THE CHALLENGE
Duane Morris LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in over 24 offices around the world. Based out of Philadelphia, PA, Duane Morris has centralized most of its business operations – including their facility and construction functions. The company’s success has meant continued expansion. Ferd Boisvert, Facilities and Construction Manager for Duane Morris LLP outlined several challenges that the law firm faces as they approach the design for each of their offices.
Duane Morris contacted Lencore to provide a solution that could meet these challenges and deliver privacy, a consistent experience and centralized controls while helping to manage construction costs. Since the company’s first goal was to maintain confidentiality and speech privacy, they opted to test privacy levels by mocking up several competing sound masking systems as well as alternatives such as acoustical wall panels on one floor of a new build out.
THE SOLUTION
According to Duane Morris, the findings clearly pointed to sound masking as providing the best solution for speech privacy. In addition, the masking delivered a uniform, “comfortable” environment and occupant experience. “We needed a solution that was not distracting and we found Lencore’s sound to be superior. Although most of the attorney’s don’t even know it is there, the system provided the comfort we were looking for,” stated Boisvert.
As Duane Morris LLP developed new specifications for their construction standards to better manage cost and attorney/client experience, they realized the uniformity and consistent quality of the Lencore Systems. To better manage the control of all Duane Morris facilities, they installed i.Net System which allowed centralized control of all locations through a password protected user interface.
THE OUTCOME
With the incorporation of Lencore Sound Masking, Duane Morris achieved “confidence in confidentiality” in the legal environment. “The performance of the Lencore products exceeded our expectations” stated Boisvert. The solution provided a superior client experience while allowing the attorneys to better focus on their function by ensuring privacy, confidentiality and comfort for partners, staff and clients.
