Guides and user tips for Monitor Suite

Monitor Suite firm administrators and users with administrative rights have the ability to actively manage the passwords of all firm users. Users with administrative rights can:

• Reset current user passwords
• Create new passwords for new staff members, attorneys, etc.
• Assign administrative rights to current users
• Update current user information (name, email address, job title)
• Delete active passwords of users no longer with the firm

In addition, Monitor Suite features a "forgot password" option on the login page, enabling users to retrieve their password without having to reset it.

Did you know Monitor Suite allows every user to create portal links to entire reports or individual report sections with permission from your firm administrator? This capability can significantly increase knowledge sharing within your firm.

For example, forward links to those preparing for a client meeting, collaborate with those prospecting new business or post links to your firm's intranet. Each link is password embedded so anyone can view the reports, and each time the link is accessed, it will retrieve the most up-to-date information.

Make sure to collaborate with your Business Development Consultant for training on all new enhancements and features, including:

• New Search Refinement & Filtering Capabilities
• Portal Links & Alert Setup
• Export & Output Customization Options
• Administrative Rights and User Management

Monitor Suite Business Development Consultants work closely with firms on Monitor Suite implementation, training, special project assistance and ongoing services. The Business Development Consultants are actively engaging firms to help them get the most value from Monitor Suite.

By combining key information from your firm's website with the analytical capabilities of Monitor Suite, you can easily uncover new client development opportunities for your firm. Below are three examples of different ways that you can take an article or announcement from your firm's site and turn it into a business opportunity with the help of Monitor Suite.

Firm wins: Your firm has published an article regarding a recent victory in a patent infringement case where your firm defended a top client. Based on your firm's success, you may be interested in finding out if other companies are being sued by the plaintiff for patent infringement – and more importantly, if those companies are in need of defense counsel.

How Monitor Suite can help:

• Run a Company report on the plaintiff company
• Drill down to the relevant practice area (in this case, IP – Patents)
• Drill down to the legal role (in this case, plaintiff)
• Look through the events in the Source Documents list to see what other companies the plaintiff company is suing
• Review individual dockets for further insights into defense counsel in those matters
• Set up alerts (focused on patent litigation) on the plaintiff company to monitor future activity in this area

Lawyer Recognition Release: A group of attorneys at one of your firm's office locations was recently recognized in a prominent legal publication. How can you take advantage of this positive exposure to expand your firm's business?

How Monitor Suite can help:

• Run a Law Firm report on your firm
• In the Attorney Representation section, group the noted attorneys together and refocus the report; determine the top practice areas, clients and jurisdictions
• Run a new grouped Company report on the clients represented by the noted attorneys
• Drill down in the top practice areas and jurisdiction(s)
• The top companies listed here may be promising opportunities for your firm

New Hires: Your firm has recently made a key lateral hire addition to the firm's Business Litigation Practice Group and announced the new hire on your website. These types of announcements can typically include insightful information (past clients, industries served) that can be used as a starting point for identifying opportunities that can drive new business.

How Monitor Suite can help:

• Run an Attorney report on the new attorney to determine his or her key clients
• Run Company reports on each of these key clients to assess potential growth opportunities

By analyzing the new attorney's key client base, you can better leverage the existing relationships the new hire can bring to your firm, which can be critical in developing new business and increasing client retention.

Note: In addition to uncovering opportunities, mapping and understanding the relationships that drive those opportunities are just as important. ContactNet complements Monitor Suite by offering law firms a more comprehensive portfolio of relationship and market analytics, enabling firms to get the most value from their relationship assets and leverage the right relationship when it is needed most.

The Full List feature link provides the entire list of entities or listings that correlate to the current report section. In addition to viewing all entities, this feature also provides advanced filtering capabilities allowing users to:

• Refocus report results on individual listings
• Group multiple entities or listings
• Remove specific entities or listings from a larger population
• Add Full List to report output (optional)

myMonitor is a feature within Monitor Suite that allows you to create default search settings and manage your personal preferences. In addition, myMonitor provides a single location to store and manage your saved search and report templates and formats, allowing for efficient ongoing use of Monitor Suite. Explore myMonitor by selecting the myMonitor option located in the Monitor Suite header at the top of each page.

You can refine your search prior to generating a report. Make data refinements by setting custom date ranges or creating data parameters by content type (litigation, deal and/or IP).

Identifying rumored deals may uncover business opportunities for other parts of the firm. Find rumored deals using Monitor Suite's M&A data. There are two ways to approach this: basic and focused.

Basic approach:

1. Run an M&A profiles report.
2. Focus on the Transactional Status section of the profile report.
3. Filter on Rumored.
4. Review the deal Filings listed at the bottom of the refocused report.

Note: If you subscribe to LIVEDGAR, you can view additional information by linking to the Abstracts and Filings listed at the bottom of the refocused report.

Focused approach:

1. Run an M&A profile report on your own firm.
2. Focus on the Attorney section, and filter the report on a top transactional attorney. This will allow you to see the companies and industries he or she has experience with.
3. Run an M&A Industry report and focus on the Transactional Status section of the profile report, or run M&A reports on the attorney's top clients.
4. Filter on Rumored and/or Seeking Buyer
5. Review the Abstracts and Filings listed at the bottom of the refocused report.

These exercises may uncover a business opportunity for your top transactional attorneys.

Search Navigation
The first search toolbar is the Monitor Suite toolbar, located in the upper-right corner. This toolbar remains constant regardless of application activity. A key element of this toolbar is myMonitor. myMonitor is used to manage your user preferences as well as your saved searches, templates and output formats.

The second search tool is the Advanced Search left navigation pane, used for setting pre-report parameters during the advanced search process. For example, set custom date ranges, create custom data views for specific jurisdictions or drill down into patent classifications.

Report Results Navigation Features
The new platform features the Results left navigation pane. Divided by content type, (Company Summary, Litigation, Deal and IP), this navigation pane allows users to quickly link to any section of the report.

Note: Company Summary information is included in all reports; however, your ability to view all content types is dependent on your Monitor Suite subscription. Link to profiles of law firms, attorneys, and judges by clicking the profile icon located to the right of each entity listing.

Refocus report results by clicking the check boxes located to the left of each entity listing. If you wish to drill down on multiple entities, simply check all relevant entities, then click Refocus Results.

Take a closer look at event activity within the report section charts with the new Zoom capability. Simply click and drag over the desired area for a magnified view of event activity.

Output Navigation Features
Add the Full List results to your report output by clicking the Add to Output button located at the upper-left corner of the Full List window.

The Action Bar, located at the upper right of the report, is used for saving searches and customizing report output options. Save search templates with or without preset parameters, or print/export entire reports or individual sections.

• Searches are not case sensitive.
• Punctuation will be ignored.
• Entering multiple search terms will require both terms to be included in the search result.
• Monitor Suite search engine uses a Starts With search at the word level, allowing you to type all or part of a word
• Monitor Suite will produce a limit of 300 results
• You can view search criteria by clicking Show Search Criteria

When generating a Monitor Suite report, expand the + Show Search Criteria box to reveal all criteria and/or data parameters you have included in your search. By showing the search criteria, not only can you ensure you have included all desired information in your search, but it is also an easy and effective way to communicate precisely what the data in the report is reflecting when forwarding this information to your team members.

Fully leverage the vast practice area taxonomy of Monitor Suite when conducting research to help uncover valuable insights into specific litigation activity. When running a Practice Area report (or refining a report by practice area), the new Look-Up functionality in Monitor Suite will allow you to quickly and effectively narrow the focus of your report down to very precise legal topics.

For example, you're tasked with gathering information on litigation involving trade secrets. You've run many reports in the past with Monitor Suite on companies and law firms, but you're wondering if Monitor Suite can help out with this unique project. It can! After selecting Practice Area as your report entity from the Search or Browse drop-down on the Advanced Search page, simply type in trade secrets in the Enter Practice Area box and click Look-Up. Select Add for each of the trade secrets results that are returned in your search. Finally, you have the option to refine your search further (date, courts, etc.) or click Get Results to generate your report.

Recent Searches & Reports can be viewed by clicking the myMonitor link located in the upper right corner. Recent searches are listed by search type and can be retrieved by clicking on the Recent Searches link on the left navigation pane. Simply click on the desired report listing, or search to view a complete listing of all recent searches.

Eliminate search steps when looking for information on the legal involvement and relationship analysis associated with a particular Security Type. Select Security Type in the search drop-down menu, then click on Browse Security Types, Select one, or group more than one Security Type you would like to view.

Preparing for a case? Research the presiding judge's case history in Monitor Suite by generating a judge's report, then filtering on industry and practice area. The refocused report provides insights as to what types of issues the judge is familiar with, as well as quickly focusing on those dockets pertinent to a particular judge's experience.

Benchmarking a company's legal activity against its industry is an effective business development practice that can provide insights as you prepare to meet with a client. With this knowledge, you can:

• Better advise the client about litigation happening in their industry that may not have affected them yet
• Point out where the client's litigation is higher than the industry norm

Within the Law Firm Representation section of a report, in-house counsel is reflected by the name of the respective company. As a shortcut, select Law Firm in the search drop-down menu and type in the name of the company where you would normally enter the law firm name. View the type of work being handled in house, as well as the attorneys involved. This provides insights into opportunities to obtain more work and shows who is handling specific types of litigation in house, which may provide a starting point in finding who is involved in the hiring process.

Law firm trending is based on data supplied by courts' electronic docket sheets and opinions; the data is incorporated precisely as provided. State court dockets are available for the majority of counties in 31 states; many of which list the assigned attorney but not the assigned law firm. Federal courts typically list the name of the assigned law firm and attorney. When a firm name is not supplied, or is listed incorrectly, Monitor Suite will not give credit to the assigned law firm for that event.

Are you looking to leverage your firm's experience and bench strength to expand your business with key clients? Use Monitor Suite to identify new areas of client needs that map to your firm's strengths in other practice areas.

1. Run a Company report on one of your key clients.
2. Navigate to the Practice Area section of the report.

The practice area distribution section allows you to view growing or diminishing needs for your key client.

When using the Full List feature, add the full listings of companies, attorneys, law firms and more by clicking Add to Output, located in the upper-left section of the Full List window. Adding the Full List to the report output provides a comprehensive overview of the section subject activity.

Competing companies are not always classified in the same industry. Creating a custom industry involving only true key competitors can assist your firm in better understanding the competitive landscape and benchmarking industry activity. Follow these simple steps to create a custom industry.

1. Identify key competitors by running a Hoover's report on a specified company referencing the Key Competitors section.
   • Run a Company search
   • Navigate to Company Summary in the left navigation pane.
   • Select the Key Competitors section.
2. Using Monitor Suite, group those key competitors into one report utilizing Advanced Search.
   • Run a Company search
   • Add initial company
   • Enter second company in the search box
   • Repeat exercise until all relevant companies are added to the report
   • To confirm, click the + at the top of the report next to Show Search Criteria
   • Once all companies have been identified, click Get Results

Custom Industry reports are great for comparing a current or prospective client's activity to the activity of their true industry peers.

Prospecting new markets is important, and keeping on top of the market you are serving even more so. To create a custom market area:

1. Click Advanced Search.
2. Select Courts in the search drop-down menu.
3. Next, select Browse Courts.
4. Click the arrow to view a comprehensive listing of all courts in a given category.
5. Group together courts of separate states or jurisdictions by clicking Add.

Once the report is generated, examine which industries have the most litigation in the area, and what the needs are for different kinds of representation.

The Monitor Suite platform allows you to customize the order of report sections, allowing the content to reflect the most logical sequence or flow of information. Simply click and drag either the specific section, or the content-coded color bars, to move/reorder the content. The new order will be reflected in your report output.

With Monitor Suite's Snippets feature, you now have the ability to create and reflect effective comparisons in a single report.

A Snippet is a snapshot of an individual section of a Monitor Suite report that can be saved and added to other reports for comparison purposes.

Create a Snippet:

1. Run a search using your desired entity type
2. Click Snippet on the action bar in the upper-right of the search results screen.
3. Type the name of the snippet in the Name your snippet text box.
4. Type notes about the snippet in the Notes text box, if desired. This field is optional.
5. Click Save, then OK.

Add a Snippet:

1. Click Print/Export on the action bar in the upper-right corner of the search results screen.
2. Click Print/Export Whole Report.
3. Click Customize Sections.
4. Under Choose Report Sections, click Add Snippet.
5. Click Add next to the snippet you want to add to the report and click Save.

NOTE: The snippet is added at the bottom of the report in the Customize Sections of the Report Output Options. Click on and drag the snippet next to the section you wish to compare.