Work allocation shapes profitability, performance, and talent

Work still moves through many law firms, allocated by memory and spreadsheets, overloading trusted lawyers while spare capacity sits unseen, and matters are staffed at the wrong level and cost. BigHand Resource Management brings intelligence before allocation decisions, giving firms visibility into capacity, skills, utilization, and forecast commitments across every practice.

 

 

 

Watch BigHand Resource Management in action

See how BigHand Resource Management surfaces capacity, skills, and utilization in a single view.

 

 

How does BigHand Resource Management provide intelligence before allocation?

See how BigHand Resource Management works for allocators, firm leaders, and associates.

Single View of Suitability

Capacity, skills, experience, rate, level, and client relationships in one place. 

Powerful Search and Allocate

Find the right people fast and see the effect of each allocation decision. 

Live Capacity and Forecasts

Real-time commitments, not a status that was accurate on Monday. 

Scheduled Forecast Reminders

Forecast reminders – previewing email of scheduled reminder to individuals with a high forecast age and the table of their estimated utilization and upcoming work.

Cross-team Resourcing Insight

Reporting on utilization, skills, matter structure, and profitability across practices. 

Single View of Suitability
Live Capacity and Forecasts
Scheduled Forecast Reminders
<p>Cross-team Resourcing Insight</p>
Single View of Suitability
Live Capacity and Forecasts
Scheduled Forecast Reminders
<p>Cross-team Resourcing Insight</p>

Forward Capacity Visibility

Predicted utilization and workload alongside backward-looking actuals. 

Utilization Reporting

See where people are overloaded, and where capacity sits, before recruiting to fill it. 

Skills and Risk Mapping

Skill gaps, succession risk, and attrition signals surfaced across the firm. 

Headcount Planning Evidence

Data-informed recruitment, so practice groups carry the right shape and seniority. 

Consistent Resourcing Model

One structured process across every practice group, not team by team improvisation. 

<p>Forward Capacity Visibility</p>
Utilization Reporting
Skills and Risk Mapping
Headcount Planning Evidence
Consistent Resourcing Model
<p>Forward Capacity Visibility</p>
Utilization Reporting
Skills and Risk Mapping
Headcount Planning Evidence
Consistent Resourcing Model
Personal Performance View

Chargeable hours, target tracking, and utilization against peers in one place. 

Assisted Forecasting

Upcoming weeks auto-populate from recent activity, with less admin to plan time. 

Skills and Experience Profile

Showcase capabilities, interests, and the relationships you want to build. 

Register Interest in Work

Put your hand up for matters that match your skills and ambitions. 

Visible Leave and Capacity

Make leave and availability visible so workload is balanced, and breaks are protected. 

Personal Performance View
Assisted Forecasting
Skills and Experience Profile
Register Interest in Work
Visible Leave and Capacity
Personal Performance View
Assisted Forecasting
Skills and Experience Profile
Register Interest in Work
Visible Leave and Capacity
Retention and Wellbeing Reporting

Workload, utilization, and burnout signals surface before talent is lost. 

Fair Allocation Visibility

See how opportunities are distributed across the team, with bias surfaced and not hidden. 

Career Development

Skills, experience, and aspirations data in one place to support development conversations.

Attrition and Succession Risk

Skill gaps, succession risk, and flight signals mapped across the firm. 

Headcount Planning Evidence

Utilization and capacity data to base recruitment cases on facts, not instinct. 

Retention and Wellbeing Reporting
Fair Allocation Visibility
Career Development
Attrition and Succession Risk
Headcount Planning Evidence
Retention and Wellbeing Reporting
Fair Allocation Visibility
Career Development
Attrition and Succession Risk
Headcount Planning Evidence

 

 

 

How does BigHand Resource Management deliver value to your firm?

Three reasons firm leaders, allocators, and associates describe BigHand Resource Management as the change that paid for itself.

Person outline with shield

Profitability protected

Optimal matter staffing, with team utilization balanced.

Outline of person with plus sign

Client value grown

The right people on every matter for excellent client service.

Icon on performance

Performance unlocked

Talent retained through fair work allocation and access to opportunities.

 

 

User Check Light Single View of Suitability
User Magnifying Glass Light Powerful Search and Allocate
Chart User Light Live Capacity and Forecasting
Chart Line Duotone Light Assisted Forecasting
Bell Ring Light Scheduled Forecast Reminders
Address Card Light Skills and Experience Profiles
Poll People Light Register Interest in Work
Calendar Days Light Leave and Fixed Date Visibility
Chart Scatter Bubble Light Utilization Reporting
User Xmark Light Capacity and Pipeline View
Chart Candlestick Light Skills and Risk Mapping
Circles Overlap Light Cross-Practice Reporting
File User Light Performance Review Data

 

Proven operational outcomes of BigHand with BigHand Resource Management

Real results from firms using BigHand Resource Management to allocate work intelligently, protect margin, and retain talent.

10%

increase in lawyer utilization over two years.

33%

 increase in talent retention within a practice group team. 

97%

reduction in the time to scale large matters, from two days to 30 minutes.

 

 

What firms like yours say about BigHand Resource Management

How leaders and allocators at firms of all sizes are using BigHand Resource Management to balance utilization, retain talent, and protect margin. 

<h2>Taylor Wessing</h2>

Taylor Wessing

Taylor Wessing implemented BigHand Resource Management to enable effective hybrid working with equitable and inclusive work allocation that also supports lawyer career development.

Read the case study
<h2>Womble Bond Dickinson</h2>

Womble Bond Dickinson

Womble Bond Dickinson replaced subjective partner-led allocation with data-driven resource management to sharpen client service and support lawyer development.  

Read the case study
<h2>Norton Rose Fulbright </h2>

Norton Rose Fulbright 

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright prioritizes lawyer utilization and growth with legal resource management technology.  

Read the case study
<h2>Addleshaw Goddard </h2>

Addleshaw Goddard 

Addleshaw Goddard uses BigHand Resource Management to improve lawyer utilization and cross-office collaboration, giving lawyers fairer access to work and partners faster resourcing decisions. 

Read the case study
<h2>Taylor Wessing</h2>

Taylor Wessing

Taylor Wessing implemented BigHand Resource Management to enable effective hybrid working with equitable and inclusive work allocation that also supports lawyer career development.

Read the case study
<h2>Womble Bond Dickinson</h2>

Womble Bond Dickinson

Womble Bond Dickinson replaced subjective partner-led allocation with data-driven resource management to sharpen client service and support lawyer development.  

Read the case study
<h2>Norton Rose Fulbright </h2>

Norton Rose Fulbright 

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright prioritizes lawyer utilization and growth with legal resource management technology.  

Read the case study
<h2>Addleshaw Goddard </h2>

Addleshaw Goddard 

Addleshaw Goddard uses BigHand Resource Management to improve lawyer utilization and cross-office collaboration, giving lawyers fairer access to work and partners faster resourcing decisions. 

Read the case study

 

BigHand’s award-winning resource management software

 

 

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

General
Cost
Adoption
Implementation
References
General

General

Q: What is BigHand Resource Management?

A: A legal work allocation and resourcing tool that allows law firms to:​

  • Identify the correct legal resources​ who have the right skills to work on a matter.
  • Forecast utilisation​ across the entire fee earning community
  • Manage workloads and absences; and ​
  • Add structure to career development for lawyers.​

 

The solution delivers real-time visibility of team availability and costs, improved profitability on matters and supports DEI goals and equitable allocation of work.

 

Benefits for those that have adopted the technology have been seen right across the firm:

 

  • Management Teams - Facilitate hybrid working, support DEI and improve profitability
  • HR Teams - Gain visibility of individual workloads, utilisation, skillsets and desired areas of career development for informed decision making around headcount, training and succession planning
  • Resource Management Teams - Identify the right person for the job based on key information including skills, experience, cost, availability and more
  • Lawyers/Attorneys - Lawyers can showcase experience, ensure they are given fair access to opportunities and flag areas of interest to support career progression, as well as view key metrics in real time, including forecasted activity, utilisation and average billable hours to understand performance against firm expectations.
Q. How can you help us with Resource Management as a new concept?

A: We also offer consultancy services that sit alongside the technology that assist with embedding resource management best practices.  The level of consultancy is dependent upon individual firm needs but can consist of:

 

Engagement – consulting with the firm, understanding the needs of partners, lawyers and other key stakeholders

Design – designing the solution that fits the needs of the law firm or legal department following consultation

Development – structuring the resource management framework within the technology

Implementation – Pulling in all of the required information needed to deliver an efficient resource management service

Delivery – full operational management of the work allocation process on-site with consulting support in transition period

Sustainability – full transition to permanent legal resource management solution managed by the law firm

 

By introducing process that supports best practice resource management, alongside the technology, the benefits realised will increase and adoption will be at the highest levels.

Cost/Pricing

Q: How does pricing work?

A: BigHand offers multiple pricing options based on your specific business requirements. Pricing is based on the number of licenses your firm needs, your desired level of access to our features and how you’d like to configure the solution to best fit your needs. To receive a custom quote, chat to a member of our team here.

Q: What tier is right for me?

A: Every business is unique and will require different features that address the business challenge they are trying to solve. The Resource Management tier structure ensures that you only pay for the features and functionality you need. View the features included in each tier in the table above, or chat to one of our product experts if you need more help choosing which tier is right for you.

Q: What Consultancy do you recommend for getting up and running on the solution?

A: At BigHand, we pride ourselves on taking the time to listen and understand your requirements. We have a dedicated team of experts with vast industry expertise who’ll create a consultancy package tailored just for you. 

We offer a range of consultancy options.  We will discuss all options, based on your requirements and objectives and you can decide what’s best for you.

Ease of Use/Adoption

Q: Do you offer training?

A: Yes! We have a dedicated team of software trainers to help get your teams as self-sufficient as possible, as quickly as possible. We also offer flexibility for you to choose what type of training you require and how much of it you need.

Q: How much training do users require?

A: BigHand Resource Management is designed with a seamless user experience in mind, meaning it’s easy to get your teams setup and using the software. In addition to any training sessions, you’ll also have access to a range of training materials to help individuals across each of your departments harness the full power of the solution.

Q: How long does it take to get set up?

A: A standard implementation takes on average 6 – 8 weeks. This incorporates the installation of the software, all relevant and required integrations, testing and key user training.

Q. How do we ensure the tool is adopted effectively and what support will be available to us post project?

A: At BigHand, we do our best to work with clients pre-project to prepare end users for the implementation of new technology and process. 

Post project, our dedicated customer support team will be on hand for technical queries, and we also have dedicated experts in place, many with extensive sector knowledge, to ensure you adopt the tool in the best way to maximise efficiencies, underpin relevant processes and ultimately drive your project to success helping to achieve wider business objectives.

At BigHand we also have a dedicated Customer Success team. Their responsibilities will include referring back to your original objectives to ensure these are being met, whilst also working closely on communications and messaging types for different users, analysing key usage and adoption data, updating you on key development and ensuring the continued success of the software at your firm.

Implementation Process & Ongoing Support

Q: What is support like? Is there out of hours service?

A: 98% of our customers say they receive outstanding support from BigHand. Our award-winning technical services team provide 24/5 support to every customer via phone, email or our online support portal. Your Account and Success Managers are only ever a call away and are committed to ensuring you’re always getting the most from the software.

Read about what our customers are saying here.

Q: What are the security measures?

A: BigHand aims to be recognised as an organisation adhering to the highest level of Information Security best practice and have implemented a formal Information Security Management System (ISMS). The ISMS is formally managed, controlled, independently audited and certified to IS027001 and Cyber Essentials Plus.​

Find out more about how we keep your information secure here.

Q: What support do I need from my IT team?

A: IT resource will be required to help determine the scope of the project based on your environment and to assist with implementation and possible integration.

Q: What resources do I need for the project?

A: Below are the roles we typically work with to get a project up and running. Depending on the scope of the project, 

some clients will choose to split these responsibilities across multiple stakeholders, while others may appoint one or two individuals to take on multiple roles. 

 

  • An overall project sponsor to drive communications and engagement (typically at Board level).
  • An Internal Project Manager to assist with scheduling resources 
  • An IT Lead that can work together with BigHand engineers to ensure a smooth installation and integration
  • Comms Lead to help with comms around the software roll-out 
  • Subject Matter Expert to manage the technology and process once it’s rolled out
  • An Internal Trainer to help with onboarding staff and encourage adoption 

Customer Success / References

Q: Do you have client references?

A: Yes! You can read case studies from customers of all shapes and sizes here.

Q: What level of support will we have available after the delivery of the project?

A: Our Customer Success team will continually support you to ensure that the business objectives you set out to achieve are met. We want to ensure that you get the absolute maximum success from the software and will work in partnership with you to make this a reality.