Caught your pingback. I wrote that article some time ago and enjoyed my exchange with Larry Port. Syncing is an interesting topic – so many lawyers are married to an exchange server today that I completely understand the need to have instant calendaring access. I think an “offline” capable web app (think google gears type technology) would be useful for lawyers who spend lots of time in court. That said, there is no perfect solution yet (http://homeofficeenvy.com/prac.....out-there/) but in my opinion, stand alone software solutions such as TimeMatters, PCLaw and the like are going the way of the telephone book ad. Rocket Matter can justify their high monthly costs until its has more serious competition. So far, the only other player in this field worth a look is Clio (http://goclio.com). Thanks for encouraging this discussion – hopefully there are developers out there who are listening. I wonder if Lexis is listening?

Rocket Matter looks good, but their current price of $720/year for the first attorney and $600/year for each additional attorney seems expensive, especially when you can buy software for the computer and pay for an online backup subscription for a fraction of the price.

Rocket Matters offered me a special trial price, but again, it was based per user. Sorry.

Thank you for your coverage and your thoughts about our product. Your argument is compelling for an attorney who wants to enjoy using Time Matters on a PC (virtual or otherwise), doesn’t need or desire to upgrade, does not need a network installation or can install and manage it him or herself. Your technology advice is well suited to someone who performs their own backups, does not purchase any training, monitors and defends against security risks, and does not purchase technical support or use an outside IT consultant.

On the other hand, we are finding that there are plenty of attorneys who want ubiquitous access from Mac, PC, or Linux platforms. People also seem to be looking for an enjoyable user experience designed from the ground up for attorneys.

Not having to manage or think about backups, security patches, or upgrades is of value to many people. A lot of folks don’t have the expertise, money, time, or desire to install and maintain a network. They like having training and support (with American, native English speaking representatives) included in their monthly fees.

Some attorneys enjoy our customer experience, and how we solicit their feedback and listen to their ideas to incorporate new features into the product.

Please note you will not being stuck in Rocket Matter should you chose to leave us. On the contrary, we are believers in inter-operability, open standards, and giving people the most flexibility.

We offer export to open standards iCalendar for your Calendar information, and vCard for Contact information. Your matter and billing information we can export to a navigable HTML format or the open standard LEDES format. You can also obtain your billable items as a CSV which can be imported into Quickbooks.

Thanks for the post and your interest in Rocket Matter!

Larry Port
http://www.rocketmatter.com

P.S. We will be getting more information on that marketing site soon. Right now we are spending our time building more and more features! Stay tuned.

And no, that’s not about Rocket Matter, really — just new tech gizmos and sites in general. I haven’t used or tried RM yet. My take is much the same as yours: it looks interesting, but non-cost-effective.