Legal sector case study
How a consultative approach helped develop an integrated Information Management solution for one of Newcastle’s top 10 law firms
The Problem
“Like most other large multi disciplinary law firms I have worked at, we were struggling to manage the thousands of relatively ‘active files’ that fee earners weren’t prepared to let out of their sight. The remainder of our records were being kept in a lock-up at huge expense. From my perspective, this was causing major headaches in terms of space utilization and asset management, something that the board was becoming increasingly hot on as part of a firm wide review of margins. I needed to find a way of freeing up space whilst also ensuring that the most active files were close at hand and retrievable. We were also struggling to manage our waste paper effectively and were using the Council as well as a recycling company; I had serious concerns about how sensitive information was being dealt with and felt a more robust and formal solution was needed.”
The Solution
“Having worked with Filebase in a previous legal practice, I decided to get them in for a discussion. After several meetings with them, we arrived at a solution that my team felt would work for them, Filebase molded their solution around our needs including coordinating deliveries, different pricing structures for active and inactive records as well as some specific adjustments to the online system that made specific use of our own internal codes. They also handled the archiving of some of our oldest records and logged destruction dates for us, saving my staff having to spend their time doing this. The solution they put in place was combined with the regular collection of sacks from the lockable consoles they have given us. These are now dotted around the office in convenient places for the staff.”
The Result
“I have been able to reduce the costs associated with running a storage unit by outsourcing to Filebase, not only that, but we have been able to free up office space by ensuring active files are off-site. This has enabled me to demonstrate significant savings to the board. Fee earners and the admin staff associated with the retrieval of information feel that they have a more robust and efficient service in place. Because they can view their files on line and request them like that, it no longer feels like we have a black hole when it comes to our information. The shredding service works extremely well for us and because it is combined with the delivery of files, reduces disruption of having multiple suppliers on site and the unique ‘green story’ told by Filebase is something that our clients also love.”
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