In 2007, when Peter Bazzani, Michael Scully and Elizabeth Priddle came together to form a Melbourne based boutique law firm titled BSP lawyers, they never thought IT would be their biggest growth restraint.

As their law firm grew over the years to have the capacity to offer a full range of legal services to many large industries, so did the demands of their legal IT systems.

With the firm now employing 20 lawyers, BSP’s practice management system was starting to fall well behind.

The system had not been updated for 5 years or more and had been causing the staff a wide variety of inefficiencies for a while. More information was being created and updated on a daily basis, only making the situation worse.

“Computer equipment hadn’t been updated for 5 years or more – we were well behind” – Matt Petkovic, Practice Manager

Their current system was starting to hold the firm back from delivering what BSP hold core to their business — timely legal advice and having access to client work and information at all times.

One major complication was that BSP was a fairly new law firm, in an extremely competitive market. This meant that they could not afford any down time to install or update their practice management system. A large capital investment was also not a viable option for the firm.

Seeking a solution

The BSP partners made the decision that something had to change, especially if they wanted to keep delivering efficient legal advice and have constant access to necessary client information.

When scoping what their firm needed from a system update, they settled on some key factors that would ensure the firm was able to efficiently deliver practical solutions to their clients for the foreseeable future. The system update needed to:

  • Not require a large capital investment
  • Have no disruption to the business
  • Have no down-time for employees
  • Ensure employees had access to client documents at all times
  • Not have the update and maintenance of their IT system managed by BSP’s internal staff.

With these factors in mind, BSP set out to find a solution that met all their requirements.

Recognising the perfect solution

After learning about Innessco from their sponsorship of the ALPMA Summit – a popular annual legal management conference – BSP decided to contact them in search of the perfect fit.

Innessco introduced them to a powerful solution… Hosted desktop.

With remote, real-time access to their practice management system, Innessco’s hosted desktop solution would allow BSP’s staff to:

  • Have secure access to client documents from whatever device or location they needed
  • Have a fast and reliable practice management system that would keep up with the firms expected growth
  • Have access to 100% of the firm’s systems from any device or location
  • Continue to use their current practice management system, Affinity
  • Not have to worry about constant updates and maintenance of the system

With the promise of no disruption to staff and clear communication through the whole journey, BSP decided to engage Innessco to implement the solution.

A smooth transition

The transition of the firm’s practice management system onto Innessco’s hosted desktop solution was scheduled to take place on a Friday night.

When everyone left on the Friday night, Innessco came in and completed the changeover. Any teething issues with the email, internet and BSP’s practice management system were all fixed and ready to go by the time staff were back at their desks the following Monday.

Innessco had set up a testing environment beforehand, which ensured that the transition ran smoothly from start to finish, and every employee knew what to expect when they came in on the Monday morning.

“Innessco were very prepared — they roll out the same system all the time, therefore they knew the process like the back of their hand.” –  Matt Petkovic, Practice Manager

The result: A reliable system with unlimited employee access

The cloud-based hosted desktop solution has been able to support BSP lawyers in the efficient delivery of their all-encompassing legal advice.

The solution has easily been able to accommodate their now 20 strong law firm and is showing no signs of slowing down.

The hosted desktop solution has provided BSP lawyers with:

  • A practice management system that is always fast and reliable for all users.
  • Access to 100% of the firm’s systems from any location or device — allowing employees to replicate their work environment at home, at a client’s office or any other work location.
  • Access to all important client information and documents securely at any location they need.
  • The same practice management system, eliminating the need to learn a new one.
  • More time to focus on delivering the best legal advice, while Innessco focuses on managing their IT.

The freedom of the desktop solution has provided BSP with significant cost and time savings that can now be spent on core areas of their business.

BSP Lawyers now operate knowing their IT system can match it with the best, and the peace of mind that it has the capacity to support their growth well into the future.

“Innessco’s team are great and they got us out of a jam…I would be happy to recommend them” – Matt Petkovic, Practice Manager

Find your solution.

If your practice management system is facing similar IT system pains to BSP Lawyers, you might benefit from a discussion about your options for a system upgrade or transition.

To find out your options, contact Innessco here, or give Innessco a call on 02 7200 4400 or email robert.cox@innessco.com.

Alternatively, you can get a comprehensive idea of how well your firm’s IT is performing by heading over to innessco.com/evaluation-tool/ and taking part in the quick survey.