Svensson Nøkleby improves lawyer and client experience on iManage platform

Svensson Nøkleby, a leading midsize law firm in Norway, used an all-in-one practice management system (PMS), but its document and email management proved difficult to use, so adoption was low. Multiple storage locations made information, documents, and emails difficult to retrieve. Deploying iManage Work 10 in the Cloud with iManage Tracker has brought integrated task management, seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook, quick access to information in documents and email, and better collaboration. The firm has improved processes, productivity, and the client experience.

With 40 lawyers and 10 support staff, Svensson Nøkleby is the largest business law firm in the region. Their lawyers advise and mentor private and public enterprises and private individuals. A trusted partner for strategic decisions, day-to-day operations, and extraordinary circumstances, the firm helps clients discover new solutions and opportunities.

The business challenge

Needing efficient, secure document and email management

Challenges Svensson Nøkleby faced included a non-intuitive user experience, which even one-on-one training sessions could not rectify. The inability of lawyers to use the application as intended convinced the team that their legacy system lacked key features to ensure efficient and secure document and email management across the firm.

Lawyers and staff were unable to find the information they needed when they needed it. Search functionality was non-existent. New associates sought functionality like Office integration, version control, and coauthoring — features and efficiencies that the firm’s existing tool didn’t offer but that the new hires were aware iManage had. Lawyers overwhelmed with tasks need help from technology to automate mundane functions.

“Surveys have found that lawyers in small law firms often spend as much as 40 percent of their time on non-billable tasks such as managing routine business functions,” says Katrine Gilleece, Business Developer, Svensson Nøkleby. “That is not a profitable business model; we need to create workflows where technology, people, and processes work together seamlessly.”

The solution

A platform designed for our field and our business

Svensson Nøkleby realized they needed to change their document management system (DMS), so they started looking into iManage Work 10 in the Cloud. “iManage is a tool that is tested and tried by so many law firms,” said Gilleece. “It is a platform designed for our field and our business and that is great for us.”

The firm talked to a similar-sized Norwegian law firm that had moved to iManage Work a couple of years before, which gave Gilleece some good insight into the implementation process, helping them prepare for the move. Symmetry between the reference and Svensson Nøkleby reassured the team that they were making the right choice.

Agnes Święcka, Legal Advisor at Svensson Nøkleby, had worked for a firm that used a legacy iManage DMS called FileSite and that experience enabled her to act as a first point of contact during implementation, so they weren’t “going in blind.” The team took a pre-emptive approach to preventing problems as well as providing solutions.

Change is never easy, and lawyers have little time available for learning new systems, but iManage Work and Microsoft 365 are seamlessly integrated, and the learning was intuitive. According to Gilleece, Office is essential in everything they do, making the integration an absolute necessity.

Svensson Nøkleby is the first firm in Norway to implement iManage Tracker. The firm traditionally used email to communicate tasks internally, but everyone is battling a mountain of emails. The team had tested standalone task management solutions, but it wasn’t practical to implement them across the organization due to the missing link between matters and tasks. Because Tracker is an integral part of the iManage platform, tasks and lists can be linked to matters, documents, files, and emails. Having everything in one platform makes it much easier to implement across the firm.

“We believe iManage Tracker will be a great help in giving us a good overview and enabling us to get things done faster, without spending time creating and maintaining to-do lists,” said Gilleece.

Lawyers and staff also find the search in iManage Work 10 very powerful and helpful. “It was a totally new experience to be able to search for any information or any document in iManage,” recalls Gilleece. The firm planned to switch only active matters to iManage Work but decided to transfer all matters to have everything searchable in one place.

Business outcomes

A better platform for sharing information and managing tasks

The firm is totally reliant on a good DMS to keep track of everything. Święcka says when lawyers are provided with good tools, they spend less time on admin and more time on matter-related tasks. This benefits business outcomes.

iManage Work 10 in the Cloud has provided the firm with a much better platform for cooperating and sharing documents and information. Coauthoring has been popular as well. Everybody has access to everything and Tracker enables them to keep themselves updated on matter progress.

Święcka notes that the personalization capabilities of matter tracker and tasks allow lawyers to streamline their work and accommodate specific needs. The option to modify fields enables unique workflows for each business group. “View” options allow individuals to tailor their Tracker experience while staying aligned with firm standards.

“Streamlined processes are the main thing everyone is striving for,” shares Święcka. “You can use iManage Tracker to monitor case progress or to hand off or delegate tasks as required.”

“Clients need to see value in the work,” adds Gilleece. “Tracker frees our lawyers from mundane tasks so they can better apply their expertise to higher-value work.”

Looking ahead

Gilleece reflected that the last few years have taught the industry that change is ongoing and inevitable. Although moving to a new system involves a certain degree of risk and uncertainty, firms must weigh that risk against an even greater risk of doing nothing and being left behind. Top management of Svensson Nøkleby was confident about the move to iManage. They were involved, informed, and made great ambassadors for the change process.

The immediate focus is making sure everyone understands and takes advantage of all the capabilities the switch to iManage has made available to them: to use the platform in its fullest capacity both now and as the firm and the platform evolve.