Osler builds a high volume, high value alternative delivery center for transactional law

Osler Hoskin and Harcourt LLP is a leading Canadian law firm with over 400 lawyers spread across six offices. Its new closing team selected iManage Closing Folders to automate and ease closing processes, enabling the firm to be more effective in how it handles transactions. It used Closing Folders to run over 300 legal transactions, generating over 3,000 signing packages and tracking over 15,000 document versions in the first year after implementing the solution.

Osler is a leading business law firm practicing internationally from offices across Canada and in New York. Their clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the market and at various stages in the growth of their businesses. The firm has built its reputation on a commitment to clients' success and the experience, expertise, and collaborative approach for which they are recognized. Osler believes that their success is a reflection of their clients' success.

The business challenge

Make the closing process and execution more efficient and effective

As a former buyer of legal services, Natalie Monroe, Head of Osler Works — Transactional, knew that she would receive the best service — in terms of quality and value — if the external law firms she retained could automate the standardized parts of a transaction and provide high-quality, tailored advice on the substantive parts.

“Over the course of my career, I’ve participated in countless transactions” says Munroe. “Because of that, I began to see how if you leveraged technology and created a more efficient process, the entire closing experience could be far more effective.”

Armed with this insight, Munroe sought out an opportunity to combine her transactional skills and experience as a client to improve the way in which transactions are conducted. She found an ideal partner in Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, a top Canadian law firm.

For its part, Osler was looking to emulate its highly successful e-discovery services with an equally market-driven array of transactional services. With Munroe at the helm, Osler Works – Transactional, a team of 13 transactional lawyers and other professionals in Ottawa, Canada, was launched in the fall of 2016. She relates, “It was recognized by the firm that technology could be used to make the process and execution of a closing more efficient and effective."

The solution

The process is clean and simple

After a comprehensive review of the market, Osler found and adopted some of the best technologies to support its corporate and commercial transactions, including a document generation tool, a machine-learning tool (for legal due diligence review), and an electronic signatures tool. And, of course, Closing Folders. “Closing Folders allows our lawyers to move away from the more cumbersome process of using paper or PDFs to electronically organize and manage a closing," says Munroe. "The process is clean and simple.”

Business outcomes

From zero to 15,000 in 365 days

One year after the official launch of Osler Works – Transactional, the team had already used Closing Folders to run over 300 legal transactions, generating over 3,000 signing packages and tracking over 15,000 document versions. “As a team, we use Closing Folders on a daily basis," says Munroe. "We don’t do traditional paper closings. We don’t do closings that involve numerous emails and the creation of signature pages by PDF. We only use Closing Folders.”

Collaboration is key to Osler Works – Transactional success

The greatest strength of Closing Folders hasn’t even been the automation. Rather, the tool has been invaluable in enabling teams across multiple offices to collaborate effectively on complex legal transactions. “Prior to Closing Folders, depending on email for collaboration meant that everything was disjointed and the process was cumbersome," Munroe explains. "With Closing Folders, you have a real-time picture of your closing and it’s easy to identify the status of each document and which signatures are missing."