ASX50 Retail Company Case Study

To execute a large transaction like this, companies often stick with traditional law firms or turn to tech-only providers, with each focusing on their area of expertise. Integrating tech products with a separate legal workflow can be complex. On the other hand, decentralised project delivery methods, where the technology and legal components work independently of each other, can lead to unnecessary replication and inefficiencies.

LegalVision designed and delivered a managed legal service. We built a customised and multi-disciplinary approach for this client which began by breaking down the workflow to identify the individual ‘tasks’ in the overall project. For each ‘task’, we utilised legal, tech and process design experts at appropriate touch points (leveraging the capabilities of our specialist team members).

Through this integrated approach, we were able to draft and issue 400 contracts within a tight turnaround. Our highly experienced commercial Practice Leader oversaw the drafting of contract templates and the Project Lead worked with our specialist software engineering team to build contract automation software. A team of lawyers then reviewed and finalised the contracts, and LegalVision’s process design expert created efficient workflows to issue the correct contracts to relevant parties.

For this high-profile and commercially sensitive transaction, our client needed to ensure that all internal stakeholders could monitor the progress of the project. Our client was also eager to have a way of tracking progress against multiple (and overlapping) workflows.

LegalVision’s lawyers and specialist IT engineers worked closely with our client to customise PRISM (our unique project management platform) to act as a centralised hub of information and franchise documentation. PRISM provided secure, cloud-based collaboration, real-time analytics and automated document creation. Through visual dashboards and reports, the client could track all critical transactions.

The custom-built portal allowed the client to seamlessly manage each stakeholder and enabled them to identify and mitigate any legal and commercial risks. By using PRISM to manage documents relating to the buy-back of hundreds of franchises, we also provided an easy way to store and retrieve documents, delivering significant time savings to our client.

For our client, the volume of legal work at any given point in time was going to be driven by a myriad of external factors, making the work highly unpredictable. The commercial transaction was also conducted in a complex legal landscape. Our client needed a pricing solution which accounted for this complexity and accommodated the variables in the work – particularly in relation to the negotiations process.

LegalVision applied technology and process design to achieve economies of scale across a large volume of repetitive legal work, thereby delivering a cost-effective solution. By working with the client to invest in technology and process design up-front, we were able to deliver ongoing value through efficient workflows. This, in turn, enabled us to provide a fixed pricing solution which was responsive to our client’s needs (accommodating both the high-volume of work, as well as advice on complex legal issues from time to time).

As LegalVision’s managed legal services team sits within a full-service law firm, we were able to quickly respond to specific legal questions of statutory interpretation, contractual interpretation and legal nuance. As more substantial legal issues arose (such as negotiation positions and risk assessments), we drew on specialist lawyers in the firm. This was done as required, rather than dedicating expensive senior lawyers and Practice Leader resources to the matter full-time. This strategy allowed us to balance accurate and expert legal advice with an appreciation for our client’s overall legal fees.