Dechert LLP  has selected Autonomy WorkSite to manage and access more than 50 million electronic and paper documents across its 26 offices in 12 countries accessed by almost 900 legal professionals.

Now, when a legal matter file is created by a Dechert partner, both electronic and scanned paper documents are automatically profiled by the WorkSite system, which categorises them for easy retrieval across practices. 

The system enables offices across the practice groups to centralise the matter files for all of their clients, making it easy for a Dechert lawyer in San Francisco, for example, to access documents from a matter file created by a Dechert lawyer in New York.

"A solid document management system is vital to an international firm of our size," said Michael Shannon, chief information officer, Dechert LLP. "Autonomy WorkSite and its top-notch support team opened the door to a powerful system that has become indispensible for our practice. I can't imagine how our lawyers could work without it."

Dechert plans on expanding the system to provide its lawyers with mobile access to read, annotate and forward any document in the system to others using mobile devices such as the HP ElitePad and Apple iPad. Dechert plans to deploy WorkSite Mobility as a pilot program this month.

"Without a strong enterprise content management plan in place, law firms today can easily become overwhelmed with the volume, variety and velocity of information needed to manage their business, serve their clients and win in the marketplace," said Neil Araujo, general manager, Enterprise Content Management, Autonomy, an HP Company. 

"Dechert is a powerful example of the massive benefits a law firm can reap when they get it right - and develop a world-class content management solution that serves the needs of its legal professionals, and clients, around the world."