Microsoft Office System
Customer Solution Case Study
Law Firm Sees $2 Million Savings from Instant
Search, Automated Forms
Customer: Willcox & Savage
Web Site: www.willcoxandsavage.com
Customer Size: 185 employees
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Professional services
Partner: SyCom Technologies
Customer Profile
Willcox & Savage is a midsize law firm
specializing in corporate law and litigation.
Based in Norfolk, Virginia, the firm was
founded in 1895.
Software and Services
 Microsoft® Office
− Microsoft Office Forms Server 2007
− Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007
− Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007
− Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server
2007
 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Windows Server® 2003
− Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000
 Technologies
− Active Directory®
− Windows® SharePoint Services
− Windows Workflow Foundation
For more information about other Microsoft
customer successes, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/casestudies
“Clients are becoming more demanding of their law
firms, wanting to share more information more easily.
The 2007 Microsoft Office system is all about
improved communication and collaboration, so it’s
helping us stay ahead of our clients’ needs.”
Scott Causey, Litigation Technology Manager and Business Systems Analyst, Willcox & Savage
Willcox & Savage is a Virginia law firm that understands the power
of technology to help meet customer demands. Recently, the
company used the 2007 Microsoft® Office system to streamline its
matter intake process and improve team collaboration. Willcox &
Savage expects initial efforts to return more than U.S.$2 million in
annual productivity savings and serve as a model for automating
additional business processes for even greater savings.
Business Needs
Founded in 1895, Willcox & Savage of
Norfolk, Virginia, is steeped in history but not
at all stodgy. The 185-person firm focuses
on corporate law and is a savvy user of
technology to better serve clients. In the last
three years, Willcox & Savage has upgraded
its IT infrastructure, replacing a Novell
NetWare network with the Windows Server®
2003 operating system, moving to the latest
Interwoven document management system,
and implementing a voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) telephony system.
The firm was eager to expedite dozens
of manual, paper-based bureaucratic
processes that ate up valuable staff time
and money. One of these was the matter
intake process. Every time a new case is
launched, Willcox & Savage staff members
fill out a 4-page new-client form and a
10-page matter form. The forms were
Microsoft® Office Word 2003 documents
stored in the document management
system. Employees would download and
print the forms, fill out the required
information, make two photocopies, and
then circulate them for review.
“Though the forms were standardized, the
way in which attorneys completed them
was not,” says Scott Causey, Litigation
Technology Manager and Business Systems
Analyst at Willcox & Savage. “There were
open-ended fields and no data validation.
About 30 percent of these forms had to be
redone or corrected, wasting approximately
300 hours each year. Plus, the forms were
photocopied twice for distribution, eating up
still more time and money.”
Staff members also lost time each day
searching for case-related information.
Although employees used the Microsoft Office
Outlook® 2003 messaging and collaboration
client for calendars and e-mail messaging,
trial calendars were in a separate system,
case documents in Interwoven, and contact
information in still another location. “Tracking
down people and information consumed
hours a day firmwide,” Causey says.
Solution
When Causey and his team learned about the
2007 Microsoft Office system, they were
eager to harness the Web-enabled forms,
built-in workflow, and integrated team sites to
their paper processes. They started with the
matter intake process because it consumed
so many hours and could serve as a template
for improving other sluggish processes.
Willcox & Savage engaged Microsoft Gold
Certified Partner SyCom Technologies of
Richmond, Virginia, to build new matter intake
forms in the Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007
information-gathering program and an
automated workflow process in Office
SharePoint® Server 2007.
“Forms are very easy to build in Office
InfoPath 2007, and we can use Web services
to autopopulate forms from the back-end
database,” Causey says. Willcox & Savage
uses Microsoft Office Forms Server 2007 to
show the InfoPath 2007 forms in a browser,
minimizing client computer requirements
and broadening access.
Staff members now access Office InfoPath
2007 forms from a Microsoft Windows®
SharePoint Services site and complete them
online. InfoPath 2007 automatically
populates the forms with client information
taken from the Interwoven application and
accounting information from the time and
billing application, speeding form completion
and increasing accuracy. Workflows based
on Windows Workflow Foundation automatically route the forms to the right people for
approval. The Active Directory® service, part
of Windows Server 2003, validates user
identity. Each time a form is submitted, it’s
written to the Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005
database, from which Willcox & Savage can
run audit reports.

$13,000 annual productivity savings.
Through the use of automated forms,
Willcox & Savage can enter new matter
easily, accurately, and once, automatically
forwarding forms to internal departments
for review and validation. The new process
promises to eliminate approximately 500
hours of administrative time annually,
valued at $13,000. The firm will save an
additional $2,000 each year in photocopy
costs.

Improved client service. With Office
SharePoint Server 2007, attorneys have
a single place to find and share information so they can speak intelligently and
accurately about a client’s case. “Clients
are becoming more demanding of their
law firms, wanting to share more information more easily,” Causey says. “The
2007 Microsoft Office system is all about
improved communication and collaboration, so it’s helping us stay ahead of our
clients’ needs.”

Foundation for more automated
processes. Causey estimates that Willcox
& Savage has at least 30 other paperbound processes that can be overhauled
by using the 2007 Microsoft Office
release, ranging from time-off requests
to regulatory compliance requirements.
“We may net small amounts of time for
each process, but they add up to huge
timesavings for our firm,” Causey
concludes. “That translates into more
billable hours.”
Willcox & Savage will create a new
SharePoint site for every new case, where
team members can provide links to all
pertinent documents in Interwoven using
XMLaw Web Parts, review client financial
data using the SharePoint Server 2007
Business Data Catalog, share a case
calendar, learn about new developments,
and participate in discussion threads.
Benefits
The new automated forms and sites have
streamlined service delivery management at
Willcox & Savage, returning time to staff
members to spend on higher-value activities
and saving the company millions of dollars
annually. Benefits include:

U.S.$2 million annual savings through
collaboration efficiencies. “We estimate
that collaboration-related efficiencies will
save the firm $2,100,000 annually,”
Causey says. This figure is based on
estimated savings of an average of 20
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published November 2006
minutes per employee per day now spent
tracking down people and information.
That time can now be spent on billable
work.