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TECH SUPPORT communicate United we There are phone systems that are really 'cool' and make lawyering more efficient. BY GERRY BLACKWELL N ot long after McInnes Cooper installed its Microsoft Corp.-based unified communications system, commercial litigation partner Michael Drake delivered a textbook example of how UC can pay dividends. Drake, who works in the firm's Summerside, P.E.I., office, took a call from a col- league mired in a difficult, time-limited mediation at an off-site location. The colleague needed specialized advice from an insurance lawyer to help press his point. And he needed it fast. The new Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007-based UC system let Drake search in Outlook for insurance lawyers in the firm's seven Atlantic Canada offices and see who was actually at their desks. He found one in New Brunswick, sent an instant message — another system feature — to say he was about to call, and then conferenced him in with the off-site colleague. All of this was achieved with a few mouse clicks. And the insurance lawyer was able to provide the needed information. Elapsed time: about 12 minutes. "Because we responded quickly, we were ultimately able to get the thing settled for a better amount than we might have," says Drake. "It turned into an increase for our client of between $30,000 and $40,000." That kind of example is music to Shane Callaghan's ears. Callaghan is regional director of information tech- nology at McInnes Cooper, a 200-law- yer firm headquartered in Halifax. He sold management on spending between $300,000 and $500,000 on the Microsoft system and claims the firm will see a return on its investment in less than three years, just from hard-dollar sav- ings on replacing seven separate phone systems with one and eliminating or reducing ongoing system maintenance and monthly communications costs. But the real story, he says, has to do with binding the firm closer together and making it more responsive and competitive. Unified communications is one of those bland technologies that doesn't really communicate a lot to non-techies. What the heck is it anyway? And what's it good for? Short answer: it's an Internet pro- tocol-based phone system that tightly integrates other communications modes — instant messaging, presence, web con- ferencing, videoconferencing, and uni- fied messaging — to produce sometimes surprising synergies. Definitely a case of the sum is greater than its parts. One objective for UC at McInnes Cooper was to improve intra-office communications. "We operate as a regional firm," says Callaghan. "We want to be able to service clients anywhere in the region from any of our offices. So anything we can do to act more like we're all in one place is a good thing." www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com A UGUST 2010 23 ENRICO VARASSO