Axxia system gets the vote from Irish eight

Alison Laferia reports

Eight of the top Irish law firms have unanimously opted to install Arista case and practice management systems.

The deal provides the supplier, Axxia Systems, with a major foothold in the Irish market.

The firms grouped together to assess case and practice management systems in order to boost their buying and negotiating power. The practices all needed technology which could be adapted to accommodate the Irish Law Society and tax rules.

Suppliers were initially asked to give presentations to the group as a whole and then to each of the member firms individually. After a series of demonstrations and meetings, the group unanimously decided to adopt Axxia's Arista system. The firms will now form an Axxia user group in Ireland.

Michael Daly, elected chair of the consortium and partner with Cork-based Ronan Daly Jermyn, said he was impressed by Axxia's large user base. "While many of the vendors discussed case management functionality, Axxia was the only supplier that was able to show us it in action," he said.

Axxia will now work with each firm to meet specific IT needs, customising systems where necessary.

Ireland's largest practice, McCann FitzGerald, will be the first to have Arista installed. It has opted for the complete system, including case management and desktop client-server tools for fee earners, a practice management database and a back-office server-based engine.

Seamus Toomey, finance director at the practice, said: "We took the view that Arista provided the greatest range of integrated features and ease of use for our fee earners."

Ronan Daly Jermyn has also ordered a complete system and Nolan Farrell & Goff is expected to place an order early next year.

Stuart Holden, managing director of Axxia Systems, said: "Penetrating the Irish legal profession in one concise move is a major market breakthrough for Axxia."

The Irish deal coincides with the announcement that Axxia has won a £600,000 order from Birmingham firm Irwin Mitchell.