Chilakamarri: New head of digital solutions
A law firm has gained a new client portal and a member of staff as a result of a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with its local university.
Laura Harrington-Rutterford, partner and chief operating officer of Attwells, said the firm had searched for a commercial client portal before the KTP, but could not find a suitable one.
There were portals for onboarding, or for single departments like conveyancing or commercial, but nothing that took the client “all the way through”.
She met staff from Essex University at an event, who put Attwells, which has offices in Essex, Suffolk and London, in touch with government agency Innovate UK.
The firm then drafted a proposal and Innovate UK part-funded the project, which lasted from January 2024 to last month.
KTPs are a long-established UK programme designed to help organisations innovate by bringing together a business, academic expertise and a suitably qualified graduate, known as a KTP associate. In this case, the associate was Sriteja Chilakamarri, who has a Master of Science degree in digital information management and system innovation from Leeds University.
He worked closely with Ms Harrington-Rutterford to understand the practical requirements of a busy law firm before designing and building the portal.
She said the portal had gone live in the conveyancing department and would be rolled out across other departments after Christmas.
Ms Harrington-Rutterford said the KTP had given Attwells a “fantastic opportunity to bring together legal expertise, academic support and technology to develop something specifically around the needs of our firm and our clients.
“Sriteja has played an integral role throughout the project, taking the client portal from an idea through the design and development process to create a portal for Attwells.”
Mr Chilakamarri will be staying with the firm as head of digital solutions, and Ms Harrington-Rutterford said he would be developing the portal as well as working on other digital projects.
“Welcoming him as a permanent member of the team means we can continue to build on what we have achieved over the last two years and explore further opportunities to use technology to improve the service we provide.”
Mr Chilakamarri said working in the KTP gave him “the opportunity to apply my technical knowledge to a real business challenge and see the project develop from its earliest stages through to implementation”.
Ms Harrington-Rutterford added: “Technology is changing the way professional services are delivered, but for us innovation must always have a clear purpose. It should make things easier, clearer or more convenient for our clients and support our teams in delivering an excellent service.
“Our partnership with the University of Essex has enabled us to invest in that ambition while developing valuable technical knowledge within the firm.”
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