Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/83718
www.iltanet.org The product has a robust subscription-based delivery system. the arrangement. Recognizing that most lawyers live in their email inbox, we felt that destination was the most likely place to attract their attention. Since we are capable of pulling daily data out of the accounting system, we coach lawyers to allow us to send them updated status information every day. We suggest that they create a separate folder for our correspondence and create a rule to automatically move our email messages to that folder. The benefit to them is that they can look at the information as often as they want, and they will always see the most recent data possible. More About the Solution Microsoft's Reporting Services is, as the name suggests, a reporting tool. While we use it to generate PDFs and other written reports, our most common use is to send reports and information via email. The product has a robust subscription-based delivery system. With the standard version of SQL Server, you can set up subscriptions to email reports for individuals, distribution lists and SharePoint sites. With the enterprise version of SQL Server, you can also use data-driven subscriptions, which enable you to send customized information to a dynamic list of recipients in one subscription. It is worth pointing out that our definition of report not only includes the traditional metric-based definition of a report, but also anything we want to distribute to a target audience, including narratives and requests 38 ILTA White Paper for information (surveys). Another valuable feature of Reporting Services is the ability to send email messages either with the report information directly in the message's body or attached in a variety of formats, such as Excel, PDF or Word. When reports are rendered directly in the body of the message, it is easy for the lawyers to monitor status from mobile devices as well. With respect to budgeted matters and alternative fee arrangements, we have created a variety of reports to address the specific needs of the engagement. Given that we can typically create a new report in an hour or two, we usually do not hesitate to create something custom if the nature of the engagement is unique. Otherwise, we have created a standard set of reports that handles 80-plus percent of the requests, including fixed fees, collared fees, task-based budgets and blended rates. For larger portfolio work, we always customize the solution to the terms of the agreement and incorporate any client- requested metrics (e.g., cycle resolution times or outcome statistics). Since Reporting Services supports charting, we often include charts to show trends or depict leverage on blended rates. We also make use of conditional formatting to draw the lawyer's eye to information we feel is particularly important (e.g., matters over budget). An Example for Your Review A scaled-down example of a fixed fee solution is posted here. With this solution, you can send a lawyer the status