3E 3.0 delivers flexibility, greater connectivity, and a path to modernization

The environment for how and where professionals work has changed significantly over the last year, with an increase in the adoption and acceptance of advanced technologies and new models for the delivery of legal services. Building on these new and better ways of working, the release of 3E 3.0 delivers many enhancements, expanded flexibility, and greater connectivity to meet a firm’s growing needs.

Company research underscores how longstanding law firm resistance to adopting cutting-edge technology is fast evaporating, according to Paul Fischer, president of the Legal Professionals business for Thomson Reuters. “Last year, as firms served clients virtually and managed their daily workflow away from their offices, we saw rapidly changing attitudes about cloud and digital workflow tools. Attorneys and legal professionals experienced the power of technology in the successful transition to working from home and in finding new ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs,” he said.

“The 2021 Report on the State of the Legal Market noted nearly 85% of law firms plan to increase their technology investment this year, emphasizing how attitudes have rapidly changed over the past year, and much of that change has focused on digital workflow tools and solutions using the cloud,” said Fischer.

With cloud adoption accelerating, the 3E 3.0 release features multiple enhancements and significant architectural changes to meet the evolving technological needs of law firms and support their profitability and growth. The enhancements deliver expanded flexibility to boost firm productivity, simplify configuration, streamline time management, and enable a seamless migration path to the cloud.

3E Cloud helps firms realize cost savings through decreased investment in hardware, software and maintenance. The cloud-based version also facilitates quick access to the latest 3E features and enhancements, while using industry-leading data protection.

The latest release introduces a modular cloud architecture to help firms modernize at their desired pace, and APIs link 3E to Thomson Reuters and third-party applications to help ensure that firms stay connected with the tools they need. Several new cloud-based modules are available, including Time and Templates, with more modules being released throughout 2021 such as Data Insights, Budgeting and Forecasting, Paperless Proforma and Advanced Financial Reporting.

Additional updates include floating timers on the desktop, so users can start, stop, and manage time throughout the day without interrupting their work. Users also benefit from extensive enhancements to tools for managing billing, finance, intake and conflicts, as well as greater eBillingHub® integration that enables submitting invoices with their attachments directly from 3E to eBillingHub, accelerating the work-to-cash process.

“We anticipate further cloud adoption and acceleration in the digitization of how legal work gets done,” Fischer said. “Through our content-driven technology, we are continuing to innovate and deliver products and new features, focusing on customer input to really move the dial on connectedness and productivity, so legal professionals can make the most of their new skills and implement technologies that create a competitive advantage.”