Epona365
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Çakmak Attorney Partnership
Turkish law firm Çakmak Attorney Partnership transitioned from an on-premise iManage system to Epona365 and Microsoft 365, improving collaboration, mobility and preparing the firm for legal AI.
Stepping away from VPN bottlenecks to a cloud-ready legal workspace
When partner Devrim Ergun joined the firm around six years ago, the organization already had a relatively advanced technology environment. It included an internally developed practice management system, a document management system based on iManage, and strong security infrastructure with VPN access. “We had always been quite progressive in adopting technology,” Devrim explains. “Our systems were well structured and secure. But at the same time, we started to realize that the market was moving quickly toward cloud computing and mobile work environments.”
That shift became particularly visible when the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations worldwide to work remotely.
When remote work reveals friction
Although the firm was able to operate remotely, the experience also highlighted limitations in the existing setup. “The biggest obstacle was that almost every office resource required a VPN connection,” Devrim says. “Outside of email, you had to connect to the VPN before accessing documents or internal systems.”
That additional step created unnecessary friction. VPN connections can be unstable, depending on internet quality. If the connection drops while working on a document, the process must start again. “For lawyers who need quick access to information, those interruptions slow things down,” he explains.
Collaboration on documents was another challenge
“At the time, if someone wanted to review a document, they had to check it out first and then check it back in before another colleague could work on it,” Devrim says. “For teams working together on the same document, that could take hours.” For a firm operating across two offices, in Istanbul and Ankara, and increasingly supporting remote work, those limitations became more noticeable.
As lawyers began working more frequently from home, mobile devices, and from different locations, the firm started reconsidering its overall technology strategy. “We realized that people were no longer tied to their desks,” Devrim says. “They were working from laptops, phones or tablets, and we needed an environment that could support that flexibility.”
The first step was upgrading the firm’s Microsoft 365 environment. With that foundation in place, the firm began exploring modern document management solutions that could integrate with the Microsoft ecosystem. “We started researching what the market looked like and understanding the potential of SharePoint,” Devrim explains. “We wanted something that would work naturally within the Microsoft environment we were already using.” During that research process, the firm spoke with several vendors. One solution stood out.
Why Epona made sense
Epona365, a legal document management platform built directly on Microsoft 365, aligned well with the firm’s direction. “Epona made sense for us because it works within the Microsoft structure rather than creating a completely separate environment,” Devrim says.
Cost transparency was another factor. The previous iManage system had become expensive to maintain, and the firm was looking for a more cost-efficient alternative without sacrificing functionality. “Our previous system was quite costly,” he explains. “We wanted something more transparent and easier to maintain.”
Equally important was the collaborative approach during the evaluation process. “We had a large number of documents stored on-premise that needed to be migrated to SharePoint,” Devrim says. “Epona understood that challenge and worked with us to plan the transition.” For a firm of around fifty professionals across two offices, that level of support was important. “We may be smaller compared with firms in London or New York, but we have strong ambitions,” he adds. “We needed a platform that could support collaboration across offices and remote work.”
Immediate improvements in daily work
Since implementing the new environment, several improvements have become visible almost immediately. One of the most noticeable changes was the removal of the VPN dependency. “We no longer need a VPN connection to access our documents,” Devrim says. “That alone makes daily work much easier.”
Collaboration also improved significantly through Microsoft 365. “Multiple team members can now work on documents far more efficiently,” he explains. Even relatively small workflow improvements have had a meaningful impact. When emails are filed into the system, visual indicators show colleagues that the message has already been stored. “It removes the guesswork,” Devrim says. “Small details like that make a big difference in everyday work.”
Building a platform for the future
The move to Epona365 also positions the firm for future developments in legal technology.
Çakmak has recently implemented legal AI tool Legora while continuing to upgrade its internally developed practice management system. “We are gradually moving more of our systems into the Microsoft environment,” Devrim says. “That allows us to integrate them with Epona, Microsoft 365, PowerApps and Power BI.” The result is a technology environment where systems connect naturally rather than operating in isolation.
A collaborative partnership
Migrating years of documents from an on-premise system to the cloud required careful preparation. Files had to be reviewed, cleaned up and structured before the migration could take place.
“It was a significant effort,” Devrim says. “But we were able to complete it without major disruption to our daily work.”
Training also proved straightforward thanks to the familiarity of the Microsoft environment.
“After the training sessions, several colleagues actually thanked us for the change,” he says.
For the firm, the collaboration with Epona has been a key part of that success. “They have been very responsive to our needs,” Devrim says. “Whenever we had questions during the project or the upgrade process, they were accessible and helpful.”
“We have always tried to leverage technology wherever possible,” he says. “It’s embedded in how the firm works.” With its new cloud-based legal workspace in place, Çakmak now has a foundation that supports both its current way of working and the innovations still to come.