Texas Law Firm Reduced IT Spend by 50 Percent with Legal Workspace
Berry Odom LLP is a commercial litigation firm in Fort Worth stacked with Big Law experience. Their passion for litigation inspired its partners to start their own firm. However, they quickly realized how time consuming and expensive managing IT can be. Partner Lane Odom, responsible for the firm’s IT infrastructure and security needs, searched for a solution. Now, with Legal Workspace, Odom spends more time practicing law and less time and money dealing with IT.
The Story
Lane Odom and Steven J. Berry founded Berry Odom in 2004. Both lawyers had extensive experience on the Big Law side. “My partner and I both worked at large law firms for 15 years before starting Berry Odom in 2004,” Odom says. “Needless to say, the small firm IT environment requires a little more attention than what we were used to at the the big firm.”
As the managing and administrative partner, Odom tackles responsibilities such as IT in addition to handling his regular litigation law practice that includes contract and partnership cases. “My level of IT expertise is rudimentary,” Odom says. “I know enough to pick up the phone and ask for help.”
When the firm was founded in 2004, Odom oversaw the firm’s on-site IT setup and operations. They had an in-house server environment and hosted their website on a network maintained by a vendor. The upkeep for the server and updates was expensive.
“We paid a vendor a monthly monitoring fee plus extra to answer questions and come to the office. On top of that, we had to purchase expensive hardware and servers,” comments Odom. “Overall, that IT infrastructure was expensive to maintain and it took a while every time we wanted to add a user or update software. If you’re not an IT expert, then half the time you don’t know what you’re doing so you have to call – and pay for – the vendor. IT was not the task I wanted to spend my time on.”
The Legal Workspace Advantage
In 2014, the law firm decided to explore an alternative way to approach IT – through the cloud.
“In 2004, the cloud wasn’t an option,” notes Odom. “But by 2014, I began to learn more about the cloud and quickly understood that it offered numerous benefits over on-site IT.” Specifically, he explored Legal Workspace, a service that hosts all software applications needed by law firms in the cloud. “I realized I wouldn’t have to handle all of those IT negatives. With Legal Workspace, the firm could get rid of its server and its expenses and stop having outside vendors monitoring it. All the IT headaches, problems and excessive costs would end with Legal Workspace. We could just plug in and go,” shares Odom.
The idea of a cloud-based environment and its stable and all-inclusive monthly fee immediately appealed to Odom, but as a risk-adverse professional he did have some concerns. “We’re lawyers,” he explains. “We have to think about privacy and data security. Is an environment secure if I’m not maintaining the server? Where is my data hosted? What is that environment and how is it secured?
The team at Legal Workspace fully addressed each of his concerns. “They got into the details about how things were secured and backed-up,” says Odom. “After due diligence with Legal Workspace, I felt confident to move into the cloud with them.”
Another benefit offered by Legal Workspace immediately attracted Odom. “The pricing structure was very competitive. The cost of Legal Workspace was far less than what we paid for IT support and the maintenance of hardware,” he shares.
Moving to the Cloud with Legal Workspace
Transferring IT from on-site to the Legal Workspace cloud was a virtually painless operation. “The implementation process was relatively seamless,” says Odom. “We had a massive upload of data over a few days. When it was finished, we just sat down at computer, logged in and were ready to go.”
The professionals at Legal Workspace proved helpful at all times. “Everyone at Legal Workspace was knowledgeable and responsive. The customer service is great and I never have to wait long for answers,” comments Odom.
The Benefits of Legal Workspace
Since moving to the cloud-based environment provided by Legal Workspace, Berry Odom LLP has realized multiple benefits.
“Overall, Legal Workspace has cut my IT costs in half,” says Odom. “We’ve also significantly reduced the amount of time the whole office spends addressing IT issues. Updates are handled automatically with Legal Workspace. The time I’ve been on the phone with IT has been reduced by about 75 percent. I’m not wasting time trying to get my technology to work.”
When asked, Odom gives Legal Workspace high ratings.
“When you think about the time and money you save, Legal Workspace makes a lot of sense,” he notes.
By Guest Blogger: Legal Workspace
