Are You Ready for (RubyLaw) 22?

With January half over, we’re already 1/24 of the way through 2022.

When it comes to fractions, most businesses think in terms of quarters. However, with RubyLaw 22 launching in 1/12 of a year, we're focused less on months and days and more on hours and minutes.

Since late last year, and after sharing an update in this month’s RubyRoundup, we’ve had numerous inquiries from clients about upgrading to RubyLaw 22. Many have already scheduled their upgrades, which you will want to do as soon as possible.

So that your firm is prepared to take advantage of continuous upgrades, here’s a quick FAQ to help.

RubyLaw 22 FAQ

We're happy with RubyLaw now, why should we upgrade?
Hooray, we’re delighted that you’re happy with RubyLaw! An upgrade to RubyLaw 22 only enhances your satisfaction with numerous new features, significant security improvements, continuous upgrades, speed optimizations, and—this one’s important—the ability to get future enhancements more easily.

If this isn’t reason enough, please reach out to a RubyLaw representative and let’s schedule a conversation.

What, exactly, is being updated and/or replaced?
RubyLaw 22 is an upgrade of the back-end of your RubyLaw Content Lifecycle Management (CLM) system. The upgrade has no impact on your website’s front-end, i.e., the portion that visitors view and interact with.

This is also worth noting, as firms considering design updates can facilitate an even faster refresh by upgrading to RubyLaw 22, an even more flexible, modern version of our platform.

How long can I expect the upgrade process to take?
Depending on which version of RubyLaw your firm is using, you can expect 2-6 weeks of scheduled time from start until the launch of the updated software.

Should I anticipate site experience downtime during the upgrade?
With respect to users of RubyLaw, you can anticipate zero downtime. However, for the few firms still using older versions of RubyLaw, we may need to institute a brief content freeze (no more than 24 hours) during the upgrade.

We're thinking about doing a website redesign. When should we upgrade?
As mentioned above, we recommend that your firm upgrades ahead of the redesign. This will facilitate a more seamless experience, while giving your firm more flexibility when considering design alternatives.

Will upgrading to RubyLaw 22 impact our third-party system integrations?
While existing integrations will be maintained through the upgrade process, we highly recommend upgrading to RubyLaw 22 before implementing any new integrations. This will allow your firm to avail of updates and enhancements to RubyLaw Connect, our API.

What are some of the new and existing features that we can take advantage of in RubyLaw 22?
Data Export/Import
Drafts and Content Locking
Enhanced video capabilities and rendering notifications
Security updates, like the new RubyShield Security Dashboard
—Improved performance and system security
—User interface and speed improvements
—Timely access to future enhancements as they are released

Are there additional modules that we will be able to access via RubyLaw 22?
Super Template
—Numerous options and tools to increase your visitor engagement with your firm, from Desktop Notifications to Dynamic Cross-selling, Content Personalization, and a secure, Client Information Hub portal
—Advanced Filtering/Search
—Proposals (To automatically generate curated Word and PowerPoint pitch documents)
—Experience (To manage and publish legal matters internally, on your website, and in business development documents like proposals and pitch books)
—Integrity (To continuously scan content for typos, broken links, broken images, accessibility issues, and forbidden terms and client names)

What if we opt not to upgrade?
Upgrading to RubyLaw 22 is not (currently) required. However, given our shift to a subscription-based model, we will no longer be able to provide non-billable bug fixes or security updates for older versions of RubyLaw beyond their End of Life (EOL) date. We will continue to host, maintain, and support older versions of RubyLaw in accordance with the EOL details below.

For clients on older versions of RubyLaw, we have defined the following EOL dates:
—RubyLaw 10 and 11: May 1, 2022
—RubyLaw 12: December 31, 2022

After these dates, we will no longer provide non-billable bug fixes or security updates for these versions of RubyLaw.

If you would like to learn more about RubyLaw 22, including the cost for your firm to upgrade, please reach out to our Client Experience team. You can also attend an upcoming session of RubyLaw Live.