Replacement of a matter management system can rank up there with a root canal

A comment by a consultant in InsideCounsel, June 2010 at 56, brought home a truth about matter management and e-billing systems: “The cost to change systems is extraordinary.”

The cost to license a new system represents only a part of the investment. If the pain were only pennies, even lots of them, decisions would be much easier to make. But a systems selection process can take months and months and suck up time of the legal department, the finance or procurement department, and the IT department. Then, too, the effort to train users on the new system and alter accustomed ways of working reverberate for months more. On top of this, conversion of historical data from the legacy system to the new system can cause anguish. The decision to change systems has significant consequences, costs, and consternations.