From Plato to the Cloud: How advobue Digitalized Their Law Firm

From Local Solution to the Cloud

Customer Story · advobue Law Firm, Gossau · Law Firm Blog

In legal practice, one thing counts above all: efficiency with the utmost care. Any law firm that wants to remain competitive must be up to date not only legally, but also technologically. The advobue law firm from Gossau, Switzerland, is a successful example of a consistent, future-oriented digitalization path. For over seven years, the lawyers at advobue have relied on the law firm management software timeSensor LEGAL – a decision that has paid off many times over.

This customer story shows how technical openness, sound advice, and the use of a tailored software solution can be combined to create real relief in demanding everyday law firm life.

Decision-Making with Foresight

Choosing the right law firm management software is a strategic step that has long-term effects on a firm’s efficiency, security, and flexibility. At advobue, too, this decision was at the very beginning of an important transformation. The firm, which offers a wide range of legal and notarial services – including construction law, contract law, and criminal law – worked with the Plato software for over fifteen years. However, with increasing use, weaknesses in the scalability and cost-efficiency of the legal software became apparent.

As early as 2012, law firm partner Christian Bütikofer first contacted timeSensor AG by telephone. The central requirement: law firm management software that runs natively on macOS. Although the range of functions and the user interface of timeSensor LEGAL were already convincing at the time, the cost structure was not yet suitable for the firm’s size and strategy at that point.

As is so often the case in legal practice, patience is a good advisor here: five years later, in 2017, Mr. Bütikofer sought dialogue again – under changed circumstances. After hiring an assistant, the question of the right digital infrastructure arose once more. In the meantime, Plato’s cloud solution had become significantly more expensive. Thus, the renewed contact with timeSensor AG became a turning point for the firm.

Strategically Advised, Practically Implemented

In an online meeting with Mr. Bütikofer, we discussed the workflows in the firm and the specific needs of advobue. It quickly became clear that a local server solution was the more economical alternative to the cloud version at that time. Since the firm’s team worked mostly on-site, a Mac Mini server was the ideal solution for operating timeSensor LEGAL stably and efficiently.

The decision was made quickly, and the contract was signed after only ten days – a swift and targeted switch to the new law firm management software was thus initiated. The implementation took place in close cooperation between advobue and timeSensor AG. It was particularly remarkable how quickly the firm was able to benefit from the software’s advantages.

A major advantage: the user-friendly interface of timeSensor, which enabled lawyers and assistants to quickly learn how to use the software even without IT knowledge. Automated templates and integrated billing provided noticeable relief for employees from the start and enabled faster and more efficient processing of Matters.

Mr. Bütikofer found that he could save about 30 minutes of working time every day with timeSensor LEGAL.

Technical Developments and Continuous Adaptation

The successful introduction of timeSensor LEGAL was only the first step on the law firm’s digitalization path. From the beginning, advobue showed interest in the further functions of our law firm management software.

In 2021, Mr. Bütikofer became aware of our new Communicator module through our newsletter. This module uses an interface to the email program (e.g., Outlook) to automatically assign and save incoming and outgoing emails to the corresponding Matter. A very practical feature that considerably simplifies document filing and makes the entire communication process with clients more efficient.

However, although this function was already available, advobue decided to postpone the module for the time being, as email traffic was still manageable manually at that point. It was only when the module gained greater importance and a larger range of functions with the integration of Justitia 4.0 and direct communication with Swiss authorities that our partner firm decided to introduce the module after all.

The Big Step into the Cloud

In 2024, when a new generation of our law firm management software and tailored cloud solutions became available, advobue decided to take this step together with timeSensor. The switch to the cloud represented a decisive course setting for the firm to achieve even more flexibility and scalability. Thanks to the cloud solution, all advobue employees can access the law firm management software seamlessly, regardless of their work location. This opened up the possibility of working remotely, from a home office, or abroad.

The timeSensor cloud infrastructure offers not only high ease of use but also the highest security standards. It is operated in a data center near Zurich, which is regularly maintained to ensure the highest possible security. Another important aspect: the introduction of 2-factor authentication, which makes access to the software even more secure. In addition, there is a sophisticated backup system. timeSensor performs a three-stage storage process for this purpose.

Also with regard to data security and data protection, advobue has been fully protected and technologically up to date since the upgrade to our new software generation.

I have never regretted the switch to timeSensor to this day; instead, I look forward to the user experience every day! The switch to the cloud has also convinced me so far. In addition, my wish to be able to use 2-factor authentication was fulfilled immediately.

Partnership as a Success Factor

What particularly characterizes the cooperation between advobue and timeSensor is the close partnership and exchange between both sides. Right from the start of the cooperation, it became clear that the advobue law firm not only has an interest in an efficient solution but also brings a remarkable openness to new technologies. This leads not only to better law firm management software but also to real synergy between the two partners, based on common goals and values.

The partnership between advobue and timeSensor AG impressively shows how real efficiency gains can be achieved in everyday law firm life through technological openness, strategic planning, and tailored software solutions.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank advobue for the seven years of cooperation. We thank Mr. Bütikofer and his team for their trust and their willingness to break new ground together, and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership. “We are proud to have supported the Bütikofer law firm as a software partner since 2018. The cooperation with attorney Bütikofer is consistently pleasant and inspiring – his extensive IT experience strengthens the efficiency and quality of our cooperation. We unreservedly recommend the Bütikofer law firm as a reliable and competent partner.” — Product Senior Manager Daniel N. Solenthaler from timeSensor AG.