Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (“BCLP”) is a fully integrated, 1400-lawyer firm with more than 30 offices around the world. Formed in 2018 via the merger of U.S.-based Bryan Cave and London-based Berwin Leighton Paisner, the combined entity offers advisory services to a diverse and distinctive roster of clients that require sound expertise and individualized attention.

Having an existing relationship with Bryan Cave, a current RubyLaw client, RubensteinTech played a critical advisory role throughout the merger process. First, we instilled belief in our software and technology expertise to key Berwin Leighton Paisner stakeholders, and then we helped to bring together two unique firms, their respective cultures, and their websites.

To initiate the effort, we conducted a technology strategy and alignment workshop, consisting of representatives of both firms and our creative partner for the project, Happy Cog (formerly Vector Media Group). This involved creating categories, decision nodes, and implications, essentially to determine what needed to be addressed, who would potentially be impacted, and how it would affect the project’s scale and scope. Next, we prioritized tasks based on cost, timing, and impact. The workshop was also a great way to foster stronger connections between the firms, as well as with our team, and it helped to surface concerns and challenges, both evident and latent.

Next, we agreed on a scope of work that would deliver the necessary creative and technical outcomes, providing for opportunities at each successive stage to review, further evaluate, and fine tune. From our assorted experience with M&A, and especially in the case of a global merger, constant assessment is a critical component to delivering a successful result.

Specifically, we addressed questions around:
—Geolocation, and how to display the preferred version of English to visitors based on where they are
—The viability of both existing website URLs, BryanCave.com and BLPLaw.com, and the opportunity presented by creating a new domain, BCLPLaw.com
—How best to merge separate analytics accounts and how to deploy tools like Crazy Egg to optimize performance on the new site
—Best practices for content handling and data reconciliation, to ensure that searches yielded successful and desired results
—The role of IT in migrating and updating content, via the RubyLaw API, in real-time
—Integrating RubyLaw with HubSpot to preserve existing inbound marketing campaigns

We also worked closely with the client on non-technical matters, such as how to reorganize its shared practice areas, many of which were known and referred to differently in U.S. and European markets. By establishing common ground and bridging terminology, we were able to faster and more easily facilitate organizational alignment, which then translated into a design strategy for a refreshed homepage.

Today, the new BCLPLaw.com site is live, powered by RubyLaw, and our teams continue to work together to forge a new legacy for the firm’s next 140 years.