Ascertus helps law firm sail to data compliance efficiency

Maritime litigation law firm Winter Scott LLP has gone to IT services firm Ascertus to deploy an iManage email and document management solution.

Ascertus is a provider of tailored information and document lifecycle management solutions to law firms. The Winter Scott solution is enabling the firm to routinely comply with the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) stringent and widening regulation.

As a result, data security is significantly being enhanced and Winter Scott’s fee earners are benefiting from an efficiency and productivity boost, all of which is delivering added value to clients.

Winter Scott chose the solution from Ascertus based on recommendations for the iManage Work system from a number of Ascertus’ client organisations. Ascertus is a VAR for the system.

“We have reached a critical size, and an email and document management system is essential for compliance, but more importantly to ensure the highest level of data security,” said Sophie-Jane Hunt, managing partner at Winter Scott LLP.

“Prior to this solution we were addressing all these requirements but it took substantial effort. Today, it is embedded into our operation. The Ascertus solution fits our way of working, which is perhaps why there have been hardly any issues related to user adoption.”

The solution meets the specific and unique requirements of a shipping litigation practice and is structured simplistically to support the firm’s information management needs. Users access the system from within Outlook, which is similar to how emails and documents were managed by fee earners previously.

Also, fee earners are able to easily locate emails and documents as the solution facilitates contextual searches. Winter Scott is now also able to provide clear audit trails to demonstrate data compliance and information management processes in line with SRA.

Ascertus has tightly integrated the email and document management system with Linetime, Winter Scott’s practice management system. And duplication of data is now minimised, with a single and secure version of the truth across the organisation.

“Growing and mid-sized law firms are fast realising that document management systems are business critical in the current data and compliance-driven, global, 24×7 environment,” said Jon Wainwright, sales and marketing director of Ascertus. “Also, now that best-of-breed systems are well within their grasp – such technologies are no longer the privilege of the large law firms alone.”

@AntonySavvas