How Thorntons complete client ID/verification in minutes

Lisa Mannion, an associate solicitor in the residential conveyancing team at Thorntons, explains how Amiqus is helping her team to provide an excellent client experience while reducing workloads and reducing unbillable hours.

Lisa joined Thorntons in 2013 as a trainee solicitor, having graduated from the University of Dundee. She assists both companies and individuals, and deals with all aspects of residential conveyancing including purchases, sales, remortgages, security work and title transfers.

“When I first started at Thorntons, there was a regular stream of clients in our reception bringing their personal documents to be copied, certified and filed for fee earners by our reception team. We would also receive principal ID by post from clients, which they would send to us at their expense, which we had to copy and return by recorded mail.

“When Amiqus made it possible for clients to provide ID digitally, and from the comfort of their own home, it massively sped up the process for clients and also improved our client conversion times and rates.”

Lisa Mannion, associate solicitor, Thorntons

“Our way of working has now changed through the implementation of our new case management system. We have now been able to eliminate the need for paper files. Our processes have become streamlined, and in terms of ID our dedicated team can instruct ID requests to clients by email in a matter of minutes using Amiqus.

“I remember hearing my estate agency colleagues on the phone to clients, talking with excitement about Amiqus and how easy the system was to use. Much like our personal injury colleagues, our estate agency team cannot carry out any work for a client until such time that their ID checks are complete. When Amiqus made it possible for clients to provide ID digitally, and from the comfort of their own home, it massively sped up the process for clients and also improved our client conversion times and rates.

“There has also been a change in client expectations. The incoming generation of first-time buyers now expect to deal with their solicitor online. With Amiqus we can facilitate that from day one and in doing so, provide a quality service which is our ethos. It has also been really helpful for clients who are overseas or who don’t live close to our offices. This means we can widen the scope of our own client base which is amazing.

“Using Amiqus has definitely assisted us in facilitating homeworking; however the decision to use Amiqus was already part of Thorntons’ strategy to meet clients’ changing expectations. Clients don’t want to pay for parking and make unnecessary trips into town any more, and as lawyers, we want to spend our time helping people when we’re prepared and at our best so it works both ways.”