The challenge

McMahon Clarke is nationally recognised in Australia as a market leader in Funds Management, Real Estate and Litigation, with many of the Partners and team independently recognised in the Best Lawyers in Australia and Chambers Asia Pacific rankings.

In January 2021, founding Partners, Sean McMahon and Langton Clarke, onboarded Atticus to give their clients a cost-effective and efficient approach to verification.

Previously, verification had been conducted manually, using multiple versions of an Excel-based verification checklist that contained every material statement, along with a corresponding marked-up version of the disclosure document. These documents were then circulated via email, meaning multiple versions were in play simultaneously.

If material changes were made after verification had started, this required a time-consuming process of updating multiple versions within the documentation suite, then re-circulating updates via email.

Positive feedback from the beginning

For Atticus to be deemed a success, it was essential that the McMahon Clarke team and their clients gave positive feedback from the point of first use.

McMahon Clarke’s clients and other external stakeholders found Atticus easy to navigate and learn, with the uploading of supporting documents and inclusion of commentary described as very straightforward.

Joe Fleming, a lawyer in the firm said that the platform was easy to navigate as a new user.

“This is important when sending to directors and external parties who may not have used the program previously,” Joe said.

Joe also commented on the new version functionality, which eliminates the need for both a marked-up version of the disclosure document and a verification checklist. It also ensures only one version of the verification document is in circulation.

“Uploading revised versions of documents is seamless and is the best feature. Any statement that has changed between versions is identified and flagged for review,” explained Joe.

Benefits for the client

McMahon Clarke found Atticus provided a better client experience all round. 

“The software is easily explained to clients and very user friendly, with helpful prompts along the way. The software reduces the time spent on verification and, in turn, the costs involved in the process,” Joe said. 

“Feedback from both Trustees and Managers is that the automatic filtering of the document – to show only relevant statements assigned to each user and/or party – allows users to find and focus on key issues within large documents.”