The recent news that DLA Piper has selected Rekoop as its new time capture solution is the surest indication yet that there’s a changing of the guard in this sector of the legal technology market. And as the vendor celebrates the third anniversary of the launch of its game- changing Desktop offering back in 2010, it is intent on marching on and upward.

For so long dominated by Carpe Diem, to the point where it effectively became synonymous with time recording, the market today looks very different: Rekoop now has five of the top 15 UK law firm brands, more than any other, and is the only vendor left in this space solely dedicated to time capture. It is also the only supplier based in the UK, selling and supporting its UK and European clients directly.

For Rekoop chief executive Phil Wedgwood, these are all factors that he hopes will propel Rekoop to the same levels of synonymity as Carpe enjoyed in the 90s. “You can still talk to finance directors and managing partners today who will quote Carpe at you, such was its dominance in its day. But the time recording market is much changed, particularly in the light of the recent acquisition of DTE Axiom by IntApp. Of the 75% of leading firms who have purchased a dedicated time capture solution, it is Rekoop that has the largest share. That translates into a strong geographical spread too, from global giant DLA Piper and UK top ten firm Norton Rose to the biggest firms in Ireland and Spain.

“For all our big hitters though, we mustn’t forget that this is an ‘everyman’ solution that is used across the entire legal market. Our recent partnering agreement with Advanced Legal and our current list of mid-tier clients, including a growing base in both South Africa and Australia, should help propel us down the same path so successfully taken by the likes of BigHand – one that sees our software being used globally by firms of all sizes.

"As regards the technology, we see ourselves as the only vendor wholly focused on time capture, which means 100% of our R&D effort is going into make our solutions the most advanced, powerful, intuitive and agile as they can be. It’s this single-mindedness that has allowed us to catch-up and overtake our competitors in a relatively short timeframe.

“In this period we’ve developed a system that allows for both passive and active time entry; we’ve introduced seamless mobile solutions for both Blackberry and Apple devices; we’ve set the standard for native iPhone and iPad applications, fully leveraging the functionality of Apple iOS as opposed to just mimicking PMS web views; and we’re shortly set to launch the latest version of our software which, for the first time anywhere, will automatically complete a fee earner’s timesheet without any user input required.

“It’s the speed and quality of our technical development, coupled with our proximity and responsiveness to our users, that will hopefully see Rekoop take the place of Carpe as the perceived default choice for time capture. But there’s still plenty of work for us to do to ensure that law firms are maximising their efficiency and in the best position to ‘Rekoop more time’.”

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