History

Owen Rice is the founder and president of Lex Systems™ (USA), Inc. His relevant experience began on a team in one of the Big Eight public accounting firms that designed computer-assisted management information systems. He was admitted to the bar in 1961 and was a managing partner of a large firm in the Southeast.

In 1968 he and some acquaintances (who had been responsible for developing and operating computer systems for the Apollo program) decided to turn their attention to developing computer-assisted and computer-based systems for professional service firms.

They began by operating a service bureau that processed firm’s timekeeping and billing records remotely on mainframe computers. As technology developed and computing power became less expensive, Lex Systems migrated its technology to mini-computers and then to desktop workstations.

In the early 1980s employees began using higher-speed photocopiers instead of a company’s print shop. Xerox and IBM approached Mr. Rice about developing a system that would account for each photocopy, fax, or telephone call and that would be superior to the systems already in the marketplace.

The result, The Count™ system, was first installed in a private law firm early in the 1980s.  Since then it has been put to work by other professional service firms and government agencies.

In the late 1990s, it became clear that desktop workstations and file servers would be the standard in networks. The Count™ needed to integrate with each customer’s application software, whether on a LAN, WAN, or over the internet. 

Lex Systems™ brought on Gerald Verble, a member of the original team that authored what is now known as the Juris’ law firm management software. The result, a seamless system for law firms and government agencies to access their system files without having to purchase any additional proprietary software or hardware.

Lex Systems™ primary concern remains the skyrocketing costs for businesses, particularly professional service firms, who are using business information systems. The Count™ has evolved over the years in responses to customers’ requests. The principle behind it remains the same. “It is our intention to design systems that are easy-to-use, conform to a law firm’s existing office procedures and systems, and available at the lowest cost possible,” Mr. Rice says. “Our goal is to help reduce a firm’s costs and increase its revenues and thereby maximize the firm’s profits... and we will do just that for your firm."