Richards Butler will plough on with its seven-figure investment in a new IT system, despite its merger with US law firm Reed Smith.
The top 25 firm, which signed a letter of intent with the US firm that will see the two outfits join forces by 1 January, 2006, this month confirmed to Legal IT that it has no plans to abandon its planned investment. The money will be spent on installing a client relation-ship management (CRM) system in a bid to improve its relations and marketing capability with key clients. Richards Butler is thought to be one of the few remaining top 30 UK firms that does not already have a CRM system. Part of the reason for continuing to support the CRM initiative is down to the fact that Reed Smith is also bereft of such a package, according to a spokesman for Richards Butler. He said: “We will still be going ahead [with the plans]. It is going to the partners and it is top of our list of things to get done, as business development is a strong point for us. It will be fundamental.”
