TopForm Web by Fastcase: An Expert System for Bankruptcy Law

TopForm was a pioneer in bankruptcy filing software and the leading software of its kind for many years. Then it languished, partly because it was only available on disc instead of updating over the web. This meant it was clunky to use, updates required major application downloads, and Mac users were out of luck.

Recently, Fastcase purchased TopForm and has revamped it into a speedy web-based platform that runs in the cloud and on any device.

Details

Handling bankruptcy cases can be a nightmare of form-juggling. Indeed, there are more than 1200 bankruptcy forms. To be efficient and profitable, bankruptcy lawyers need to be sure they’re using the right forms, right means tests, right exemptions, and that their data remains consistent across all forms. TopForm Web ensures this by pushing out form and rule updates immediately when courts make changes and auto-populating data across forms. TopForm includes a comprehensive set of bankruptcy forms for every court, and all forms are included in the flat subscription price.

TopForm Web is not a consumer-facing product. It makes petition preparation faster and easier for experienced bankruptcy practitioners, lawyers handling a pro bono bankruptcy, or other bankruptcy petition preparers. Think of it as TurboTax for bankruptcy lawyers.

TopForm Web uses bank-grade 256-bit SSL security to protect filing data, and because it’s web-based, petition filers can access the software anywhere, anytime.

At the core of TopForm is an expert system and a document automation engine that is scalable. In other words, if TopForm can work in a form-heavy practice area like bankruptcy law, it can work anywhere.

Fastcase is working to use the technology it built out for TopForm and extend it to other areas, including areas where the access to justice gap is severe.

How to Get It

TopForm Web is free through December 1, 2016. Users can log in at www.topform.law and create a username and password and start electronically filing right away. After December 1, TopForm will cost $1276 for a single user for the first year and $559 per user per year for renewal years. The network edition costs $1869 per year and $689 per year for renewals. However, anyone who signs up before December 31 will get the renewal rate of $559 per year per user or $689 per year for the network edition. TopForm will also convert cases from competing bankruptcy software programs for free and import them into TopForm Web.

TopForm Web by Fastcase: An Expert System for Bankruptcy Law was originally published on Lawyerist.com.