Building a platform for international growth, operational efficiency and better business insight
Asserson is an international commercial law firm serving predominantly UK clients through offices in the UK and Israel, providing expert legal advice on complex cross-border matters.
The challenges of scaling an international law firm
Asserson is a growing law firm serving predominantly UK clients while operating across both the UK and Israel. As the firm expanded and opened new offices, leadership recognised that its existing practice management system was starting to become a barrier to growth.
The firm wanted to improve the way matters were managed, reduce operational inefficiencies and gain access to meaningful management information that would support better commercial decision-making. Leadership needed greater visibility into firm performance and profitability, alongside a platform capable of supporting future growth.
Alongside these operational challenges, Asserson's international structure created a number of complex technical requirements. The firm required robust multi-currency accounting, support for multi-jurisdictional tax reporting (requiring a custom integration to be built with HERP, a software required for the submission of tax information to the Israeli authorities), and seamless integration with its existing document management platform, iManage.
Following a comprehensive technology selection process led by independent legal technology consultants Baskerville Drummond, Asserson selected Tessaract as its new practice management platform.
As our firm continued to grow, we recognised that our existing systems were limiting our ability to scale effectively. We needed better visibility into performance, stronger time capture and access to meaningful management information. Tessaract has given us a platform that supports both our operational requirements and our growth ambitions, while providing the insight needed to make more informed business decisions. We have been truly impressed by the high level of service provided by the Tessaract team: they have taken on a complex project, understood our requirements and consistently delivered, all while being a pleasure to work with.
The solution: Implementing cloud-native practice management software for international growth
Tessaract worked closely with Asserson and Baskerville Drummond to deliver a cloud-native practice management platform tailored to the firm's unique operational requirements.
The solution provided a modern foundation for matter management, time recording, financial management and reporting, while delivering the flexibility required to support international operations.
Key elements of the implementation included:
- Native multi-currency accounting capabilities to support financial operations across multiple jurisdictions.
- Advanced reporting and management information to provide greater visibility into business performance.
- Configuration to support complex tax reporting requirements across the firm's key operating jurisdictions.
- Integration with iManage, creating a seamless experience between document management and matter management workflows.
- A scalable cloud-native platform capable of supporting the firm's future growth ambitions.
Perhaps most importantly, Tessaract's data-first approach gave the firm access to the information it needed to better understand performance, improve decision-making and manage growth more effectively.
Legal tech insights from the Tessaract team
How IT leaders can utilise legal practice management software to improve law firm profitability
For IT leaders in mid-size law firms, improving profitability is not simply a project to support finance with. It is also a data, reporting and technology challenge. Disconnected matter and financial information can prevent partners, fee earners and business leaders from seeing where profit is being lost. By the time scope creep, budget overruns or falling realisation become visible, it may be too late to protect the margin.
Why law firm data needs to leave the boardroom
Law firm leaders generally feel well informed. In our research with LPM, Mind the Delivery Gap, 80% say leadership has sufficient visibility into performance, while 79% believe their legal management information supports effective decision-making.
Why data driven fee earners are a competitive advantage for law firms
Law firms have never had more data. The challenge is making sure the right people can access the right information at the right time. Our Mind the Delivery Gap research, produced in partnership with LPM, found that 79% of firms believe their management information supports decision making effectively, and 80% say leadership has sufficient visibility into firm performance. However, there is a significant disconnect. Only 14% of respondents said the information they need is always available, and 29% believe providing better insight to fee earners should be an essential investment priority.
When systems don't connect, your IT team becomes the integration layer
They appear as a report that needs to be manually reconciled before it can be trusted. A user raises another support ticket because two systems show different information. A spreadsheet quietly becomes essential to a core process. A member of the IT team is asked to extract, reformat and move data between applications because there is no reliable way for it to flow automatically.
Measuring matter profitability remains a challenge for law firms
Every pricing decision, hiring decision and growth plan depends on understanding one thing: which matters actually make money. Yet our Mind the Delivery Gap research, produced in partnership with LPM, found that only 18% of firms are completely confident in their ability to assess matter profitability. A further 38% say their view is inconsistent or inaccurate, while 67% of leaders report that users experience frustrations with their core systems.
Can your law firm grow without adding more operational pressure?
Growth is firmly on the agenda for mid-size UK law firms. According to Mind the Delivery Gap, our research completed in partnership with LPM. 44% expect moderate organic growth, 33% are pursuing geographic growth and 20% anticipate growth through mergers and acquisitions.
Does legal practice management software need accounting?
When law firms replace their legal practice management software, accounting is increasingly becoming part of the same conversation. Our recent discussions with law firm buyers show firms looking for systems that combine practice management, legal accounting, billing and client money management, rather than treating finance as a completely separate technology decision.
Mid-size law firms flock to the cloud: Why cloud native software is now your best bet
The legal sector is entering a new phase of digital transformation. What was once considered a gradual shift toward cloud technology has now become a clear industry movement.
What is legal practice management software and what should it actually do?
Choosing legal practice management software is one of the most important technology decisions a law firm can make. Yet many firms still evaluate systems based on feature lists alone.
Is technology becoming a deciding factor for potential employees?
Recruiting and retaining talent remains a persistent challenge for mid-size law firms. They are competing with larger firms that can often offer higher salaries, structured career progression, and more established remote working options.