Legal Technology Journal

A look at Richards Butler’s integrated support system for matter management from inception to post-completion feedback. Over the past few years, competition within the UK law firm community has heightened. It has always been a crowded sector, but the recent influx of US law firms, coupled with the increasing numbers of boutique practices opening in London, has fuelled management teams to consistently re-evaluate what sets their firm apart.

This has led to an amplified focus on the following:

• the importance of the client relationship;
• highest-quality client and matter management; and
• the added value offered to both prospective clients when considering which law firms to instruct, and existing clients for ongoing work and when reviewing their legal services providers.

The management at Richards Butler recognised this trend, acknowledging the need to improve on the financial risk management already in place. The requirements to enhance client and matter management and reduce financial risk were very topical following some high-profile bankruptcy cases.

In May 2003 Sue Palmer, previously with Arthur Andersen, joined Richards Butler as a working capital management consultant with the objective of increasing cash flow by improving existing processes and setting up new means for dealing with working capital management and financial risk.

A detailed review of all existing internal procedures that had a bearing on cash flow was initiated, providing an analysis of the areas requiring improvement or change, three examples being: reducing write-off levels; improving the basis for calculating estimates; and managing overruns and scope changes. The results of the review and the conclusions were discussed with senior management, leading to the design and development of a working tool that would both chart and support the user through each of the critical management stages relating to the life cycle of a client relationship. C3 was born.

C3: what is it and what does it do?

C3 is so-called because it covers three essential elements:

• creating opportunity;
• client and matter management; and
• cash collection.

It is a web application providing a screen-based workflow cycle that guides the user through the various processes and procedures that, when followed through, will enhance both partner profitability and client service. Each element of the cycle builds on the previous one, taking the user through a natural progression of tasks and requirements, assisting them in managing the life cycle of a client. The user can also ‘dip’ into any section of the cycle for information specific to a particular aspect of their client-related work.

C3 provides assistance for the user by offering information and support for each stage of the cycle. Each of these sectors carries within it links to online decision trees, lists of requirements, questions to be asked, precedents, forms, templates, questionnaires and guidance notes. This provides partners with a single, unified toolkit, a ‘one-stop shop’ increasing profitability of their client base and enhancing the quality of client service. Its content includes guidance on:

• creating and managing new business opportunities – incorporating guidelines for evaluating and assessing an initial opportunity, responding to tenders and pitching for work;
• matter management – setting up engagements, preparing and managing the work; and
• client satisfaction – estimating, supervision and delegation, managing scope change, agreed fees and timely billing, credit control, cash collection, client satisfaction review and feedback.

C3’s innovation lies in providing clear guidelines supporting and enhancing both existing and new working practices in use across the firm, and distilling these into a single source of best practices. Partners can now access from one site all the tools they need to run a profitable practice. As such, it introduces a much higher level of efficiency into partners’ lives, improves the standards of client communication and management, and ensures that revenues are generated faster and at a lower cost.

By way of a practical example, and focusing on one element of the cycle, a partner, when presented with the prospect of a new client or matter, would need to evaluate both the client and the work opportunity. Clicking on the appropriate section on C3 opens up a step-by-step guide to assessing the client, including criteria such as:

• Does the client’s profile conform to the firm’s strategic goals and to the relevant practice area’s business development objectives? Links are highlighted within these guidelines that, when opened, list the firm’s strategic goals, and detail the business strategy and development objectives for each of the practice areas within the firm.
• Can the client’s expectations be met? Does the firm have the resources to meet the client’s needs? Is the work within your practice area’s core services or within those of another? The links list this information for each of the practice areas.
• Is it possible to make the necessary profit margins?
• Have all the credit checks and compliance matters been dealt with? Links will provide details and flow charts covering all the necessary areas to be considered, together with the name of the designated compliance manager for with these matters.

C3 is a dynamic system and will reflect any additions or changes made to the content contained within the workflow cycle. This ensures that each sector of the cycle is providing the most up-to-date information available.

The benefits of C3

C3 was launched in spring 2006 after a series of user acceptance focus groups examined and approved its functionality and content. Implementation requires a one-hour user training session, after which the system is launched onto desktops and available for use within an hour of completing the training.

C3 has been very well received by the partnership. Take-up and acceptance has been immediate, as it provides straightforward, clear, concise information and written guidelines through a single, easily accessible portal.

Partners’ feedback has highlighted how liberating they find the system in helping them to manage their client relationships – particularly for the more sensitive issues such as billing, debt collection and feedback. Benefits already identified include the following:

• Using the system’s budgeting templates helps to achieve more precise leverage and costing for a matter, enabling clearer and more accurate estimates to be provided.
• A better understanding of project management supports the new business pitching process and, as a result, has created an upturn in the success rate.
• A better understanding of delegation and supervision has resulted in tighter control of client and matter management, in turn improving cash flow and reducing write-offs.
• More rigorous and analytical post-matter reviews are now undertaken. In turn, these have led to an improvement in the understanding of clients’ ongoing needs and expectations.
• The system has helped give added value to the services offered by the firm, resulting in increased client satisfaction relating to the level of service provided. It ensures transparency at all levels throughout a transaction and facilitates the effective management of the client relationships.
• Because of C3’s detailed content covering all aspects of the life cycle of a matter from inception to client feedback at the end, the system is also being used as a training tool.

The future of C3

As Richards Butler embarks upon its merger with US firm Reed Smith, effective from 1 January 2007, C3 will continue to evolve to suit the European and US markets. Gary Sokulski, Reed Smith COO, comments: ‘Management of the combined entity is committed to the future development of this product and recognises the invaluable role C3 can play in enhancing financial management and ultimately the bottom line.’

In what is an ever-evolving hi-tech world, law firm management needs to constantly reassess the key role that technology can play in streamlining processes and educating lawyers, and ensure that effective investment is provided.

C3 is illustrative of the fundamental role that a technological tool can play in meeting the strategic business objectives of law firms. Watch this space! 

Sara Craddock is the European PR and marketing manager at Reed Smith and Sue Sue Palmer is the working capital manager at Richards Butler.