Going above and beyond the legal call of duty and delivering extra value to clients is something attorneys too often fail to do. Yet competition for legal work these days is so tremendous that lawyers must look beyond delivering basic legal services and consider more seriously the development or adoption of new technology for their clients. By doing so, they can demonstrate and deliver added depth of understanding, increased value and heightened awareness of their clients’ needs.

Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP, a general practice law firm in Manhattan with a number of unique boutique practice areas, has overachieved in the area of technology. The firm has not only surpassed its legal call of duty, but also created a homegrown, one-of-a-kind extranet system, a virtual paralegal so "human" and helpful to clients that Gibney has given it a name.

The Fifth Avenue law firm refers to its extranet as the GIBNEY OWL™ (Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP Outside Web Link). And, like an owl, Gibney’s extranet is awake and mindfully alert throughout the night.

Gibney has created practice-area-specific, client-specific portals for their Immigration, Intellectual Property and Trusts & Estates practice areas. Gibney’s proprietary "OWL" system revolutionizes the way Gibney’s clients organize and manage their cases and deadlines. More than the average document exchange extranet, the OWL has become a virtual private network for Gibney and its clients.

Gibney’s most fully developed on-line portal is the Immigration OWL, which allows Human Resources [HR] directors to manage their corporate immigration programs on-line. Each HR director receives a password and a user name, permitting access onto the OWL from any Web browser.

The HR director is then prompted to enter in his or her username and password. Once inside the OWL, the user can gain access to files in one of two ways. The HR director can either choose from a list of employee names or, if preferred, search by category.

HR directors need the ability to gain access to immigration files even when the firm is closed and from anywhere in the world. By offering 24/7 access from any Internet connection, or via a secure link from a client company’s own network, the OWL achieves this critical, yet seldom achieved goal. This is especially useful, and results in tremendous client goodwill, where clients have overseas operations or offices in different time zones.

The OWL is also different from most law firm extranets in that it enables the HR director to maintain and monitor his or her employees’ files while receiving updates on employee status for the duration of the employees stay in the U.S.

The OWL’s easy accessibility and powerful features allow HR directors to have access to their files in a much more efficient and user-friendly way. A side benefit to both client and counsel is that a maximum of relevant information communication flows between lawyer and client. Enhancing the efficiency of communication naturally decreases the number of billed hours to the client, but the result is greater delivery of value, increased client loyalty, and a notable increase in RFP requests.

One of the more sophisticated and valuable features of the OWL is a "trip-wire" function that sends out an automated email to the managing paralegal, reminding him or her of the number of days remaining in a visa renewal process. The paralegal, attorney and HR director are automatically alerted with a blinking red light that there is an item within the foreign national’s file that needs attention.

For example, if an employee’s H1-B visa falls within a certain expiration date, the matter number of that particular client will blink until it is updated. The managing paralegal plays a key role in the unique structuring of the OWL. This assigned paralegal becomes a "virtual" in-house paralegal for the client, in some cases actually allowing clients to rely solely on the OWL and save staff costs.

Another feature of the OWL is the ability of a foreign employee to log on to the Web site anywhere in the world and fill out a personal information form that is automatically sent to the managing paralegal via email, and filed directly into the extranet. This utility dramatically cuts back on the cumbersome process of receiving and collating bits and pieces of information from a foreign national. In addition, the OWL’s automated process strategically guides the foreign national in transmitting all of his or her personal information to the law firm at one time.

Other features of the OWL include multiple user levels for each corporate client, the "Hootline™" that enables HR directors to quickly review information solely on active cases, and the "OWL at work" feature (an icon of an owl wearing a hard hat) which can be activated by a Gibney staff member to let clients know that they are aware of a particular triggered tripwire.

Exceeding the limits of your client’s expectations will never be an easy task. This is why Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP has created an ancillary business derived from the OWL, licensing the OWL to other law firms.

Your firm can demonstrate to clients and prospective clients alike its commitment to delivering more client value, greater efficiency and a genuine interest in helping them meet their needs on their schedule and in "their way." Providing a custom built application such as the OWL to your clients will show them that you are more than willing to go above and beyond the legal call of duty.

For more information on licensing the OWL for your law firm, contact Nancy Joyce at (212) 705-9853 or log onto http://www.gibneyowl.com.