they’re not an issue. ”

Gray Plant Mooty benefited from the near-real time aspect of the import. “In our reporting, hours recorded don’t count until they are released in CMS, so the rapid auto-update lets us see how we are doing immediately,” said Edwards.

The Legal55 Network Appliance queries the CMS database over a SQL Server connection to download data from appropriate tables. The requirements for this functionality are:

1. IP Address of SQL Server hosting database for CMS
2. Database for CMS (often CMSOPEN or the like)
3. Username for a SQL Server account with database-wide - rights to the CMS database
4. Password for that account

The validation import is scheduled to run on a batch basis. A daily run (usually at 3am) is the standard, and additional synchronizations can be scheduled.
Exporting Time Entries
The primary method for exporting time is through a direct database link. Time entries are exported from the Network Appliance shortly after they are committed in Legal55. The data required to configure this process is largely the same:

1. IP Address of SQL Server hosting database for CMS (usually same as for import)
2. Database (usually same as for import)
3. Username for a SQL Server account with database-wide “SELECT, EXECUTE” and “INSERT” privileges on the TAT_TIME and TAT_TEXT tables (often same as account for import, with these additional privileges)
4. Password for that account

This process usually runs every five minutes. It can be run more or less frequently at the firm’s request. Additional time entry transfer methods are available, including through the CMS web API (if the firm has purchased that module from Aderant) and legacy support for text file transport through the CMS Generic Importer.

For both functions, Legal55 provides a simple interface through the Network Appliance to apply appropriate settings to make sure Legal55 can read and write the appropriate data. No user intervention is required for the automatic process.

Element55 has significant experience with various CMS setups. As CMS is a very customizable system, all parameters are checked before deployment to make sure they align with your particular configuration.

Learn more - contact us, or call (617) 423-0692!

CMS is a registered trademark of ADERANT