Kingsley Napley uses Intralinks to securely manage sensitive client documents

THE ENVIRONMENT

Law firms are facing a hugely demanding period. Legal practices of every size and specialty are under immense pressure to manage ever growing volumes of documentation, to access files rapidly and remotely, and to collaborate securely with clients and remote partners – all under increasingly tough oversight by regulatory bodies such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and control by legislation like the Data Protection Act.

Moreover, the practice of law today is immensely competitive compared to other industries and professions. Most law firms need a point of difference and this is often considered to be an ability to provide a superior service at a more attractive cost. In the current climate, finding internal efficiencies is not just an imperative for success in the legal profession; it’s crucial for survival.

THE PROBLEM

Kingsley Napley, a leading international law firmed based in London, was struggling under the weight of outdated and inefficient collaboration methods. The firm’s immigration team was relying on email to send sensitive information across geographic boundaries, for example, and the family law team was also distributing documents by email to clients who were often in the same household as their divorcing spouse. The rising levels of risk and inefficiency associated with email became unacceptable; email posed a threat of identity fraud and brand damage if personal information of clients was accidentally leaked, and proved to be an inefficient method of sending large files.

THE SOLUTION

To reduce such risks and increase efficiencies, Kingsley Napley first considered – but ultimately rejected – consumer-grade collaboration tools. Some file sync and share products provide the ability to transfer large files and collaborate over documents, but none offer the levels of security Kingsley Napley needed or the ability to control and monitor what was being shared. “We couldn’t find anything that would provide us with the full range of our requirements,” said Anna-Marie Barnes, Senior IT Trainer at Kingsley Napley. “Even good, competitive solutions fell down at one or other of the hurdles.”

In Intralinks VIA™, Kingsley Napley discovered an enterprise collaboration solution that addressed all their needs, providing both the sharing capabilities required by a large, diverse enterprise and the high levels of security and document control expected in the legal space.

Intralinks VIA allows Kingsley Napley to share documents securely across geographic boundaries and corporate firewalls, with permissions managed down to document level, enabling privileged communication with their clients and targeted transparency to regulators and auditors. After closing a case, Intralinks VIA’s UNshare™ feature allows Kingsley Napley staff to permanently revoke access to shared documents – even after they have been downloaded.

Today, mobility is essential for efficiency and profitability. Lawyers and support staff must be able to access documents at anytime and from anywhere. The mobile feature of Intralinks VIA allows Kingsley Napley to access and share files from any mobile device, from anywhere, with bank-grade security.

THE RESULT

Intralinks VIA is an easy-to-use solution and user adoption was very high across the company. By using Intralinks VIA, Kingsley Napley believes they have exceeded their competitors by providing their client base with a highly secure, compliant, and auditable document-sharing and collaboration platform.