Digital Transformation Success: How Gudgeons Prentice Modernised Their Traditional High Street Practice

Gudgeons Prentice is a well-established law firm serving their local community as a traditional High Street practice. With a focus on residential conveyancing, wills & probate, commercial & family law, they have built their reputation on providing personal, accessible legal services to clients who often "literally just walk in off the street."

The firm employs 30-35 people and operates as one of only two law firms in their town providing residential conveyancing services, creating high demand for their services and the need for efficient, responsive client service.

Key Personnel:

• Lisa Lawley - Head of Residential Conveyancing (25 years with the firm)
• Lauren Allen - Practice Manager (17 years with the firm)

Before implementing Access solutions, Gudgeons Prentice were accustomed to working the ‘old fashioned way’ exclusively in-office and very reliant on paper. However, Covid and the various lockdown periods taught the firm that they ‘needed to implement a new way of working, one that offered a more digital approach to allow for hybrid working.’ 

Limited Working Flexibility

"We are predominantly office based because we are a traditional High Street law firm, but we are very much hybrid insofar as that we've got that flexibility now," explains Lauren Allen. Previously, "There was no working from home at all before we introduced Access."

Paper-Based Operations

The firm was entirely paper-based with no digital case management system, and ‘needed to update this in order to be part of this ever evolving tech heavy world we are living in.’ With client service at the heart of all of decision making, the firm chose to partner with Access to digitalize a lot of their work, which in turn should avoid unnecessary delays for their clients.

Manual Client Onboarding

Time-consuming processes for client verification, documentation, and compliance checks were hampering their ability to provide the rapid response clients expected.

Lauren Allen identified an area with room for digital improvement, CDD requirements:

What I was actively looking for... was for our firm to have an electronic onboarding process for our clients... particularly with conveyancing, the source of funds checks, the electronic ID, all of the AML compliance requirements from the outset of a transaction, I wanted it all in one place to ensure internal compliance and a smooth onboarding process for our clients.

Gudgeons Prentice implemented a comprehensive Access software ecosystem designed to modernize their operations while preserving their client-focused approach:

Core Systems

• Access Legal Case Management - Primary case management system enabling remote work and centralized file management
• InCase - Digital client onboarding and communication platform
• Access Financial Director - Integrated accounting solution
• Access Workspace - Document management and collaboration platform

Supporting Integrations

• Smart Search - Electronic ID verification via InCase
• Armalytics - Risk management and compliance monitoring
• GRC modules - CQS accreditation and compliance management tools

The success of the digital transformation was largely attributed to exceptional support from the Access implementation team, particularly Martin Dunham and Lou Horrigan.

Lou was our ‘incase’ mentor, whom we would have been lost without. Martin has been working alongside us from the start and has offered invaluable support both in house and externally with Access Legal Case Management & Financial Director.

Lauren Allen emphasizes the critical role of personal support:

It was very much based around the people. If we didn't have the right people involved from the start, it wouldn't have worked... Martin & Lou have been absolutely fantastic.

Lisa Lawley describes the inCase implementation experience:

Lou was always there if we needed... had a constant kind of chat with her in Teams, asking us questions, us asking her questions. She was always available to do Teams meetings if it was needed and anything that we had issues with, she got sorted.

This hands-on approach proved essential for a firm transitioning from entirely paper-based operations to a fully digital infrastructure.

1. Remote Working Capabilities

For the first time in the firm's history, staff could work effectively from home. Lauren Allen confirms: "From my perspective, I can do my job at home exactly as I can in the office... any work that doesn't require my physical presence, essentially."

This flexibility proved particularly valuable during challenging periods and has enhanced work-life balance for staff while maintaining productivity levels.

2. Streamlined Quote Generation and Client Setup

The opportunities module in Access Legal Case Management transformed their initial client interactions. Lisa Lawley explains: "It's nice having all of that information to input immediately and when clients get to go ahead, everything's just there, ready to get up and running."

The quote generation feature particularly impressed: "The quote generator, I love because it's so quick and easy. You just put in the purchase price and it'll bring up the quote... it generates a quote really easily and then it's just emailing it out to the client."

3. Accelerated Processing Times

The firm now operates with remarkable speed in client service delivery. Lisa notes: "From when people are sent that quote to when they instruct us and get in that initial paperwork out we can turn that around within the same day, if necessary."

4. Enhanced Compliance Management

The digital transformation addressed their desire to enhance compliance across the board. Lauren Allen explains:

One of our main focuses since partnering with Access was to see what services they can provide us with, to ensure SRA & AML compliance. With such heavy focus from our regulators, we are passionate about having the right infrastructure in place to streamline to ensure we are taking care of all of our compliance requirements whilst delivering a user friendly experience for our clients

The system enables electronic ID verification and automated compliance checks, reducing manual oversight requirements while improving accuracy.

The InCase platform has revolutionized how Gudgeons Prentice interacts with clients, though adoption rates reflect the diverse nature of their client base.

Seamless Digital Experience

For tech-savvy clients, the transformation has been dramatic. Lisa Lawley reports:

You get some people... you come in the next morning. They've done everything. No issues, no nothing. They've just emailed you a message to say we're done.

The efficiency gains are substantial:

We can send all the paperwork out one day. They're picked up in the evening when they've got home from work and we've got it all back in the morning just waiting for us.

Current Usage and Growth Trajectory

The firm currently processes approximately 15-20 InCase transactions monthly, representing about half their target volume. Lauren Allen explains:

Our goal is to have 30 users a month. However I always appreciated that it would be a bit of a slow burn with such a mixed demographic of clients here and only offering the inCase experience on residential sales and purchases.  We've got two more workflows to introduce this year, so we are excited to expand on this and offer more of our clients the app experience.

Onboarding Process Transformation

The digital onboarding process has delivered significant time savings. Lauren Allen confirms:

The onboarding side, we can't really fault. It's definitely sped up that side of things 100%.

ID Verification and Compliance Efficiency

Lisa Lawley highlights a key benefit:

Being able to do the ID check, the unbundled ID checks where we haven't necessarily got to see those people in person, that obviously saves a lot of time as well because people can't always get here when we're open.

Competitive Advantage

The firm has gained a significant competitive edge in their market. Lauren Allen notes:

We're still the first in our area to be doing it, and it’s been very well received. It receives excellent reviews from clients & I can only see it going from strength to strength. A very good business decision made!

1. Implementation Support is Critical

The quality of implementation support proved decisive in the project's success, with a dedicated Customer Success Manager being essential for firms transitioning from paper-based operations.

2. Client Choice Drives Adoption

Maintaining options for different client preferences while encouraging digital adoption has proven more effective than forcing change.

3. Gradual Rollout Strategy

A phased approach to implementing new workflows allows for natural adoption and continuous improvement based on real-world usage.

4. Integration Benefits

The seamless workflow between Access products eliminates data silos and reduces administrative overhead.

Gudgeons Prentice continues to expand their digital capabilities with plans to introduce additional workflows and further enhance client service delivery. The firm's approach demonstrates that traditional practices can successfully embrace digital transformation while preserving the personal service that defines their brand.

Lauren Allen summarizes their journey:

We’ve worked very hard over the last 3 years with Access to really embrace the systems we have in place, and only hope to build on this going forward to really maximize the potential efficiencies Access can offer to our firm and in turn, our clients.

Gudgeons Prentice's digital transformation illustrates how traditional law firms can successfully modernize their operations without compromising their core values. Through the implementation of Access Legal Case Management and InCase, they have achieved significant efficiency gains, improved compliance capabilities, and enhanced their ability to serve clients both digitally and traditionally.

The firm's success demonstrates the importance of choosing the right legal technology partner, ensuring strong implementation support, and maintaining flexibility in client service approaches. Their experience provides a roadmap for other traditional practices considering digital transformation while preserving the personal touch that clients value.

This case study is based on interviews with Lisa Lawley, Head of Residential Conveyancing, and Lauren Allen, Practice Manager at Gudgeons Prentice, conducted in May 2025.