Case Study: Drinker Biddle & Reath achieves doubled system adoption and 95% reduction in matter clutter with iManage Matter-Centric Refresh

Drinker Biddle & Reath Streamlines Practice with iManage Matter-Centric Refresh

Drinker Biddle & Reath is an AmLaw 100 law firm with 620 lawyers across 12 U.S. offices. Over seven years after its initial iManage rollout, the firm faced outdated infrastructure and an overly complex matter-file structure—2.2 million workspaces, 200 templates, and some 81 million empty folders—that made filing and search difficult and left fewer than half of users regularly using the system.

Working with partner eSentio, the firm completed an audit and attorney listening tour, consolidated 16 libraries into a single iManage Work environment, simplified matter files to 4–6 subfolders with controlled add-ons, and enabled improved search and email-management features. The refresh removed 95% of matter workspace clutter (eliminating the 81 million empty folders), doubled adoption to 98% of users, and delivered better analytics and governance for ongoing training and compliance.

Drinker Biddle & Reath

Dan McLoughlin

CIO