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See how elia's policies and ease of use work together for professional services teams.
How ROBIC Made Desk Booking Work Across a 230-Person Law Firm
ROBIC moved to unassigned seating and needed booking that could handle both open workstations and restricted spaces for legal work. They deployed elia in 2023 across both offices.
At a glance
2
offices
144
bookable desks
Configurable
access policies
LOCATION
Montreal & Quebec City, QC, Canada
INDUSTRY
Legal Services
SIZE
230 employees
company overview
ROBIC is a Montreal-based intellectual property law firm founded in 1892. With offices in Montreal and Quebec City, the firm has over 230 professionals and support staff specializing in intellectual property and business law.
PRODUCTS USED
ROBIC moved to unassigned seating when staff returned to the office after the pandemic. The firm already had a collaborative culture and shared desks fit how they worked.
The challenge was finding a booking tool that could handle both the open floor and the restricted spaces. Certain workspaces at ROBIC need to stay reserved for specific lawyers, teams, or client meetings. Whatever tool they chose had to manage that too.
The challenge
ROBIC needed desk booking across 2 offices that would work for 230 people, and that could be configured for spaces requiring restricted access. For a law firm, that second requirement is as important as the first:
- set up booking across 2 offices with immediate adoption
- configure restricted spaces for specific teams and individuals
- keep privacy settings adjustable as the firm's needs shift
How elia Helped
ROBIC chose elia for 2 reasons: the interface was easy to use, and the policy settings gave administrators control over who could access which spaces.
Privacy controls for legal work
THE ISSUE
Legal work requires more access control than a typical office. Some spaces need to be reserved for specific lawyers, restricted from general booking, or adjusted as caseloads change.
ELIA'S SOLUTION
Through elia's policy settings, ROBIC's administrators can allocate specific desks or rooms to particular teams or individuals. A lawyer who needs a private space can have one reserved for them. A client meeting room can be restricted from general booking. The settings are adjustable as the firm's needs shift.
An interface people used
THE ISSUE
With 230 people across 2 offices, adoption had to happen on its own. A tool that required training or hand-holding wouldn't work at that scale.
ELIA'S SOLUTION
Staff adopted elia right away. The platform was easy to navigate, and usage rates went up across both offices immediately after launch.
"Our team members love the elia platform and adopted it immediately upon launch! The platform is very well thought out; all functionalities are easy to use, without the need for training. Certain functionalities have also helped increase office attendance and in-person interactions. I, therefore, highly recommend elia to any business!"
The results
- staff adopted elia immediately after launch across both offices
- increased office attendance and more in-person interactions
- privacy requirements met through configurable space policies
- administrators can update access settings without outside help
Why it matters
Law firms have more complex access requirements than most offices. A lawyer's private workspace, a client meeting room, a confidential files area: these spaces need to be bookable but also controllable. Most booking tools handle the open floor well. ROBIC needed a platform that handled both, with settings flexible enough to adjust as the firm's needs changed.
