adesso extends its IT Range of Services by the new branch focus Legal Services

Dortmund, 08 May 2008 – adesso AG extends its range of services by adding Legal Services Solutions. Large law firms supplement the established adesso core industries insurance and reinsurance, statutory health insurerance and lottery companies. The focus of the service for law firms is to optimise internal and client-related processes, such as, for example, the introduction of web-based portals, electronic file processing , e-billing or digital knowledge management. In order to develop and extend the new business field adesso employed Oliver von Ameln, an experienced legal services expert.

The market for legal services is undergoing some rapid change and is characterized by increasing competition, especially with regard to company clients. All large law firms provide first-class lawyers for specific problems to their customers, which implies that factors like workflow organisation and controlling gain ever more priority. In this process the technological development of the law firms has often not kept pace with that of their clients. The service level in the organisational field of law firms serves more frequently as an orientation for the heads of large legal departments. As a matter of fact the so-called e-billing, i.e. the electronic accounting exchange between legal departments and law firms, has for years been a standard in the USA; in Germany, however, this has not yet become sufficiently widespread. The increasing presence of large and frequently globally operating law firms in Germany with a respective need of IT consultancy and support offers adesso a very good growth potential.

Dr. Rüdiger Striemer, Chief Executive for Corporate Development at adesso: “In recent years we have already developed complex and comprehensive IT solutions for many large clients of law firms predominantly from the bank and insurance segment. Therefore, extending our portfolio by the segment Legal Services Solutions became rather obvious. Sector knowledge and experience in the field of law have been specifically added to our IT competence and, thus, we are able to offer large law firms ideal qualifications for implementing modern IT structures and processes.”

adesso’s service for large law firms comprises, for example, the implementation of high-performance portals enabling clients to inspect and evaluate essential information concerning aspects of the mandate. Project progress such as the costs status or risks can be retrieved as up-to-date information on such portals. At the same time the effective cooperation between the consulting and the client team is supported. Document management, electronic files including mobile access possibilities, knowledge management and individually implemented workflows rationalise the cooperation and enable an effective management and control of external legal advice and legal representation.

Among the adesso clients in the sector Legal Services is, for example, one of the world´s biggest law firm, Clifford Chance, as well as an internationally operating law firm in Barcelona.