For Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP (LBBS), time is money. That’s true for any law firm, but with more than 750 attorneys and over 20 offices, LBBS isn’t just any law firm. The company maintains more than two dozen practice areas ranging from admiralty litigation to worker’s compensation.
Ranked as America’s forty-ninth largest law firm by the National Law Journal, LBBS understands that improving productivity pays real dividends. “Anything that saves an attorney time is a huge help to clients,” says Arthur Leeser, information technology director at LBBS. “If we can eliminate unnecessary hours, then we make better use of our client budgets.”
Early on, the firm demonstrated its commitment to employing cost- and time-saving solutions. In 2003, LBBS became a pioneer in the legal field by deploying Polycom video conferencing systems in 16 offices.
“After 9/11, no one wanted to travel, so this was an ideal way to handle internal meetings, training, depositions, and interviews that otherwise would have required a plane flight,” recalls Leeser. “Polycom video solutions have saved us tens of thousands of dollars a month in travel and countless hours of billable time for clients.”
Now LBBS is at it again. In 2008, the law practice implemented Broadsmart’s Unified Communications Service Solution, anchored by nearly 2,000 Polycom VoIP handsets—one of the industry’s largest hosted IP solutions to date. Most recently, the firm has begun using yet another pioneering product: Polycom® VVX® 1500 D, the industry’s first simultaneous dual-stack (H.323 and SIP) media phone to combine advanced telephony, one-touch video, and integrated business applications into a seamless, lifelike experience.
“With the Polycom VVX 1500 D business media phone, our senior executives and board members can participate in meetings without leaving their desks,” says Leeser.
With an adjustable camera, base, and display to suit any desktop environment, the Polycom VVX 1500 D business media phone provides eye-level visual interactions. “They can talk with and view each other whenever they want, just like a typical phone call,” he adds. “They can just pick up the handset; dial an extension, and say, ‘Hi Bob.’ It’s that simple.”
Making the Most of Client Budgets
It was Broadsmart, a Polycom nationwide reseller based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that suggested the Polycom VVX 1500 D business media phone. “LBBS is a highly respected, traditional law firm, but it has the progressive vision to use technology in ways that make the most of its resources,” says Tom Tharrington, President of Broadsmart, whose business grew 60 percent last year with the help of its fully redundant broadband communications network.
Leeser recognized the VVX 1500 D media phone as a natural point of convergence for the firm’s video conferencing network and its hosted Broadsmart® Unified Communications environment. “We did some initial tests after Broadsmart presented it to us, and we came away impressed,” Leeser says. “The mobility of these Polycom business media phones is huge. They’re on your desk, always ready to go.”
Every day, LBBS makes more use of its rapidly evolving Broadsmart Unified Communications environment. Team
members hold an average of 10 internal administrative meetings using video each week.
The firm is also seeing a steady increase in depositions conducted over its Polycom network. One reason: A Los Angeles lawyer traveling roundtrip to Chicago might have to commit 20 hours toward a deposition. That drops to about eight hours when the deposition is conducted using Polycom solutions. That, says Leeser, automatically saves clients thousands of dollars.
“We’ve lately been doing two to three depositions a week over video,” says Pat Macias, the firm’s video conferencing coordinator. “The feedback from participants has been very positive.”
Recruiting Without Air Travel
With its mix of high-definition (HD) Polycom telepresence and standard-definition Polycom video conferencing solutions, LBBS also saves time and money in recruiting new hires. “We often use the video network to interview candidates,” says Leeser. “It makes us more efficient, and it spares the candidate a trip out of town.”
The video systems were supplied by Courtroom Connect, a Polycom reseller and the legal industry’s leading provider of video conferencing services for remote attendance at trials, hearings, depositions, and arbitrations. Courtroom Connect helps administer “video conferencing rooms” that take the place of traditional bridges. “People love how easy it is to use. They just call up our help desk and say, ‘We’d like to do a video call.’ There’s no need for them to establish connections with multiple sites or any of that. It’s never a big production,” says Lesser. “And Polycom’s HD is beautiful.”
Charting the Future
Working with Broadsmart, the company recently replaced a tapped-out premise-based PBX system with 1,900 six-line Polycom SoundPoint® IP units, about 600 of which include backlit expansion modules. More than two dozen Polycom SoundStation® IP conference phones round out the deployment. Now, LBBS employees can reach any phone on the company’s network just by dialing a four-digit extension. “We shopped a lot of vendors, including Cisco and AT&T, but only Polycom had the expansion we were looking for,” says Leeser. “It also helps that Polycom’s HD audio is positively booming. It’s incredible.”
Leeser says Broadsmart was able to roll out all 1,930 VoIP units in eight months. “Broadsmart did a great job, from start to finish and beyond. For us, the Broadsmart Hosted IPPBX solution requires minimal equipment and minimal management. In fact, both of our Polycom resellers—Broadsmart and Courtroom Connect—are outstanding. I can call them for anything and they’re on it, 24×7.”
In coming months, the firm plans to expand the capabilities of its Unified Communications infrastructure. “Video is becoming ubiquitous and is a big part of our communications strategy, so I can see our executives engaging with the Polycom VVX 1500 D business media phone on a widespread, even daily basis,” says Lesser. “That will be a huge time saver.”
For LBBS, that’s money in the bank.
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