Success story
Evans & Dixon LLC
Industry• LegalSolutions• OpenText™ Document Management,
eDOCS Edition (eDOCS DM)• OpenText™ Guardian for eDOCS
by Wertheim• OpenText™ Wireless DMS for eDOCS• OpenText™ Email Filing, eDOCS Edition

Partner support• ADV

Results
Instantaneous search results
Secure, accessible files forenhanced productivity andcustomer service
Complete/holistic view intoclient or matter
Anytime, anywhere accessto the eDOCS library
Streamlined collaborationand sharing

Evans & Dixon relies on OpenText
eDOCS to scale and grow operations™

U.S. Midwest law firm relies on OpenText eDOCS for secure, efficientmanagement of work product“It just makes everything so much easier when you have acentralized place for work product and you can quickly accessthe complete set of documents related to a client or matter.”Ellen Brown-Montgomery

Paralegal, Training Coordinator
Evans & Dixon

Evans & Dixon relies on OpenText eDOCS to scale and grow operations

Legal firms prize and protect files. “Our documents: they’re our‘crown jewels,’” says Jeff Sheldon, CIO for Evans & Dixon, a limitedliability company (LLC) based in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 1946, thefull-service law firm has delivered legal counsel for businesses in theareas of corporate, environmental, intellectual property, healthcareand more.

OpenText flexibility also proved to be indispensable. “It’s easy to manipulate and integrate with our other legal systems,” Sheldon says,“I’m glad we went with OpenText because it could support a lot. We
didn’t know we were going to need all that flexibility, but we madethe right choice.”

Protecting and managing work product—from documents to emails—
is a top priority; however, maintaining secure and convenient access tofiles can be challenging, especially during periods of expansion. Due tonormal growth as well as acquisitions, within a ten-year period Evans &Dixon doubled in size, increasing from three to six offices.

Evans & Dixon worked with ADV, an OpenText partner based in Minneapolis,
to deploy OpenText™ Document Management, eDOCS Edition (eDOCSDM) at the firm’s offices and quickly bring users online. As the platform
module for OpenText eDOCS Suite, eDOCS DM was deployed as thecentralized library for the firm’s collective work product.

To support this growth, the law firm needed a reliable information
management system for its attorneys and professionals. Unfortunately,
its previous methods were in dire need of an update, according toSheldon. “It was like they were stuck in the early ‘90s,” he recalls, anassessment particularly concerning when Sheldon joined the firm in 2008.
Managing more than 1.8 million files at the time, the firm used
servers and software that were out of their prime by several years.
Slow, cumbersome searches hindered case work; crashes could bringit to a standstill. A lack of security triggered concern and duplicatesabounded. “We wanted to get an effective solution for managing ourwork product,” Sheldon relates.

Rapid deployment, long-term relevancy

Working on a tight timetable, the IT team conducted research, interviewed
vendors, and observed four solutions in action. eDOCS stood out for its
speed of searching, flexible, standards-based design and deployment
turnaround. “OpenText did everything we needed,” Sheldon explains.

Rapid deployment and integration

Although many of the firms that Evans & Dixon acquired over the years
used other document systems, Sheldon describes easy integration
powered by eDOCS DM. “Because it uses SQL, it’s pretty easy. For
instance, following one acquisition we needed to import 40,000 files.
The next day, everything was in there, indexed and ready to go.”Over the years, eDOCS DM has proven efficient at communicating withProLaw®, law firm business management software, IBM® iSeries andother systems used at legal organizations. Sheldon’s team built simpleSQL queries that link information in ProLaw to the information in eDOCS
DM. Searching is faster with eDOCS at the backend, while they maintainfamiliar practice management functionality within ProLaw.
Integrations with eDOCS DM, their accounting system, ProLaw
and Copitrak also streamlined efforts. “I couldn’t imagine having
separate systems and having to do triple work,” Sheldon says. “Youput the file in one place, and within a few minutes everybody has thenew information. It makes my life easier and it just works.”“Attorneys used to takehome big suitcases onwheels. Now, it’s all in thepalm of their hands, on
their phones or tablets.
It just makes it easier.”
Jeff Sheldon
CIO
Evans & Dixon

Evans & Dixon relies on OpenText eDOCS to scale and grow operations

Growing with the firmeDOCS is now used by close to 185 professionals at Evans & Dixon,
including 80 attorneys and more than 100 paralegals and support
staff. The repository continues to grow, and today it contains over 2.5
million documents.

After almost a decade, eDOCS continues to return benefits to thegrowing team at Evans & Dixon.

Amplified productivity, collaboration“With eDOCS, searches are practically instantaneous,” Sheldon
notes. “Less than a second. It’s just a world of difference.” Ellen
Brown-Montgomery, a paralegal and the training coordinator for Evans& Dixon agrees, “Users can enter a simple term and find what they’relooking for, rather than paging through files. It just makes everyone’s
job so much simpler.”
When files are needed at court, support staff members use hyperlinks;
with one click, attorneys access the documents. All users are trained toshare references rather than emailing files, ensuring the use of a single,
up-to-date product rather than scattered duplicates.

Improved organization, security

Working with OpenText partner Matrix Logic, Evans & Dixon streamlined
document types according to the area of law. For instance, professionals serving the Collections law practice only see the content
related to Collections.
Furthermore, paperless tracking adds security for documents that go
through multiple hands and versions, according to Brown-Montgomery:“One of the nice things about eDOCS is that you can pull up thathistory, you can see who’s made these changes. You can see whotook this document, where it was copied and where it is now,” shesays. “You get to see the whole lifecycle of the document.”

Enhanced client service

Secure, immediate access to work product empowers Evans & Dixon
paralegals and staff members to deliver content to attorneys, thereby
enhancing the service they provide to clients. “It just makes everythingso much easier when you have a centralized place for work productand you can quickly access the complete set of documents relatedto client or matter,” Brown-Montgomery says.

Extending the platform with additional modules

Added technologies further enhance mobility, convenience and security
for eDOCS users at Evans & Dixon.
OpenText™ Wireless DMS for eDOCS allows users to access files intheir eDOCS library at any time from mobile devices. They can then fax
or email retrieved files. “Attorneys used to take home big suitcaseson wheels,” Sheldon says. “Now, it’s all in the palm of their hands, on
their phones or tablets. It just makes it easier.”
OpenText™ Guardian for eDOCS by Wertheim was added to protect thefirms ‘crown jewels’ from internal security breaches. Guardian monitors
the use of the eDOCS library, reporting any excessive user activities—
those that exceed established thresholds. “It’s like having a burglar
alarm,” Sheldon notes. “I’m happy to say we haven’t had any breaches... it’s one of those things you hope you never have to use, but you’re
glad you have it.”“Users can enter a simple
term and find what
they’re looking for, rather
than paging through files.
It just makes everyone’s
job so much simpler.”Ellen Brown-Montgomery

Paralegal, Training Coordinator
Evans & Dixon

Evans & Dixon relies on OpenText eDOCS to scale and grow operations

Latest advancements for streamlined use

Next up for Evans & Dixon is an upgrade to the latest version of eDOCS
DM for new and refined functionality.
InfoCenter—the dashboard interface will allow users to select and surface
important or frequently used information up front and center in this tiled,customizable view—so it is rapidly accessible. Sheldon describes the newinterface as “cleaner, simpler,” especially for attorneys who are working
more often from mobile devices. He feels the user-friendly experience will
increase user adoption and productivity.
Sync and save—bi-directional synchronization between a user’s local
drive and a folder or workspace in eDOCS DM ensures material isavailable on the attorney’s desktop while, at the same time, automatically secured in the eDOCS library. It also ensures co-workers maintain
access to needed files regardless of whether staff members are in theoffice or on-the-go.
OpenText™ Core™ —secure cloud sharing will enhance collaboration
among Evans & Dixon professionals and external contacts. Current
transmission of thousands of huge files—JPEGs, raw data, spreadsheets—are not protected within third-party cloud products.
“It’s haphazard at best,” Brown-Montgomery notes. “I’m looking
forward to having a place where we can collaborate with clientssecurely and seamlessly.”

OpenText™ Email Filing, eDOCS Edition will boost the percentage of emails
filed within eDOCS—especially among attorneys—with automated filingbased on metadata from previously saved emails and an Email Markerthat visually identifies which emails have been uploaded into in theeDOCS library. “That’s less clicks and a lot less typing than before,”
Sheldon notes. “Our users will like it—it’s simpler and it makes you
more connected.”

Valued partnership

Relying on OpenText, Evans & Dixon has gained a secure, flexible
solution for managing their client information, coupled with personalized
attention and support. “You’ve got the best of both worlds,” Sheldonsays. “You’ve got a big company that’s doing a lot of researchand development, a lot of investment, but you’re not so siloed thatyou can’t talk to the higher ups.” He finishes: “OpenText puts thecustomer first, which is the way it’s supposed to be.”About ADVADV expertly enables governance and skillfully solves content management conundrums. With inventive technology and wise counsel, ADV
maximizes the success of productivity and security projects, eliciting
confidence from all stakeholders.
www.advdoc.com

About OpenText

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enables organizations to gain insight
through market leading information
management solutions, on-premises orin the cloud. For more information about
OpenText (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTEX)
visit opentext.com.
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