What are the Upcoming Changes?

All firms will be transitioned to the new “Firm Structure” in Collaborati beginning in April 2020. This means that all Collaborati vendor profiles belonging to the same law firm/vendor will be associated with a Firm profile. This will facilitate a parent-child structure, the parent being the Firm profile and the children being the Collaborati vendor profiles (which will now be referred to as Office profiles).

This new structure will be accessible with one login, which will be particularly convenient for those law firms/vendors that currently manage multiple Collaborati vendor profiles and are required to log in separately to access each of the profiles. Anyone who is then a Firm Admin will be able to access all Office profiles. Firm Admin users will be able to access all timekeepers and invoices through this new structure. If you currently only have one Office location and profile and you only use one login to invoice, it is likely the majority of your Collaborati experience will remain unchanged.

Why is this change taking place?

For starters, many large law firms operate out of several offices which often means they have multiple Collaborati accounts to accommodate this. Mitratech wanted to provide a more efficient and streamlined structure to enable a simplified invoicing process across multiple locations and logins.

Additionally, many large firms have attorneys that work outside of their home office, which requires them to bill on behalf of a different firm office, sometimes located in another country. Different firm office locations often bill in different currencies. Currently, Collaborati does not offer a simple solution to address this pain point. The upcoming changes in Collaborati will enable a more streamlined way to manage multiple currencies. 

How does this benefit me?

After the transition law firms/vendors will have a restructured profile including one Firm Profile that contains multiple (if applicable) Office Profiles. Law firms/vendors will only need to log into the Firm Profile to access the information across all profiles (this does not apply for all account permission types, only Firm Admins). Additionally, processes like firm onboarding (adding another office profile) and timekeeper submission will be much simpler. It will be easier for Law Firms to track and manage timekeeper information with a single timekeeper profile for the Firm.

How is this going to impact me/my firm?

Ultimately, law firms/vendors that currently manage multiple logins to Collaborati will only need one login. You/your firm will be able to maintain one timekeeper record that can be used across multiple Office Profiles (ie. you can use the same timekeeper record and use that timekeeper in both a New York office and  London office). This removes the need to submit duplicate timekeeper records and makes it easier to adhere to various client requirements.

What is required of me/my firm?

First, please answer these two questions:

1. Do you have more than one Collaborati Vendor Profile (more than one account)?

2. Do you have more than one physical firm location that bills to a client that uses Collaborati?

If you answered “No” to both of these questions, then nothing is required of you. Your account will automatically be transitioned and your invoicing process will remain unchanged. You will only see changes within the “Admin” tab of Collaborati. 

If you answered “Yes” or “I don’t know” to either of these questions, then Mitratech will work with you to identify your possible profiles in Collaborati. Mitratech will reach out to you with further information regarding any actions you must complete as we have records of all accounts in Collaborati. 

Please see the process outlined below: 

• Respond to requests from Mitratech and confirm your list of Vendor Profiles in Collaborati as well as any office locations that are not currently listed in Collaborati, any locations that should be merged into the Firm Profile. 

• Confirm additional Firm Profile information, like your Fiscal Year Start Date and End Date

• Identify any Vendor Profiles that you do not want to see information from other Vendor Profiles

• Once confirmed, Vendor Profiles will be merged into a Firm Profile and transitioned to Office Profiles