Customer Stories
Hanson Bridgett transforms records management, with savings nearing $100K
US law firm steps up productivity with 100% user adoption of iManage Records Manager, disposing end-of-life physical records in seconds, not days
Hanson Bridgett’s records team faced a critical bottleneck: destroying just 10 files at a time with outdated technology while managing 30,000+ boxes of physical records dating back to 1965. Updates took days, and storage costs were getting out of control. By implementing iManage Records Manager alongside its document management system, iManage Work, the firm is transforming records management from an operational constraint to a strategic advantage. Today, each member of the five-person records team can perform defensible disposition on 500–600 files per month, destroying content no longer required in seconds rather than days. This has enabled the team to save an average of $2,000 per month in storage fees, resulting in total savings of nearly $100,000 to date. Having achieved measurable productivity gains with Records Manager, Hanson Bridgett is well-positioned for continued growth using the iManage platform.
Hanson Bridgett is a leading US corporate law firm with a 60-year history of serving clients across a comprehensive range of practice areas. As an Am Law 200 firm and certified B Corporation, Hanson Bridgett distinguishes itself through diversity, innovation, and support for dynamic work arrangements. The firm employs attorneys in offices that span the state of California and remote locations across the country.
The business challenge
Reduce storage fees and eliminate operational bottlenecks
Hanson Bridgett’s commitment to efficiency and progressive work arrangements requires technology that supports both current operations and future growth. Managing records across multiple California offices, the records team faced significant challenges with their legacy system, which was designed primarily for accounting rather than comprehensive records management.
“Our software was dated,” explains Richard A. Hervey, Records Supervisor at Hanson Bridgett. “When we needed to update something within the database on the backend, it would take days for that update to take place. In addition, my clerks weren’t able to destroy more than 10 files at a time, which is counterproductive when we have individual
clients with 800 files in our storage system.”
Having transitioned to iManage Work for document management several years previous, the firm still maintained approximately 30,000 boxes of physical records dating back to 1965. As a result, the disposition process — critical for managing costs and reducing risk — had become a significant operational bottleneck. With limited capabilities and poor integration with iManage Work, the legacy system no longer supported the firm’s vision for efficient, scalable records management.
Headquarters
California, US
Industry
Legal
Products
- Improved governance of physical assets
- Boosted records team productivity and operational efficiency
- Reduced burden on records team through user self-service
- Seamless retention schedule customization
- Comprehensive audit trail and compliance support
About partner
InfoCompass helps organizations migrate from legacy records systems to iManage Records Manager, combining deep technical expertise with a strong understanding of your business and records management needs.
We looked at the options and decided iManage Records Manager was the best solution. It works hand-in-hand with iManage Work and gives us the ability to configure the product in the way that works best for Hanson Bridgett.
Richard A. Hervey, Records Supervisor, Hanson Bridgett
The solution
A comprehensive, tailored, information governance ecosystem
After evaluating multiple solutions, the firm selected iManage Records Manager for its robust capabilities, seamless integration with iManage Work, and extensive configuration options.
“We looked at the options and decided iManage Records Manager was the best solution. It works hand-in-hand with iManage Work and gives us the ability to configure the product in the way that works best for Hanson Bridgett,” says Hervey.
The project moved swiftly — going from initial evaluations to a signed contract in about six months. The Hanson Bridgett records team worked closely with iManage implementation partner, InfoCompass, to thoroughly test the system before going “live.”
“We successfully migrated 60 years of physical records into Records Manager in just two weeks, with minimal disruption,” recalls Hervey. The accelerated migration delivered immediate value — unlocking faster access to historical information, strengthening governance, and laying the foundation for more efficient records management going forward.
To ensure comprehensive adoption, the firm’s training team collaborated with InfoCompass, focusing on key features, such as advanced search capabilities. These empower attorneys and staff to self-serve, enabling the “small but mighty” records team of five to successfully manage operations firm-wide.
“InfoCompass and the iManage team were impressed by the level of curation and taxonomy we already had in place, and they helped us refine our structure to get the best value from Records Manager,” says Hervey.
The records team were able to tailor Records Manager to Hanson Bridgett’s unique needs. Configurations included:
- Modifying and creating retention schedules for specific clients
- Implementing administrative and legal holds
- Supporting multi-location operations and expansion plans
The ease of adapting Records Manager to the team’s specific requirements was a clear selling point for iManage in the evaluations.
30,000
boxes of records
$100,000
savings to date
100%
user adoption
Business outcomes
Records management: from handicap to strategic advantage
Since its implementation, iManage Records Manager has delivered transformational results across productivity, cost savings, and user satisfaction. The most dramatic of these is in disposition processing speed, where tasks that previously took days are now completed in seconds, with a full audit trail.
“If we want to destroy a whole box, it’s one click of a button in Records Manager, and the whole box is destroyed, with all the same notations placed in every single file,” says Hervey. “The ability to review multiple files simultaneously saves time, and the ability to destroy multiple files at the same time means we’re much more efficient.”
Each records clerk now processes 500–600 file destructions monthly, compared to just 10 files at a time using Elite. This translates directly into cost savings, with the firm reducing storage fees by an average of $2,000 per month — approaching $100,000 in total savings to date.
The system’s audit capabilities have also proven their worth. With 100 percent user adoption across the firm’s daily users, which includes attorneys, legal secretaries, records clerks, and HR staff, Hervey can now track detailed team activity. That’s files checked out, edited, and destroyed — and provides defensibility and concrete reporting to demonstrate the department’s value to firm leadership.
Defensible disposition means that destroyed files leave behind an audit trail of approval and the applicable destruction rules so that the firm has proof that files were destroyed according to an Office of General Counsel or legal department-approved retention schedule. This eliminates risk for the firm, in addition to saving money.
“Our attorneys and secretaries are now able to independently generate comprehensive client reports without help from the records team,” says Hervey, “which is very helpful to them.” He adds that firm leadership appreciates the expedience this enables.
Additionally, integration with the firm’s accounting system has enabled powerful workflow automation. Critical client and matter data is automatically synchronized with Records Manager, and matters are opened without the need for manual data entry. Matter opening and closing information is also coupled with the solution, automatically triggering the retention clock upon matter closure and initiating the disposition evaluation process.
Looking ahead
With physical records management optimized, Hanson Bridgett is now focused on establishing comprehensive electronic records policies, with plans to deploy these capabilities this year. They look to implement an electronic disposition process, as they did for the physical files, to further mitigate risk and reduce storage costs.
As Hanson Bridgett expands to its eighth California office in Fresno and considers expanding beyond California, the customizable location features in Records Manager will enable the team to scale seamlessly.
Hervey is an active contributor of improvement ideas for Records Manager, providing ongoing feedback to iManage on key enhancements.
“iManage customer service has always been helpful and available to us when needed. And, by continuing to establish relationships with partners like InfoCompass, iManage is helping the legal industry tremendously with records management and information governance,” concludes Hervey. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, and iManage will continue to flourish.”
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