Leading by listening

Denovo has seen a resurgence over the past few years, with hundreds of Scottish law firms turning to the Glasgow-based software provider to help them run their business more efficiently. We reached out to Grant Yuill, Denovo’s Head of Marketing, to find out why he thinks so many solicitors are choosing Denovo over other legal tech providers. 

Can you give us a bit of background about Denovo’s journey to where you are today? 

Sure. It’s been quite a long journey, but I’ll keep it as concise as I can. I’ll start by explaining what we do, just in case there are still some people out there who aren’t quite sure who we are. In short Denovo Business Intelligence are a legal software company who are all about working with lawyers to provide them with the tools to ultimately make their lives easier. We encourage the Scottish legal community to be the innovators, to help us push the boundaries of how technology can make them more efficient. That’s our goal, our purpose, that’s what we exist to do.

Our founder, George Blair, set out to achieve that goal nearly 40 years ago. The journey began in the early 80s, providing law firms with legal accounting machines, printers, and personal computers. The business expanded into software solutions exclusively built for law firms in the early noughties, and then moved to full cloud-based software solutions from around 2011. Step forward into 2023 and we continue to help lawyers innovate and drive efficiency within their businesses through the diligent use of technology. Nowadays we believe CaseLoad is the most customisable legal case management and accounts software platform in the market, which we developed right here, in Scotland. 

Our market leading legal software and outsourced cashiering service is the now considered to be the operating system of choice of hundreds of law firms across the country. Our efforts of listening, working, and innovating with law firms, particularly over the past four or five years, mean we have integrated our technology into the DNA of practices in ways that sometimes even surprise the law firms we partner with. 

Why has Denovo become so visible and popular more recently? 

In the past, the business has always spent the majority of its time working with firms in Scotland to improve our core case management and legal accounts software. They didn’t leave much time to shout about how great the software actually is. Up until, I guess 2019, Denovo grew mainly on a referral basis. Our reach through traditional and digital marketing was very limited. 

When we launched CaseLoad, we were so proud of it we decided we wanted to shout about it and so a larger investment in marketing was agreed, and as a result we have grown very quickly. Word is spreading across Scotland and further afield. Firms from all across the UK are now using CaseLoad, so we know we must be doing something right. 

What’s different about Denovo? 

At the risk of repeating myself, I believe our approach of developing software that is very much solicitor led, meaning we collaborate with solicitors to design and develop innovative solutions and services for law firms. This is our biggest differentiator.

We have built a software platform that is dynamic, fully customisable and ever evolving. We’re really proud to say the time spent listening to our law firm partners and their support teams is paying off as we now have thousands of solicitors across Scotland and the rest of the UK using our platform successfully. We truly listen, and just as importantly, we act on what we are told. 

For us, the most interesting thing is that users of other platforms have been approaching us and joining the Denovo community. None are going in the opposite direction: that’s really testament to our team and how much time they spend ensuring our law firm partners get the most out of our software. 

Moreover, the feedback that we’re getting is not all about the software, our continual innovation, and our kaizen approach. What is most prevalent when firms are telling us why they eventually moved to Denovo from other providers is that we treat the lawyers as the innovators – they tell us what they want and what they need. We then work in partnership with them to get the software platform that works for them and their firm. 

We build bespoke cloud-based servers for every firm, so issues with the system are extremely rare. Each feature is tested by experts (the lawyers!) hundreds of times before it is finally approved to be released to users. 

We rarely hear of typical “tech” complaints such as applications crashing, malware attacks, or frequent, annoying connectivity issues. That’s because our operations and development teams work tirelessly to keep every system operating to the highest possible standard. 

Technology moves at a rapid pace. How do you manage to stay ahead of the curve? 

Well observed. Legal technology is moving at pace. We believe we are at least 3.5 years ahead of the market in Scotland, and our platform, CaseLoad, released in 2019 has started to take significant market share as a result. 

Our main objective for our software is functionality and simplicity. Aside from our familiar user interface, it is paramount for us that the software should be simple to use for all work types and audiences. We also have a healthy obsession with perfecting real life functionality. 

We keep up to date with what is going on in the world of technology, but it’s collaborating with our partner lawyers on how the technology could be best used to help their businesses that keeps us ahead. 

What’s your ambition for working with lawyers in Scotland in 2023? 

The tech world is evolving. It’s only a matter of time before everyone adapts and uses new tools. Legal tech is no different. As client needs change, law firms need a partner who is flexible. We know that the legal market is adopting tech at pace. We genuinely believe that we are well placed to ensure that we help law firms in Scotland keep up with this pace, innovate, and provide an infrastructure that is built for the future. With CaseLoad, we’ll ensure your legal practice is never left behind. 

How would people get in touch? 

Our website is denovobi.com. There is a lot of info on there about our software, ourselves, and some of the law firms we partner with. If anyone reading this has a spare five minutes, I would encourage them to jump onto the site and have a look around. They might just find the system they’ve been searching for! And if anyone would like to reach out to me directly for a chat, my email is grant@denovobi.com.