Effortless Collaboration and Ideal SaaS Solutions Fuel Long-Term Relationship

ABOUT MILES & STOCKBRIDGE

Miles & Stockbridge has been an operating law firm for over 82 years. Based in Baltimore, it now has six locations across the country and employs over 230 attorneys while seeing over 400 NetDocuments users in combination with other staff.

WHY MILES & STOCKBRIDGE CHOSE NETDOCUMENTS

Prior to discovering NetDocuments, Becky Jones, Director of Applications, and Ken Adams, Chief Information Officer at Miles & Stockbridge, were on the hunt for a technologically advanced, SaaSbased solution to their on-site indexing and server challenges. Specifically, they were interested in a SaaS-based system as a way to eliminate the need to manually back up files. “Backing up documents and managing the indexing was a huge burden,” Jones said. “With NetDocuments, we wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore.”

A PIONEERING MOVE TO THE CLOUD

Miles & Stockbridge first partnered with NetDocuments over 14 years ago, a forward-thinking move for an industry that was, at that time, largely unaware of the impressive benefits of cloud-based document management systems. Initially, Miles & Stockbridge worked closely with general counsel to complete appropriate due diligence and found that NetDocuments was able to live up to its reputation as being the most secure cloud document management system (DMS) available for legal firms.

“Backing up documents and managing the indexing was a huge burden. With NetDocuments, we wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore.”

Becky Jones, Director of Applications – Miles & Stockbridge

After that, it was a surprisingly straightforward – even easy – transition. “It was early for us to be stepping into the cloud, but we didn’t really receive much pushback from the users,” Adams said. Adams also mentioned that Miles & Stockbridge has a long history of innovative, forward thinking, so moving into the cloud was a natural next step.

OVERWHELMINGLY CLIENT APPROVED

The easy acceptance of a cloud-based DMS is mirrored in Miles & Stockbridge’s client base as well. According to Adams, the firm switching to a cloud-based system was not considered controversial by clients at the time and continues to be a non-issue now. Additionally, when clients ask for security verification before committing to a partnership, the firm is able to quickly provide necessary certifications, audit information, and proof of security features from NetDocuments. This is of vital importance, as the Firm requires that documentation in order to maintain its ISO certification. “Because this information is published on the NetDocuments website, it’s easy to access, and we have it on hand to immediately share with clients as well,” Adams said.

QUICK, WIDESPREAD ADOPTION

Once NetDocuments was implemented, the firm immediately saw high adoption rates among users. To maximize adoption, Jones worked with individual branches to train employees using documentation and videos. After training ended, the branch was expected to solely use NetDocuments. The teams responded well, and “they adapted really quickly,” Jones said. Because it was interwoven into the culture of the firm, users were expected to take full advantage of NetDocuments’ functionality as soon as it was implemented instead of saving documents locally, which also helped maximize adoption throughout the organization.

ABILITY TO WORK FROM ANYWHERE

When Jones and Adams began the search for a new DMS, a top priority was finding a solution that would provide their large firm remote – and secure – access to documents, as several employees already worked remotely on a regular basis. NetDocuments proved to be the answer, allowing easy access to files from any location.

The ability to work remotely proved to be especially critical during the latest COVID-19 pandemic, as the firm was able to quickly and seamlessly adapt to working remotely. “A lot of our users worked remotely even before COVID-19 so there wasn’t a huge learning curve there,” Jones said, adding that with NetDocuments, employees had immediate access to their entire in-offices setups from the comfort of their homes.

Miles & Stockbridge continues to propel itself toward an entirely cloud-based office experience, and NetDocuments has been an integral part of that process.

EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION

Miles & Stockbridge have extended the use of their document management by utilizing CollabSpaces from NetDocuments. Several practice groups choose to share part (or all) of the matter files within a CollabSpace, allowing clients to upload files themselves or access read-only documents to provide feedback. Firm leadership is also currently evaluating other features, like Data Loss Prevention, to further extend the security of these collaborative documents.

WHY MILES & STOCKBRIDGE HAS STAYED FOR OVER 14 YEARS

Miles & Stockbridge continues to propel itself toward an entirely cloud-based office experience, and NetDocuments has been an integral part of that process. Adams points out there are not many legal-specific DMS platforms that are truly cloud based—though some may market themselves as such.

Because of Miles & Stockbridge’s ability to recognize that other firms can mislead their technology pitch, and by choosing NetDocuments from the start, the firm has avoided the need to switch providers, make ‘upgrades,’ or require other significant changes that risk time, resources, security, and money.

“There are not a lot of SaaS-based solutions, and the ones that are have tried to adapt their Windows-based product to SaaS-based, and I think they found that wasn’t really successful,” Adams said. Miles & Stockbridge’s 14 years as a client has have proved that NetDocuments is the exception, as it has enabled enhanced collaboration, access to more physical space and a secure, centralized hub for document storage. In fact, Adams summed up his overall opinion of the platform in one sentence: “We are very happy with NetDocuments.”

“We are very happy with NetDocuments.”

Ken Adams, Chief Information Officer – Miles & Stockbridge

To learn more about NetDocuments and how you can work smarter with an intelligent document management system, click here to request a personalized demo.