Legal services business, Eversheds Sutherland, has merged its litigation tech team with its project management team to create a new combined offering focused on litigation, called Propel, in a sign of a growing need for better corporate structuring.
It’s a signal that the firm’s exploration of legal tech has reached a more mature point and now they are seeking to integrate groups to make a more joined-up offering that can leverage the combined capabilities of both teams.
We have seen other firms seeking to rationalise their legal tech and other capabilities recently, such as Allen & Overy. For example, earlier this year the firm made senior banking partner Andrew Trahair Head of Advanced Delivery, a new grouping which comprises the firm’s advanced resourcing and technology capabilities.
The corporate governance change at Eversheds sees the following combine:
‘Litigation Technology: the team responsible for ES Locate, CaseReady, and other legal technologies.
and,
Legal Project Management: its legally qualified disputes and case management team, advising on and facilitating efficient and innovative processes and workflow through their joint legal and project management knowledge’.
The firm said that this will ‘provide clients with an end-to-end legal and technology experience’.
Propel will be led by partners Nick Rundle and Sarah Jones. The new unit is currently over 10-strong, and growing, with new appointments expected in the coming months, the firm said.
It will work alongside Paul Worth, Co-Head of Global Litigation. Enzo Lisciotto, Head of Litigation Technology, will remain responsible for existing technology products and services.
Paul Worth, said: ‘Propel is going to transform the way clients engage with our team on complex disputes and litigation matters. We found clients were looking for more streamlined ways of conducting disputes, had differing demands of our litigation technology, and all had unique legal reporting requirements.’
‘Our solution was to bring our technology and project management teams together to ensure clients have ready access to our best people and ensure their end-to-end experience is as streamlined as possible,’ he added.