Newmarket firm increases competitiveness through integration

19 April 2006

Whatley Lane, a Newmarket-based general practice with a specialism in equine law, has become the latest in a growing number of firms investing in IT integration to increase their competitiveness in an ever more squeezed legal market.

The East Anglian practice chose to employ nFlow’s and Voicepath’s integrated digital dictation and outsourced transcription solution, after investigating how it could help the firm keep fixed costs under control. Whatley Lane Rob Dellow comments: “The costs associated with running a legal business have increased exponentially in recent times – and to increase our competitiveness we need to keep these down.”

To this end, the firm found the prospect of outsourcing transcription work on a pay-as-you-go basis through a digital dictation system very attractive. The nFlow digital dictation software has allowed the firm to become more productive through streamlining internal workflow and organisation. These savings are then multiplied by its ability to call on Voicepath’s outsourced transcription service to manage peaks and troughs in activity when needed.

And with the service being viewed as just another secretary on the nFlow system, Whatley Lane can concentrate all efforts on building its reputation for providing good, timely client service.

Rob adds: “Fundamentally, a client’s good opinion of their law firm rests on how efficient they are: they expect us to be able to get letters out on time and to process documents properly. Improving processes through proper use of technology and systems is a large part of making this happen.”

“In fact, we were chiefly drawn to the Voicepath and nFlow solution because the two systems were fully integrated. This meant we could feel the benefits of both services quickly.”

Voicepath and nFlow worked with the firm’s appointed IT support company to install the system and, following a trial period, it is fully rolled out and in use by all fee earners whose work is correspondence rather than form-based.”

Rob adds: “We wanted a solution that would act as an enabler rather than a dictator and this is precisely what we got. Between them, Voicepath and nFlow DDS manage the whole transcription process from end to end – and the convenience of sending a dictation for outsourced transcription and getting a completed document back an hour or two later is immense.

“It has certainly allowed us to change our working culture for the better. For one thing, our internal support staff are no longer hemmed in by tapes, nor are they under pressure to turn transcriptions around. Moreover, we have been able to use the solution as a means of reconfiguring our support structure away from the expensive one fee earner to one secretary model.”

Rob Lancashire, of nFlow comments : “A key factor in law firms becoming more competitive and more responsive to their clients’ needs lies in them overhauling how they administer their businesses. By and large the weaknesses lie not in the product – the legal advice they offer – but in how quickly and efficiently they get this out to customers. The integrated nFlow and Voicepath system delivers a solution for efficiency where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Voicepath general manager Richard Bate concludes: “Here at Voicepath we are dedicated to working with law firms to improve their internal workflow processes. Our complete integration with nFlow is all part of being able to provide fee earners with a seamless, easy to use service. We are delighted to be able to offer Whatley Lane an opportunity to make their systems work smarter for the benefit of their staff, clients and overall business.”