Three West Yorkshire law firms install Omnia costs budgeting solution

UK News

16
Sep
2013

Editor

Three West Yorkshire law firms have adopted an innovative costs budgeting system in response to the new costs management rules that came into effect in April 2013. Clarion, Jordans and Switalskis have all recently installed Omnia Legal Software’s program to enable them to carry out costs budgeting in accordance with the new rules.  

Clarion, Jordans Solicitors and Switalskis Solicitors LLP all operate in West Yorkshire, providing a range of legal services to both individuals and businesses.

Omnia is a clear and easy to use, flexible web based tool which enables solicitors to prepare and, crucially, monitor costs budgets. It also gives solicitors the ability to produce schedules of costs for summary assessment and to analyse completed cases to produce template budgets for different case types. The software is designed to integrate seamlessly with firms’ existing PMS/CMS systems.

The software has been described as a 'best-in-class cost management solution' by Colum Smith, managing partner of Southern England law firm, McMillan Williams which has been using Omnia for its multi-track cases since April, and also use it for time recording.

Nigel Stott, from Clarion said: “When the costs budgeting regime came into play we knew that the firm would need a sophisticated yet practical solution to ensure we could best serve our clients in light of the new litigation landscape. Sue’s vast knowledge and understanding of costs issues meant that her program was by far the best we’ve come across, so installing Omnia was the natural next step for us.”

Sue Nash, costs lawyer and founder of Omnia Legal Software, commented: “Recent judgments handed down over the spring and summer has confirmed time and time again the importance of complying with the new rules to the letter. If firms don’t comply with the new rules they will lose money. Yet firms are also finding that the process gives them a granular view of how their spend breaks down over the course of a claim, and are starting to examine how they can apply this to non-contentious practice areas within their firms as well.

“Costs budgeting is not just a useful tool to manage cases; it can also prove valuable in managing the spend and profitability of the wider firm. I am pleased to be working with three forward-thinking West Yorkshire firms that are exploring how they can both comply with and benefit from the new costs budgeting rules.”