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the quarterly magazine of ILTA 25 Peer to Peer ASK THE vEndOR O n March 17, we announced a $1,000,000 Economic assistance Package to help law firms invest in technology to better run their businesses. in order to qualify for this assistance, a firm must agree to "pay forward" an equivalent benefit in their local community. Examples might include identifying new pro‐bono initiatives, assisting workers who have been laid off, assisting families dealing with mortgage foreclosures, or new ways to participate in charitable organizations feeling the economic crunch. The package will be disbursed in multiple awards totaling $1,000,000. The amount of the award will vary based on firm size and their commitment to "pay forward" to their community. We believe that now is the time for technology providers to take drastic steps to help pull our industry out of today's economic perils. For many years, technology providers have claimed that our products and services helped law firms become more profitable or realize other benefits, and to some extent, we can all prove our cases. However, it is also clear that many firms lack the tools or training necessary to best manage their business, reduce internal costs, increase productivity, predict cash flow or improve service to their clients. The problem many of us face is that, when law firms are busy, they have no incentive to make these changes, and when the economy softens, they can't afford the investment. We celebrated our 40th anniversary this year, and this is one way we can help make a difference in our dedicated market. It's about giving and helping. We'll sacrifice in the short term to benefit for the next 40 years. We have already offered this package to our existing clients, and it is now open to all law firms. Law firms can apply for the funds via the RainMaker website http://www.rainmakerlegal. com by filling out a form, or by contacting a RainMaker representative. And we're inviting all legal market vendors to follow our lead and join us in offering a substantial economic assistance to law firms under this program. This assistance should be: open to all firms, both clients and nonclients within • your targeted market an amount you can afford to provide based upon the • size and health of your company transparently applied and in addition to all other • competitive allowances or discounts you normally provide disclosed publicly or upon request to all clients or • qualifying law firms that request this information contingent on law firms, in good faith, • "paying forward" benefits in their community available either through the end of 2009 or until you • have funded your assistance amount This Economic Assistance Package will provide firms an additional incentive to invest money today to improve their infrastructure for tomorrow. Participating vendors will be able to keep our people busy, and while we'll make less money in the short term, in the long run, we'll all be better off, as will the local communities that benefit from the "pay forward." It is that simple. If you are interested in joining us in this effort, message us at assistance@rainmakerlegal.com. We are a small company, so maybe we can get others to partner with us to help spread the word. ILTA if you're interested in directing a question to the vendor community, submit your ideas to editor@iltanet.org. Q. What are you doing to help your clients do more with less? By Jim Hammond of RainMaker Software, Inc.