An international technology organisation is helping some of the world’s biggest law firms break with tradition and use technology to improve how they work.

BigHand, whose clients include global firms like DLA Piper and Clyde and Co, is working with law firms to roll out tools that support remote work delegation and task management, standardise documents, help with pitching and pricing and provide in-depth data and insight to inform decisions.

BigHand has supported many of its clients, including Clyde and Co, in hosting their products in their own Azure environment, and are progressing with plans for a full cloud migration strategy to host all its technology solutions within its own Azure Cloud platform, with a view to host it on behalf of a firm.

Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform ensures that law firms can access the technology from anywhere, at any time, on any device while guaranteeing that company data is securely held within the customers chosen Azure region.

Briana McCrory, Group Marketing Director at BigHand, said: “We are working with our clients to understand their cloud requirements and how we can support them with this, as we evolve our cloud migration strategy. Whether our customers are established, international firms or work within smaller regions, our productivity and profitability tools can help them. We recognise that the cloud offers data security, is available to staff at all times and enables easy access to new features and functionality.

“Our research shows that many legal companies want to switch to a cloud-based workflow solution, and BigHand, supported by Microsoft technology, is aiming to help them with our legal-specific solutions.”

Some of BigHand’s most popular tools include:

• BigHand Workflow: a task delegation tool that helps law firms to assign work in many ways, including on the go via mobile, or by using BigHand’s voice technology.
• BigHand Business Intelligence: offers real-time financial data, allowing companies to make informed decisions.
• BigHand Matter Pricing: allows staff to create and track accurate budgets and pricing strategies.
• BigHand Document Creation: already integrated with Microsoft, for quick and easy production of high-quality legal documents without extensive training.

BigHand is also working with NHS trusts in the UK to support healthcare teams as they move to the cloud and use digital tools. South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, which serves 1.1 million people and employs 2,000 staff, uses BigHand’s digital dictation tools to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians and improve turnaround time on items such as GP letters and risk assessments.

As a result, the number of GP letters going out within two weeks of assessment has been steadily increasing by 5% every month. The system has saved doctors, nurses clinicians an average of up to 20 minutes per letter, giving them more time to focus on patient care.

Michael Wignall, Azure Business Lead at Microsoft UK, said: “Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has a range of tools that can help businesses work more effectively and efficiently, wherever they are on their digital transformation journey. Azure can address concerns such as data residency, security and analytics, which are important considerations for legal firms, and empower staff to work more collaboratively. Whatever the needs of your business, Azure can help.”

Source: Microsoft