The challenge

Prior to using Atticus, verifications at Piper Alderman, a national Australian law firm, would be conducted manually using footnotes to identify statements and attribute supporting documents. 

Partner James Dickson explained the drudgery of the old verification methods.

“Manual verification is time consuming and needs to start on early drafts of documents. Attributing statements is more time consuming when done by email,” he said. 

Tracking verified, unverified and statements requiring re-verification is labour intensive, especially where multiple drafts are verified.”

With the Piper Alderman team under pressure to conduct the verification of the IPO prospectus under a very tight deadline, the team was led to Atticus as a solution.

Atticus was adopted by James’ team for the verification of the prospectus with an aim to expedite and simplify the process and to provide a clear and efficient communication platform for users to work collaboratively.

The solution

For the Piper Alderman team and their client, Atticus was easy to learn how to use and to operate.

“The software was instinctive and well supported by the resources provided,” James said.

“Automatic statement identification, tags and comments to communicate tasks and the ability to transfer verifications to new versions of the document” were noted as highlights of the program identified by the team. These benefits showcased the increased the efficiency and simplicity of the verification process.

Atticus also allowed Piper Alderman’s client to be directly involved in the verification process.

“It provides an online platform for them to upload documents and communicate with the lawyers leading the verification, rather than having the multiple client verifiers email or upload documents to be handled by us manually,” said James. 

The success for Piper Alderman

Atticus had to meet the high standards of reporting and client service offered by James’ team, and it was a success.

“Our goals are to always provide the highest quality product at a competitive price and in a timeframe that meets our clients’ needs. Atticus allowed us to meet our clients’ very tight timeframe and removed the inefficiencies of manual verification, allowing us to start verification later, complete it in a reduced timeframe and deliver a verified product faster.”

Piper Alderman’s client found that the Atticus platform was easy to understand, and liked that they were able to upload supporting documents and communicate with their lawyers through Atticus.

“We needed to engage less with the client than we would ordinarily do for a verification,” explained James. 

“Atticus allowed us to more easily manage the process, including by being able to provide regular and accurate updates on the progress of the verification.”

Piper Alderman has a focus on identifying and adopting new technologies that improve the efficiency of the high-quality service that they provide. James explained that “adopting Atticus aligns with this strategy and simplifies the verification process for our clients”.

After the IPO verification, Piper Alderman adopted Atticus on an annual subscription, providing its lawyers the opportunity to better service their clients’ verification needs across a broader range of disclosures including investor presentations, PDSs, IMs, scheme booklets, and ASX announcements.