Icon - the most intelligent conveyancing system yet?
Legal Techonology Insider - 18 November 2004
You could be forgiven for thinking the last thing the legal world needs is yet another case management system however Swindon based Intelligent Conveyancing (01793 836730) now have in their Icon product what is arguably one of the most powerful conveyancing systems currently available on the market.
Icon, originally developed by the volume conveyancing department of BPE Solicitors in Cheltenham before being spun off as a separate company and based on the Visualfiles SolCase case management engine, is a process and diary-driven system.
But whereas conveyancing software usually has a relatively open design, so firms can customise workflows and precedent libraries, Icon's designers believed this a mistake as most firms lack the skills, disciplines and consultancy budgets to do this properly. The Icon approach was therefore to develop a totally turnkey solution that is ready to run out of the box.
Not only does it cover all aspects of the conveyancing process for the sale and purchase of freehold and leasehold, registered and unregistered properties (a commonhold module is on its way) but it also offers the most extensive detail we have yet seen in a conveyancing system. For example, there are hundreds of different precedents to cover every eventuality, including 34 letters on adverse process alone.
Because this really is software designed by solicitors, for solicitors, Icon has a very strong focus on risk management in the context of modern conveyancing practice. Consequently, the underlying philosophy is that it is always better to spend a few extra minutes at the start of each matter resolving issues and inconsistencies, rather than risk major headaches as completion approaches or, worse still, subsequent indemnity claims.
Icon is aimed at mid-to-smaller firms and has a pay-as-youconvey pricing model based on £15 per completed transaction but users also need to install SolCase. Intelligent Conveyancing also offer a hosted extranet service providing online access to
clients and providers from £4 per transaction. Fifteen firms, including BPE, TLT, a 50 partner finn and a three user practice, are now running Icon.
ENDS
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