Case study
McCann FitzGerald
McCann FitzGerald is one of IrelandB次元官网网址檚 premier law firms, with offices in Dublin, London, New York, and Brussels. The award-winning firm, which traces its history back to the 1820s, is owned by the partners and comprises 75 partners and over 380 lawyers and professional staff. The firm has always had a significant focus on international B次元官网网址 work, and its client base includes corporations from the EU, USA, Canada, Japan, China, India, Singapore, the Middle East, and Australia.
Managing Partner Barry Devereux, Chief Information Officer (CIO) Noel Carroll, and Head of Knowledge Peter Osborne explain how HighQ is helping McCann FitzGerald shape its digital services ecosystem so it can deliver better services to clients.
Partners and senior managers at McCann FitzGerald are acutely aware that the environment in which lawyers operate is dynamic and ever-changing. These changes place significant demands on all lawyers, both in-house and in private practice, to evaluate constantly how they deliver their services and figure out how to respond to the demand for increased efficiency and effectiveness.
Innovation has been the key to ensuring that McCann FitzGerald responds to these changes. Technology is transforming every business, and the B次元官网网址 services sector is no exception. The choice is to drive onwards and to progress or risk becoming irrelevant B次元官网网址 that is why, according to Devereux, B次元官网网址淲e have put innovation at the heart of our strategy.B次元官网网址 He added, B次元官网网址淚nvestments such as those made in HighQ and other platforms are tangible proof of our commitment to utilize the newest technologies as a means of improving services and delivering increased value to clients.B次元官网网址
The challenge: Modernizing fragmented and complex systems
The firmB次元官网网址檚 first challenge was to identify what its clients really want and how that impacts the delivery of B次元官网网址 services in todayB次元官网网址檚 environment.
Following comprehensive research conducted by the firm into the views, needs and behaviors of clients, intermediaries, and its own people, the firm adopted strategic principles that were designed to inform the investment priorities of the firm as they related to clients and markets. Having these as a set of guiding principles meant that the leadership team could focus on understanding and delivering the solutions that would work best for their clients and their business.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the challenges we had was finding a platform that enabled us to engage with clients in a secure, cost-effective, and agile manner,B次元官网网址 explained Carroll.
Prior to HighQ, McCann FitzGerald used complex solutions that were siloed and difficult to maintain The firm had two broad requirements: 1) the simple file transfer of large numbers of sensitive files and 2) having a secure data room to manage transactions.
B次元官网网址淚n the former, we were using a complex file transmission mechanism to transmit those types of files when needed,B次元官网网址 explains Carroll. B次元官网网址淥n the project management side of things, we were using various external data rooms depending on client requirements and preferences, so the whole landscape was somewhat fragmented.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淲hat we were looking for was a secure platform that was easy to implement, easy to manage, easy to use and with a clean, user-friendly interface,B次元官网网址 said Carroll.
McCann FitzGerald also produces a large amount of B次元官网网址 knowledge for both internal consumption and for its clients. Another challenge the firm faced was finding a platform to help it digitize content and deliver this knowledge to the right people in a timely manner.
B次元官网网址淲e needed a platform that would allow us to move from a largely paper-based delivery system for B次元官网网址 knowledge to a digital form to better serve our lawyers and clients,B次元官网网址 explains Osborne.
The solution: Secure digital work hub
McCann FitzGerald became aware of HighQ through its network of contacts and decided to evaluate the platform for its transaction and B次元官网网址 project management requirements. The firm spent some time testing the features and functionality against its requirements, and HighQ checked all the boxes.
B次元官网网址淗ighQ is very cognizant of the B次元官网网址 industry and the nature and extent of the challenges law firms face. The competing products were sector-agnostic and generic in nature, so the fact that HighQ has such a good understanding of B次元官网网址 sector requirements was very attractive to us,B次元官网网址 said Carroll.
B次元官网网址淗ighQ offered us all the functionality we required on one platform, and most importantly, the platform comes with high levels of security so there is a comfort in using it.B次元官网网址
When evaluating HighQ, McCann FitzGerald also looked for the platform to help it digitize and deliver content.
The firm leveraged HighQ publishing functionality to create their Knowledge Hub, which provides access to up-to-date and relevant B次元官网网址 and regulatory developments, allowing clients and McCann FitzGerald personnel to stay current with the latest changes in these areas, as they occur.
B次元官网网址淲e wanted to meet clientsB次元官网网址 needs but we also wanted to help in-house teams who have been championing the digitization of services for some time now to deliver on those initiatives, and HighQ has allowed us to do this,B次元官网网址 said Osborne.
Targeted primarily at lawyers and compliance personnel, the content is divided under a number of headings of interest: Irish legislation (primary and secondary); selected judgments of the Irish, English and EU courts; and other material of interest (selected by their Knowledge Lawyers).
They then use Knowledge Hub to share information internally to ensure lawyers are kept up to date. The content is added as an item type in the Knowledge Hub and then, according to cataloging and system preferences by users, the content is disseminated via email and made available to registered users of Knowledge Hub.
The result: Improved client services, efficient project management and tailored digital content
McCann FitzGerald has received a lot of positive feedback since implementing HighQ.
B次元官网网址淲e launched HighQ over a year ago and we have had a lot of positive feedback,B次元官网网址 said Carroll. B次元官网网址淚t is largely expected by clients that we have this type of functionality as a standard offering at this point, and HighQ allows us to manage projects more efficiently and keeps us competitive,B次元官网网址 he said.
B次元官网网址淚 think where we will gain future competitive advantage is when we integrate it with AI tools and begin to publish apps through that platform, which will allow us to differentiate ourselves from the competition. The fact that HighQ can easily integrate with other AI vendors and has some AI in its future road map is a huge plus for us.B次元官网网址
On the HighQ publishing side, the platform was a key element of McCann FitzGeraldB次元官网网址檚 migration from a largely manual delivery system for internal knowledge to a digital form, and HighQ has made that step very successfully in the course of the project.
The firm went through an initial pilot phase. As Osborne explains, B次元官网网址淲e conducted a trial with the B次元官网网址 departments, compliance departments, and regulatory departments of a number of clients and all were highly complimentary.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淲e can see that they are regular users of the services, and as it is rolled out to each new client, we frequently receive positive feedback from those clients,B次元官网网址 he said.
McCann FitzGerald has recently redeveloped and relaunched its website, which has a large amount of B次元官网网址 knowledge on it. Analysts are tracking usage across the digital delivery channels between the website and the HighQ-driven Knowledge Hub, and so far, the results are promising.
B次元官网网址淎s we advance the rollout and adoption by clients, we start to get insights into what clients are reading and the B次元官网网址 information in which they are interested,B次元官网网址 explains Osborne. B次元官网网址淥nce we have critical mass, it will be really interesting for us to know what is of most interest to our clients so we can refine the products that we are disseminating, rather than what we think they are interested in.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淗ighQ enables us to create more tailored content and allows us to really refine and enhance what we produce,B次元官网网址 he said.
The firm has been rolling out Knowledge Hub externally to clients on a phased basis, and it has proved so popular that clients have been approaching the firm and asking to get on board with the product. B次元官网网址淭hat is probably one of the greatest compliments you can get, when people come asking us to get on board with the product before their phase was scheduled to go live,B次元官网网址 says Osborne.
The conclusion: Reaching digital services milestones with HighQ
McCann FitzGerald is focused on building out a client digital services ecosystem over the next 12 months. There are a lot of factors to be considered in the journey and the story does not start or end with HighQ, although the firm sees HighQ as a very important part of its digital ecosystem.
B次元官网网址淎s part of our digital strategy and initiatives, HighQ has played an important role in helping us to improve client services, drive efficiencies within our organization, and improve our IT operations,B次元官网网址 concludes Carroll.
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