Lockdowns trigger a "game-changing" transformation

After going into lockdown saddled with an intensely manual, office-based process for email and document management, Owen White quickly decided to modernize their workplace by implementing a solution that was — they discovered — right in front of their eyes.

It simply wasn’t working

The lawyers and staff at Owen White specialize in areas that interest them, which means they are normally enthusiastic about their work. Leaving an office-based work environment pre-pandemic to work remotely during lockdown, however, it quickly became apparent that their manual information management processes were less than ideal in a WFH world. The firm needed a digitally accessed, central repository for email and document storage, asap.

“All aspects of the process — from email and document management to archiving — were time consuming for all the people involved,” said Caroline Cowley, Director, Owen White. “Lawyers came into the office to pick up files to work on at home, and if anyone else needed the same files they had to physically collect them or obtain a scan from the person holding the file. It simply wasn’t working.”

Interestingly, during the firm’s search for a more centralized, electronic approach, they began noticing case reference numbers at the bottom of the page on documents they received from other law firms. After some detective work, this observation led them to the discovery that nearly 90 percent of the firms they worked with were using iManage Work. Evidently the iManage solution was working well for other law firms – so why not them?

Quick, painless, delivered to schedule, and extremely intuitive to use

Owen White decided that iManage Work 10 in the Cloud would best meet their need for quick deployment, and the long-term business benefits of a cloud solution were very attractive. Due to the tight timeline — and to save the firm from repurposing IT resources to manage the transition in-house — Owen White chose Ascertus, an iManage partner, to lead their implementation.

Cowley said the experience had been entirely positive. “Remote implementation was quick and painless, delivered in the timescale we agreed to. iManage Work 10 is extremely intuitive, and we’ve had no problem transitioning to it,” said Cowley.

In addition to gaining a single repository for emails and documents, Owen White appreciates the structured, matter-specific workspaces and standardized file naming. Documents are saved in one click and the audit trail ensures there are no issues with client-related audits of their documentation. Attorneys are free to pursue the activities that interest them while creating more value for the firm.

Assured and confident

Calling iManage Work 10 in the Cloud “a true game-changer for Owen White,” Cowley said that “as the director responsible for compliance, I’m very assured and confident that all the case-related information is duly stored in iManage Work 10. Documents and pertinent emails aren’t sitting in people’s inboxes.”

Do you need to modernize your workplace? Rely on iManage in the Cloud to store your documents and emails securely and electronically, so access is never an issue. Read the Owen White case study to learn how Owen White’s choice of iManage Work 10 in the Cloud brought game-changing benefits to the firm.