Global system Capped

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: City giant picks single system

City giant Clifford Chance has selected management and IT consultancy Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as prime contractor for the huge project to build a single global practice management system (GPMS) to implement across its 28 offices in 19 countries.

The GPMS will combine packages from legal software specialists Keystone Solutions and technology vendor Oracle in a multi-million deal to provide an integrated and uniform system for time recording, billing, accounting, financial analysis and global reporting.

Chris Merry, Clifford Chance's world firm finance director, said: 'There has been an ongoing IT process since the firm merged with [German firm] Pnder and [US-based] Rogers & Wells in 2000.

Phase one was to ensure all the systems could work together and this is phase two - a global single system.'

He continued: 'We decided to plump for two complete packages and make them talk to each other, rather than buy a system and tailor it to our needs.'

The initial design phase for the GPMS system has now been completed following months of discussions between Clifford Chance, Cap Gemini and sub-contractors Keystone and Oracle.

According to Mr Merry, work has now begun on establishing 'consistent global processes' throughout the software.

Bob Scott, vice-president of business services at Cap Gemini, said: 'We put in a bid for a first-phase design and were fortunate enough to get selected.

Since then, we have been establishing exactly what the programme should contain.'

Mr Scott said the system is expected to go live - following 'early testing in a couple of markets' - in 2003 throughout Europe and then be rolled out globally during 2004.

'The move to a global system by Clifford Chance is a major advance on technology adoption by a law firm', continued Mr Scott.

'I think the large law firms around the world will be looking at what Clifford Chance are doing with a great deal of interest.'

Andrew Towler