University of Plymouth
Delivering Time, Clarity and Control
How the University of Plymouth transformed in-house legal case management with a cloud-based centralised system. Delivering improved productivity, visibility, and governance through legal case management software.
How the University of Plymouth modernised its legal services using Iken Cloud.
University of Plymouth’s Success with Iken Cloud
The Legal team at the University of Plymouth plays a critical role in supporting academic departments and professional services across the institution. Like many in-house teams, they were managing and recording new legal enquiries using spreadsheets, shared documents, and Outlook folders.
By adopting Iken Cloud, the University brought the management and record keeping of all their legal work into one cloud-based connected system. This transition also supports the University’s wider ambition to embrace digital tools and modern working practices. As Samantha Eldridge noted, the adoption of Iken Cloud fits well with the University’s broader technology agenda and commitment to innovation.
One System, One Source of Truth
All legal matters, documents, correspondence, and time records are now held in one secure system. The team can access everything they need from a single, consistent location that supports collaborative and remote working.
Time Back for Legal Work
With less time spent renaming files, searching email chains, or switching between systems, the team has gained valuable time to focus on legal analysis and advice. Admin is reduced, and productivity has increased.
Stronger Governance and Auditability
The legal team now uses structured templates, embedded folder formats, and consistent case records. This makes it easier to demonstrate compliance and improves audit readiness across all legal matters.
Real-Time Visibility and Oversight
Team members and managers can see exactly what is happening across the legal function. This includes matter progress, task completion, and workloads, helping everyone prioritise and plan more effectively.
A Legal Case Management System Built for Legal Work
The University of Plymouth chose Iken because it is built specifically for legal teams. Unlike general document tools or project trackers, Iken Cloud reflects how legal professionals work. It supports structured matter creation, legal-specific templates, and integrated time recording.
This legal focus helped the team move away from a fragmented approach and adopt one consistent way of managing legal work. Everyone now follows the same matter structure, which makes it easier to stay organised, support one another, and ensure nothing is missed. New team members can also get up to speed more quickly thanks to a clear and intuitive layout.
“Iken is clearly built with legal teams in mind. That was really obvious early on, and it was a big part of why we chose it.”
Samantha Eldridge
Improving Productivity
Before moving to Iken Cloud, the legal team spent time on manual and repetitive tasks to ensure matter tracking and record keeping. It was common to search for documents in different folders, rename files for clarity, or copy emails across systems. As legal demand increased, this became unsustainable.
With Iken Cloud, the team can now manage all case information in one place. Emails are filed directly into matters, task lists are embedded, and documents follow a clear structure.. Time previously spent on admin is now spent on legal advice and strategic work.
"It’s freed up time for us to do the legal work we should be focusing on to best support the institution."
Samantha Eldridge
Confidence and Clarity Through Central Oversight
In the past, managers had limited visibility across matters and workloads. Without a clear overview, it was difficult to monitor progress and workloads, or understand trends.
Iken Cloud introduced dashboards, consistent matter formats, and activity tracking. This gave the legal team a much clearer picture of what was happening across the department and the ability to monitor and react to different trends. .
"We now have visibility across all matters and workloads, and that gives us confidence and consistency... It gives a level of oversight that’s really helpful."
Samantha Eldridge
In conclusion
The University of Plymouth has modernised its in-house legal operations with Iken Cloud. By moving to a system designed specifically for case and matter management, the team has reduced admin, increased productivity, and improved their ability to manage instructions.
Iken has helped create a more structured, transparent, and collaborative way of working, without adding pressure or complexity. For public sector legal teams, the University’s experience shows the difference that tailored legal case management software can make, both day to day and in the long term.
"Iken is clearly built with in-house legal teams in mind. That was really obvious early on, and it was a big part of why we chose it."
Samantha Eldridge
