A Goal to Boost Efficiency by 30%: Why Brandstock Chose Equinox Law Firm

• What were the main reasons for changing your docketing system?  

“There were several reasons driving the change. In particular, we were looking for a more modern and user-friendly intellectual property management tool that could be customized to our needs and would enable us to tailor-make specific capabilities for our firm, such as time tracking and invoice processing. It was also a major goal for us to have a central system that integrated all our different departments and data into a single interface.” 

• Were there any business, legal, or operational factors driving the decision? 

“A combination of business, legal, and operational factors drove our choice. On the operational side, we wanted to improve our daily efficiency. Indeed, we calculated that we could boost our performance by 30% by relieving our consultants of unnecessary activities. This is connected to our business approach since improving day-to-day efficiency would also improve our global competitiveness.” 

• What specific challenges did you face with your previous IP docketing software? 
   

“Providing access to client data is something very important for law firms, and our previous IP docketing software was outdated in several aspects, such as functionality and performance. In essence, this meant we didn’t have the ability to build dynamic interactive dashboards showing general overviews of their data. Likewise, we couldn’t create specific fields for clients or customize the system for different consultants, which made reporting quite cumbersome.” 

• How did you evaluate the different IP docketing systems?  

“We followed specific parameters when evaluating the different IP docketing systems. First, the upload and download time of the reporting tool, since speed and precision are essential. Second, the possibility to customize dashboards for our clients, including the provision of a user-friendly interface. And third, the ease of integrating and searching IP data.” 

• What were the key criteria you used when selecting a new IP management system?  

“Key criteria included the potential for cost optimization since having an all-in-one solution allows us to access savings by maximizing resources, advancing scalability, and achieving workflow efficiencies—both for our team members and our clients. Likewise, we were looking for an IP management system that provided the possibility to customize different features, especially ones related to the centralization of invoicing and finance workflows. Next, we wanted an IP management software that would improve the user experience for us and for our clients, including supporting users to stay on top of their workloads and priorities. Finally, we needed to choose an IP management tool with the right security foundations, including data privacy, since we are proudly entrusted with our clients’ sensitive IP data.”

• Did you consult external advisors or involve multiple departments (e.g., legal, IT, finance)?  
   

“There was a very focused internal alignment with our senior management and all our different departments, including finance, procurement, IT, and legal, on the benefits of having one central IP management tool, even though all these departments have very specific goals. Having everyone happy on the same boat when reaching our common objectives was a key factor in the success of the project.” 

• What were the biggest challenges in migrating to the new IP management system?  

“Switching to a new IP management tool has really been a futuristic change for us, and it included several key tasks, such as coordinating the different stakeholders; mapping the data from the previous systems and migrating it to the new one; the mirroring of essential fields and the creation of the new fields; the setup of a naming convention that could allow us to work in a smoother and clearer approach; the creation of new interfaces and workflows that could simplify our ways of working...” 

“Having the chance to tackle all these opportunities also added challenges to the migration, but the coordination and integration of new ways of working were all meaningful challenges, and we achieved a high level of satisfaction by working together at group level and actually surpassing these challenges to bring home a very satisfactory result.” 

• How long did the transition take—and what steps were involved?  

“We began the preparatory works in the spring of 2024, with the official kickoff on 1 July. The infrastructure and migration delivery were managed according to our project plan so we could go live on time on 9 December, with the entire Brandstock Legal Team moving to Equinox Law Firm on that day.” 

• Did you face any data loss, downtime, or workflow disruptions?  

"Happily, the answer to this question is no—because of the safety net we put in place. We ran two mapping tests before the data migrations, according to our migration protocols and agreed key performance indicators (KPIs), with our legal teams evaluating any losses, disruptions, or discrepancies.” 

• How did you train your team to adapt to the new system? 
   

"Building the structure of the new system with the input of our team managers helped to build their knowledge at the very early stage, including assisting with the data mirroring and data migration phase. In addition, we made use of live recorded training sessions, shared clear written guidelines, and made use of helpdesk support once we went live.” 

• Has the new IP docketing software resolved the issues you faced with the previous one?  

“The answer to this question is a big yes. Now, we have advanced reporting functionalities, the ability to adapt to meet our user requirements, a dashboard that is fully customizable, and the ability to insert information much more quickly and efficiently. We have our time tracking inserted directly in the system and tied to all the different workflows automatically, so they can be included seamlessly in our billing procedures with fewer steps to be taken by all the departments involved. 

“Client access is also much quicker, and we have already received very positive feedback from several of our clients. Last, but not least, this direct link to PTO data is a big efficiency gain for us since we would previously run data validation searches using an external tool.” 

• Are there any unexpected benefits or drawbacks to the new system?  

"I'm very relieved to say that actually there were no drawbacks for us from switching to Equinox Law Firm. Everything was planned from the potential benefits to the engagement of our internal and external users, which is very important in terms of team efficiency and client satisfaction.” 

• Would you recommend this system to other law firms?  
   

"Yes, we are very enthusiastic about what we have been able to achieve. What Equinox offered to us in a nutshell is that we finally have something that is user-friendly, we have access to a very responsive support team, the tool contains all the needed options for the billing, tracking, procurement, data categorization, and document management. It’s a unique tool with multiple needs—and, the cherry on the cake we were able to discover during the migration journey, was the data interface possibility between Equinox Law Firm and Equinox Corporate, which provides a very smooth synchronization of selected data and fields between the two systems for clients who prefer to manage their IP rights in-house.” 

Save time, manage your tasks with ease, and connect your whole team by choosing our intuitive IP management software Equinox Law Firm. Get in touch with our subject matter experts or request a demo today.