LegalSuite FNB Attorney Gateway Manual

Revised: 10 February 2009

Introduction:

First National Bank (FNB) have developed a new system called the Attorney Gateway (AG) to send bond instructions to their panel Attorneys. The system is also used to receive messages and updates back from the Attorney as a Matter progresses through the bond registration process.

During the course of a bond matter, messages are sent to the Bank by the Attorney and to the Attorney by the Bank.  These messages are used by the Bank to monitor the progress of the Matter and to advise the Attorney of any amendments, additional instructions, etc.  The Bank calculates statistics on their panel of Attorneys so it is important to attend to the Matter timeously and notify them of any delays so that your firm is not prejudiced in any way.

This manual will give you an overview of the system, describe your daily tasks, how to handle specific cases such as NTU and Withdrawals and explain how to “activate” the program (i.e. first time use) in Appendix C.

Messages:

A list of all messages which can be sent and received using the Attorney Gateway is provided in Appendix B.

It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the list. Print it out and keep it handy because you will need to refer to it from time to time.

Milestones:

Milestone messages are the cornerstone of communication between the Attorney and the Bank.  Although other messages are sent and received in between the milestones messages, it is vital that the milestones messages are sent to the Bank in the correct order.

The following are milestone messages: 1. Initial instruction 2. Instruction received 3. Client contacted 4. Documents signed 5. Documents sent 6. Lodged 7. Prepped 8. Registered 9. Withdrawn (Only can be sent by the Bank) 10. NTU (Only can be sent by the Bank)

Milestone messages change the “Matter State ” (see below).

The Plan of Action for each Matter will be automatically updated by LegalSuite as milestone messages are sent to the Bank.  This also works in reverse, i.e. when a Critical Step is marked as “Done” on the Plan of Action for a Matter, the appropriate milestone message will automatically be sent to the Bank. It is therefore important that you use a Plan of Action with your Matters.

Matter State:

The Matter State is displayed in the FNB Instructions tab on the LegalSuite Desktop.

In order for the Matter State for a Matter to display, the Matter field must be set to “Current”.  This is done by clicking in the drop-down menu next to the field and clicking on “Current”, as follows:

Technical Note:

This is stored in the FNBMatterState column in the Matter table, i.e. MAT:FNBMatterState.

Workflow:

Certain messages can only be sent after the Matter reaches a certain stage, i.e. has a certain Matter State.  For example, you cannot send a “Documents Sent” message if the Matter State is has not reached “Documents Signed”.  If you try to do so, the program will display a message “Invalid Workflow” as follows and the message will not be sent.

You can see this from the Messages Table (in APPENDIX B).  An extract of it is shown here:

Old Id	Message Name	New	Received	Client Contacted	Documents Signed	Documents Sent	Lodged	Prepped	Registered	NTU	Withdrawn	New Matter State	Sender	Recipient
27	Initial Instruction	X										New	Bank	Attorney
17	Instruction Received	X										Received	Attorney	Bank
34	Client Contacted		X									Client Contacted	Attorney	Bank
48	Client Not Contacted		X										Attorney	Bank
31	Documents Signed			X								Documents Signed	Attorney	Bank
35	Documents Not Signed			X									Attorney	Bank
6	Documents Sent				X							Documents Sent	Attorney	Bank
46	Documents Received		X	X	X	X	X	X					Bank	Attorney

The “X” next to “6 Documents Sent” indicates that you can only send the “Documents Sent” messages if the Matter State is “Documents Signed”.

Procedure:

The following is a diagrammatic representation of the procedure to follow when dealing with a bond instruction received via the Attorney Gateway:

The Procedure Explained:

It is important that you understand the process diagram and that you follow the steps in the correct sequence.

Step #1 : Receiving the Initial Instruction

FNB initiates the instruction process by requesting a reference number for a bond instruction from the Attorney Gateway server.  Once the Bank receives the reference number, the instruction is sent to the Attorney (Message #27).

Technical Note:

This reference number is stored in the Matter as the Alternate Reference field and is used by LegalSuite to identify the Matter when communicating electronically with the Bank.  You need not refer to this reference number. The Bond Account number is the Bank’s reference.

To receive instructions:

You should load the Attorney Gateway program regularly to check for new instructions and messages and to send messages back to the Bank.

· From the LegalSuite Desktop, click on the FNB Instructions tab.  The following screen will open.  Click on the  “Load Attorney Gateway” icon to load the Attorney Gateway screen, as follows:

· Click on the “Import” button to check for any new instructions or messages from the Bank.  Instructions and messages will be copied from the Attorney Gateway server to your computer.

· Any new instructions or messages will be imported and displayed as follows:

· Close this window and return to the FNB Instructions window in LegalSuite to import the data (and messages) received from FNB into LegalSuite.

· Once in the FNB Instructions screen, click on the  “Import New Messages into LegalSuite” icon as follows:

· The following screen will open, advising that instructions and messages have successfully imported into LegalSuite:

· If there is an “Initial Instruction” (Message #27), LegalSuite will create a new Matter and automatically send an “Instruction Received” (Message #17) back to the Bank.

· You will see the new Matters that were created in the Matters tab. If you have difficulty locating these Matters just filter your Matters by “FNBLink”.  (See APPENDIX “A” hereto for instructions on how to filter your matters.)

Step #2 : Printing the bond instruction

Once the bond instruction has been imported into LegalSuite and appears on the Desktop, you will need to print the instruction and supporting documents from the Bank.  In order to do this:

· Highlight the matter on the LegalSuite Desktop, and click on the  Assemble Documents icon.

· Once in the Assemble Documents window, click on the “Initial Letters and Applications” tab to view the initial documents available for printing for the instruction.  You will have different documents depending on the type of instruction.

For example, in the example below, the Mortgage Loan Agreement and Quotation document are in respect of a building loan, as the highlighted matter is a Building Bond.

· Merge and print the documents in the usual way.

Step #3 : Classifying the bond

Once the bond instruction has been received and acknowledged, the bond must be classified and an “Attorney Classification” (Message #65) sent to the Bank.  These classifications are important because they affect how FNB analyses the Attorney’s statistics. For example, a bond over a property in a new development will take much longer to register than a normal home loan.  If the Bank is advised of this at the beginning of the Matter, the Attorney’s statistics can be amended to allow for the typical delays in the registration of these types of Matters.

Step #4 : Contacting the Client

Once you have received a new instruction, you should try to contact the client to advise them that you have received their bond instruction from the Bank and check their basic name and address details and update the LegalSuite Address Book accordingly. It would also be a good time to verify their details and request FICA documents.

If the client’s postal address is different to the address received from the Bank, you should send a “New Postal Address” (Message #71) to the Bank.

If you have managed to contact the client, you must send a “Client Contacted” (Message #34) to the Bank. 

If, however, you have difficulty contacting the client, you should send a “Client Not Contacted” (Message #48) to the Bank.

If, after several days, you are still unable to contact the client, you should send a “Delay Reason” (Message #78) to the Bank advising them accordingly.  This will ensure that your firm is not prejudiced by a slow bond registration process.  The FNB computer will adjust your firm’s statistics accordingly upon receipt of this message.

A “Delay Reason” (Message #78) can be sent at any time during the course of the transaction to notify the Bank of delays in the Matter.

Step #5 : Preparing the Documents

You should check the data received from the Bank carefully and make any necessary amendments or insert any missing data.

You should attend to a Deeds Office search on the property, as well as on the parties and modify property descriptions and the parties’ marital status to reflect the legal descriptions as required by the Deeds Office.  You should send a “Property Description” (Message #69) to the Bank, advising them of these details.

Step #6 : Documents Signed

Once you have prepared the documents for signature, arrange for these to be signed by the client.  Once signature has been completed, send a “Documents Signed” (Message #31) to the Bank.  If, however, the client declines to sign the documents for any reason, send a “Documents Not Signed” (Message #35) to the Bank.

As with contacting the client, should you be unable to obtain signature of the documents after several days, you should send a “Delay Reason” (Message #78) to the Bank.

Step #7 : Documents Sent and Received

Once the legal documents and all supporting documentation required by the Bank in terms of the letter of instruction have been signed, they should be sent to the Bank’s relevant Home Loans office.  The “Documents Sent” (Message #6) must be sent to the Bank and the Bank will confirm receipt of the documents by sending a “Documents Received” (Message #46).

Step #8 : Sundry Messages

The following messages should be sent to the Bank at this time:

· “Know Your Client” (Message #73)

Confirms that the FICA requirements were met with

· “Estimated Date of Registration” (Message #9)

This you can find in the Plan of Action for the Matter.

· “Debit Order Details” (Message #70)

This information must be competed in the Document Database in LegalSuite

· “Authority to Pay” (Message #13)

This information is created from the Guarantees you inserted in the Document Database in LegalSuite

Step #9 : Proceeding to lodgment

Once the Bank’s Compliance Department have checked that the signed and supporting documents are in order and that all the Bank’s conditions have been met, a “Proceed to Registration” (Message #38) will be sent by the Bank to the Attorney.

If the documents are not compliant or certain of the Bank’s conditions have not been met, a “Documents Not Compliant” (Message #41) or a “Condition Not Met” (Message #51) will be sent to the Attorney.

Please Note: You may not lodge the Matter until a “Proceed to Registration” (Message #38) has been received from the Bank. The program will warn you if you try to do so. In a future release, the program will actually prevent you from doing so.

Step #10 : Lodgment

Once you have received a “Proceed to Registration” (Message #38), the documents must be forwarded to the Deeds Office for lodgement and a “Lodged” (Message #4) must be sent to the Bank.

Step #11 : Prepped and Held Over

On the day before registration, the Matter will come up for fees / preparation in the Deeds Office and a “Prepped” (Message #7) must be sent to the Bank.

If, however, the Matter is to be held over in the Deeds Office for any reason, by any Attorney in the set, a “Held Over” (Message #14) must be sent to the Bank.

Step #12 : Registration (Electronic and Manual)

On registration of the Matter in the Deeds Office, the Bank is to be advised immediately by sending a “Registered” (Message #5). 

If the registration message cannot be sent for any reason, the Bank is to be notified telephonically and per email or fax and they will record the necessary data on the Attorney Gateway.

Manual Registration (Message #53)

If FNB is unable to receive a “Registered” (Message #5) from the Attorney for some reason (e.g. the Attorney cannot connect to the Attorney Gateway) and they know that the bond has been registered they will issue a “Manual Registration” (Message #53) which will “force” the process into a Registration Matter State (so they can pay out and start charging the client interest).

It should be used very rarely but is a backup system in case of any problems.

Step #13 : Registered Documents

Once the registered Title Deed and Mortgage Bond have been received from the Transferring Attorneys, they must immediately be forwarded to the Bank’s Securities Department.  A “Security Documents Sent” (Message #33) must then be sent to the Bank.

Other Important Messages

An NTU’d Instruction:

The situation occasionally arises where a client no longer wishes to proceed with the bond application or if the transfer (to which the bond is linked) collapses.  In these instances, the Matter will be NTU’d (Not Taken Up).

If the Bank is advised that the Matter is no longer proceeding the will send the Attorney an “NTU” (Message #30). If the instruction is not re-instated within 90 days, with a “Re-instate” (Message #79), you can archive the Matter.

If the Attorney knows that the bond application has been abandoned they must send a “Request NTU” (Message #61) to the Bank.  If the Bank agrees that the Matter should be NTU’ed they will reply with an “NTU” (Message #30) telling you it is OK to NTU the instruction. If, however, the Bank feels that the bond application should proceed, they will send an “Amendment  Instruction” (Message #25) and you are to continue with the process from the beginning.

Amendments to Data sent by the Bank:

If you find significant discrepancies in the data received from the Bank, the Attorney can send an “Amendment Request” (Message #66) to the Bank, setting out the required amendments to the data. 

The Bank will then send an “Amendment Instruction” (Message #25).  The program will automatically send a “Correction Completed” (Message #3) back to the Bank confirming that you have received the amended instruction.

Re-assigned instructions:

Occasionally, after a bond instruction has been sent to an Attorney, the Bank may decide to re-assign the instruction to another Attorney.  In this instance, the Bank will send a “Cancel to Re-assign” message to the Attorney.  LegalSuite will automatically send an “Acknowledge Cancel to Re-assign” (Message #36) back to the Bank.

You may archive (i.e. delete) this Matter from LegalSuite.

Withdrawn instructions:

The Bank may from time to time withdraw a bond instruction.  A “Withdraw Instruction” (Message # 29) will be sent by the Bank to the Attorney.  LegalSuite will automatically send an “Acknowledge Withdraw Instruction” (Message #18) back to the Bank.

You may archive (i.e. delete) this Matter from LegalSuite.

Re-instated Instructions:

Some Matters which have been withdrawn can be re-instated by the Bank.  In this case, the Bank will send a “Re-instate” (Message #79) to the Attorney. The LegalSuite program will automatically send an “Acknowledge Re-instate” (Message #12) back to the Bank.

You should proceed with the Matter as if you had received a new instruction.

Progress Update & Free Format Messages:

The “Progress Update” (Message #15) and “Free Format Message (from Attorney)” (Message #10) can be sent at any time during the course of the Matter to informally advise them of any progress or to ask a question.

SENDING MESSAGES TO THE BANK:

The procedure to send a message to the Bank is done as follows:

· From the LegalSuite Desktop ensure you have highlighted the Matter on which you wish to send a message to the Bank and click on the FNB Instructions tab.  The following screen will appear:

· To send a message on the Matter you selected in LegalSuite, click on the drop-down menu next to the Matter field and select “Current” to ensure that messages for the particular matter are displayed, and then on the  “Send a Message to FNB” icon to load the messages screen.

· The following screen containing a list of all available messages will appear:

· Select the message to be sent to the Bank by highlighting same, then click on the  Select icon, as follows:

· Once selected, the message will display on the list of messages for the Matter, as follows:

Please Note: If a message is sent in error, it cannot be retrieved. We recommend that a “Free Format” (Message #10) be sent to the Bank explaining the situation.

When you “Send” a message, it is stored on your server waiting to be exported to the Bank via the Attorney Gateway. It does not go off immediately. You need to actually export it.

· To export the message to the Bank, click on the  Load Attorney Gateway icon

· The Attorney Gateway screen will appear.  Click on the “Export” icon in order to send any messages through to the Bank via the Attorney Gateway. 

· A confirmation message will appear, advising that the message has been sent without errors, as follows:

In practice, you should go into the Attorney Gateway program on a regular basis and press both the Import and Export buttons. This will ensure that any awaiting instructions and messages from the Bank are downloaded and any messages you have sent back are actually sent off.

ATTORNEY GATEWAY REPORTS

In the Attorney Gateway program, you will find the “Reporting” tab.  Various reports to the Bank on Matters are generated from here and are sent to the Bank via the Attorney Gateway.  These reports are useful to view your communications with the Bank. They include:

· Normal activities (where activities HAVE taken place),

· Exceptions (where activities have NOT taken place),

· Management reports.

The types of reports available and how to run them will be discussed further in an additional Appendix hereto.

BULLETINS

The Bank will communicate any bulletins to the Attorney by making these available under the “Bulletins” tab.  Bulletins can be downloaded from this screen as they become available.  To access bulletins from the Bank, click on the “Bulletins” tab as follows and select the bulletin to download:

DOWNLOADS

The will also make available any downloads they require the Attorney to attend to.  These will appear in the “Downloads” screen as follows and can be downloaded by the Attorney when necessary:

Downloads will be discussed further in an Appendix hereto.

SETTING UP LEGALSUITE ALERTS TO DISPLAY UNSENT FNB MESSAGES:

LegalSuite can be set up to alert you as  you log in to the program that you have messages which have not yet been sent to FNB via the Attorney Gateway.  In order to set this up:

· Click on Setup / File Management / Alerts as follows:

· Click on the Conveyancing tab.

· Click on the check box next to the “Show any UNSENT FNB messages” field, as follows:

· Once this has been set up, each time you log in to LegalSuite, a message will appear, advising you that you have unsent FNB messages, as follows:

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APPENDIX A : Filtering LegalSuite to display FNBLink matters:

LegalSuite can be set to display only Matters received from FNB via the Attorney Gateway and further by Matters at a certain stage.

To filter Matters from the LegalSuite Desktop:

· Click on the  Filter icon, as follows:

· Once in the filter screen, click on the “Electronic Instructions” check box and then on the drop-down menu next to the field and select “FNBLink” as follows:

· LegalSuite will filter all Matters to display only those received via the Attorney Gateway, as follows:

· These Matters can be filtered further to display Matters at a certain stage

· Click on the  Filter icon, then on the Conveyancing Status check box and then on the drop-down menu next to the field.  Select the Matter status of the Matters you wish to display, as follows:

· Click on the  OK button to save your filtering selection.

APPENDIX B : FNB Messages and MatterState

Old Id	Message Name	New	Received	Client Contacted	Documents Signed	Documents Sent	Lodged	Prepped	Registered	NTU	Withdrawn	New Matter State	Sender	Recipient
27	Initial Instruction	X										New	Bank	Attorney
17	Instruction Received	X										Received	Attorney	Bank
34	Client Contacted		X									Client Contacted	Attorney	Bank
48	Client Not Contacted		X										Attorney	Bank
31	Documents Signed			X								Documents Signed	Attorney	Bank
35	Documents Not Signed			X									Attorney	Bank
6	Documents Sent				X							Documents Sent	Attorney	Bank
46	Documents Received		X	X	X	X	X	X					Bank	Attorney
73	KYC				X	X							Attorney	Bank
69	Property Description		X	X	X	X	X	X	X				Attorney	Bank
65	Attorney Classification		X	X	X	X	X						Attorney	Bank
70	Debit Order Details					X	X						Attorney	Bank
71	New Postal Address				X	X	X	X	X				Attorney	Bank
13	Authority To Pay				X	X	X	X					Attorney	Bank
38	Proceed to Registration		X	X	X	X	X	X					Bank	Attorney
41	Documents Not Compliant		X	X	X	X	X	X					Bank	Attorney
4	Lodged					X						Lodged	Attorney	Bank
14	Held Over						X						Attorney	Bank
7	Prepped						X					Prepped	Attorney	Bank
5	Registered		X	X	X	X	X	X				Registered	Attorney	Bank
53	Manual Registration		X	X	X	X	X	X				Registered	Bank	Attorney
64	Registered Documents								X				Attorney	Bank
33	Security Documents Sent								X				Attorney	Bank
30	NTU	X	X	X	X	X	X	X				NTU	Bank	Attorney
	NTU Further Loan	X	X	X	X	X	X	X				NTU	Bank	Attorney
61	NTU Request		X	X	X	X	X	X					Attorney	Bank
25	Amendment Instruction	X	X	X	X	X	X	X				New	Bank	Attorney
3	Correction Completed	X										Received	Attorney	Bank
66	Amendment Request		X	X	X	X	X						Attorney	Bank
40	Cancel to Reassign	X	X	X	X	X	X					Withdrawn	Bank	Attorney
36	Acknowledge Cancel to reassign										X		Attorney	Bank
51	Conditions Not Met		X	X	X	X	X						Attorney	Bank
20	Free Format (from bank)	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X				Bank	Attorney
10	Free Format (from Attorney)		X	X	X	X	X	X	X				Attorney	Bank
15	Progress Update		X	X	X	X	X	X					Attorney	Bank
29	Withdraw Instruction	X	X	X	X	X	X	X				Withdrawn	Bank	Attorney
18	Acknowledge Withdraw Instruction										X		Attorney	Bank
79	Re-instate									X	X	New	Bank	Attorney
12	Acknowledge re-instate	X										Received	Attorney	Bank
9	Estimated Registration Date		X	X	X	X	X						Attorney	Bank
78	Delay Reason		X	X	X	X	X						Attorney	Bank

APPENDIX C : Using the program for the first time

Activation:

Before messages can be sent and received, the Attorney must register with Korbitec.  This is done as follows:

· Complete and sign the Activation Registration form and Gateway Subscription Agreement, which can be obtained from Korbitec.  To obtain these forms, contact the Customer Care Centre on: 0860 038 368.

· Once the forms have been completed and signed, they should be faxed back to Korbitec on 0860 329 254.

· Once the documents have been received by Korbitec, the Customer Care Department will map the Attorney on the Attorney Gateway software, and an Activation Code will be generated.

· The Activation Code will be emailed to your firm for insertion into the software, and a copy will be forwarded to LegalSuite for safekeeping in our Client Database.

· Once you are in possession of the Activation Code, click on the FNB Instructions tab in the LegalSuite Desktop, as follows:

· Once in the FNB Instructions screen, click on the  “Load Attorney Gateway” icon, as follows:

· The following screen will appear:

· Click the “I accept and agree to the Gate way subscriber rules defined above” box and insert the Activation Code received from Korbitec in the relevant field.

· Click on the  “Activate” button to save the Activation Code.

· A confirmation window will appear as follows:

· Click on the  “OK” button to save and exit.

This will only have to be done the first time you access the Attorney Gateway.  Once the activation procedure has been done, you will access the Attorney Gateway immediately upon clicking on the icon.

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