Clarification: We said in the original article that Irwin Mitchell plans to swap out iManage Work 10 but according to iManage and Irwin Mitchell that is not correct and Irwin Mitchell has issued us with a statement saying: “Our technology strategy integrates industry leading systems for managing data and information which includes both Peppermint DMS and iManage.” We have removed reference to iManage Work 10 in the article below.
UK top 30 law firm Irwin Mitchell has selected Peppermint Technology’s Microsoft 365-based client engagement, case management system and document management system, with plans to swap out a raft of incumbent systems in a bid to double down on its Microsoft-centric technology strategy.
This major circa 2,700-user deal is the first time that a UK firm of this size has selected the entire Peppermint suite at the outset, in a nod to the vision held by Peppermint founder Arlene Adams when she founded the Nottingham-headquartered legal software company in 2010. While figures have not been disclosed, this can be assumed to be one of the largest deals that Peppermint has done.
Irwin Mitchell went out to market in the Autumn of 2021, led by a selection team that included key business and technology stakeholders. The team created a shortlist of vendors to submit RFPs, and chief information officer Garry Dowdle told Legal IT Insider: “We then evaluated the responses, got to know their management teams, their strategy, and had product evaluations prior to a recommendation to select Peppermint as our preferred partner.”
Dowdle added: “We worked with Peppermint on a proof of concept to validate that their product met our key requirements and that we had the confidence to configure the product moving forward. During the proof of concept, we actively engaged c.50 stakeholders, including the potential end-users as well board members, to ensure the product was suitable for all.”
As to why Irwin Mitchell selected Peppermint, Dowdle says: “Peppermint are a proven supplier in this field – they demonstrated great experience and knowledge of the industry which we felt they could successfully apply to Irwin Mitchell. They also have a proven track record of cross working with Microsoft which complements our technology strategy.
“Together we are able to configure a system to ensure our colleagues and clients get the best digital experience. They also align well with our values of putting people at the heart of everything we do – which is very important for us as we aim to be a leading responsible business.”
The firm can be expected to start with a CRM roll out, but Dowdle said: “The implementation will be a phased agile process across our business – ensuring that we deliver the benefits of the new Peppermint systems as soon as possible for our clients and colleagues.”
Peppermint’s success comes as law firms increasingly embrace cloud technology and look at ways that they can better leverage their existing Microsoft stack. Peppermint’s chief sales and marketing officer, Matt O’Callaghan told Legal IT Insider: “Law firms are increasingly making a big effort to leverage the entire Microsoft modern workplace stack. What this selection demonstrates is that Peppermint is here for the top 50 law firms and can scale.”
This selection means that Irwin Mitchell will be using Peppermint’s SharePoint-based DMS, in contrast with recent wins such as DWF and Royds Withy King.
Other large law firm Peppermint clients now include Kingsley Napley and Foot Anstey in the UK, and Dickinson Wright and Lathrop GPM in the United States, where Peppermint launched in January 2022 with the hire of US CEO Robert Beach.
Delighted to see an organisation use SharePoint for (imho) it’s unrivalled feature; the document storage repository/libraries, rather than try and fashion it into a glossy looking intranet (which has never been it’s strength). Look forward to reading developments on this!
Thank you for the correction Caroline and as the author Mark Twain famously said “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”.
🙂
We look forward to working closely with our partners Peppermint and our customer Irwin Mitchell for many years to come.