Challenge

High-stakes mergers and acquisitions (M&A) significantly influence a law firm’s reputation, and one Am Law 50 firm excels in this domain with nearly 300 lawyers specializing in transaction management. They offer a wide range of strategic and transactional services, including mergers, acquisitions, capital market transactions, fund formation, private equity, and venture capital. However, as the average time to close M&A deals has surged by 30% over the past decade, clients increasingly seek more efficient, cost-effective, and transparent legal services. In response to these challenges, the firm adopted DealCloser in December 2023, successfully optimizing their transaction management workflows within months.

“We tried building our own solution, we evaluated other solutions, and we have used other solutions but couldn’t achieve adoption. That’s not the case anymore.” - Practice Solutions & Research Director

The firm’s Practice and Client Solutions teams recognized the urgent need to enhance their transaction processes. They explored various solutions, including evaluating different transaction management systems that ultimately failed to gain traction, attempting to build an in-house solution, and customizing Thomson Reuters’ HighQ product. Despite these efforts, none provided the comprehensive approach they needed until they implemented DealCloser.

The Solution

In fall 2023, the Am Law 50 firm discovered DealCloser, drawn by its seamless integration with Thomson Reuters' HighQ, a core tool in their legal workflows. After evaluation, the firm adopted DealCloser and Thomson Reuters’ end-to-end solution as its primary transaction management technology, benefiting from bi-directional integrations with NetDocuments and DocuSign that unified all tools into one platform. This partnership provided the cohesive, streamlined system they had been seeking.

Collaborative closing checklists, automated signature management processes, and rapid closing book generation replaced manual tasks, allowing the firm to manage the entire deal lifecycle within a single workspace. This holistic approach improved their workflow, enhanced efficiency, and accelerated the firm's deal-closing timelines.

The Outcome

After just a few months of using DealCloser, it has become a vital tool for the firm, praised for its easy implementation and strong onboarding support. The transaction team has fully adopted the platform, efficiently managing numerous deals, handling large volumes of documents, and collecting hundreds of signatures. Positive feedback quickly spread across practice groups, leading the Real Estate group to begin using DealCloser as well.

Firm leadership and innovation teams are confident in the solution's long-term value, recognizing the significant return on investment. "DealCloser is indispensable. We’re not giving it back," they declare.