Burnett Barker Solicitors chooses innovative cloud-based Quill Forms solution

Summary

“FormEvo have developed an enormously innovative built-for-the-cloud product that enables our teams to work as normal, wherever they are. It integrates perfectly with our other main legal software provider, Quill, making life easier and quicker for our users. Not only is using the combined product, called Quill Forms, a delight compared to our previous on-server product, but it has cemented its place on our list of essential tools as the Quill Forms team continues to make regular refinements and iterative improvements to the core forms product – both in response to changes in the legal landscape and also following input from our users – as well as bringing other complementary services to the product range.” Daryl Griffiths, Chief Executive Director.

About Burnett Barker Solicitors

Established: 1979
Location: Bury St Edmunds
Services provided: family law, private client, litigation and residential conveyancing
Staff: 75% working part-time and/or from home

Business Challenge

Burnett Barker Solicitors’ Chief Executive Director, Daryl Griffiths, has the remit to:

• consistently improve business processes & profitability
• maintain regulatory compliance,
• make the business more efficient,
• improve the service they provide to their clients,
• support all of this by choosing the best tools available.

Like many firms in 2018, Burnett Barker Solicitors were using an on-premise legal forms application, which was frustrating Daryl’s objectives: “It was slow, complicated, expensive and causing us a lot of work as we had to apply all the updates ourselves. The software was looking very dated and the development roadmap didn’t inspire us. We needed a simplified, cost-effective, innovative forms solution from a provider that understood what was required – now and into the future.”

Solution

Daryl spoke to Quill’s then MD, Julian Bryan – a trusted supplier since 2012. Burnett Barker use Quill’s cloud-based case management system which enables employees working away from the office to access everything they needed from their case files.

Julian, who is now Chief Executive Chairman at Quill, says: “Quill was evolving, from an accounts-centric application into a full blown case management solution, and we too were looking for a cloud-based forms provider. We wanted a firm with the same ethos as Quill – so cloud-based, independent, dynamic, flexible and agile – who had an exclusive focus on forms.”

Julian suggested Daryl take a look at FormEvo as a standalone solution until they completed the integration with Quill, and FormEvo became available via their single sign on Quill access.

Julian adds: “The FormEvo solution – both from a technical and user perspective – provides the deep integration necessary, and a neat look and feel.”

Daryl signed up to FormEvo and Quill – called Quill Forms – and explains: “The fact that members of staff at FormEvo had worked for several years at Oyez and therefore had a deep forms background was a massive plus for us as it meant they understood the issues our users have as well what we need as a firm.

“FormEvo has a similar philosophy to both Quill and Burnett Barker – legal sector experience, customer-centric and cloud-based. It was a smooth roll-out, everything is simple and easy to use. We only pay for what we use so costs are manageable, the management team are available and responsive to user requests, and the development roadmap reflects our firm’s needs. The whole process just works.”

The Benefits

• Single sign on for access to Quill, including forms, with all information stored in the case files.
• Automated field completion from the case file direct into the form and the form is saved back into the case in Quill.
• Validation processes which reduce errors and requisitions.
• Simple-to-use forms.
• Simple payment based on usage.
• Massive reduction in data duplication.
• Faster, cheaper and paperless digital submissions.
• Secure and controlled sharing of forms with clients, allowing sections to be edited and others locked; and with the ‘other side’, enabling forms such as Form E, to be shared quickly and securely.
• Full audit trail.
• Development roadmap supports users’ and firm’s requirements.

Daryl adds: “MRO1 forms and Companies House was a risk-heavy paper operation. Any mistakes on the form invariably meant you’d be out of time, which required a trip to the High Court – a costly excursion. With Quill Forms it’s so simple; the data is validated and digitally submitted. In the event a mistake occurs, Companies House notifications are picked up in the system so it can be rectified quickly.”

With direct access to the appropriate staff from Quill Forms, users are onboarded fast. Jane McIlroy, Probate Executive says: “Queries are dealt with quickly, generally over the phone. Quill Forms technical support have saved us a huge amount of time by linking forms in a bundle to automatically pull through calculated tax figures which previously had to be retyped.”

Unexpected Benefits

When Covid-19 hit in 2020, Burnett Barker Solicitors were well prepared, their cloud-based practices were already embedded in the day-to-day business, confirming that they’d made a good business decision. They were better able than most to continue “business as usual” with much less interruption to client-work during the lockdowns.

What’s Next?

Should something not work as Burnett Barker Solicitors would like or they can see a better way to do something, they get on the phone and sort it out. There’s no waiting involved.

Daryl concludes: “Quill Forms and Burnett Barker Solicitors share similar values and customer focus; they’re responsive and good value and so are we. I feel there’s a lot of synergy between our two organisations.”