An early adopter

Multinational law firm, Pinsent Masons, became the first UK/EU firm to adopt Atticus for verification globally in 2020. 

The firm was engaged by their client ahead of listing on the London Stock Exchange and with tight verification deadlines, the corporate team relied on Atticus to streamline the process. 

Prior to Atticus, Pinsent Masons undertook manual verification using Word. This meant creating a table and copying each verification statement across, row-by-row, from a complex admission document. Manually creating this table took half a day, with hours spent keeping it updated. Another pain-point was version control and reporting, requiring a cumbersome process of running comparisons in Word, manually updating the table of statements, and circulating regular transaction updates via email.

Pinsent Masons adopted Atticus looking to implement a well-structured, efficient, and easy-to-follow verification process, to ensure they could meet tight transaction deadlines without sacrificing any quality of service to their clients.

The solution

Atticus was the solution Pinsent Masons needed to meet a crucial deadline. 

Both Pinsent Masons lawyers and their client users, who were new to the verification process, found it easy to get started on Atticus, describing the platform experience as “very intuitive and self-explanatory.”

By automating hours of manual verification work and providing a live visual reporting platform, Atticus made the entire verification process easier. 

Associate Tsvetan Petrov explained that “Atticus enabled us to create accurate and easy-to-read verification notes, so we could deliver the necessary information in the most convenient way for our client.”

The interactive platform also allowed Pinsent Masons’ client to participate directly in the process by uploading documents, verifying statements with supporting evidence, and inserting verification commentary. 

“This saved us a lot of time and effort, especially when the subject matter was very technical. Our client appreciated this too, because they could complete the work at their own pace, given how busy they were throughout the IPO process,” Tsvetan said. 

A focus on efficiencies and quality were also highlighted as key benefits. 

“Roughly, Atticus saved us 5-6 hours per day,” Tsvetan said. 

Associate Amy Moore also added that “By saving us so much time on administrative tasks, Atticus enabled us to focus on the quality of the verification. This reduced a lot of pressure on our team, ensured a smoother verification process, and enabled us to better manage our time.”

The future

Since the adoption of Atticus, Pinsent Masons’ teams have collaborated with their clients and other stakeholders for the efficient verification of a range of regulated disclosures including presentations, offer documents, announcements, and scheme documents.

“When we are acting bank-side and the company-side lawyers are doing the verification manually, rather than using Atticus, it reminds us how cumbersome a traditional verification exercise can be,” Amy explained. 

“The biggest reason we recommend Atticus is because it saves us so much time, allowing us to focus on the quality of the verification and enabling us to deliver quality service for our clients, even when the timetable is very tight.”