How a 400-person commercial firm chose NetDocuments to modernise its technology stack, enable firm-wide AI adoption, and free IT to focus on strategy.

About McInnes Wilson Lawyers 

McInnes Wilson Lawyers is a growing full-service commercial law firm with approximately 400 staff. Robyna May joined the firm as Chief Information Officer in October 2024, bringing a cloud-first mindset to a firm that had historically relied on an on-premise technology stack.

With the firm on a strong growth trajectory, the mandate was clear: modernise the technology foundation to support scale, improve lawyer experience, and elevate IT from an operational function to a strategic one. 

The Challenge: Leaving On-Premise Behind 

When Robyna May arrived, McInnes Wilson’s technology environment presented several compounding challenges: 

• An on-premise tech stack that was poorly integrated, creating friction for lawyers in day-to-day work. 

• System lag and performance issues common to ageing on-premise infrastructure. 

• An IT department consumed by keeping systems operational, with little capacity for strategic initiatives. 

• A growing firm that needed technology to scale with it, not constrain it. 

The solution was clear in direction: move to cloud-first products that would free IT to focus on what matters, rather than maintaining legacy systems. 

Why NetDocuments: Beyond the Table Stakes 

McInnes Wilson evaluated both leading cloud document management systems thoroughly. May’s assessment was candid: at the core DMS level, both products perform well – these are “table stakes.” The real differentiators emerged when looking beyond the basics. 

“Both of those systems do it really, really well. So in that regard, you have confidence that it doesn’t matter whether you choose NetDocuments or the competitor – you know you’ve got a solid DMS. Then you have to expand your search outside of that: what does this give me beyond what the DMS offers in and of itself?” 

– Robyna May, CIO, McInnes Wilson Lawyers 

The factors that tilted the decision toward NetDocuments: 

• Bundled feature set out of the box – including email attachment handling and other capabilities that required additional modules or cost with the competing product. 

• Storage allocation per user that matched the firm’s profile and requirements. 

• A holistic licensing model that included AI tools within the core fee, avoiding the need to limit rollout to a small pilot group. 

• An AI strategy and roadmap that closely aligned with McInnes Wilson’s own direction. 

AI for Everyone: A Firmwide Opportunity 

A key attraction of NetDocuments’ licensing model was the ability to deploy AI tools across the entire firm from day one, rather than restricting access to a small subset of users to manage cost. 

“I think particularly Ask AI – that’s fairly accessible. I don’t think you need to run a pilot group for that to be immediately useful to your lawyers. Having a product that allowed us to extend that out to the entirety of the firm pretty much immediately was really attractive.”

– Robyna May, CIO, McInnes Wilson Lawyers 

Beyond productivity, May is particularly excited about AI’s potential to transform compliance processes. NetDocuments’ ability to identify personally identifiable information (PII), dynamically classify documents as confidential, and integrate with data retention policies represents a step-change for the firm – automating processes that were previously impractical to manage at scale. 

Looking Ahead: IT as a Strategic Function 

The move to NetDocuments represents more than a technology upgrade – it is a foundational shift in how McInnes Wilson’s IT function operates. By removing the burden of maintaining on-premise infrastructure, May and her team are positioned to focus on delivering strategic value to the firm. 

Key outcomes the firm is working toward: 

• A fully cloud-integrated technology stack that reduces operational burden on IT. 

• Firmwide access to AI tools, starting with Ask AI, immediately accessible to all lawyers. 

• Automated compliance workflows including PII detection, document classification, and data retention – processes previously too complex to manage on a large dataset. 

• Greater flexibility in how AI pilots and rollouts are structured across practice groups. 

“I’m quite excited about not just the AI capabilities, but how they’re going to integrate with our other workflows.” 

– Robyna May, CIO, McInnes Wilson Lawyers