Customer Stories
Award-winning German law firm takes document management to the cloud
GvW Graf von Westphalen empowers their legal teams with iManage Cloud, strengthening collaboration, security, and compliance
Award-winning full-service law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen was founded in Hamburg in 1948. The firm’s diverse processes and the need to collaborate easily with colleagues and clients prompted its leadership to consider transitioning to a cloud-based document management system (DMS). Choosing iManage for its standout reputation and intuitive user interface, GvW migrated in only six months, with support from iManage implementation partner, Morae. GvW teams now work together with ease and efficiency, find and retrieve documents swiftly, and collaborate and share files seamlessly. Advanced security measures built into the iManage platform protect the firm against cyberattacks, ensuring data integrity and compliance. The move strategically positions GvW to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), setting the stage for continued innovation and operational intelligence.
The business challenge
Document management processes need updating
GvW is renowned for excellence in Germany’s robust and competitive legal market, having received awards in multiple areas, particularly trade and construction law. The firm’s 250 lawyers operate across six national offices. GvW has additional representation in Brussels, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, and Shanghai.
The GvW legal team relies on the ability to locate documents quickly and easily when collaborating with colleagues and clients. Seamless communications enable them to deliver exceptional client service. Germany’s legal sector is fiercely competitive, and — despite a challenging economy — competing firms are increasingly integrating technology to improve efficiency, accessibility, and security.
“We needed a cloud-based centralized system to facilitate collaboration between different teams and different offices,” says Ava Moussavi, Head of Legal Operations and Tech at GvW.
Headquarters
Hamburg, Germany
Industry
Legal
Products
Benefits
- Seamless and efficient collaboration and file sharing
- Streamlined document retrieval
- Enhanced security against cyberattacks
- Best placed for AI enablement
About partner
Morae Global Corporation is trusted around the world for the delivery of digital and business solutions for the legal industry. Founded in 2015, it has earned wide respect for its expertise in legal consulting, technology, and operations. Many of Morae’s professionals have in-house legal, law firm, or other relevant industry experience.
We can access iManage from anywhere without having to use a VPN to connect to our own servers. That’s valuable, especially as the connection requests are now monitored with iManage Threat Manager in conjunction with our Security Operations Center.
Frank Möller, Head of IT, GvW
The solution
Strategically migrate to a cloud-native document management system
GvW looked to implement a cloud-based DMS to remain competitive and profitable in their market. The need for a single, centralized location for document storage and a more efficient search capability was clear, and security was a priority. Data protection is a cornerstone of client trust and legal compliance, essential to safeguarding GvW clients’ confidentiality and the firm’s own reputation.
With cybercrimes on the rise among law firms, GvW saw the benefit of moving to a secure, cloud-native platform — and felt the need to act quickly. In evaluating the available solutions, they saw that one eclipsed the rest.
“iManage stood out for its intuitive, user-friendly interface when we evaluated it in 2019 and we decided to stay with it when we planned the cloud migration in 2023,” says Frank Möller, Head of IT at GvW. “It made sense to stay with a system people could learn quickly and that was easy to use.” The firm implemented iManage Work 10 in the Cloud, iManage Share, and iManage Threat Manager.
iManage Threat Manager is an essential tool for GvW, enabling the firm both to protect itself from the rising threat of cyberattacks and to meet the demands of the German legal system. All law firms must comply with the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as maintain the confidentiality and integrity of its clients’ data.
iManage Share enables seamless collaboration between lawyers, clients, remote colleagues, and external partners across multiple locations. It also effortlessly tracks versions and change history.
GvW reached out to iManage partner Morae to begin the migration planning. Taking a strategic approach to change management, the firm began with a dedicated session for partners to get their buy-in and support before introducing the platform to the wider firm. They outlined their enablement plan: a run of 10–15 basic training workshops over 2–3 weeks, facilitated by Morae, followed by 10–15 advanced sessions. After the legal teams had an opportunity to attend both sessions, GvW continued to hold sessions monthly to bring people who missed the initial rounds up to speed. They also incorporated the training into new employee onboarding.
GvW completed the iManage Cloud migration, supported throughout by Morae, within six months.
Business outcomes
Streamlined collaboration, enhanced efficiency
GvW now has the centralized cloud-based platform they need to apply their expertise optimally, deliver exceptional client service, and remain competitive in their market. Collaboration between colleagues across offices and teams is seamless and efficient — and file sharing does not rely on email, USB drive transfers, or dated, on-premises technology. The search capability in iManage makes it simple to navigate through the documents stored there and AI technology can be set up to enhance this.
The update impacts client services, too. “iManage Work in the Cloud makes a difference,” says Moussavi. “We could already make documents available to our clients with a mouse click by moving things from iManage Work into iManage Share — in many cases it has made more sense than sending emails. Now we can consider adding AI on top, on another scale.”
GvW streamlined retrieval and enhanced productivity by tagging and filing emails in the same folders as project files, so people don’t need to sift through email threads or inboxes to find their documents.
Moving from on-premises solutions to a cloud-native DMS also spares GvW from the time and cost of technical maintenance. “That frees up more capacity for innovation, which is particularly needed in the era of AI,” says Möller.
The enhanced security afforded by the iManage platform is another plus. “We can access iManage from anywhere without having to use a VPN to connect to our own servers. That’s valuable, especially as the connection requests are now monitored with iManage Threat Manager in conjunction with our Security Operations Center,” Möller adds. Meanwhile, iManage Threat Manager gives GvW real-time visibility and insights into usage and behavior, allowing Moussavi’s team to proactively manage risk by protecting the sensitive legal documents and communications in their care.
Looking ahead
Cloud access to GvW’s data supports their future advancement by opening the door to AI solutions. “AI enablement in connection with our data in iManage is a strategic priority for us. It’s going to accelerate our knowledge access and insights,” says Moussavi.
Having fulfilled their ambition of a centralized cloud-based DMS solution and a sound core from which the firm will continue to flourish, Moussavi, Möller and their teams also anticipate integrating iManage with Microsoft 365 — building on current investments into the future.
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