Gibson & Gibson Fortifies Practice Management with Amicus Attorney

Company: Gibson & Gibson, PA.
Location: Benton, Arkansas
Number of Employees: 3

The Firm

Gibson & Gibson, PA prides itself on efficiency – which makes a lot of sense since its founder, Sam Ed Gibson, served with the United States Army Reserve (USAR) for 35 years before retiring at the rank of Brigadier General. The firm, which focuses on general and civil law, has been delivering quality legal services to businesses, families and local government since 1972. A practicing lawyer for 40 years, Sam has excelled in multiple legal roles throughout his career, including City Attorney for the City of Benton, Municipal Judge for Benton and Saline County and as a Chairman of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct.

In 2000, Gibson & Gibson welcomed another attorney to the firm - Pamela Gibson, Sam’s wife. Prior to joining the firm, she worked as an Associate General Counsel with the University of Arkansas. She is a Sustaining Member and Foundation Fellow of the Arkansas Bar Association where she is Co-Chairman of the IT Infrastructure committee.

Together, the husband-wife team provides a combined legal expertise of 60 years to the community of Benton, Arkansas.

The Challenge

Prior to opening his practice, Sam had spent three years as a lawyer for a bigger law firm that was staffed heavily with administrative support. This experience cemented his determination to run his own practice as efficiently as possible without a heavy support contingent. As a proponent of using technology to create efficiency, Sam realized that he would be able to use technology to handle many functions himself that traditionally would be performed by support staff.

When Pamela joined Gibson & Gibson, she quickly recognized the need for computer networking. The firm shared information via discs, but each computer ran independently – which caused complications when it came to collaboration. For example, the firm was unable to share a communal calendar of activities and deadlines. And if a client needed information from an older file, it often meant a time-consuming trip to a storage facility. Tracking time and billing also proved to be challenging tasks, since they were primarily paper-based operations.

The Solution

Gibson & Gibson implemented Amicus Attorney in early 2000. As Sam describes it, “Amicus Attorney was a catalyst to update our file maintenance and practices. We quickly realized that we were getting benefits from the software and wanted to fully implement it.”

The initial installation and each subsequent upgrade of Amicus Attorney was straightforward and user friendly for firm members. After the installation, the firm took the time to transfer information – such as files, appointments and contacts - into Amicus Attorney. From there, they fully realized the importance of Amicus Attorney, and have subsequently upgraded several times through the past decade, with no difficulties. In 2010, Gibson & Gibson enrolled in the Amicus Maintenance Plan. Plan members automatically receive all software upgrades and updates, as well as unlimited technical support for their Amicus software – allowing the firm to fully concentrate on its legal work.

“I’ve had the experience with other software where I’ve had to purchase a premium-priced support plan to get an answer on a simple question. The maintenance plan allows us to pay a flat price each year and gives us software updates. It made sense to us. I’ve had occasion to call Amicus Technical Support, and I’ve been very pleased with the results,” says Sam.

Gibson & Gibson’s devotion to using Amicus Attorney to its full extent has paid off. As Pamela says, “We’ve been doing this for years and we can make Amicus Attorney sing!”

The Benefits

Gibson & Gibson’s organization skills are held in high regard within the legal community. They can easily locate the information they are looking for without wading through piles of paper.

“There have been occasions when attorneys from opposing counsel have contacted us looking for documents,” says Sam. “One defense counsel called a year or two after a case closed. I went to his Amicus Attorney contact card, and opened the file while we were talking. Before he got off the phone, I was able to email him a copy of his brief which he had been unable to find in his own
office.”

The duo especially enjoys the new features of Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition, including the color-coded calendar and the ability to relate documents and emails to Amicus events.

The two Droid users have also benefited greatly from Amicus Attorney mobile access. Having their calendars and contact information on hand at all times has greatly increased their productivity. As Pamela puts it, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to court and the other lawyers were jealous because I had all my contacts and calendar information with me in one place.”

In all, Gibson & Gibson has realized efficiencies across multiple fronts of their practice, including:

• Documentation - Having the documentation they need at their finger tips has improved the firm’s ability to operate efficiently. All documentation, including contact information, is entered into Amicus Attorney and associated with the appropriate file.
• Conflict checks - Conflicts checks are simplified with Amicus Attorney. “It used to be that if someone wanted to hire you, you would have to go through an index card box to determine conflicts,” says Pamela. “Now we don’t worry about it. We’re doing a conflicts check with every contact entry.”
• Templates - Templates have proven especially useful, as they allow easy letter and document generation. This also ensures consistent and streamlined communications, while saving time for more important priorities.
• Notes – With Amicus, both lawyers are able take notes and attach them to the appropriate files. “To be able to find every conversation you’ve ever had with someone and look it up by their contact card – that’s just huge!” says Pamela.
• Billing - Thanks to the features such as the Amicus timer, Gibson & Gibson can capture their time immediately, associate it with the correct file and post to their accounting system quickly and easily.

According to Sam, “Having Amicus Attorney has made us better lawyers.”