Clifford Chance Takes Global Communications Up a Notch With Cisco IPC

April 23, 2004

By Jenny Carless

Clifford Chance is a global law firm. So when an attorney in New York is halfway through the day, her colleague in Singapore is fast asleep and her client in Brussels may be out at a late business dinner.

The communications challenges are obvious.

To deliver seamless service to clients and to support its own professionals, Clifford Chance recognizes the value of having a world class communications infrastructure. So as part of its relocation to a new building on West 52nd Street this spring, the firm's New York City office has taken the opportunity to upgrade its business communications system.

It turned to Cisco Systems for an IP Communications (IPC) implementation that will deliver converged voice, video and data applications to the office's entire work force, regardless of time or location. The new Cisco IPC infrastructure will help support efficient teamwork and service delivery by the firm's attorneys and enhance accessibility and flexibility for attorneys on the go.

International Reach

Clifford Chance is a global leader in advising corporations and financial institutions in complex transactions and dispute resolution. It specializes in helping clients execute multi-national deals seamlessly, with teams of lawyers in 32 cities around the world in almost every major time zone.

"We have very integrated operations. Efficient communication is our lifeblood, because we can't just walk down the hall to chat with our (3,700) colleagues like lawyers in many firms can," says John Carroll, Clifford Chance's U.S. managing partner.

"We need a system that on one hand makes it easier for us to be accessible when working in any time zone or location and on the other reduces the need to travel because we can talk face to face over the Internet," he adds.

Clifford Chance's work force is highly mobile and works under strict time pressures. "I want a communications system that will 'chase us,' in some sense," Carroll explains. "And when it tracks us down, it must move that information to us in a very efficient way."

Serving Global Leaders

The services Clifford Chance is implementing are designed to address these needs. They will include the following:

• Unified messaging, an integration of multiple technologies, helps enable users to manage all voice mail, fax and e-mail messages with the tool of their choice - a laptop, telephone, desktop PC, cell phone or wireless PDA.
• Cisco Personal Assistant helps manage how and where employees want to be reached. Mobile professionals can manage communications and maximize productivity with personal call rules, speech recognition and productivity services.
• Cisco Conference Connection (CCC) provides robust and scalable IP-based audio conferencing capabilities, helping reduce the time and cost of traveling. The CCC also offers increased security for conferences with sensitive and confidential information.

The Clifford Chance network will consist of two Cisco Catalyst 6509 switches with Supervisor Engine 720 modules as the core switches in the data center. In each floor, Clifford Chance will install two Cisco Catalyst 4507 switches, both of which have redundant connections to the core devices.

All IP telephony servers and phones will be configured in a tightly secured virtual local area network (VLAN), to help ensure the security of Clifford Chance's communications. In addition, by using Cisco Works 2000 and the Cisco IT Enterprise Manager, the firm can identify unwanted intruders to the VLAN proactively.

Improved Communications

The new implementation will provide fast, efficient communications. Clifford Chance looks forward to a system that supports the highest degree of responsiveness to clients, mobility and productivity.

The firm also selected a system designed for scalability. "We're putting in a system that will do all these things now," says Carroll. "But more importantly, it will be the platform from which we'll be able to communicate even better a year from now."

"The IPC system is a critical part of the platform that reflects our continuing commitment to being a leader among law firms in using technology," he adds.

The firm has great confidence in the new infrastructure. "We made the decision to go with Cisco not just with regard to the current state of technology, but with regard to where we think it will be a year or two from now," Carroll points out. "We selected the provider in whom we have the most confidence to address our needs today and into the future."

Jenny Carless is a freelance writer based in Santa Cruz, CA.