“When we made the move to the cloud, we didn’t just migrate. We stopped and evaluated everything. We chose the solution we believed in — not necessarily the one others were choosing.“

Cato Haukeland, Chief Digital Officer, SANDS

About SANDS

SANDS is a leading Norwegian law firm with approximately 220 lawyers and staff. Known for its forward-thinking approach to technology, the firm has embraced automation and AI earlier than many in the Nordic legal market.

Under the leadership of CDO Cato Haukeland, SANDS approaches technology not as a utility, but as a strategic enabler — one that must be future-proof, automation-friendly, and tightly aligned with the firm’s goals.

The Trigger: A Mandatory Move — and a Strategic Opportunity

SANDS had been operating with on-premises tech when their existing vendor announced it would no longer invest in its on-prem solution. A move to the cloud became inevitable.

Rather than treating the migration as a lift-and-shift exercise, leadership paused.

“Given that we were going to the cloud anyway, we stopped and thought we should evaluate all the alternatives,” shared Haukeland.

That evaluation ultimately led to NetDocuments.

SANDS’ decision was based on strategy, execution capability, and long-term vision.

Selecting a Future-Proof Platform

SANDS was already an early AI adopter, integrating its own OpenAI instance as early as June 2023 — even before migrating DMS platforms.

For the firm, any new document management system needed to meet three key criteria:

1. A clear, believable long-term strategy
2. Proven ability to execute on that roadmap
3. Heavy investment in AI and automation

Haukeland noted, “It was important that we could see ourselves using this solution in the future.”

NetDocuments stood out not simply as a DMS, but as a platform aligned with the direction in which the firm wanted to go.

Automation as a Strategic Lever

Automation is central to SANDS’ IT philosophy.

The firm is a heavy user of automation both inside and outside NetDocuments — not simply adopting standard workflows, but building its own processes tailored to firm needs.

“For us, it was important that we could create our own workflows within the DMS — not just adopt what everyone else is using,” said Haukeland.

Their automation efforts focus on two primary areas:

1. Compliance — Making the Tedious Possible

Certain compliance processes were historically inconsistent because they were time-consuming and manual.

For example:

• Tracking employee stock ownership for regulatory purposes
• Collecting and documenting compliance declarations

Through automation, SANDS gathers, tracks, and documents this information efficiently — ensuring regulatory compliance without adding burden.

He added, “Without automation, we wouldn’t do it. It just takes too much time.”

2. Operational Micro-Processes

The firm also uses automation to simplify smaller but high-impact internal processes, such as lawyer forecasting.

Instead of purchasing a separate tool, SANDS built a lightweight automation solution in two days.

Haukeland noted, “It gives us the ability to do things we otherwise wouldn’t do.”

Adoption: Surprisingly Smooth

DMS transformations in legal environments are rarely painless, but SANDS’ transition to NetDocuments was notably smooth.

The firm went live in just four days.

“I was expecting more noise, to be honest. After go-live, there was almost none,” said Haukeland.

User feedback has been positive, particularly around time savings in daily document work.

He added, “NetDocuments saves time in everyday work. That’s quite valuable.”

For a system as central as a DMS, the absence of disruption was itself a major success.

AI: From Early Adoption to Embedded Intelligence

SANDS had already experimented with AI layered over its previous DMS. However, bringing AI directly into the document environment presents new opportunities.

The firm sees enormous potential in:

• Automatically extracting knowledge from documents
• Surfacing best practices without manual curation
• Reducing reliance on large knowledge management teams

“We’re a small firm in a global context. We can’t have 10 knowledge management staff gathering best practices. We need a tool to do that for us,” noted Haukeland.

SANDS views NetDocuments AI roadmap — particularly around knowledge extraction and intelligent search — as a strategic multiplier.

Prioritising Partnership

Beyond technology, one of the most important differentiators for SANDS has been the relationship with NetDocuments.

With their previous vendor, there was distance. With NetDocuments, communication is direct, open, and collaborative.

SANDS values:

• Straightforward communication
• Access to product teams
• Visibility into roadmap developments
• The ability to provide meaningful input

“We find NetDocuments easy to get in contact with, and communication is very straightforward. That’s important to us,” said Haukeland.

The Result: A Platform Built for What’s Next

By selecting NetDocuments, SANDS has:

• Successfully transitioned from on-prem to cloud
• Maintained smooth user adoption
• Enabled extensive automation
• Embedded AI in a secure environment
• Positioned the firm for future knowledge intelligence

Most importantly, SANDS now has a foundation that supports its desire to harness its data — not just store it.

“NetDocuments enabled us to take the next step — using our data with AI and automation.”