Focus Advokater chooses HighQ's secure virtual data rooms to showcase their expertise in M&A deals

Continental Europe News

18
May
2017

Editor

Focus Advokater, one of the largest independent law firms in Southern Denmark, chooses HighQ Collaborate for secure virtual data rooms, client extranets and to improve their transaction management processes.

Focus Advokater will use the platform to offer secure virtual M&A data rooms to its clients. Stefan Stade, project owner at Focus Advokater explains how HighQ met their requirements: "I had previously used HighQ Collaborate to access a secure data room and I was very impressed with the functionality. When comparing it with the technology the firm already had I knew we had to replace our existing systems with HighQ," says Stade. 

The firm had a bespoke system in place but the capabilities were very basic. "The system was very limited. I could invite users and set user permissions for certain data rooms but there was no way for me to see which files where shared, who viewed them or who downloaded them. The system had no digital rights management and no audit trail which is a very important part of project management," says Stade.

"We used it for internal file sharing or for small transactions, but to properly manage a transaction of any size you really want a more professional environment, which we previously had to purchase ad hoc externally,” he said. “We were looking for a system that was quick and easy to set up, easy to brand with a professional look and feel and the ability to set document rights management, user and site permissions with full audit trails, all of which HighQ does really well."

Focus Advokater previously purchased data rooms from an external provider, but saw the benefits of making the change to HighQ Collaborate. "With HighQ Collaborate you are always in full control of your own HighQ Instance, which is very important to us. The way in which you setup different sites with different modules and user privileges really creates an environment where the scope of what we can offer is greatly enhanced, which is a boon not only to us, but also our clients,” explains Stade. "Now I can set up a new data room on my own with HighQ Collaborate which is great. It is so user friendly and intuitive so with very little training I am able to manage the process myself," says Stade.

The firm also use HighQ Collaborate to showcase their expertise when bidding for new deals. "It is still early days but we are already using Collaborate during our pitch process to show how we will handle the client's transaction. Being able to demonstrate functionality and setup a proper layout for each individual client at the time of our choosing, is proving a valuable asset," says Stade. 

Marcus Voss, Business Development Director for EMEA at HighQ adds, "We are delighted to have Focus Advokater joining the HighQ community, making it our 17th client in the Danish market. We are very happy about how quickly Focus is adapting Collaborate into their daily work, not only in their transaction management processes, but also for many other use cases."

Focus Advokater is using Collaborate for more than just M&A deal rooms, they are also setting up different data rooms for boardrooms and company portals.

Stade explains, "We knew we needed a system for M&A as that is a very important market for us, but we also wanted a system that offered us extended functionality," he says. 

"Our real estate and company law teams are already using Collaborate as the system is a great help when having to share or send large amounts of data, but in general, everyone in the firm has jumped on board to use the platform. We have also set up sites for internal project groups where they share documents, useful information and just collaborate socially with colleagues, which is much easier than using Outlook. It is also great having the activity stream so you can see all the updates as soon as you log in," he says. 

Stade concludes by saying that feedback so far has been very positive about the Collaborate platform, "It is so easy to use that even people who consider themselves as non-technical have been able to use the system with little or no input from me or the IT department which is just fantastic," he said. "The HighQ team have been great to deal with and we are looking forward to exploring all the other features Collaborate has to offer in the near future".