Founded in 1990, The Johnson Partnership is one of the largest criminal law firms in the East Midlands. It operates from 11 offices across the region and employs more than 150 staff, specialising exclusively in criminal law, fraud and prison law. Office Manager Dawn Twigg joined the firm in 1993 and has seen its growth first-hand, along with a growing need for secure, modern and dependable IT systems.

The Johnson Partnership’s long-standing IT provider was acquired, and the firm transitioned to Thrive, a much larger managed service provider (MSP). The acquisition brought adjustments and unknowns for staff who had valued the familiarity and responsiveness of their previous arrangement. Trust in the new provider had to be established.

At the same time, the firm faced a hard compliance requirement. Cyber Essentials certification had become mandatory for solicitors renewing their firm’s contracts; without it, The Johnson Partnership would no longer be permitted to practise. Reaching certification is a substantial undertaking, involving server upgrades, hardware replacements, software compliance and a move towards a cloud-first environment, and it demands a significant investment of time and money.

With 11 offices and more than 150 staff, the firm also needed dependable day-to-day support. Office Manager Dawn Twigg had been acting as a go-between for staff and IT, a burden the firm wanted to reduce so that employees could raise issues directly and confidently.

Thrive assigned The Johnson Partnership a UK-based support team and an Advisory Service team. Thrive listened to feedback, adjusted its processes and restored the familiarity and responsiveness the firm’s staff valued, which turned an uncertain transition into a confident, long-term partnership. The firm subsequently renewed its contract with Thrive, driven largely by the Cyber Essentials requirement.

The Cyber Essentials programme covers server upgrades, hardware replacements, software compliance and a move towards a cloud-first environment. Thrive’s project team holds weekly meetings with the firm and provides hands-on support through each phase. Decommissioning physical servers and moving services fully to the cloud removes the need to maintain, support and replace expensive hardware, licensing and warranties, and the cloud migration is also intended to improve both security and efficiency.

Thrive’s services for the firm span advisory services, backup, cloud, end-user support, managed infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and security. The firm’s Account Manager, Project Manager, Client Success Manager and support POD work together on the account, so that Thrive operates as an extension of the firm’s own team.

• Cyber Essentials work nearing completion, with the firm on track to meet its compliance deadline and keep practising.
• Physical servers being decommissioned and services moved to the cloud, removing hardware, licensing and warranty upkeep costs.
• Staff now receive prompt, reliable support and can go directly to Thrive, easing the Office Manager’s go-between role.
• A UK-based support team and Advisory Service team turned a post-acquisition transition into a renewed, long-term contract.
• Weekly project meetings and hands-on support through each phase of the modernisation programme.