Anonymised UK law firm case study

How a law firm cut client onboarding time by 85%.

A four-month analysis of more than 700 conveyancing matters found that files moved from onboarding to active substantially earlier after Verify Client became the firm's standard route.

Real onboarding evidence

Observed median time to active

13 → 2 days

An 11-calendar-day reduction from starting onboarding to making a matter active.

Law firm client onboarding results

Client onboarding fell from 13 days to 2.

The anonymised conveyancing firm measured the calendar time between starting onboarding and making a file active. The improvement appears in both median duration and early activation rates.

Median calendar days to active

Before adoption

After adoption

Matters active within 3 days

23.4%

Before adoption: 5.3% · an 18.1 percentage-point increase.

Matters active within 7 days

46.2%

Before adoption: 15.8% · a 30.4 percentage-point increase.

Before-and-after analysis

New matters moved into legal work earlier.

The cumulative curve compares the established process with post-adoption matters that had a complete seven-day opportunity to become active.

Share of law firm matters active by elapsed day

Before adoption · 640 mattersAfter adoption · 26 eligible matters

The clearest signal

2.9×

Post-adoption matters were nearly three times as likely to be active within seven days.

Observed outcome: 46.2% active within seven days after adoption, compared with 15.8% beforehand.

What this means for solicitors

Faster onboarding can help fee earners start sooner.

Verify Client brings identity and AML checks into the wider client onboarding process, alongside Source of Funds, Client Care Letters, forms, signing and evidence.

Measured result

85% lower median time to active

The firm's median reduced by 11 calendar days after consistent adoption.

Early momentum

23.4% active within three days

That compares with 5.3% in the established process.

Implementation lesson

Consistency mattered

The change was assessed from the point at which Verify Client became the firm's standard onboarding route.

About this anonymised case study. The analysis covers more than 700 conveyancing matters across a four-month period at one UK law firm. The before cohort contains 640 matters. The post-adoption cohort contains 94 matters, of which 25 were active at the reporting date. Timing uses calendar days from onboarding started to file made active. Three- and seven-day comparisons include only matters old enough to receive the complete observation period. This is an observational case study from one firm; it shows association and does not guarantee the same result for every practice.

Could your law firm open matters sooner?

See how Verify Client can support a clearer, connected client onboarding process for solicitors and conveyancing teams.

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