Intelligent Software is Key to Success
The UK Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the appeal in Cadder v Her Majesty's Advocate is certain
to increase lawyers’ caseloads for years to come.
It is by no means certain, however, that they will be allowed to charge additional funding for representing
suspects under interview by the police.
The “Intelligent” suite of software products from Denovo Legal Intelligence is designed to assist busy legal
aid lawyers to manage their time – and, as its name suggests, is also smart enough to recognise the case
number and the fee to be charged.
It also allows lawyers engaged in legal aid work to conform to the rules and regulations of the Scottish
Legal Aid Board (SLAB), producing an electronic daily timesheet of activities, and working out the various
charge bands, such as block fees and time and line fees.
It’s also useful when two or three clients are visited in prison on the same day. Such visits have to be
divided for SLAB compliance, but because the rates may be different for each client, different charges will
apply. And the system will work out the division and calculate the appropriate rate to charge.
An increasing number of practitioners using Denovo’s Intelligent products are finding access to their files
easier, as well.
They can access their electronic files through an “app” on their smart phone, iPad or laptop – wherever they
are, as long as they have access to Broadband or WiFi.
More than 10 of the 20 big-name Scottish legal aid firms are users – and many sole practitioners are taking
advantage of the company’s Cloud-based software, which they can “rent” rather than having to purchase.
Denovo’s system also has a highly efficient criminal court calendar that makes it simple for legal firms to
keep track of court appearances – even across courts in different jurisdictions on the same day.
The application is also widely used by many civil practitioners, including those specialising in matrimonial,
guardianship, child welfare/family and associated work.