About Hill Dickinson
Established in 1810, Hill Dickinson is a UK Top 50 law firm dedicated to supporting clients throughout the entire lifecycle of their business, from start-up to multi-million-pound transactions. Acting as a trusted adviser to organisations and individuals across multiple sectors worldwide, the firm provides guidance on non-contentious advisory and transactional matters, as well as all forms of litigation and arbitration.
Overview
With more than 1,100 employees, including over 550 qualified lawyers, Hill Dickinson operates across seven UK offices and in mainland Europe and Asia. Recently, the firm identified opportunities to expand its international footprint and recognised the need to strengthen its network security and infrastructure. This strategic investment aimed to enhance resilience and agility, simplify complexities, and lay the foundations for future growth.
“As a growing UK and international law firm, we recognised that our current IT infrastructure required upgrading. We wanted a network that reduced complexity and could provide solid foundations for delivering on-premises and cloud services, now and in the future.”
Keith Feeny, Chief Technology Officer, Hill Dickinson
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As a dynamic and fast-moving firm, Hill Dickinson required an agile IT solution that could keep pace with evolving operational needs. Under a fully managed services model, the firm found itself constrained and less able to react quickly enough to critical changes such as opening or relocating sites or implementing network adjustments to support new client requirements. Greater flexibility was required if the firm was to continue to meet its growth targets.
To support this expansion, Hill Dickinson needed to improve mobility, resilience and connectivity. By streamlining and refining IT systems, complexities could be reduced to ease operational burdens and improve agility and reliability. With a large, globally distributed workforce, mobility within offices and across regions was a key priority. Staff frequently travel to remote and sometimes less digitally secure locations around the world, making seamless, secure and reliable connectivity essential. Hill Dickinson needed assurance that regardless of location, the firm’s endpoints were connecting safely and securely to the network without compromising performance or data integrity. Flexibility in the firm’s infrastructure was vital to support this highly mobile working model.
Resilience was another critical requirement, particularly during high-profile client events and conferences. These events can see up to 100 additional users on the network on top of regular staff, placing significant demand on infrastructure. Hill Dickinson needed rock-solid connectivity to ensure smooth operations and an exceptional experience for attendees. Any network disruption during these events could directly impact the firm’s reputation and client relationships, making network performance non-negotiable.
Beyond immediate operational needs, Hill Dickinson was focused on long-term growth and innovation. The firm sought a technology environment that would remove barriers rather than create them, allowing teams to scale and adapt rapidly. A flexible and secure network foundation was essential to support innovation, enabling the business to evolve without being held back by legacy infrastructure or restrictive systems.
As specialists in designing and implementing scalable, agile and future-proofed cloud-based networks for mid-large enterprises, Principle Networks was the perfect fit.
“From the moment we met with Principle Networks, we could tell they shared our vision and could support our long-term digital strategy. They understood our goals and more importantly, were fully aligned with our growth, agility and innovation objectives, which made them the ideal partner.”
Keith Feeny, Chief Technology Officer, Hill Dickinson
The
The partnership saw Principle Networks work closely with Hill Dickinson to undertake a digital transformation project that harnessed cloud technology, leveraging the internet for scalability and resilience.
A phased replacement and migration of the firm’s existing Wide Area Network (WAN) and security infrastructure was carried out, with legacy systems replaced by an internet-based Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) and Secure Service Edge (SSE) zero trust security framework.
This approach would remove legacy technology, delivering an efficient, cost-effective and scalable network capable of onboarding new acquisitions seamlessly. It would also improve service delivery, reduce downtime and optimise network performance for end users.
Crucially, Principle Networks also delivered a co-managed service, offering 24-hour support services across the new SD-WAN and SSE infrastructure and the firm’s Local Area Network (LAN) and Wi-Fi estate.
“Principle Networks’ co-managed support model with 24-hour support has brought real value to Hill Dickinson and a true partnership has been formed. The service desk team is proactive and a pleasure to deal with, and the firm’s consultative approach is helping us to make better decisions which are driving operational efficiencies and improving our security posture.”
Keith Feeny, Chief Technology Officer, Hill Dickinson
The
Hill Dickinson is now poised for growth through a simplified network and security infrastructure. Cyber security posture is improved through a unified and streamlined security architecture, minimising vulnerabilities and making it easier to monitor, detect and respond to threats across all business units, including new acquisitions.
Hill Dickinson had previously operated under a fully managed IT services model, which limited the firm’s ability to move quickly and adapt to change. As a dynamic and fast-growing organisation, this lack of agility became a barrier. Transitioning to a co-managed approach with Principle Networks offered the flexibility and responsiveness required to support rapid growth and continuous evolution. With this model, Hill Dickinson's internal IT team retains control where needed, while leveraging external expertise to scale efficiently and securely.
Designed with growth in mind, Principle Networks’ solution supports Hill Dickinson’s strategic goals, enabling secure adoption of emerging technologies such as generative AI to fuel further growth and innovation.
Another key advantage of the new setup was a unified, simplified security architecture with fewer moving parts. By consolidating systems and adopting consistent frameworks, the IT team could focus on innovation and business enablement rather than managing fragmented infrastructure. This modern approach laid the groundwork for scalability, allowing operations to expand without introducing unnecessary complexity.
Performance improvements were immediately noticeable. One of the standout changes has been the seamless user experience.. The feedback was clear: “It just works.” Whether in the office or working remotely, users now enjoy reliable, secure access with minimal friction.
The relationship with Principle Networks has been a key factor in Hill Dickinson’s success with Keith Feeny, Chief Technology Officer for Hill Dickinson, commenting that; “The Principle Networks team is not just a service provider. They’re a true partner that understands our business. They're readily available, easy to reach and provide support that feels personal and informed. Whenever a requirement arises, the team is just a phone call away, ready to act with full awareness of the business context.”
With a streamlined infrastructure, Hill Dickinson has also seen improvements in meeting regulatory and compliance requirements, particularly important when opening new sites and during acquisitions. The ability to scale infrastructure quickly and consistently across entities means the firm can identify, negotiate and open new sites or integrate acquisitions faster, without being slowed down by internal technical limitations.
"Our partnership with Principle Networks has turned IT into a real enabler of innovation. They have helped us remove friction and build resilience into every layer of our infrastructure. We now have a solid foundation that allows us to grow, innovate and stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive legal market."
Keith Feeny, Chief Technology Officer, Hill Dickinson