Preuveneers weathers the Covid-19 storm with Osprey Approach

Kelly Cirillo, managing partner a Preuveneers, says: “We were doing the work of 10 people during lockdown, so the efficiencies in Osprey were a lifesaver in helping us continue to serve clients.”

Preuveneers began in 1978 with Mr Preuveneers, who was a sole practitioner for some time before the practice became a limited liability partnership in 2004. Since 2008, managing partner, Kelly Cirillo, together with joint owner Satbir Sethi, have helped to grow Preuveneers into a well-established high-street firm offering an extensive range of legal services including property, family, shared ownership, wills, and probate to hundreds of clients in south London.

Osprey Approach has been the technology foundation for Preuveneers for over two decades

For over 40 years, Preuveneers has provided professional and friendly service to clients in south London. And for over two decades, it has used Osprey Approach to manage its matters and run the practice in the cloud, as Cirillo explains: “I’ve used Osprey ever since I’ve worked here. Osprey started out as an accounts software but has developed substantially over the years. I use it extensively to manage all areas of the firm and can adapt the software to our benefit, including creating letters and configuring the workflows. I can tailor it to whatever I need, which is great.”

The firm uses Osprey to manage its cases and business accounts in the cloud, assisting the team in providing clients with consistently high-quality legal services and maintaining their Lexcel accreditation. “We pretty much run the entire firm through Osprey. Letters are generated from Osprey, and we work with the Outlook add-in, so that all emails are exported to Osprey. Every time I create a letter more than twice, I save it as a standard letter so the firm can return to it again. We have hundreds saved, otherwise they’re never the same if you do it from memory, and we like to provide a consistent, quality service,” says Cirillo.

Osprey’s time-saving automations increase efficiencies

Preuveneers takes advantage of Osprey’s document production features as well as the workflows, which help to speed up admin-heavy processes and ensure everyone is following the same procedures. This was particularly helpful through Covid-19 when the team was furloughed, leaving just the two managing partners working from home.

Cirillo recalls: “When we first went into lockdown, we had to furlough our entire team and it was just me and my partner running the business. Almost overnight, we were handling every administrative task that was normally handled by a team of 10. We had to field calls, do all the typing, communicate with clients, and create documents.

“We had to assess how we were going to cope with this workload so we started looking at the technology we had and how we could utilise it better. Luckily, we’ve always worked efficiently and streamlined key processes to save time for other tasks that need it.

“Covid-19 meant we all had to adapt to different working methods but the fact that Osprey is in the cloud and so user-friendly meant we could work anywhere we needed to.”

The benefits of using workflows for efficiency and speed

“With the workload we have experienced recently, I don’t know where I’d start without the Osprey workflows. We were doing the work of several people while home schooling, so the efficiencies in Osprey were a lifesaver in helping us continue to serve clients.”

She says that their use of workflows meant that with a click a button, all the letters were created and everyone who needed an update received one. “That was helpful and where we could really save time. Workflows, document production, and the different time saving features in Osprey make our tasks at least three times faster each day.

“With Osprey, everything is in one place, so you can easily view files, previous emails, see whether a letter had been sent before and if there is money on account. We didn’t need the paper files which meant we could easily work from home.

“We’re relieved to have our team back in the office. Osprey helped us get through lockdown with minimal disruption.”

How technology supports hybrid working

The future of law firms looks hybrid, and it is having the technology foundation to support efficient and adaptable operations that helps make a firm successful. “We’re looking to stay hybrid for the future,” says Cirillo. “We’re looking to recruit, and people are asking if they can work from home. We’re more open to that now and Osprey will continue to support us in the future as it always has.

“Osprey has effectively scaled with us over the years and there have been many developments that have continued to improve the software. We aren’t fully utilising what’s on offer now so as we become more hybrid and paperless in the future, the software will become even more effective.”

Adopting new software solutions is a barrier to many firms looking to modernise their processes but the benefits to clients, staff and overall profitability are significant. “You don’t know how good it is until you’re using the new software or features, and you think to yourself ‘why didn’t I embrace this earlier!’ You hold back for so long because people don’t like change, but technology will make your life easier.

“It can feel overwhelming, but you have to be brave enough to give it a try. You’re supported with Osprey: they provide training on everything, and they’ll continue with training sessions with you until you feel confident.”

With Osprey at the core of their firm, Preuveneers can continually improve their efficiencies and focus their time on delivering a high-quality client service.