William Sturges LLP Protect Business from Disruption With Hosted Solution
William Sturges LLP is a 40-user firm based in the heart of London, just a stone’s throw from St James’ Park. With a heritage going back more than two centuries, the firm is steeped in tradition and as Office Manager Alex Bennett admits, our IT infrastructure was crying out for modernisation.
“we felt frustrated with our IT set up as it no longer matched our ambition.”
“We are a friendly, modern, forward-thinking firm. However, we felt frustrated with our IT set up as it no longer matched our ambition.” Alex said. “We needed to start afresh and look to the market to find the Legal Software and company that would relaunch our IT infrastructure allowing us as a firm to provide a modern slick 21st Century service in line with our increasing client expectations”.
“Alex was instrumental in the selection process and decision to go with Access Legal “
Alex Bennett, William Sturges
Alex was instrumental in the selection process and decision to go with Access Legal, “I have been with William Sturges for nearly 25 years and through experience was well placed to understand the needs of my colleagues due to dealing with their frustrations. Over time I have got to know the nuts and bolts of the business and understood the expectations related to IT”.
In the early years Alex was the Outdoor Clerk/General Office clerk and slowly became involved in every aspect of the business before eventually becoming Office Manager. Whilst in this role it was clear to him that the firm needed a partner able to provide and support their technology journey.
“more efficient, agile, paperless and supported at every step of the way”
Alex knew what the firm wanted and sought expert advice on the most efficient way to reach the firm’s goal of becoming more efficient, agile, paperless and supported every step of the way.
In November 2019 after a long selection process and looking at almost every system on the market, William Sturges went live with the fully hosted Access Legal system. Making use of Access Legal for their practice and case management, with Financial Director for their legal accounts and enriched by their Client Portal
“We wanted to outsource our IT but knew that we’d still have local issues"
“We wanted to outsource our IT but knew that we’d still have local issues and having the support and guidance of the Access Legal's Tech Team and Engineers as we went live with the system was invaluable.”
“One of the things that has really set Access Legal apart is the level of support Access Legal have provided since going live."
Alex added, “One of the things that has really set Access Legal apart is the level of support Access have provided since going live. The data migration was a success, but like any system, the odd issue crops up after go-live. Access have been fantastic at dealing with issues reported. It is not unusual to log a request, and have it dealt with immediately by the Tech Team. Every email and call is followed up, whether by the Tech Team, Engineers or Client Services. “
“All initial issues since “go live” have been resolved and the support provided has been second to none. This has given William Sturges LLP great confidence with our new IT infrastructure provided by Access Legal.”
“Before Access Legal, we had an on-premise solution. What a fortunate moment for us to decide to go fully hosted.”
Perfect Time to Go Hosted
Indeed, the timing of William Sturges LLP going live with the hosted system couldn’t have been better. Just a few months later, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak hit and businesses across the globe were thrown into disarray.
Staff at companies both in the UK and worldwide were told to stay at home to avoid the risk of spreading the deadly virus. William Sturges LLP were no exception. However, being hosted meant that business was able to continue seamlessly.
“Pretty much everyone is now working from home, with just the one person in the office each day. We were lucky that we had a few months before Coronavirus hit, so the majority of our staff were already trained and using the system comfortably at home or elsewhere.”
“That being said, some of our staff had not worked from home before and their devices had not been configured ready for Citrix. Access Legal Helpdesk were on the ball and did whatever was needed to get our users up and running within days.”
“During this crisis we have been able to provide our clients with the levels of service expected and we are taking full advantage of the “post office” function enabling our staff to see their incoming post within their home office environment”.
For more advice on working from home, visit the Working From Home Hub here.
Staying secure when working from home
Something that firms also need to prepare for with staff working from home is data security. However, this is not an issue for William Sturges LLP. “We have MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) enabled, which is very helpful. Users are fully aware of their responsibilities as we are handling company data and workstations MUST be locked when unattended. Security is of the utmost importance and William Sturges LLP uphold this through regular training sessions across all departments. In the cyber world we live in today investment in this area is imperative.”
William Sturges LLP have managed to thrive using the Access Legal Hosted Solution, ensuring that when disaster struck the business could continue. They ensured that staff could continue to work from home just as efficiently and effectively as they would in the office.
