Peer to Peer Magazine

PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 34 Clients want real-time access to matter status and other relevant information, so they can stay on top of potential issues. And they want this information available anytime without having to call their lawyers to receive it. WilmerHale has developed a secure extranet called ClientCommons to facilitate a broad level of collaboration between our lawyers and clients and to provide clients with more efficient access to matter information. ClientCommons is more than just a place to share documents: Leveraging the power of Microsoft SharePoint, it offers a one-stop shop where clients can access information for all their matters. This is especially useful for clients who rely on us for support across multiple areas of law. ONE-STOP-SHOP ClientCommons provides secure collaboration capabilities at three levels — client, matter and team — and collaboration sites can be created within minutes. Team-level collaboration is particularly useful on large matters where lawyers work across multiple teams, deals or jurisdictions. At each level, lawyers can share documents, contacts, calendars, status information, announcements and discussion forums internally and with clients. The common document repository provides significant time savings and reduces common document collaboration/ co-authoring headaches associated with managing multiple versions and editors, in addition to providing a long-term repository for reference documents. ClientCommons is ideal for sharing matter status information such as status reports, metrics or budget information, further increasing the level of transparency for clients. UP-TO-DATE INFO For intellectual property work, WilmerHale and client lawyers have access to up-to- date patent and trademark information from our CPi docketing system. This includes information on patents and trademarks, corresponding actions, and the related documents (i.e., applications, accompanying graphics and responses from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office). ClientCommons also provides direct links to external websites frequently used by matter teams, making it a true one-stop portal for all their work. ACCESSIBILITY ClientCommons is accessible via Web browser on PC, Mac and mobile devices. Access is determined on a client and matter basis, and integration with Intapp Wall Builder secures sensitive matters and prevents access by those with ethical conflicts of interest. A BRIGHT FUTURE Client feedback has been extremely positive due to the efficiency improvements and increased client service ClientCommons provides. One intellectual property client said, "When I'm working on [patent] prosecution, ClientCommons is my main conduit to the information I need. It helps me stay efficient and organized." ClientCommons has also been beneficial for WilmerHale's lawyers, who have found it much easier to share matter information across matter teams. A partner remarked that the extranet saves lawyers and staff "time associated with reporting status updates to clients via email and responding to client queries." Future enhancements to ClientCommons are being planned now to facilitate further efficiencies for WilmerHale lawyers and our clients. CASE STUDIES About the Author Thomas Day is a Business Relationship Manager at WilmerHale. Contact him at thomas.day@wilmerhale.com. WilmerHale ClientCommons: A One-Stop Shop Client Extranet Today's law firm clients expect more meaningful collaboration and a higher level of service than ever before.

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