Macfarlanes is a distinctive London-based law firm with a unique combination of services built and shaped around the needs of its clients. Its unrivalled blend of expertise, agility and culture means it has the flexibility to meet clients’ most challenging demands and adapt to the changing world. While many of its services can be found at other firms, the mix cannot.

In February 2022 Macfarlanes retired its legacy practice management system and implemented Aderant Expert. iTrain Legal were engaged by Macfarlanes in the months prior to go-live, to help deliver the change management elements of the project. They were involved in planning, training, and supporting rollout to ensure a successful adoption of the new technology.

The Challenge

With a team of 850 employees needing training in a short period of time, Macfarlanes engaged iTrain to supplement their own in-house team to fulfil their training requirements. This allowed the firm to continue with business as usual and meant other projects weren’t adversely impacted.

The implementation of Aderant Expert was expected to be a big cultural change for Macfarlanes employees with the software set to replace three other systems used for time recording, billing, reporting, and other business functions. Alongside this, several processes would be going paperless. To reduce resistance to this change, iTrain delivered a communication strategy to gradually introduce Aderant Expert to the firm.

Timing was also key and, to ensure maximum knowledge retention, Macfarlanes wanted all their employees to be trained as close to the go-live date as possible. Engaging iTrain made this achievable: they provided a team of trainers to deliver multiple sessions simultaneously and thereby reduced the overall timeframe required.

Due to the uncertainties regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, a decision was made to deliver the training remotely via Zoom. This provided greater flexibility for delegates to be able to join sessions from any location (at home or in the office) and at a time convenient to them. Online training also meant there was no limit to the number of delegates able to attend each session.

The Strategy

Prior to engagement, iTrain consulted with Macfarlanes to gain an understanding of their firm’s culture, to meet key members of the project team, gain an understanding of the current systems and processes, and understand the Aderant Expert setup, including any customisations and changes to existing workflows. The project was then broken down into several elements:

Change Management

iTrain developed a communications strategy to assist with the change management for the Aderant Expert implementation. This incorporated several distribution channels, including roadshow presentations, an email campaign, and intranet updates. The strategy was designed to gradually introduce the firm’s employees to project information and the Aderant Expert application. The objective was not to overwhelm staff, but rather give them an awareness of the new software prior to training.

Training

iTrain designed and delivered a comprehensive training plan for the Aderant Expert application. This included super-user training, a train-the-trainer programme, and firmwide end-user training. iTrain were engaged to deliver training for the front office (Fee Earners & PA’s) and business services staff, while Macfarlanes’ internal Finance Systems Trainer handled the training of the finance staff.

The super-user training was delivered to a select group of key users across the firm. This was designed to give them a comprehensive understanding of Aderant Expert before the firmwide training and go-live. The super-users were given access to a test environment within the practice management system, where they could complete exercises in order to become fully familiar with the system.

A train-the-trainer programme was then delivered to the firm’s internal trainers. This was designed to provide the in-house trainers with the knowledge and confidence to support staff on the Aderant Expert system after rollout.

Firmwide end-user training was delivered in two phases. Phase one was delivered before the Aderant Expert system went live across this firm. This was designed to provide the users with the core knowledge to use the required areas of the system immediately upon go-live. The training sessions were role specific and delivered as short, manageable modules no longer than one hour. These sessions were delivered in the two weeks prior to go-live and, at the peak of training, iTrain were delivering four sessions simultaneously to different audiences across the firm. Phase two of the training was delivered a week after go-live and was focused on billing. This decision was made as the system went live at the beginning of the month, typically a quieter time for billing. Delaying this training allowed the users to get familiar with other areas of the system and receive the billing training closer to when they were likely to require it.

Support Materials

To support the training, iTrain were engaged to create support material in the form of quick reference guides, how-to videos, and an eLearning package.

Go-Live Support

During go-live, iTrain provided a combination of onsite and remote support. This provided the flexibility for users to access point of need assistance, either face-to-face in the office or online. The go-live support was backed-up with more formal refreshers and workshop sessions. These allowed users to gain further knowledge on specific areas and processes within the system.

iTrain provided support for the initial three weeks of the Aderant Expert go-live period with up to eight trainers being utilised onsite or remotely at the peak of the support period. Ongoing support then continued for several months at key periods.

The Results

Training was very well attended across the firm with users quickly adjusting to the new system. The number of support calls decreased significantly in the first three weeks following go-live, indicating high levels of user competence and confidence.

Andrew Powell, CIO at Macfarlanes, commented: “A practice management system change is a major endeavour for any law firm. We took the opportunity to consolidate a number of legacy applications into the Aderant platform, as well as introduce workflow to several business processes. Engaging with iTrain has allowed us to resource the change effectively, working closely with our own team to provide high quality training and go-live support at a scale that simply wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

By engaging iTrain to deliver firmwide communications, user support material, and training for the Aderant Expert implementation, Macfarlanes were able to ensure a smooth transition onto the new software. Their own internal trainers were able to carry on with business as usual, providing inductions and other scheduled business training. Meanwhile, iTrain used their years of industry expertise to provide a tailored solution that maximised user adoption and capability.

“iTrain delivered in excess of 250 training sessions to support our implementation, which we would never have achieved without iTrain’s help. They were very flexible with our changing demands for post go-live support and were able at short notice to switch resources and support methods around to meet our needs. The mixture of onsite and remote support worked extremely well.” Jen Goulden, Finance Systems Trainer