From software selection to successful migration

Streichenberg is an established Zurich commercial law firm with around 15 lawyers and a total of 30 employees. In this interview, partner Rolf Herter talks about the challenges of a software migration, why the cloud was the decisive criterion, and what sets timeSensor LEGAL 365 apart from other providers.

Please briefly introduce yourself and your law firm.

My name is Rolf Herter, I am a partner and was the long-time Managing Partner of the law firm Streichenberg in Zurich. Our firm is essentially a commercial law firm. We advise companies and the private individuals behind them, and we have national and international clients. With around 15 lawyers and a total of about 30 employees, we are a small to medium-sized firm.

How long have you been using timeSensor LEGAL 365?

We implemented the law firm management software a good year ago. Before that, we had two other programs and had already gone through a migration from one law firm management software to a German provider. And now, the switch to timeSensor.

And what challenges were there on the way to the new law firm management software?

There were indeed many challenges because the ideal software doesn't exist and you always have to make trade-offs somewhere. So the question is always: where do we make which compromises? Another challenge is that there are actually a lot of providers for law firm management software.

There are providers who are incredibly strong in one area but, for example, do not offer law firm management and document management in combination. So we had to decide in good time what was important to us and make the right trade-offs. Ultimately, we ended up with the software where the overall feeling was best – and that was quite clearly timeSensor LEGAL 365.

What reasons spoke in favor of switching to timeSensor at the time?

The cloud was decisive for us. We wanted to move away from our local server in the law firm and store all data centrally online. But there were, of course, other reasons as well. After looking at many systems, we absolutely wanted a law firm management software where the management software and the document management came from a single source.

We were also careful to ensure that the management software in particular was as easy to use as possible, because we had previously experienced having to make many clicks to get anywhere. Therefore, a solution that is easy to handle, especially for the employees, was important to us. We found that with timeSensor LEGAL 365.

Did the fact that timeSensor comes from Switzerland play a role in your decision?

That is indeed a point we discussed in the law firm. Previously, we had a provider from Germany. Basically, we were open to all providers from the EU. Because it is, of course, important to us where our data is located and that it is secure and compliant with data protection regulations. We then came to the conclusion that data is secure anywhere in the EU because we have good data protection regulations everywhere here. Therefore, the Swiss location was not a sole deciding criterion. But it is, of course, a good feeling to know that the data is securely located in Switzerland with timeSensor.

A decisive factor for timeSensor was also that we felt the provider really understands the work we do as lawyers. We didn't want an all-in-one solution that does everything but nothing well; we wanted software tailored to our needs. With timeSensor LEGAL 365, you notice again and again in the application that someone who understands the legal industry has really put thought into it. That was absolutely decisive for us.

Were there also exclusion criteria for you? In other words, features that would have been a "no-go"?

With some providers, you couldn't automate the filing of emails. But that is a function that is very important to us because it saves time and brings structure to the daily work routine. timeSensor has solved this well. It was also crucial for us that all law firm processes are covered, including, for example, certain accounting processes.

How did the switch to timeSensor go for you?

We have core employees who have been working for us for a long time. They know how our law firm works and is organized. We actively involved them in the search for the new law firm management software. And they, of course, also helped with the migration. Naturally, we also spoke with all our lawyers about what expectations they had for the law firm management software. What does the daily work look like? Where do they reach their limits? Together with the partners, we then looked at many offers and evaluated them.

We started this migration with a lot of enthusiasm and confidence. During the implementation, we were very well supported by timeSensor. Basically, such a migration is a very strenuous process. With timeSensor, we repeatedly received new test versions and then had to test whether everything was "mapped" correctly.

That was a complex process; one should not underestimate it. As a law firm, for example, you don't even know at the beginning how much data is actually stored in your own database and what you need to watch out for during data transfer. Here, you shouldn't be afraid to bring plenty of time to question and test everything, including details. The test results must also be documented so that the provider understands where something is not yet right. I think we succeeded well in this together with timeSensor. That's why everything ran smoothly in the end.

How long did it take from the decision for timeSensor to the point where the software was ready for use?

That went very quickly. timeSensor LEGAL 365 was ready for use in our law firm within six months. We were very satisfied with that. In our case, we had almost no follow-up work.

How was the reaction of your employees to the new law firm management software? Has the collaboration changed?

The feedback from our lawyers and the assistants who work with the law firm management software daily was positive. You have to know that every change to the law firm organization initially leads to additional effort and there are always questions. What is changing? How does this work? Where do I have to click?

However, the acceptance of the new software was very high here. Beyond questions, there were no complaints at all from our employees. This was certainly also because it went very quickly until everything was adapted and working. Furthermore, timeSensor LEGAL 365 is very intuitive to use.

Is there something that makes timeSensor truly remarkable and sets it apart from other providers? What advantages have you already noticed?

Yes, I believe what makes timeSensor truly remarkable are the intuitive workflows. I don't know any law firm management software that is so good to use. This, of course, also pleases our employees and ultimately even saves time and money. The software is built in a really easy-to-understand way.

It should be emphasized that, unlike other providers, timeSensor focuses not on the Matter, but on the Client at the center. The software is structured so that at the top level there is always a (natural or legal) person – the Client. Only below that do you see the Matter or the individual files belonging to that person.

Once you get used to this structure, you don't want to be without it. It is much tidier than with other providers. timeSensor has solved this excellently.

Is there also something that didn't work so well?

What sometimes leads to problems is the internet connection. In today's environment, you need a lot of bandwidth for the system to run. That sometimes didn't work so well at the beginning – for example, when I wanted to access my files from Spain. But timeSensor is already working on that too. There is supposed to be a direct browser platform soon, which will improve this enormously.

Of course, there are always opportunities for improvement with any software. Over the years, you always find something that could run even better when working with software. timeSensor takes a lot of time for us here and also takes our ideas seriously. That is to be rated very positively and makes timeSensor a partner on equal footing.

In this context, you also switched your law firm telephony. Can you tell me more about that?

As a law firm, we actually decided to abolish our classic telephones in order to be more flexible. The deciding factor was that we wanted to abolish our own server in the office to be completely cloud-based. We already had a VoIP system before the switch to timeSensor.

But our idea was that if we were already migrating, we would change everything at once. Ultimately, we decided on Teams telephony. The big advantage of Microsoft Teams is that you can be reached anywhere via your own office number and, conversely, you can make calls from your own phone number – no matter where you are sitting. This also has advantages for employees – for example, when working from home or mobile working.

Does timeSensor also play a role in Teams telephony? In other words, are the two programs networked with each other?

Both run via the cloud and allow mobile working. But otherwise, the two systems are independent of each other. So Teams and timeSensor LEGAL 365 run completely independently.

Do you use Business Intelligence at Streichenberg?

We are not yet using the Business Intelligence offering from timeSensor. But we are in the process of implementing this as well. We hope to gain a lot of information and data about our law firm work and our Matters through it.

First, however, our data must be cleaned up. Streichenberg has existed since 1993. Accordingly, a lot of data has accumulated since then. To a certain extent, we are of course already using the data now for certain planning processes. With timeSensor, however, this is to be significantly expanded starting next year.

How do you assess the collaboration with timeSensor as a Swiss boutique provider for the DACH region?

The collaboration is very good. We are very satisfied to have timeSensor as a reliable partner at our side.

My only point of criticism: at the beginning, I would have wished that the pure user support was even better. At the start, you are often referred to the instructions on the internet. And the instructions are really good. timeSensor has a whole academy, so to speak, where everything important is explained to you. But right at the beginning, it would have been great to be guided a bit more.

On the other hand, the technical support was absolutely outstanding. If we had any technical problem, we could get in touch at any time and we were helped very quickly. The IT support is really very personal and quite uncomplicated.

What tips would you give to other law firms that want to change their law firm management software? What do you have to watch out for and would you recommend timeSensor?

I don't have a to-do list, but there are of course some points to watch out for. First, you have to know your own processes very well. That is the most important thing. You have to know what is actually essential for your own work as a law firm.

Furthermore, you shouldn't just make the decision for the law firm management software alone based on a gut feeling. It is important to involve all employees in the process. Those who work with the law firm management software daily know best what to watch out for during a switch and which functions are important. Where are the pain points? What isn't going so well so far? Where do we want to go with the program?

In addition, I would recommend to all law firms that you have as much as possible from a single source. That is, you decide on a provider that offers as many functions as possible themselves. That was exactly one of the reasons why we chose timeSensor. Because: the more IT providers involved, the more complicated it becomes. And the more error-prone the program is in the end, because not all interfaces may be coordinated with each other.

My personal recommendation for all law firms is also that law firm management and document management should by no means be separated from each other. So that should definitely come from a single source. timeSensor scores here as well. Overall, I can therefore recommend timeSensor LEGAL 365.