Case Study.

Based in Cheltenham, Rickerbys is a leading regional law firm with nearly 200 staff. The firm provides clients - both commercial and private  - with a full legal service offering.

Rickerbys have been a client of Total since they attended one of our popular mobile data events back in May 2003 and shortly afterwards, undertook a ten unit BlackBerry Trial. As IT Manager Tracy Linton explains: ‘We are always on the lookout for systems that will help us to provide a better service to our clients and also to make life easier for our lawyers and their support staff. At the time of the trial, there was little or no wireless access available; time spent away from the desk with a client, either in a meeting or at their home, or in court meant that the lawyer was out of contact with the office and other clients.’

‘One of the main problems that we had was in keeping paper diaries and Outlook calendars in sync as appointments were made by lawyers when they were out of the office and there were occasions where appointments had been made for them in the office that would occur at the same time. The ability to have email and calendars available at all times was the driving factor.’

‘The immediate benefits were that the lawyers had access to their emails and calendar at all times. This meant that they could request documents to be forwarded to them from the office, make appointments without fear of being double booked and also know that they were up-to-date with events relating to a specific piece of work they were dealing with.’

As for that double-edged sword of being in continuous contact, Tracy adds: ‘Whilst on holiday, Partners would invariably call the office on at least a daily basis to ensure that everything was ok and that no problems had arisen with any of their clients. The ability to have access to their emails and know what was going on meant that these phone calls did not have to take place. While some may see this as a liability rather than a benefit, the Partners were happier and more relaxed on holiday because they knew what was going on and did not have to worry about missing anything.’

Rickerbys have recently made the move to a single converged handset for voice and data*. A popular decision according to Tracy: ‘Those with the ‘normal’ BlackBerry are very envious of those with a Pearl. The main reason for this is that the phone function has become more important. All of our business cards now include the BlackBerry phone number so that clients can contact their lawyer even when they are not in the office.’

Whilst many forward-thinking firms within the legal industry are swift to adopt new technology that can improve working practices and ultimately the customer experience, sometimes, the initial reception can be mixed. Tracy says however that in the case of BlackBerry ‘this solution has probably been the single system we have installed that has met with total approval. Everyone in the firm who has a BlackBerry finds it invaluable’.

‘However, service levels and the right supplier are also very important and our relationship with Total has been exemplary. We regularly meet with our Account Manager to renew devices, upgrade old equipment and look at new systems and equipment that may benefit us. When we have had technical problems, Total have always helped us without any difficulty. Recently, one of our devices was lost and we needed a replacement in a hurry. We spoke to our Account Manager first thing in the morning and by lunch time the replacement device had been delivered, configured and passed to the user in time for his afternoon meeting. You cannot get better service than that.’

*A 2007 survey on ROI of BlackBerry Deployment for RIM by Ipsos Reid found that 99% of respondents now had integrated voice and data, compared to 51% in the same survey in 2004.