BSO integrates global network infrastructure to support merger

As Speechly Bircham continued growing, new locations in Paris and Geneva were added under BSO’s network management and increased bandwidth was secured to support the rapidly increasing number of legal professionals and mission-critical applications.
In 2014, Speechly Bircham’s decision to merge with Charles Russell created a number of new objectives for the firm, specific to the legal sector.

The combined team numbered over 500 lawyers generating a combined turnover of £135million.

There were now 10 offices spread across two continents and it became clear that further network consolidation and management would be necessary.

This would involve consolidating both London headquarters and multiple international data centres onto one centralised, fully managed network.

With staff and clients spread across the world, Charles Russell Speechlys must guarantee the availability of critical legal resources at all times.

Documentation should be easily retrievable, vital information delivered quickly and data stored securely for compliance purposes.

These legal firm challenges were accompanied by the associated complexity of integrating the disparate IT systems, network infrastructures and management processes of two different companies.

This also included the deployment of a new document management solution and support for the rollout of a unified video conferencing platform.

“Mergers can challenge even the most experienced of organisations, particularly the IT department, however our existing relationship with BSO meant bringing Charles Russell’s infrastructure under the BSO managed network was extremely efficient.

“BSO was invaluable in helping outline which direction to take when conducting the integration projects we felt were necessary from the merger.”

ROB COHEN
Global IT Director, Charles Russell Speechlys

Rob Cohen concluded,

“One of the main reasons we chose BSO was because of its unique blend of international experience and local knowledge, particularly with local telecom providers.

“Having a single point of contact is invaluable for us – everything is easily managed and we know we can utilise BSO’s expertise whenever we need to.

“We have seen a significant increase in business efficiency and reduction in our overall IT spend.”

Charles Russell Speechlys regularly takes full advantage of BSO’s dedicated account management team, where a single point of contact ensures fast, personal and focused assistance.

BSO’s 24/7 Network Operation Centre provides further reassurance and accountability to Charles Russell Speechlys’ internal IT department, acting as an extension of their team.

Charles Russell Speechlys was created by the merger of Charles Russell and Speechly Bircham.

The firm is one of a small number of major law firms which combines a pre-eminent private wealth practice with a significant business law capacity – offering an integrated service to wealthy individuals, family offices, wealth managers and large, privately held businesses throughout the UK and across the world.

The firm provides specialist transactional and advisory services to major international corporates and privately owned businesses operating in the firm’s sectors of focus.

Charles Russell Speechlys has significant strengths in the real estate and construction sectors, transactional expertise across the financial services sector and specialist employment, intellectual property and commercial teams advising public companies in sectors such as retail and leisure, sport and TMT.

The firm operates through integrated teams across the firm’s international and regional office network.

Charles Russell Speechlys is headquartered in London, with regional offices in Cheltenham and Guildford and overseas offices in major wealth and business centres: Bahrain, Doha, Geneva, Luxembourg, Paris and Zurich. Other geographic areas of focus include the United States of America, Africa and the Caribbean.