Using IT to reduce costs

Martin Tolhurst Partnership is a provincial firm that chose a difficult time to upgrade network. The millennium had just passed and legal practices were undergoing a period of upheaval with widely publicised changes to legal aid and civil litigation, not to mention the growth in other organisations that were offering the public advice on subjects that have traditionally been the preserve of the high street practitioner. Stewart Thompson, the IT manager at Martin Tolhurst Partnership, discusses how the new system has slashed costs and improved the way the partnership works.

The Martin Tolhurst Partnership has been practising law for over 120 years and the name has become synonymous within the Gravesend and Medway regions. We have an extensive list of clients, many of which have been with the company for a number of years. The firm has grown considerably in recent years and now accommodates five offices, with thirteen fee-earners and eight partners.

We began to investigate the available legal software on the market following an assessment of our current systems that were not millennium compliant. We did have the capabilities to apply our own fix, but decided it was time to move the IT strategy forward. Hardware was also an issue. The serviceability of the machines used in the offices could not be guaranteed and there were queries regarding available support for the old services and how much longer it was likely to be available to the practice.

Our aim was to formulate an IS strategy that matched the firm’s goals and objectives, and that could be adapted as the strategy emerged and evolved. The matter was not one of simply upgrading the current system – the partners had to consider what they might need from their information systems and how such needs would impact on, what was after all, just a provincial firm. Did they really want to change in the way they were planning to? How would clients and staff adapt to the new culture a new information system would bring? And what would the cost be? It was evident that poor planning could cost the firm dearly.

The IT system clearly had to meet a number of criteria to be consistent with the overall business strategy. The flexibility of the system was of great importance as there was a number of possible routes to take. It is for this reason that we chose to implement ‘thin-client’ technology.

The decision to take this route followed 12 months of survey, report and review. I visited a number of other law practices and learned about the hurdles and pitfalls that these firms had encountered in installing their information systems. I also spoke with hardware and software vendors, and conducted academic research in strategic planning for information systems at South Bank University’s School of Computing. I believe that any strategic decision involves making assumptions about future market conditions and therefore carries with it a high degree of risk. The risk for the firm manifested itself when the partners took a longer-term view of IS within their legal practice and arrived at the following key factors:

* The need to install a robust and reliable information systems network,

* To minimalise system administration costs,

* To provide access to a database for clients in line with the client relationship management strategy,

* Delegation of more routine legal work to junior legal staff and secretaries through case management systems,

* Remote access by fee-earning staff via virtual private networks,

* Creation of information databases for potential clients at locations such as estate agencies, banks, libraries, local council offices etc,

* Sharing of information right across the firm (knowledge management),

* To keep installation and future upgrade costs as low as possible.

Using ‘thin-client’ technology presented a number of advantages. Firstly, the immediate availability of new software across a number of sites was essential for the growth plans of the firm. The ability to easily provide access to the central system from other locations was required, not only to accommodate the current infrastructure, but also to allow for future growth. Secondly, the provision of applications from a central source meant that fewer IT staff would be required, which would make it an extremely cost-effective solution in the longrun. Finally, because software is loaded from a central point, it would ensure that the personnel only had those elements required to do their work. The benefits of this, unless considered closely, can be hugely under estimated.

In many working environments today employees immediately take ownership of the computer they use day-in and day-out. In many instances, they will then furnish it with their own identity and personalise it, even thought it is ultimately the property of the company. They load games, screensavers, colour schemes, desktop backgrounds and other software and files. Each additional item will take up memory that is the property and resource of the company – not the individual. The new system prevents employees from taking up valuable CPU space that is required elsewhere. This in turn helps with the administration for the IT department and stops any number of difficulties arising from individuals loading non-required software onto the company PC. It also allows for flexibility, while overcoming the problem of perceived ownership of the computer.

The partners recognised the need to lead from the top, to adapt a structured and layered approach to implementation, and to closely manage the inevitable culture change within the firm.

Armed with a clear set of project goals and objectives, using established risk management and cost/benefit techniques to establish needs and feasibility, the initial selection was soon narrowed down to just three legal software solution providers: Avenue, Axxia and AIM Professional Systems. Following a lengthy selection process, we chose AIM, because of the relationship that we have had with them in the past, and also because of the keen support services that we have always enjoyed.

We handled the hardware selection, specification and installation ourselves through our IT supply company. The company is operated at arms length to the firm and was originally set up to take advantage of the cost and supply benefits of dealing direct with distributors.

It was vital to ensure that our staff were not interrupted by the installation work needed for the new ‘thin-client’ network. Much of the cabling was fibre-optic and this required additional time. To resolve this issue, the implementation of the system was carried out at night and at weekends. When existing systems needed to be shut down, this occurred only when they were not in use and then the task was to ensure that all work was completed before business activity resumed. Through careful planning and co-ordination, we were able to ensure that no-one lost any of their work time through the new installation – and were often unaware that any upgrade work had taken place. The project is ongoing, but is ahead of schedule and regularly reviewed.

However, the right software and latest hardware do not make for a successful system implementation in their own right. One of the major focus areas of the project has been managing change for people who had been used to using the same screens and equipment for ten years, and having to overcome the view that many saw the change as a threat. With full consultation at all levels, the firm started the initial ball rolling at one branch where they installed a small PC network. This had emulation software loaded so that staff could access the Uniplex system that they were used to and comfortable with. They then selected a number of key personnel to oversee the project. These selected individuals acted as influencers over other team members to bring about an acceptance of the new technology by internally marketing the changes. These key people were selected because of their IT skills in addition to their ability to adapt and influence other members of staff. The strategy worked and the firm quickly rolled out Microsoft Office to the remaining branches. Within two weeks, eight out of ten employees had converted to Word.

Following the creation of their own templates, employees began to convert Uniplex documents themselves – a task that had originally been planned to be undertaken by IT staff. This strategy was a key factor to implementation success. The fact that the employees so readily embraced the new system meant considerable savings to the firm in terms of time. They began to convert data themselves, which resulted in reduced input from the IT department. They moved over to using the new software very quickly and were soon extolling the virtues of Word. The net result was that the whole project could be brought forward.

Following the exercise to introduce key personnel to Microsoft Word, we started to install Compaq Windows-based terminals onto staff desks. This again was done slowly to facilitate change – rather than impose it. Individuals were asked if they would require two terminals to begin with, one for the old Uniplex system and one for the new office system. Only three members of staff wanted to have the capability to use the older system.

Implementation has been driven by the secretarial staff and, because of the change in culture earlier in the year in moving to Word, the implementation has been very quick. The speed with which people actually did adapt and accept the changes was underestimated. Frequent feedback and monitoring ensured that problems were detected.

Future plans to push the IT strategy through include training key personnel to be administrators, therefore providing a number of in-house experts in areas such as Word. However, I expect this latest move, toward creating experts, will be a little more difficult. There is a need to overcome the fear, felt by some, of taking the lead and the responsibility for being the person who will deal with the majority of the day-to-day running. Emphasis is being placed on training and development (including minimum ‘return of service’ contracts to key staff) and on building a training culture and it is hoped that this will ease some of those fears. I do not believe that training should be carried out by internal resources, particularly in the short to medium term, following the installation of the new system. A third party, such as AIM, will carry out the training. After all, they are the experts and will therefore command more attention from the employees. It also indicates to staff that the partners are investing in them as well as their new systems.

Future plans for the practice can remain flexible and this is the key to the system. The IT infrastructure now in place can readily adapt to any selected routes including moves to e-commerce. This is an undertaking that the partners think will happen quickly to service a number of local estate agents that are already dealing this way. We are developing an e-business strategy but we don’t want to jump onto the bandwagon. There is a genuine need to set up a system that benefits both the estate agencies and our clients but we need to get our business processes right. We are also developing a client relationship management (CRM) strategy so that the firm’s clients will get the services they want and are tailored to their individual needs. The strategy has also to be mindful of privacy and data protection risks, and both strategies require both business and clients are satisfied that the we provide a secure system.

I believe there are enormous long-term benefits to be had, and that the practice of law and IT must move forward together hand-in-hand. Although there is still much work to do, the core of the business is becoming more streamlined as a result of new technology. The future growth of the firm depends in part on the excellence of the services we provide and adapting the latest technology enables us to maintain that level of service.

Stewart Thompson BA (Hons) MSc is the IT manager at Martin Tolhurst Partnership. He can be contacted on 01474 325531.