CASE STUDY
Innovative Law Firm
Howard Kennedy finds
a Robust IT Solution
Howard Kennedy is a growing law firm operating from the City of London financial
At a Glance
district. The firm has 76 partners and around 300 staff, bringing the benefits of size
Customer:
and expertise together with a high degree of personal care and attention to their
Howard Kennedy
clients. Howard Kennedy works alongside national and international clients across
Industry:
many sectors including banking, corporate law and finance, employment, intellectual
Legal
Location:
London, Asia, Europe, USA
Challenge:
Merge IT environments and
corporate cultures of three
companies into one brand new
headquarters in a tight time frame.
Deploy a reliable, robust, scalable
and secure data storage and compute
platform with network connectivity
between CenturyLink’s data centre
and Howard Kennedy offices.
Solution:
property, dispute resolution, private client and family, real estate, media and tax.
With an extensive portfolio of services, Howard Kennedy operates predominantly in
the UK but also through a network of global firms and lawyers in regions including the
Middle East and Israel, Asian Sub Continent, Far East, Western Europe and the US.
In May 2014, Howard Kennedy announced their merger with boutique law firm CKFT.
This followed a previous merger with Finers Stephens Innocent in 2013. At the same
time, Clive Knott was appointed IT director bringing more than 23 years of experience
in leading IT functions to the organisation.
Colocation in two data centres,
based in Docklands and Slough,
with fibre optic connection
between them
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Case Study Innovative Law Firm Howard Kennedy finds a Robust IT Solution
Challenge
Merging, Efficiency, Scalability, Security
As Howard Kennedy LLP merged with a second law firm in
that could ensure uptime, a frequent concern over the past
the span of 18 months, the IT legacy issues of consolidating
in-house operations. Clive decided to move their IT systems
operations onto integrated platforms became urgent. The
and services to a data centre operated by a leading Managed
mergers brought with them more staff and a growing portfolio
Services Provider (MSP). But first he had to convince sceptical
of major clients with significant repositories of data. Client data
stakeholders that the company’s data would be secure, adhere
is the lifeblood of growing law firms and that data needed to be
to regulatory compliance requirements and be accessible only by
accessible and protected. Major financial clients were subject to
company representatives.
strict compliance rules and data security is of paramount concern,
including business continuity in case of major disruptions.
Traditionally, legal firms have been slow adopters of technological
advances because of concerns about data security. The move
As the firm moved into new offices, integrating these disparate
into a new building gave Howard Kennedy the opportunity to
systems into an in-house data centre could have been a major
invest and update their IT infrastructure for continued growth.
challenge. Previously, IT systems were spread across several
locations. Plus, business had to continue uninterrupted as normal.
The first milestone was to create and implement a plan to move
all the firm’s systems and services into a data centre. Clive
IT director, Clive viewed the firm’s changes as a unique
worked alongside an independent consultancy, Bell Integration,
opportunity to invest in new IT infrastructure and to use
to identify the firm’s options, then to specify their exact
modern technologies to put this innovative law firm ahead of
requirements and finally to identify potential providers.
many of its competitors through a more flexible arrangement
“What struck me about the relationship with CenturyLink was that, at our first meeting, they
had put together a very strong team, focussed on getting us the right solution.”
Clive Knott, IT director, Howard Kennedy
Solution
New Platforms and Colocation
CenturyLink now provides Howard Kennedy with colocation
The legal sector’s cautious approach to colocation services was
services in two separate data centres. The data centres are
also another challenge Clive needed to overcome. Data security
linked by a 10-gigabit fibre optic network so they can operate
has utmost importance for law firms and their clients. Therefore
as a single resource as well as provide business continuity
it was essential that Clive could provide the reassurance that the
in the event of disruption. The data centres run all the firm’s
firm’s data protection approach was compliant with the Solicitors
operations including mission-critical applications such as
Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Financial Services Authority
the Document Management System (DMS) that houses all
(FSA), as well as specific requirements dictated by some of their
information relating to client matters, billing systems that ensure
larger clients. Because CenturyLink works with other firms that
effective and accurate charging of their time, and other essential
are regulated by the same authorities Clive was able to visit
functions such as e-mail. Although the motivating factor for
the facilities himself and check off the security and compliance
implementation was the merging of three offices, the core
issues. The colocation arrangement also settled client and
objective for utilising these services was to build on Howard
compliance questions over where client data would be stored.
Kennedy’s business success and future business strategies.
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Case Study Innovative Law Firm Howard Kennedy finds a Robust IT Solution
“Most importantly we will always have a service, no matter what’s happening. We can
continue to service our clients even if we have building issues or other problems. It’s
very reassuring and a very nice place to be!”
Clive Knott, IT director, Howard Kennedy
Results
Reliability, Resilience and Peace of mind
Moving a diverse IT operation in such a short time frame
Although Howard Kennedy spoke to other providers who
presented significant challenges and CenturyLink’s account
offered similar services, CenturyLink’s commitment, planning
management team exceeded expectations, as Clive explained:
and understanding of the firm’s business needs particularly
“Where there were challenges CenturyLink came on board to
impressed Clive. When they first met, CenturyLink had already
support us. In IT nothing is perfect, I wouldn’t expect it to always
invested time in researching Howard Kennedy’s business and
go smoothly; in fact, I worry when it does! However, where there
assembled a team with the right level of expertise to understand
were challenges our resolution was always met very early on.”
the IT requirements.
Clive lists resilience, business continuity, peace of mind and
“What struck me about the relationship with CenturyLink was
secure access as key benefits of CenturyLink’s service. In the
that at our first meeting they had put together a very strong
past, business downtime owing to IT issues was a frequent
team, focussed on getting us the right solution.” Clive said.
occurrence. Now IT resiliency is built into the services provided
by CenturyLink so downtime is a distant memory for the firm.
Future Plans
Organic growth
As the firm grows, Howard Kennedy anticipates growing its
“Most importantly we always have a service, no matter what’s
colocation arrangement with CenturyLink. CenturyLink might
happening,” Clive said. “We can continue to service our clients
also manage some of the applications on those systems.
even if we have building issues or other problems. It’s very
reassuring and a very nice place to be!”
The relationship has provided the entire firm with the peace of
mind that they now have an IT operation that will fuel the firm’s
continued growth.
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