Lexis Nexis Affinity is a legal practice management system used by law firms that operates in a server and desktop model. It is not cloud based and typically operates within a clients network.

Affinity is not supported directly over a VPN (or even over wireless) as it makes significant calls to Oracle. For remote access a Terminal Server or Citrix Server are the only supported methods.

We do however recommend using a VPN with two-factor authentication is used before users make a connection to the Terminal Server as it is a significant security risk to have a Terminal Server directly accessible over the internet.

Under peak conditions Affinity will use 200MB per user plus Microsoft Office, Adobe and any other applications that are run by the user.

Using a Terminal Server does require additional licenses if one is not in place already. Under these sittuations subscription licenses for the terminal server and Microsoft Office can be used if the server is only required to support a limited demand period.

For small firms that do not require a terminal server it is also possible to use a VPN to connect to the company network then use the Remote Desktop client to connect back into the users desktop which will already have the normal company applications installed. This approach uses additional power and is less reliable as the computer may turn off with a power outage but it can be used for limited remote access. This apporoach will also not work where staff use laptops in the office and take the laptops home to use for remote access.

We do not recommend any form of screen sharinging software (for example TeamViewer, LogMeIn etc) for remote access as this presents security issues for a firm if the password was compromised.

Problems getting Affinity setup for remote access? We can help

Lexis Nexis can provide some support for the actual application but they do not support the local server infrastructure of a firm. ServiceScaler have significant experience with Affinity and other legal practice management systems and can support and implement remote access solutions for affinity. ServiceScaler are also a certifified Microsoft Service Proovider and Citrix Service Provider so we can supply month to month subscription based licenses for Terminal Services, Microsoft Office and Citrix XenApp.

For further assistance feel free to contact the team at ServiceScaler to speak with one of our experts.