custodian for legal

Structure and routine: the antidote to stress and chaos – and the key to effective matter management for corporate legal teams

The ability to default to agreed rules and standards can be reassuringly grounding, maintaining order and control when usual business conditions and processes have been disrupted. And now, more than ever, corporate legal teams are realising the importance of formal structure in matter management, especially where colleagues may be working off site.

The calming order of consistent filing practices

Where previously lawyers have self-governed, looking after their own work and logging developments in their own way, a more standardised and systematic approach encourages professionals to record matter activity and to file emails and documents in a more formal and consistent way.

This has all sorts of operational benefits for the whole team – as well as for business clients. As long as it is made easy and intuitive for lawyers to record matter status information and file the latest correspondence and documents properly as they go, legal operations will be able to monitor progress – and professionals will be able to locate and pick up each other’s work more readily as and when required.

This contrasts with common ad-hoc methods which typically see individuals each recording information in their own way in their own folders – on their own local hard drive, within their email account, or somewhere on a shared drive (not always immediately discoverable if each lawyer uses their own filing protocol, and if remote access depends on a cumbersome VPN connection). This haphazard behaviour often sees lawyers having to set aside three hours on a Friday to catch up with filing, and trying to decipher their scant notes to report back on matter progress at team meetings.

Capitalising on existing investments in Microsoft 365

So what is holding teams back from formalising and streamlining matter management – something that can substantially hamper their productivity and efficiency?

Well, historically, corporate legal teams have felt badly served by IT solutions. Any systems with a legal leaning have tended to be designed predominantly for private law firms. More generic document management systems, on the other hand, have failed to cater for the specific demands of a legal setting. Although Microsoft SharePoint may have been readily available within the organisation for instance, without the right IT support in-house legal teams may have struggled to know how best to incorporate the repository as part of matter management.

But these barriers no longer apply. Repstor, a Microsoft Gold Partner, specialises in optimising Microsoft 365 for legal use – particularly in end-to-end matter lifecycle management. Using a secure, proven, cloud-based software platform that most organisations have already invested in, we help corporate legal teams standardise and transform the way they log, manage, store and access their work, whatever their location.

This means that they can perform at their most productive wherever professionals are.

Reducing resistance

As recording and filing become instinctive and ‘in stream’, and matter archives become pooled, professionals are able to look up previous case files for precedents – and to save reinventing the wheel. If a lawyer isn’t available for whatever reason, a colleague with access rights can call up the latest files, notes and email correspondence, to check the current status of a matter and, if appropriate, progress it in their absence. At a time when colleagues are not conveniently within ear shot at the next desk, easy look-up and the means of intuitive, ad-hoc collaboration matter more than ever.

When Eversheds Sutherland adopted our technology, making Microsoft 365 and Outlook its default platform for matter management, it found it was saving an hour of fee-earner time per day, just from chasing matter updates, finding the latest versions of documents, and switching between different systems to get the job done.

Legal professionals have found the Repstor/Microsoft 365 approach to matter management ‘transformational’, according to the company’s Legal Operations Manager. Today the company has 800 open matters being handled through the system, and lawyers are marvelling at how they ever coped without it.

Adding visibility for the business

Business clients benefit greatly from systematic matter management, too – especially where they have access to self-service portal and/or automatic notification system which updates them on the evolving status of a matter (with the added benefit that lawyers no longer have to service routine queries). Reporting is made effortless too, as metadata about matters is captured continuously across the lifecycle of an engagement.

A further considerable benefit of going down the Microsoft 365 route is that the platform is being updated all the time with the latest technology advances – including artificial intelligence and workflow automation – so as a choice for matter management it is reassuringly futureproof.

We recently delivered a short webinar ‘Transforming Legal Operations with Microsoft 365’ featuring a presentation by IATA’s assistant general counsel, Dane Clapson. Catch the webinar on demand here

Leigh Smith, Principal Consultant, Corporate Legal, Repstor

Repstor Features in Gartner Market Guide for Corporate Legal Matter Management

Repstor recognised as leading matter-centric document and email management provider

Belfast, November 5^th, 2020 – Repstor, the Microsoft 365-based matter management specialist, has announced that it features as one of the select vendors in Gartner’s latest Market Guide for Corporate Legal Matter Management, which focuses on companies that have achieved visibility and traction in the market.

The Guide explores the importance of matter management and its relevance within the broader enterprise legal management (ELM) suites. The Guide also makes a number of strategic recommendations for law firms looking into matter management solutions.

“Gartner is clearly one of the most authoritative analyst houses when it comes to technology so it is an honour to be recognised in this Guide,” comments Sheila Gormley, Exec VP Legal Solutions, Repstor. “It shows that Repstor is a genuine and trusted vendor for corporate legal matter management and gives us great confidence as we look forward to another year of growth.”

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Swiss Retail Giant, Migros, Selects Repstor’s Custodian for Legal from Transform Data International

Swiss Retail Giant, Migros, Selects Repstor’s Custodian for Legal from Transform Data International

The Microsoft 365-based matter management solution has already garnered significant user support and adoption amongst Migros’s legal professionals

MAASTRICHT/ZÜRICH, 22. July 2020 – Transform Data International (TDI) has proudly announced that the legal department of Migros Genossenschafts Bund (Migros), Switzerland’s largest employer, retail chain and supermarket brand, has selected Repstor Custodian for Legal for its document, email and matter management.

Following a successful proof of concept (PoC), the legal team concluded that Custodian for Legal was the right solution to meet its needs. Migros is an established user of Microsoft 365/Office and was looking for an application it could integrate fully within Microsoft Outlook, which its legal professionals already use continuously throughout the day. These knowledge workers’ familiarity with the software led to very high adoption levels during the PoC; users also required minimal training.

TDI will implement the Custodian for Legal solution for Migros, and perform a bulk migration of data from Winpat -the legacy system Migros has used until now. TDI will also advise on the creation of smart reports to provide visual insights into KPIs and workload status from everyday operational data.

Matthias U. Studer, Head of Intellectual Property at Migros, commented: “The scope of the project goes beyond just document and email management. We are configuring the system in a way that will provide the exact data that we need for our reports. This will enable a big improvement in efficiency as we leverage available Office 365 components such as Power BI to create very intuitive dashboards.”
Over the upcoming weeks TDI will work with Migros’s legal department to ensure a smooth implementation and provide training for users, insofar as this needed to embrace the fuller capabilities of the Repstor solution in conjunction with Microsoft 365.

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration with the Migros team during the proof-of-concept, which has helped jumpstart the actual implementation project,” said Rob Kubben, managing partner at TDI. “Migros are a prestigious customer and we are delighted that they have selected Custodian for Legal -and Transform Data as the delivery partner.
“We are looking forward to further developing our presence in the Swiss region, and to supporting more law firms and legal departments here as they approach their own digital transformations,” he added.

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International Law Firm, Adams & Adams, implements Repstor Custodian for Legal™ for Microsoft 365 Matter Management

South African deployment marks first project for freshly minted partnership between Repstor and Cloud Essentials

Belfast, June 8^th 2020 – Repstor, the Content Services and Microsoft 365 matter management specialist, today announced that leading South African law firm Adams & Adams is deploying Custodian for Legal™, the specialist legal matter management solution. It follows the formation of an alliance between Repstor and Microsoft Gold Partner, Cloud Essentials.

Cloud Essentials is a leading provider of cloud migration and information governance solutions to enterprises throughout the UK and EMEA, with extensive experience in delivering solutions to large customers, including law firms, banks, insurance companies and government agencies.

Adams & Adams, a law firm with over 600 employees, has built a longstanding relationship with Cloud Essentials. When it wanted to replace its aging on-premises document management solution, the law firm asked for guidance. After evaluating the market, and having selected Microsoft 365 as their preferred solution, it became clear that only Repstor could offer an affordable, intuitive and fully Microsoft 365-integrated matter management platform.

“Custodian for Legal has outstanding functionality – it is a class above the other products out there and it integrates so seamlessly with Outlook that our users barely know it is even there,” explains Colin Short, CIO, Adams & Adams. “It also allowed us to standardise our processes across practice areas, saving significant time and money.”

Custodian for Legal enables Adams & Adams to track, trace and retrieve documents in an instant. For a firm that sends and receives somewhere in the region of one million emails per month, that transparency and speed is crucial. It also ensures that lawyers can work securely from their phone or laptop with minimal configuration and no need for costly and complicated VPNs.

“Our environment is critical but complex with a huge set of documents. Repstor allows us to navigate that complexity with confidence,” adds Colin. “As we move through the deployment, we have been greatly reassured by Repstor’s ability to meet deadlines within budget – they have been brilliant since day one and give us a personal service often lacking in other vendors.”

“Our aim is to enable our customers to leverage the value of the entire Microsoft 365 solution stack so partnering with Repstor makes perfect sense,” comments Chris Hathaway, director of cloud and governance at Cloud Essentials. “Adams & Adams is a great example of how law firms can take advantage of solutions such as Custodian for Legal to make matter management cost-effective and seamless. Moreover, it is well suited to both law firms and in-house corporate legal departments, which is a market we hope to target together.”

“At Repstor, we want to partner with the best in their fields, such as Cloud Essentials,” comments Sheila Gormley, Repstor’s Executive VP of Legal Solutions and co-founder. “Together we can bring an affordable, end-to-end, fully integrated matter management solution to new markets in South Africa, UK and beyond.”

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North American Law Firm, Charthouse Lawyers, Deploys Repstor Custodian for Legal™ for Integrated Matter Management

Newly implemented platform enables cost-effective and structured file management with a single source of truth

Belfast, May 26 2020 – Repstor, the Content Services and Microsoft 365 matter management specialist, has today announced that Canadian law firm, Charthouse Lawyers, has selected Repstor Custodian for Legal™ to transform how it manages critical documents and emails.

Previously, the firm relied on paper documents and printed emails while lacking any consistent structure or filing hierarchies across its PCs. Without a central file server, retrieving key documents was a manual and time-consuming task, involving searching hundreds of banker’s boxes worth of physical paperwork. The company wanted to automate its document management while integrating with its existing Microsoft Office 365 environment.

“When I began leading Charthouse Lawyers in 2019, I wanted to create a single electronic source of the truth, establish a uniform folder structure and take all our legacy data to the cloud while maintaining data protection best practices,” explains Spencer Keys, lawyer and managing counsel, Charthouse Lawyers. “Under our existing system it took us 5 to 30 minutes to retrieve the right document, which not only wastes time but also interrupts a professional’s focus on the task at hand where it can take another 30 minutes to get back to that focus. We were also charging file retrieval fees of $75 when clients called to request old file information, when it should have taken seconds, which understandably our clients didn’t appreciate.”

Charthouse Lawyers evaluated the market and found that, although there were a number of options, most were too focused on corporate law firms with deep pockets and numerous employees. With only six permanent staff, Charthouse Lawyers wanted a solution that would work in a smaller company at an affordable cost. It was impressed by Repstor Custodian for Legal™, which seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office applications, Windows Explorer and Outlook. By extending the powerful document management capabilities of Microsoft Office 365 and SharePoint, Custodian for Legal™ provides legal case management software collaboration, document and email management at a price point that can work for small and large firms alike.

“Repstor enables me to make full use of our existing Office 365 investment with all the functionality we need at half the cost of competing solutions,” continues Spencer. “Now our employees have instant access to the information they need securely and via an interface with which they are already familiar.”

The arrival of the deadly global pandemic Covid 19 soon demonstrated a further benefit of the Repstor solution: with employees needing to work from home, Charthouse Lawyers was able to give each a laptop with Office 365 and Custodian for Legal™ so they could access all the documents they needed without any complex provisioning or special VPNs.

“Charthouse Lawyers shows we are committed to expanding our presence in the North American market and how Custodian for Legal™ is an ideal fit, even for smaller law firms. Small and medium-sized firms often find the costs and management overheads of proprietary solutions prohibitive. At Repstor, we have worked hard to make the solution affordable and, since it’s sitting on top of our clients’ existing Office 365 system, the requisite management skills are readily available,” comments Sheila Gormley, Repstor’s Executive VP of Legal Solutions and co-founder. “Spencer and his team now have the flexibility, security and reliability to access the information they need, regardless of location, enabling them to provide better service to their clients.”

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Digital transformation of the legal function has never been more urgent

As legal teams adapt to the ‘New Normal’, the urgency around digital transformation of everyday processes is starker than ever.

In particular there is now a heightened need for dispersed teams to be able to collaborate productively and efficiently from home – using tools they already have. It’s why we are seeing so many legal professionals embrace platforms like Microsoft 365 – including MS Teams and MS Planner – more broadly. It’s proving the ideal means to collectively organise and process matters in a secure and managed way.

We know this is happening, because of the very high levels of interest in our current bite-sized webinar series. Each week, our CTO Fergus Wilson provides practical tips on using Teams to maximum effect for remote collaboration during the ongoing lockdown. (A recent session addressing a common question from legal teams can be played back here.)

Introducing Panoram: our exciting new legal digital transformation partner

In the current state of market upheaval, the announcement of Repstor’s partnership with Panoram – an exciting new legal digital services start-up – could not be timelier.

Panoram is a brand new legal transformation specialist, which has deliberately brought forward its business launch during the Covid-19 lockdown, in response to the growing sense of urgency around digital transformation in the sector.

Poignantly, Panoram shares Repstor’s belief that harnessing existing technology investments is the surest way to adapting to the current climate with enhanced content management & collaboration; to enabling new digital ways of working immediately, and without disruption to everyday activity.

It’s why Repstor was the obvious technology partner for matter lifecycle management. Panoram will recommend and implement Repstor Custodian for Legal™ as its default matter management offering, linked to Microsoft 365 (the Office 365 subscription service). Custodian for Legal is ideal for corporate legal departments and law firms anxious to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, because it builds on a software investment many legal teams have already made. It’s no coincidence that the software has become a firm favourite for transforming matter-related document and email management, as well as legal matter-based collaboration.

A meeting of minds: legal visionaries & technology heavyweights

Panoram’s founders are respected experts in legal technology and legal practice. They include Rick Seabrook, a digital transformation leader and formerly a Partner at Accenture. He believes strongly that law firms and in-house legal teams have no choice but to embrace digital technologies and new delivery models if they want to survive, and stay relevant and agile.

Another co-founder Greg Wildisen, is a technology visionary who, before Panoram, co-launched the European arm of AI automation software company Neota Logic with Rick. And Martin Bonney, one of the world’s leading eDiscovery managed services experts, brings over 25 years’ experience gained in ‘magic circle’ law firms, eDiscovery service providers, and global consulting organisations.

At Repstor, we’re delighted at this obvious, timely and powerful match. Panoram offers a unique combination of law firm heritage, deep digital/technology expertise, and independence (because the company isn’t owned by an IT vendor or a law firm). Together, our two companies offer something very special – which this market is clearly hungering for.

Exciting Legal Digital Services Start-up, Panoram Selects Repstor Custodian for Legal™ as its Default Platform for Information & Matter Management

Launching during the lockdown, in response to legal teams’ growing sense of urgency around digital transformation, Panoram shares Repstor’s belief that harnessing existing technology investments is the surest way to adapting to the ‘New Normal with enhanced content management & collaboration

Belfast, April 28^th, 2020 – Repstor, the Content Services and Microsoft 365 matter management specialist, has today announced a timely partnership with exciting new legal digital services start-up, Panoram. It will see Panoram implement Repstor Custodian for Legal™ for corporate legal departments and law firms anxious to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives.

Panoram is a brand new digital services provider to the UK legal sector, which has brought forward its launch plans in response to intensifying enquiries via LinkedIn as word has spread about the company’s plans.

Panoram’s founders are respected experts in legal technology and legal practice. Rick Seabrook is a digital transformation leader and formerly a Partner at Accenture. Along with Panoram co-founder, Greg Wildisen, he launched the European arm of AI automation software company Neota Logic.

“We are establishing Panoram at a time of great disruption, from which a ‘new normal’ will quickly emerge: one in which old rulebooks are torn up and new ways of working are adopted,” Rick says, explaining Panoram’s vision to modernise professional services through digital technologies and new service delivery models. “To survive and stay relevant and agile, law firms and in-house legal teams have no choice but to embrace digital technologies and new delivery models.”

The imperative is to enable new digital ways of working immediately, and without disruption to everyday activity, he adds. It was this ethos that made Repstor the obvious technology partner for matter lifecycle management. Repstor’s Custodian for Legal platform – designed to run natively within Microsoft 365 (the new name for Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription service) – harnesses the investment legal teams have already made in the Microsoft 365 platform whilst transforming matter use cases such as document & email management, collaboration and matter lifecycle management.

“We’ve known of Repstor for a long time, and our visions and values are very closely aligned,” Rick says. “Too often legal teams have got in a mess trying to implement specialist IT systems which cost a lot of money and take an age to roll out, without ever really transforming operations in the way that’s needed. Like Repstor, we firmly believe it doesn’t have to be that way – particularly when established systems that are already widely in use – most notably Microsoft 365 and its inherent collaboration platform, Teams – offer everything legal teams need. It’s just a case of optimising the platform for everyday legal use via solutions like Repstor Custodian for Legal.”

The partnership with Repstor will see Panoram offer Custodian for Legal as its default matter management solution, linked to Microsoft 365. Under the value-added reseller relationship, Panoram will offer the full range of consultancy, build, execution/delivery and cloud/SaaS-based system hosting, depending on clients’ requirements. Panoram also provides eDiscovery solutions, via technology company Nuix, and broader digital strategy and transformation services for legal teams. It also plans to build additional applications on top of Custodian for Legal, for enhanced compliance and risk management.

Panoram’s impressive legal sector and digital credentials make the company an ideal value-added solutions partner for Repstor.

Greg Wildisen is a technology visionary who believes in a digital future for legal services. A third co-founder, Martin Bonney, is one of the world’s leading eDiscovery managed services experts with over 25 years’ experience gained in ‘magic circle’ law firms, eDiscovery service providers, and global consulting organisations. Other co-founders are yet to be announced and believed to include senior hires from the UK legal transformation sector.

“Our two companies are a powerful combination,” comments Sheila Gormley, Repstor’s Executive VP of Legal Solutions and co-founder. “What makes Panoram stand out in the market is its unique combination of law firm heritage, deep digital/technology expertise, and its independence – in that it is not owned by an IT vendor or by a law firm. Despite – or rather because of the current market conditions, this is a very timely alliance, and we are thrilled that Panoram has brought forward its launch, as the digital transformation needs of this sector are urgent, and mounting.”

Panoram’s preliminary web site, outlining its vision and proposition, can be found at https://panoramdigital.com/

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Give your Corporate Legal Department the Matter Lifecycle Management system it deserves – built exclusively on Microsoft 365

Join our experienced presenters demonstrating with real use cases how corporate legal departments are using Repstor Custodian for Legal to meet productivity challenges head-on and transform the way they deliver legal services.

During the webinar we provide an end to end tour including: –

New instruction intake, triage, allocation
Document and email management through the familiar Outlook and Mobile applications
Document automation and self-service
Matter Reporting and Analytics

See all our Microsoft Webinars.

Tax Law Firm, Atlas, Transforms Client, Matter and Project Management with Custodian for Legal™

Dutch business software specialist, Transform Data International, introduced Atlas to Repstor Custodian for Legal™

Belfast, February 5^th , 2020 – Repstor, the ECM software and matter management specialist, today unveiled its latest flagship European customer, Atlas, an independent tax law firm in the Netherlands, which has transformed its approach to business with Custodian for Legal.

Following the formation of a strategic alliance with Tiberghien, another leading tax law firm with a strong presence in Belgium and Luxembourg, it became critical that teams across this powerful network needed to collaborate effectively and efficiently, both internally between different geographical locations, and externally with clients.

The companies therefore wanted to consolidate all client, matter and project management information, document management and activity notes on a shared platform common to all legal and tax professionals. They needed an intuitive, easy-to-use system: one that would feel comfortable and familiar to professionals and administrators, rather than require a departure from the way they already worked.

Dutch business software specialist, Transform Data International, introduced Atlas to Custodian for Legal, a collaboration and matter management solution from Repstor. The software has been specifically designed to meet the needs of legal teams, with capabilities for every aspect of client, matter and broader project management. Easily integrated with Office 365©, it runs natively within the platform, to deliver high performance in a way that feels natural and familiar to users.

The new platform also enables teams to further reduce internal email communication, as incoming matter-related messages can be filed directly into relevant dossiers for immediate access and sharing information. Moreover, advanced Search functionality provided via the Office 365 tool, Qwickr, allows users to search a large set of files with ease, and quickly refine, sort and group results, saving valuable time that might otherwise be spent looking for information.

At the same time, Transform Data has connected Custodian for Legal to Microsoft Dynamics© using its Qonnector synchronisation tool, so that when data is added or amended in Dynamics 365, updates are automatically reflected in Office 365/Custodian for Legal.

“Our collaboration has worked very efficiently. Transform Data has undertaken many projects of this nature and is able to bring to bear best practices from other implementations. This made it very easy for us to design the system,” comments Dennis Ruzius, operations manager at Atlas. “The project team worked hard to implement this solution in a short timeframe, which has resulted in a close and committed relationship between our two organisations.”

“We are delighted to introduce Atlas to our growing family of European customers in the legal sector,” adds Sheila Gormley, Director of Business Development at Repstor. “It is a great demonstration of how our Custodian for Legal software can transform communications to deliver numerous substantial organisational and administrative benefits.”

Download the Atlas case study here

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Atlas transforms client, matter and project management with Custodian for Legal from Transform Data

Atlas is an independent tax law firm in the Netherlands, with its office in the city centre of Amsterdam.

Branded under the name T/A International, the growing business has entered into a significant strategic partnership with Tiberghien, another leading tax law firm with a strong presence in Belgium and Luxembourg. Combined, the two firms have formed an impressive tax network across Benelux, providing access to more than 100 dedicated tax lawyers across three jurisdictions, via offices spanning Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt and Luxembourg.

To maximise the potential and performance of this powerful market proposition, it is critical that teams across this powerful tax law network can collaborate effectively and efficiently, both internally between different geographical locations, and externally with clients.

Dutch business software specialist, Transform Data International, introduced Atlas to Repstor’s Custodian for Legal™. The software has been specifically designed to meet the needs of legal teams, with capabilities for every aspect of client, matter and broader project management. Easily integrated with Office 365, it runs natively within the platform, to deliver high performance in a way that feels natural and familiar to users.

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