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Intentional Partnership and Enduring Success

Building Bonds for Exponential Edisclosure Growth at Womble Bond Dickinson UK

Key Takeaway 

When international law firm Womble Bond Dickinson set out to select edisclosure technology, the firm knew it had to start small. But through proactive partnerships with Everlaw, the firm has transformed its approach to litigation technology, ensured broad adoption and seen greater return on investment leading to over 200% growth in matters over the past 24 months and a significant expansion of the firm’s edisclosure and legal services team.

Key Results 

  • 225% growth in cases in Everlaw over the past 24 months

  • 2.3 terabytes of total monthly storage

  • ~7 million documents in Everlaw

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Background 

Womble Bond Dickinson is a full-service, international law firm which specialises in twelve sectors from energy and natural resources, public sector and real estate through to technology, manufacturing and private clients. In 2019, the firm’s UK practice began looking for a technology provider to help it manage smaller-scale litigation projects. At the time, Womble Bond Dickinson UK had limited technology available to efficiently and cost effectively handle smaller litigation matters. After a long request for proposal, or RFP,  process which involved numerous stakeholders, the firm decided to partner with Everlaw. Whilst building a strong partnership with Everlaw’s UK Customer Experience team, Womble Bond Dickinson saw numerous other use cases for Everlaw and edisclosure within the firm at all levels. The edisclosure team, which initially consisted of one associate, has since expanded to include three full-time legal professionals, and the firm now hosts more than 2.3 terabytes of active and suspended monthly storage on Everlaw, with nearly 65 active monthly cases – a testament to continuing growth from the adoption of and partnership with Everlaw.

Womble Bond Graph

Finding the Right Partner for Success

Womble Bond Dickinson UK’s RFP process was a long one. The firm was keen on involving a wide range of stakeholders – from paralegal managers who would oversee workflows to finance directors who would sign off on costs – to ensure buy-in from all corners of the organisation. They evaluated nearly 12 ediscovery and legal technology providers before deciding to adopt Everlaw. And since then, they haven’t looked back.

The relationship with your technology provider is unbelievably important, and getting that right is almost as important as getting the right technology.

– Amy Prime, Managing Associate, Womble Bond Dickinson UK.

Growing With Everlaw

The decision to pick Everlaw was not made just by the person signing the contract but by everyone involved in the edisclosure process. Because of the wide purview of those stakeholders, the Womble Bond Dickinson team was able to see that the technology could be implemented on a variety of projects across multiple departments, expanding the scope from the initial use cases. When the firm first signed with Everlaw, they had a kickoff call with Customer Experience and Sales executives for every project to guide them through adopting Everlaw for different use cases. A sustained partnership between the firm and Everlaw allowed both to work with each other in growing and scaling.

Since the partnership began, Womble Bond Dickinson UK’s data on Everlaw has exploded – growing from 27 GBs in February 2020 to 2.3 TBs in August 2022. Furthermore, different departments and sectors have distinct and diverse use cases, with the litigation department using Everlaw very differently from the employment practice. With the right technology in place and a growing number of use cases, Womble Bond Dickinson has been able to expand its team and drive even greater value for clients.

We have two teams that work very well together. The same ethos and culture has made the relationship very good while working together. There’s a lot of love and attention from the Everlaw side.

– Amy Prime

A New Team, Focused on the Highest-Quality Edisclosure

Womble Bond Dickinson UK’s in-house edisclosure team has grown significantly, which has enabled the firm to take on larger projects and handle more work in-house, saving it crucial time and money. The firm no longer needs to rely on outside service providers or third-party vendors for edisclosure. Startup time for new projects is seconds instead of days. This new team has become a centre of innovation and an invaluable resource of experts to consult, allowing the firm to take on bigger projects and generating significant return on investment.

Conclusion

Womble Bond Dickinson UK initially began looking for a platform to manage smaller matters. But in adopting Everlaw, the firm has been able to do much more. The team and practice has grown, and now the firm is expanding even further, allowing it to become more efficient and adept in servicing client needs and data.