Case Studies
A Look at Some of Our Work Over the Past Two Decades
We've Been Busy
The Merlin team has been building and supporting legal compliance workflow systems for the past two decades.
Our projects cover a lot of industries but they all involve document review and routing workflow, often across legal, financial and insurance professionals. And, did we mention that we built an award-winning ediscovery platform that has been used by some of the largest companies and law firms in the world?
Here are examples of current and past review workflow systems, many of which are still being used today
ARM Communications Advisor
A leading Chicago law firm asked us to build a system their clients could use to keep up with the latest federal, state and local regulations for debt collection and to allow them to audit their agencies’ collection efforts across the country.
Facing substantial liability for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices laws, clients needed a faster, more consistent way to track changes in regulations across the fifty states and to audit service providers in order to catch problems before they became serious.
Working with the law firm, we built the ARM (Accounts Receivable Management) Communications Advisor. It integrates legal advice and rule-based alerts into a search and review platform for fair debt collections practice auditing. Once they subscribe to this next-generation compliance system, clients can rest easy knowing their debt collection agencies are following the latest federal, state and local laws, all of which they can easily demonstrate to upstream clients (original debt holders) and to government regulators through regular audit reports.
Our client was one of the largest insurers in the world. Many of its larger matters are put out for reinsurance with other larger insurers. At least annually the reinsurers would travel to New York to review the files. This not only involved travel time and expense, but it required our client to collect and move the files to a conference room for review. Security concerns also required our client to post an employee to supervise the review. And, if the reinsurer wanted to see other documents, the employees had to track them down and make them available.
We built a digital workflow system to automate the process. When a reinsurer needs to review documents, it can all be done online without need for travel or advance coordination. If the reinsurer does not see a needed document in the files, they can request it from the system directly. The system then sends a message to the appropriate department representative who secures the document and the necessary approval to share it.
Timeshare Marketing
Our client was one of the largest insurers in the world. Many of its larger matters are put out for reinsurance with other larger insurers. At least annually the reinsurers would travel to New York to review the files. This not only involved travel time and expense, but it required our client to collect and move the files to a conference room for review. Security concerns also required our client to post an employee to supervise the review. And, if the reinsurer wanted to see other documents, the employees had to track them down and make them available.
We built a digital workflow system to automate the process. When a reinsurer needs to review documents, it can all be done online without need for travel or advance coordination. If the reinsurer does not see a needed document in the files, they can request it from the system directly. The system then sends a message to the appropriate department representative who secures the document and the necessary approval to share it.
Environmental Claims Portal
Large construction projects typically come with environmental risks. Insurance is a key way to mitigate that risk, but the right policies need to be in place at the right time.
Our client provided environmental insurance to large REITs (real estate investment trusts). They needed a workflow portal to manage insurance requests, policy negotiations and claims administration. All of it was done manually through phone calls, email and faxes.
The team built an environmental portal, which managed the workflow around the approval process from start to finish. When the portal was deployed in the late-2000s, all of the insurers clients could access the portal to manage their environmental insurance needs. From initiation of new coverage (after closing on a new building) through payment, policy and claims, the process was entirely digital. The result was speed, efficiency, cost savings and reduced chance of a coverage lapse.
Labor and Case Management
National supermarket chains face their share of labor claims, no matter how hard they try. Accidents, disagreements, terminations and even labor grievances are a natural part of the landscape. Litigation is just inevitable.
One of our first projects was to build a workflow system to help the labor department keep track of claims, issues and other types of disputes raised by their work force. The system allowed administrators to track the lifecycle of each claim, draft form responses, calendar events and report across matters and jurisdictions.
Because the system was web based, labor counsel and managers could review and participate in the claims from start to finish with better and fairer results across the board.
Collaboration and Deal Rooms
Legal departments have to coordinate cases with dozens of law firms (often more for the large firms). Starting in 1998 we built and hosted a succession of systems to help these legal departments and law firms collaborate on cases, insurance claims and even cell tower documents for TMobil.
The system, called XE, allowed users with credentials to login, upload files, share calendar information, fill out forms, and assign tasks. Ultimately it provided a central home to file pleadings, claims information and other documents.
In many respects this was the precurser to Box, DropBox, Google Docs and many others.
Verdict and Appeal Tracking
Insurance companies have to manage a lot of litigation, with adverse verdicts and appeals an important part of the process. Our client was tracking these outcomes across fifty states and in different jurisdictions around the world. Determining whether and when to appeal or defend an appeal is an important step. Miss a deadline and it can be costly.
We built a digital workflow system to allow the client to manage its verdict and appeals process. Attorneys and adjusters could enter verdicts with appropriate deadlines for appeals (filing or responding). Managers and executives could track appeal process while determining whether to settle or push on. The system made the process run smoothly, saving in time, costs while eliminating mistakes.
Excess Claims Analysis
Our client had an extensive review program for its larger claims. The adjuster was required to fill out more than 30 fields of data in a Word table for each matter with a reserve above as certain limit. Once the form was completed, it was printed and handed to their supervisor for approval.
When the form was approved, it then had to be reviewed by as many as five senior managers and executives at the company, with the CEO handling the largest matters. Once the review was approved (hand signatures by each), the printed copy was boxed and stored. Nothing could be searched, no reports generated.
Our system automated the process from beginning to end. The client now searches across the claims and uses the software to generate claims reports for QC and analysis.
