Welcome and Thanks from Orion President and CEO, Paul Yelton
Did you know that 25 years have passed since Orion’s software was first installed in a law firm? It amazes me when I consider what changes 25 years have brought to our company, to our software and to our clients.
If you’ve been paying attention to the legal software industry you probably know about some of the turmoil and consolidations that have been going on. Most recently you may have heard of Rainmaker, Omega and Client Profiles being acquired. Going back only a few years there have been eight others. It’s sad to say that this has led to law firms having to deal with discontinued product lines and deteriorating software support.
My message to you is that Orion is stronger today than ever before. I want you to know that we have not lost our commitment to providing our clients with the most usable and innovative software available. We will never lose our focus on customer service. For more than 25 years, it has been our pleasure to work with the very best law firms in the industry. Thank You! My promise to you is that we will never take you for granted.
Well over 300 law firms nation-wide have seen Orion as a company that continues to grow and attract the very best the industry has to offer in regards to support, training, project management and enhancements.
Orion’s 4L Accounting Consulting Services division, led by former Holland & Knight CFO Michael Marget, is rapidly expanding.
And just in the last 12 months, Orion has added the following “major” features (and well over 300 other enhancements):
A/R Collection Manager
Email Bill Delivery
Orion-MS Exchange Sync support of Exchange 2010
Addition of more than 25 reports
And, we have many, many new features that are in the works. Here’s just a taste of what we have coming as a part of Orion 4.5 which is scheduled for release within the next 3-6 months:
iOrion (providing support for iOS)
Credit Card Processing with PayPros
BI & Managed Dashboards
Orion’s NEW Calendar, Task and Reminder Managers
Orion’s MS Office Productivity
Reimbursement Expense Manager
We take great pride in the fact that everything you see in our products was designed, programmed, tested and implemented by Orion employees. Not by outsourcing to foreign countries. Not by buying up pieces from competitors. The result is a consistent, user-friendly interface that you’ve come to expect from Orion. We are unique in the industry and we intend to stay that way.
Thank you for reading the newsletter. I hope you find it informative. Please know that we appreciate you and your commitment to Orion.
New Orion Clients and Existing Clients Expanding their Orion Use
Welcome to New Clients:
Odin, Feldman & Pittleman, P.C.
Simmons Advisory Services Inc.
McLin & Burnsed P.A.
Aronberg Goldgehn David & Garmisa
Young Moore and Henderson, P.A.
First Annapolis Consulting
Parker Highlander, PLLC
O’Connor & Thomas, P.C.
Orion Clients Expand Software Use:
Clyde Snow – Marketing Management, Exchange Sync
Burglass & Tankersley – Worldox, Orion-Worldox Integration Module, Exchange Sync.
Orion Hires 4 New Team Members
What’s news is that Orion is growing fast! In fact, we just added four new experienced professionals to our team, and we’re proud to introduce you to them. You’ll be working with these folks soon, if you’re not already, so please join us in welcoming (in alphabetical order): Rob Brockman, Deidra Chisholm, Paula Howard and Keith Torbert – short bios for each below.
Robert “Rob” W. Brockman, Consultant – Sales
Prior to joining Orion, Rob held a sales position at LAN Associates for nearly 5 years selling IT services and solutions to law firms from South Carolina to Washington, DC. His focus was on network support, document management implementations, server virtualization and other large-scale network deployments and he launched the company’s North Carolina operations. Rob referred several clients to Orion during his time with LAN.
Deidra T. Chisholm, Consulting Services
Deidra returns to Orion from a brief period of Legal Administrative work. Her previous time working for Orion was during the late DOS to early Windows days. Deidra brings both hands-on and education experience with software, law firms and accounting fundamentals. She will assist Orion’s users by providing accounting training and support.
Paula J. Howard, Client Services/Administration
Paula wears many hats at Orion, including that of HR manager, accounts receivable, billing, training and help desk support. She comes to Orion from Client Profiles, a legal software company recently acquired by Aderant, where she managed the office for seven (7) years. She was the right hand of the COO, CFO and Vice President and was considered the “go to” person. During her time there Paula learned how to operate and function within the legal industry. Paula has over twenty (20) years of administrative and customer service experience that she brings to Orion along with her positive “client services” attitude.
Keith L. Torbert, Consulting Services
Prior to joining Orion, Keith held a Client Relations position and Assistant Support Manager at Client Profiles for 8 years supporting the Client Profiles Case Management software for clients all over the country. Also, he was acting Support Manager in the absence of the Support Manager. His focus was making sure the client support issues with the software were taken care in a timely manner. He also worked with firm’s IT vendors migrating from other case management software to the Client Profiles software.
Get Paid! Attorney at Work Publishes Kevin Harris’ Article
Orion’s ubiquitous Kevin Harris wrote an informative article for Attorney at Work entitled “It’s About Time You Got Paid” which provides useful tips and strategies for successful law firm A/R collections. Kevin’s advice includes stating a payment policy to clients early on, tracking time accurately, billing predictably and professionally, and devising a collections strategy. Check out Kevin’s article here – you’ll be glad you did! Read the full article here.
http://orionlaw.com/lib/fn/Its_About_Time_You_Got_Paid.pdf
ABA’s Law Practice Magazine Publishes Article Co-Authored by Kevin Harris and Orion Customer Allison Renaud of Dickinson Mackaman
Orion gets ink with the American Bar Association! Kevin Harris teamed up with Allison Renaud, Director of Finance at Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen P.C., to write an article for the ABA’s Law Practice Magazine entitled “Accelerating Receivables for Greater Profitability,” which appeared in the July/August issue. The article explores the profitability benefits of improved accounts receivable collections, the costs of inadequate collections process, and best practices solutions for AR/Collections at law firms. Read the full article here.
http://orionlaw.com/lib/fn/LawPracticeMagazineArticleAccountsReceivable.pdf
Case Study: Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler
Shapiro Sher recently switched to Orion Practice Management, leaving behind a cloud-based case management system that was not working for them. The firm’s COO, Renee Lane-Kunz, wrote a compelling case study article about why her firm decided to change to Orion. Click here to read the full article, which was published on The Orange Rag, an international legal technology blog.
http://www.legaltechnology.com/case-studies/shapiro-sher-guinot-sandler-leaves-the-cloud-behind-and-implements-orion/
Face Time: ALA Regional Events This Fall
You’re invited…Orion will be exhibiting in several regional ALA events this fall and we would love to touch base with you and show you what’s new with the software!
We’re headed to Atlanta, GA for Region 2, then on to Denver, CO for Region 4, then to Anaheim, CA for Regions 5 & 6 and lastly to Mashantucket, CT for Region 1. Dates and details below.
Stop by Orion’s booth at any of the ALA Regional Events to register for a chance to win an “Entertainment Package” valued at $100.00. The basket contains gift cards for Outback Steakhouse, Fandango Movies and Cold Stone Creamery
Click here to print out a registration form in advance.
ALA Event details are listed below.
We hope to see you there, and safe travels!
ALA Region 2 Conference & Expo
Loews Atlanta – Atlanta, GA
September 27-29, 2012
http://www.alanet.org/region2/conf/
Platinum Level Sponsors
Orion Entry Form Chance to Win $100 Entertainment Package!
ALA Region 4 Conference & Expo
Sheraton Denver Downtown
Denver, CO
October 4-6, 2012
http://www.alanet.org/region4/conf/
Bronze Level Sponsors
Orion Entry Form Chance to Win $100 Entertainment Package!
ALA Regions 5 &6 Conference & Expo
Disneyland® Hotel
Anaheim, CA
October 11-13, 2012
https://www.alanet.org/region56/conf/
Bronze Level Sponsors
Orion Entry Form Chance to Win $100 Entertainment Package!
ALA Region 1 Conference & Expo
MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Mashantucket, CT
October 18-20, 2012
http://www.alanet.org/region1/conf/
Silver Level Sponsors
Orion Entry Form Chance to Win $100 Entertainment Package!
Orion Support FAQ
Learn how to use Orion’s Miscellaneous Cash (MC) feature – step-by-step instructions are below on how to delete or adjust a transaction.
http://orionlaw.com/lib/fn/SupportCenterFAQ_Q3_2012_Newsletter.pdf
Tech Tips
Maximizing your Workstation Horsepower
Click below to read the latest technology brief straight from Orion’s research lab, explaining and recommending power settings to enhance your workstation, and also discussing how you can modify your performance within OS and BIOS. Click here for Tech Tip.
http://orionlaw.com/lib/fn/TechTip_Q3_2012_Newsletter_FAQ.pdf