Case Studies

Gibbons P.C.

Business Challenges

  • Legacy phone system could not keep up with the demands of a dynamic workplace
  • Each site had been individually designed and managed, resulting in a more costly and less integrated solution
  • Lack of network applications limited the staff’s productivity
  • Recruiting and retaining staff became a challenge

Gibbons P.C. is a premier law firm headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, with key locations in New York, New York; Trenton, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm provides transactional, litigation and counseling services to leading businesses and was ranked among the nation’s top 200 firms by The American Lawyer. With over 220 attorneys at the firm, and aggressive growth plans that include Delaware, and Washington DC, Gibbons needed an IP Communications solution that could serve both the firm’s immediate and future needs. Gibbons turned to Axispoint for a solution that combines voice and data traffic on the same network. As Gibbons was relocating to state-of-the-art headquarters in Newark, the firm used the event as an opportunity to replace their aging legacy systems with Cisco’s innovative technology.

Axispoint Solution

  • Converged IP Communications platform delivers voice, data, and video applications
  • Highly scalable and redundant network design protects against outages
  • Interconnectivity and 4-digit dialing between all Gibbons offices
  • Enhanced applications for account codes/billing matters and voice recording systems that integrate with Microsoft Outlook

Axispoint engineers worked with Gibbons to design a converged IP Communications platform that would bring true, measurable value to their organization. The existing architecture at Gibbons consisted of disparate systems for voicemail, email, call recording and billing. Each office operated its own independent network, which was both costly and subject to local network outages. Accurate recordkeeping proved to be a difficult task, since each client’s file consisted of paper transcripts of conversations, voice mails, and other materials. And while the firm had a traditional call-recording application in place, it was not fully integrated with other Gibbons systems, making the application intrinsically difficult to use.

The Axispoint solution provided the platform for the elements that were most important to the firm – redundant network design to provide reliability, 4-digit dialing between all Gibbons offices, and more intuitive call billing and recording practices. Experts from Axispoint and Gibbons worked closely throughout the entire project, from pre-sales requirements and network assessments, to implementation, support and end-user training.

Business Value

  • New multi-service network provides increased operational efficiency and simplified administration
  • Improves recruitment and retention of key staff
  • Provides enhanced mobility for traveling attorneys, increasing productivity
  • Reduces costs and increases revenue by better billing and tracking of client matters
  • Offers a total communications platform that is both agile and scaleable

Redundancy was of chief concern, as the firm needed their network to be up and running at all times. With a unified architecture in place, all Gibbons offices are connected to the same wide area network, providing a more stable network environment that is easy to manage remotely. If a network server fails, calls are rerouted seamlessly to another hub in real time with no disruption to service. Unifying the architecture also benefits the firm’s attorneys who can now easily work from any of the Gibbons offices, reaching other staff members with 4-digit dialing. Voice messages are delivered both in email and voice mail form, maximizing efficiency. On-demand call recording and call billing allows each attorney to quickly assign a client matter to each call. Electronic archives are now automatically updated with the files, which streamlines the communication between the billing department and the rest of the firm.

The Axispoint converged solution helps to support Gibbons’ commitment to excellence, not only as a benefit to current employees, but also as a powerful recruiting tool. Clients are eager to work with counsel that places the same strong emphasis on technology as they do – Gibbons can literally “practice what they preach” to their clients. Perhaps most valuable to the organization is the fact that by investing in a multi-service framework, any additional new offices and applications are easy to implement. As Gibbons P.C. grows, the firm will be able to maintain their commitment to current and future customers while leveraging the value that their technology investment brings for years to come. Case closed.

"Our state-of-the art communications platform allows Gibbons to stay ahead of the technology curve. With Axispoint’s expertise, our firm has been able to optimize our communications, allowing for a more connected and intuitive workplace.”

- June M. Inderwies, Chief Operating Officer, Gibbons P.C