Driving Innovation in Legal Services: Part 2

This is my second post in which I am highlighting a case history focused on how implementing new processes and workflows enabled a major law firm (Chapman and Cutler LLP) to realize significant business benefits.

After completing an assessment of specific processes and workflows, the Chapman and Canon team created a plan and began implementing solutions for the firm’s print, copy, scan and mail operations. One of the first changes was to reduce headcount from a total of 20, which the assessment found was excessive, to 16 that work in Chapman’s headquarters location and a key regional office. Due to its higher level of expertise—supported by new processes—the current team now completes more work than the previous (higher) number of employees, and has dramatically cut subcontracting fees for external vendors, from approximately $12,000 per month to $100 per month. Canon also installed all new print/copy and scan equipment with features that have increased efficiency, speed and workflow capabilities.

These and other improvements reinforce one of the key areas in which Canon supports Chapman: copying, printing and scanning vital legal documents, including closing books. The books are large, often

totaling thousands of pages that include bookmarks, tabs, flip sheets and documents, such as surveys; they span multiple volumes and require copies to be circulated to various parties in relation to a major

legal transaction, such as a merger and acquisition. Closing books are traditionally prepared in binders or bound volumes, or they can be created electronically by converting data to PDF format. This allows for easier navigation and management of thousands of documents on a single CD or DVD. Canon receives all of the documents and coordinates the bookmarking, scanning, printing, assembly and delivery

connected with producing closing books for Chapman.

Canon also instituted a quality control system that solicits feedback from Chapman end users. The system provides the executives with information, including which team members managed the quality control on a project, and also requests confirmation that the services provided met expectations and were completed on time. The key point: accountability is now established and a system exists for identifying and correcting mistakes and other issues, which helps to ensure high quality and continuous improvement going forward.

In my next post I’ll continue to highlight the solution we implemented, with a special focus on improving litigation support services as well as mail and print operations. In the meantime, feel free to visit the Legal Services page of our website where you’ll find insights on industry trends and best practices. You can also download white papers, case histories and more.