Legal Technology Journal

Ashurst is to become the first UK law firm to roll out The Frayman Group’s newly-architected Compliflow technology as it also prepares to run its entire client management and conflicts system from one integrated database.

The top 10 international firm has implemented a highly customised Compliflow New Business Inception System, which works with the firm’s existing systems to run comprehensive money laundering checks and conflict checks and produce a detailed client engagement letter as an end result.

Ashurst’s director of information technology, Chris White, said: “This puts in place a far more robust conflicts check and adds a new layer of security and risk management.”

Compliflow will run alongside InterAction client relationship management software, LegalKEY conflicts management system and Aderant Expert practice management system, which was rolled out to the firm earlier this year. However, following months of development by the firm, including investment approaching six figures for the programme of work, only one active database will be in operation for all of the systems as of next year.

White told Legal Technology Journal that the transfer to one database had involved working out which system owned what information and switching off the ability of other databases to alter information. This was further complicated by the fact that data would normally move from one database to another as a target company becomes a new client.

The risk of operating numerous databases is that client information does not get updated uniformly and differs from one record to another.

White said: “We now have the most integrated system in the legal world.”

A pilot of the new system was launched three weeks ago and a full roll out will begin on 12 January, with the London office expected to have switched over by March and the global roll out to be completed by May 2009.