TressCox Now Live with ELITE 3E's Web-based Practice and Financial Management System

LONDON, Oct. 17, 2008 - Leading Australian law firm TressCox Lawyers has gone live on ELITE 3E®, the next generation financial and practice management software system from Elite. Elite, a Thomson Reuters business, is a worldwide provider of integrated practice and financial management systems for professional services firms.

TressCox selected Elite 3E to replace its ageing legacy financial management system, which Chief Financial Officer, Adam James, says was no longer fit for purpose, particularly in the area of financial reporting.

"We chose 3E as a platform to reduce our financial and administrative burden. Prior to its implementation we had to undertake time-consuming manual workarounds to produce the reports we wanted from our legacy system."

James says the implementation of 3E will help eliminate manual procedures and provide important billing and key performance indicator information to its fee-earners and partners.

"Lawyers will be able to see details about a particular file without having to ask Finance to provide it. This will improve the speed and quality of our responses to client requests. The system also will support more instantaneous access by allowing partners to view performance data without having to wait for periodic management reports."

TressCox, a 50-partner law firm which has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, undertook a thorough selection process and James says that 3E's web-based technology was a key factor in their final decision.

"Other systems we assessed did not appear as tightly integrated or as uniformly intuitive as the Elite 3E offering, which is built entirely on web-based technology," he noted.

James says that in choosing Elite 3E the firm made a significant step forward, gaining rapid development functionality that allows it to optimize the practice management solution to match future needs.

With phase-one of the implementation process now complete, the firm will continue to develop the product over the coming 12 months, using 3E's improved workflow capabilities to streamline a number of front and back-office functions.

James adds: "We have gone live successfully with a version of the system that addresses our critical business requirements. We will now look to refine the system and use 3E's adaptable software to embark on a path of continuous business process improvement."

TressCox was first established in 1897 by Herbert Tress. After over a century of continuous improvement, TressCox has emerged as a firm with a reputation for directly responding to client needs with energy and efficiency. Based in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, TressCox has an impressive track record in a variety of sectors such as health, media, entertainment, insurance and government. At TressCox, we offer practical advice founded on a real understanding of our clients' concerns. We connect. That's what makes the difference.

Elite is a leading provider of integrated information solutions to professional services firms worldwide. Elite is part of Thomson Reuters and is a premier provider of financial and practice management systems to the legal industry and to other professional services markets, including accounting, marketing services, and management and IT consulting. For more information, visit www.elite.com.