Boccuzzi Advogados’ effective use of technology helps raise its stature in corporate law

Founded with a vision of doing things differently, Boccuzzi considers technology one of their main partners. When they outgrew their home-grown filing system, they partnered with iManage and Docwise to take their document management to the next level. iManage Work 10 in the Cloud enables the whole firm to stay on top of billing, collaborate on documents, and share secure links, empowering them to deliver outstanding services to their clients.

Boccuzzi Advogados Associados is a Brazilian law firm specializing in corporate law that was founded in 1996. A boutique firm, Boccuzzi embraces a sustainable growth philosophy and provides tailor-made services to clients. They invest in long-term relationships based on transparency, empathy, and trust.

The business challenge

Remote working, manual systems, and 30 years of data

Effective use of technology empowers Boccuzzi’s team of 14 lawyers and two administrative assistants to take a personalized approach to advising and servicing clients. Eduardo Boccuzzi, the firm’s founding partner, describes technology — which has become a strong enabler of productivity — as their “main partner.”

“After working for leading international law firms and local practices here in Brazil, I set up Boccuzzi to do things differently,” he explains. “I believe in good management, top-down leadership, and the value of investing in the right technologies.”

When Boccuzzi digitized its records, it created an internal filing system to keep documents in order. However, with the rise of remote working and almost 30 years of accumulated data, the firm decided to take the next step and look for a purpose-built document management system in the cloud.

“We used to pass case documents between multiple parties manually for review,” recalls Boccuzzi. “I wanted to make it easier to track the review process and improve version control. There should never be a situation where a lawyer isn’t certain that they’re looking at the latest version of a document.”

The solution

Document management that makes everyone happy

Boccuzzi needed a cloud-native knowledge work platform with the highest levels of security and compliance certifications. Thanks to one of their clients, Docwise — also an iManage implementation partner — they already had a solution in mind.

“We’ve seen Docwise transform law firms with iManage, so we knew it was the right solution for us,” says Boccuzzi. “iManage has a great reputation across Brazil; we are always impressed by the quality of work when we collaborate with other firms that use it.”

Docwise helped Boccuzzi set up iManage Work 10 in the Cloud and migrate its 80,000 documents onto the platform. All employees now work in iManage, where Boccuzzi himself leads by example. When documents are ready for his review, he receives a notification prompting him to take a look — automating a previously manual workflow.

“Staff can be reluctant to embrace new technologies, so it was important for them to see me using iManage myself,” Boccuzzi observes. “Now everyone is happy.” He says the prevalence of iManage in law firms across Brazil means recruits who join from other firms often are ready to hit the ground running without any training on the platform — a real time-saver.

The time savings don’t stop there. Noting that iManage search is highly advanced, Boccuzzi recalls that the firm’s previous system for managing its documents had no search function at all. Now his employees can surface documents even if they don’t remember the full file name.

“It’s impossible to accurately recall every detail of every case,“ says Boccuzzi. “Having iManage Work means not relying on our memory to locate important information; we can always find what we need, when we need it.”

The platform also helps fee earners stay on top of invoicing, which is double-checked manually at the end of the month. “iManage shows how many times a person has worked on each docket, so we can ensure that our billing matches the work we’ve done,” explains Boccuzzi.

The firm also uses iManage Share to send links to documents and attachments, which is more secure than emailing them internally and reduces the risk of duplication.