Incorporator.com.au's interactive online company formation system is the inaugural winner of the CCH Legal Technology Awards in the first year of the award's being national.

This new technology enables lawyers to incorporate companies via the internet in a straightforward, time efficient and cost effective manner.

Incorporator.com.au utilises a series of questions to guide the process, with links to all relevant sections of company law, and company name availability is checked via 24 hour link to ASIC.

According to Mrs Pip Hughes, CCH Chief Operating Officer, this new technology provided a much simpler incorporation process which would benefit both legal professionals and their clients.

"Incorporator.com.au's new product is accessible to everyone via the web, does not need specific training for use, reduces costs and can be used without the purchase and installation of additional software," Mrs Hughes said.

The CCH Legal Technology Awards recognise and reward outstanding development or implementation of legal technology and serve to increase the legal community's awareness and understanding of the benefits to be gained through the implementation of new technology.

The emphasis in evaluating award entries is placed on innovation, ingenuity and the effective use of technology.

Runner up for the awards was KPMG Legal for the development of a KClient, a collaboration system which enables lawyers, clients and advisors to communicate instantaneously.

The new web-based resource effectively provided access to a legal office which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week which can be accessed from any internet connection and provides a secure portal for the transfer of information and preparation of document.

KClient has already been successfully distributed to Australian and international lines of business of KPMG Legal and KPMG.

According to Mrs Hughes, both prize winners were good examples of the way in which technology was providing real and tangible benefits to legal professionals and their clients.

"Technology is revolutionising the way in which legal professionals manage their practice and their relationships with clients and colleagues," Mrs Hughes continued.

"This year's awards have shown that Australia's legal profession has grasped the possibilities available through the innovative application of technology.

"CCH's interest in establishing these awards is that they reflect our own business objectives of using technology to make technical information more accessible and more easily used," she said.

The CCH Legal Technology Awards are sponsored by CCH Australia and Toshiba; and endorsed by Leo Cussen Institute, the Law Institute of Victoria, , and the Law Societies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

CCH is the dominant provider of specialist tax, legal and accounting content in the Asia Pacific region and its customers include large international and Australian-based legal, accountancy and consultancy firms as well as a wide range of smaller firms and businesses.

CCH recently acquired the Asia-Pacific division of Ringtail Solutions, the provider of CaseBook and CourtBook, which are the document management programs used to conduct most electronic legal cases in Australia.

Established in 1969 in Sydney, CCH Australia is a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer, a leading international publishing group active in 26 countries and with a head office in Amsterdam.

Wolters Kluwer focuses on legal, tax and business publishing, as well as international health and science and educational publishing.

ISSUED FOR:


CCH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:


MS PIP HUGHES, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER


CCH AUSTRALIA LIMITED


TEL (02) 9857 1300

ISSUED BY:


WESTBROOK COMMUNICATIONS


CONTACT:


REBECCA HALL: (02) 9231 0922


MOBILE 0428 514 510