Dedan Kihato Mwangi (left) and Dennis Gachoki, who created the Sheriasoft software to help lawyers manage their firms better. Photo/ANGELA OKETCH
What you need to know:
How it works
Sheriasoft comes with inbuilt short message service to helps lawyers manage daily operations.
Features include a record keeping interface which shows case details, such as case dates, times and venues.
There is also a coding interface for comparing notes on various cases.
Two young Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals have come up with a software programme designed for lawyers.
Over the years, lawyers and law firms have had to grapple with pen, paper and voluminous manual filing systems in their daily work. Information management during follow ups on pending court cases, urgent meetings, appointments and other daily chores has been manual and tedious.
However Dedan Kihato Mwangi, an ICT specialist, and Dennis Gachoki, who is pursuing a Geospatial Engineering course at the University of Nairobi, have come up with the Sheriasoft solution to change the way lawyers work.
“We wanted a software that would give law firms the advantage of a complete solution, get them organised when it comes to task management, documentation, case file updates and follow up on meetings on their laptops, phones and tablets,” said Mr Mwangi.
The duo works under the umbrella of Focweb Technologies, a firm that brings together young minds to create industry-driven solutions for the Kenyan market.
Mr Mwangi said that the technology comes with an inbuilt short message service (SMS) system which makes communication with clients smooth and effortless. “Sheriasoft is a high quality case management system for law firms of all kinds, governmental agencies and more”, he said.
The product was developed late last year and has been in the market for five months.
The purpose of developing the software was to help clients manage, protect and grow their firms, Mr Mwangi said.
He said that their aim was to come up with software that helps Kenyan lawyers to be organised in managing their daily operations.
“The software is designed to help clients to securely, effectively, and efficiently manage their companies and have a competitive advantage over other firms,” said Mr Mwangi. He said their innovation was informed by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s remarks about the need for Kenyans to embrace the digital age.
The software has various features including a record keeping interface which shows the date of various cases, time of recording and the law court that a lawyer is supposed to attend.
There is also the coding interface for comparing notes regarding various cases.
"For instance, assuming that a lawyer is handling a case similar to one he handled a year ago, in normal situations he would have to go back to manual files in his office and take long hours perusing them for comparison,” said Mr Mwangi.
With Sheriasoft, a lawyer can simply go to the coding section of his electronic gadget, enter a code and related cases pop up.
The software has several impressive features, said Mr Gachoki. “It has a case management feature that helps in handling case details such as notes, status, files, appointments, messages and tasks from one centralised location,’’ he said.
The document management feature helps in organising and accessing case notes, images, documents, and media files. One can also upload data. The task management feature allows lawyers to link tasks and assign them to other members of the firm and monitor progress and completion of a specific case.
“The software enables users to schedule important dates in harmony with court rules applicable to client cases, thereby eliminating error and time consuming manual calculations,” he said.
It also helps in easy creation of new contacts and categorises them into groups, assigning them user privileges and access levels.
“The messaging feature manages and organises internal client communication. The system is linked to all of your clients thereby making your communication smooth and easy,” he said.
“In case a lawyer will not be in for a hearing, the message he sends gets to his clients in time,” he said.
“With the Sheriasoft billing becomes easy. You can create invoices and associated expenses. It is easy to generate invoices with your logo and print or export them,” said Mr Gachoki.
“It is easy to determine your most lucrative cases, number of billed cases, closed and active ones, track your finances and use data to propel your business forward,” he said.
The software is easy to use and takes only half a day to master how to use all the features, he said.
“With it you are able to see every appointment, task, meeting and even deadlines at once. It also helps you share what you need to do and where you need to be with your workmates,” he said. Mr Gachoki added that with the Sheriasoft solution data search is instant. “If you can’t remember a case number or need information for your client who’s on hold, just type in a related word or phrase and Sheriasoft will find what you need. It is accessible anywhere at any moment,” he said.
“It is safe, convenient and secure; it enables you to respond to requests and queries from your clients in real time. It is highly responsive as it can be accessed anywhere,” he said.
“The installation price differs with a client’s needs. The professional edition goes for Sh80,000 and the lite version at Sh30,000,” he said. “This is just the beginning,” said Mr Mwangi.
“We will keep on updating Sheriasoft as we get feedback and expert advice on how to improve its performance,” he said.
