User Reviews
HoudiniESQ by LOGICBit
USER REVIEWS - All reviews
Purchased Date: October 01, 2009
Attorney, Law Office of Alexander Socia, PA
November 09, 2010
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Pros
This product has great potential. The maker of Houdini understands what a law office needs to manage its vast amounts of information.
Houdini links it all together so that there is virtually no time loss on cases, hence thier concentric work flow. They have integrated all aspects of information management; email, documentation, research and billing.
I would recommend this product to anyonre looking for an alternative to the practice management systems that are currently available.
Cons
There is a response lag time that makes Houdini move very slow. I am not sure if this is the program itself or because of Flash player.
There are also some quirks in the system such as information won't come up properly unless I log out and log back in.
I have pointed these shortcomings out to the Houdini staff and know the y are working on correcting the issues.
Overall
I will keep using this product and would recommend it to other lawyers looking for an alternaitve to the other prgrams that are out there.
Houdini has only been on the market for a year now. I can't wait to see how this product will grow and mature over the years. These guys know what they are doing and understand how law firms work and what lawyers need.
> Vendor Responses
Lag times are usually attributed to the browser being used (Chorme is still in Beta and IE has the worst performance) and the number of application the client is running at one time. Houdini runs as a service and only uses 250-350 MB with 50 users connected.
If the login screen loads slowly then you are having a naming issue on your network. use localhost in place of your machine name in the URL. If the Login screen immediately appears then this is the cause. Continue to use localhost until you can resolve the naming issue on your network.
02/05/2011 by LOGICBit
Purchased Date: January 01, 2010
Partner, Doan Law Firm, LLP
November 09, 2010
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Pros
Easy to use, easy to configure, economical, scalable. Links Matters, Contacts, Notes, Emails, and Documents. Allows us to centrally manage our entire bankruptcy practice (17 offices and expanding) without the need for terminal services connections. The CEO, Frank Rivera, is extremely receptive toward ideas that enhance the product. Mr. Rivera's team is doing a great job of staying on the cutting edge of technology.
Cons
The release date. I wish this product was available BEFORE we dumped tens of thousands of dollars into Time Matters and the "leading bankruptcy customization feature package".
Overall
I manage a high volume bankruptcy practice in California and HoudiniESQ is living up to Mr. Rivera's statement he once made to me, "If you can think of it, we can get HoudiniESQ to do it for you." So far, I continue to be impressed. I highly recommend this product for law office management. Actually, it could be used for virtually any industry. I used to walk into court with a dolly. Now I carry only my laptop and can access my entire office from any browser (Explorer, Safari, Mozilla, etc). Best thing, I can access my office from anywhere in the world with any computer that has an internet connection. Or, I can access my office through my mobile phone with the HoudiniESQ mobile app. Way cool. Don't take my word for it... you can download it free from Houdiniesq.com. Whether you're a solo practitioner (like I used to be) or a firm with 17 offices and expanding (like we are now), HoudiniESQ can handle the load.
Purchased Date: March 01, 2010
Attorney, Law Offices of William P. Burns, Jr., LLC
November 08, 2010
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Pros
HoudiniEsq has the best and most responsive technical support I have ever encountered with any program or platform.
HoudiniEsq works entirely inside of your browser so you can access it anywhere you have an Internet connection. For us smaller guys that mean no exchange server costs or problems with syncing. Also, Houdini is optimized for mobile phone browsers such as the iPhone.
HoudiniEsq works a bit different than Time Matters in that everything is a billable "event." Even on your calendar you can view all calls, to do's, drafting ... anything you want can be viewed on your calendar or removed from view with the click of a button. Only want to see appointments with clients and court dates on the calendar, no problem, just a click away. The calendaring is powerful and different than any other calendaring program I have encountered or tested. It does take a bit of time to get used to, but when you do, it results in amazing control of your schedule and your matters.
Cons
Lack of a functioning document automation/assembly system and lack of quickbooks integration.
Overall
I would recommend this product to anyone wanting to transition to cloud based practice management.
> Vendor Responses
02/05/2011 by LOGICBit
Purchased Date: April 01, 2010
ATTORNEY, KLEINMAN LLC
November 08, 2010
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Pros
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT WITHOUT THE MANAGEMENT
Cons
DOES NOT YET HAVE ITS OWN WORD PROCESSOR BUT DOES LINK TO MICROSOFT WORD.
Overall
HIGHLY RECCOMENDED
> Vendor Responses
When we architected the software we had one major requirement, you must be able to grab any computer or device with a Internet connection and have the tools you need to get the job done at your fingertips.
This is why we include integrated Document Management with full text search including email, and email attachments, a integrated email client, integrated Google Scholar, integrated billing and invoicing, integrated document and email templates, and so much more.
We think you should never be without your tools that is why we have totally revamped our inline editor and will continue to improve upon it with every new release.
02/05/2011 by LOGICBit
