Firm Profile
Size:
350 employees
Location:
York & Lincoln
Key Applications & Software:
LexisNexis Visualfiles, LexisNexis Artiion, LexisNexis InterAction CRM, Rekoop, Access Select, BigHand, Citrix and VMware
Services Provided:
24/7 Support, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), Email Security & Archiving, AV and Web Filtering
About Langleys Solicitors
Langleys Solicitors is a full service law firm with both regional and national clients serviced from offices in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
They have three divisions; Insurance Law, Commercial and Private Law, together with a wholly owned subsidiary, Home Property Lawyers Limited, undertaking residential conveyancing.
The firm is long established and has built up a good reputation for quality and client relationships. This has shaped Langleys Solicitors into what it is today – an innovative and forward-thinking business providing clients with a first class service to meet their most exacting requirements.
Langleys Solicitors is recognised in independent legal directories, Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. They are proud to hold the Law Society’s Lexcel quality standard and Investors in People and also hold the information security standard ISO 27001: 2013 which demonstrates their commitment to protecting client data.
The Requirement
As a well-established and forward-thinking firm, Langleys Solicitors’ approach to business places a clear emphasis on innovation, efficiencies and technology as key drivers to success.
The firm was introduced to Converge TS [1] when sourcing an IT partner to support with their transition to the LexisNexis Visualfiles Case Management System. Langleys Solicitors had taken the strategic decision to move to a more powerful and customisable enterprise workflow solution to make working practices more efficient and improve the user experience.
The firm recognised a need to design a new and improved IT architecture to ensure optimum performance of the new software, providing significant efficiencies to the firm. Business continuity and overall security of the firm’s estate were also key drivers for reviewing the current set up.
The Solution
Following a full review of the infrastructure, Converge TS recommended a complete network upgrade, hardware refresh and the introduction of VMware. A three-year roadmap was created that leveraged the firm’s existing investment in IT whilst planning for new technologies required in the future.
Andrew Taylor, Technical Director for Converge TS explains “The solution provided utilises VMware and a Progress OpenEdge database to ensure the end user experience is enhanced. As a specialist provider for law firms, we’ve built up a strong relationship with LexisNexis and developed significant knowledge around best practices for deploying Visualfiles. A deep understanding of the application is vital to ensure that decisions surrounding technology selection and configuration of the infrastructure deliver maximum performance.”
Converge TS also proposed enhanced 24/7 Support and a Managed Disaster Recovery service to ensure the firm is prepared to deal with issues and disruptions that occur both during business hours and at evenings and weekends. This new Disaster Recovery solution uses Veeam technology to provide one click testing and failover. Proactive monitoring, improved security and a solid business continuity plan ensure Langleys Solicitors is better protected against cyber threats such as malware, phishing and spamming attacks.
Langleys Solicitors also chose to upgrade to a cloud-based email security and archiving solution. This provides enhanced protection against the threat of cyber attacks and off-site archiving to support data security and governance.
Ian Fowles, IT Director for Langleys Solicitors said “Ensuring optimum performance from our IT infrastructure and business systems is key in supporting our firm’s strategic vision for client satisfaction, growth and maximising efficiencies in everything we do. We chose Converge TS because they were able to demonstrate significant forward-thinking around IT solutions in the legal sector, including the ability to maintain a discipline in their service delivery that we require. This new engagement, and the wider changes we’re making to our IT architecture, improve the resiliency of our systems and enable us to make efficiencies that directly impact on our bottom line.”
The Results
“From the outset Converge TS understood what we were looking to achieve and their knowledge of LexisNexis Visualfiles gave us confidence that they were the right partner for Langleys Solicitors.
“We certainly made the right choice, both on service delivery and as a strategic partner. We took the decision to move to Visualfiles given its ability to support our aspirations for growth in client service, volume and case productivity. As with any transformation of this magnitude, it is vital our IT infrastructure is optimised to support and enhance how our business operates. Converge TS have done a fantastic job of ensuring we’re ready for the transition and their experience with this type of transformational change is crucial in ensuring it goes smoothly.
“Since implementation, not only has performance significantly improved, but the level of service to the firm and our clients has been second to none in the legal market, which we are extremely proud of. Furthermore, this has reinforced our certification around Information Security with ISO 27001 and the demands that GDPR will bring” Ian concluded.
Moving to a New Practice Management Solution?
When implementing new software, you’ll typically need to allow at least two years. This ensures there’s time to assess requirements, build a comprehensive plan, and manage a smooth transition to your new software, avoiding unnecessary teething issues and downtime.
To help you to manage this project, Converge TS has put together a short guide, taking you through the fundamentals to put together a plan for success. Download it here. [2]