Beveridge & Diamond picks Elite cloud finance platform

Beveridge & Diamond has selected Elite's cloud financial operations platform, adding a national environmental law firm to Elite's customer base.

The firm plans to use the system for billing and broader financial management as it moves those functions into a software-as-a-service environment. It wanted a platform that would simplify financial work while leaving room for AI-led tools and changing business needs.

Beveridge & Diamond has more than 170 lawyers across seven offices in the United States. It focuses on environmental compliance, permitting, litigation, enforcement defence and project development for clients in regulated industries.

The selection also points to a broader shift in the legal sector as firms move core business systems to cloud platforms. Elite has active cloud migrations underway with four firms in the Am Law 10, which ranks the largest US law firms by revenue.

For Beveridge & Diamond, the move is tied to several operational goals: reducing complexity in financial processes, lowering overhead linked to older infrastructure and software upgrades, and improving security and resilience.

Cloud-based finance systems have become a bigger issue for law firms seeking to modernise back-office functions without disrupting fee earners and client work. Billing, collections and financial reporting are central to that effort because they affect both cash flow and client service.

Specialist firms have often moved more cautiously than some larger corporate practices when replacing long-standing internal systems. Concerns about data security, business continuity and migration costs have slowed decisions, even as software suppliers argue that cloud systems can reduce maintenance burdens and make updates easier to manage.

Elite, which sells financial management and business operations software to law firms, has argued that firms want more integrated systems rather than separate tools for finance and operations. Its pitch centres on bringing workflows and data together into a single environment.

Mark Dorman, Chief Executive Officer of Elite, cast the agreement as part of a longer-term operational shift in the sector.

"The most successful firms aren't standing still. They're making deliberate investments in the operational foundations that will support their business for years to come," Dorman said.

 "We look forward to working with Beveridge & Diamond as they continue to evolve their financial operations and position the firm for long-term success," he added.

At Beveridge & Diamond, the finance team said the decision was driven by a need to support growth while simplifying the systems behind the firm's operations.

"As our firm continues to grow and evolve, we wanted a platform that would simplify financial operations while providing the flexibility to support future innovation," said Courtney Ricketts, Chief Financial Officer of B&D.

"Moving to the cloud with an AI financial operations platform gives us a more modern and scalable foundation that aligns with our current needs and long-term strategic priorities," Ricketts added.

The selection highlights how software spending in the legal market is increasingly tied to finance functions, not just document management or practice support. Vendors are targeting law firms with systems that promise tighter control over billing, reporting and operational planning, areas that have come under greater scrutiny as firms manage costs and client demands.

Beveridge & Diamond was founded in 1974 and describes itself as focused on environmental, natural resources, chemical, product-regulatory, and health-and-safety law and litigation. Its work includes advising companies on investigations, insurance coverage and enforcement defence, as well as compliance and permitting matters.

The move will consolidate the firm's financial operations on a single cloud platform, replacing older approaches that often require more manual administration and periodic infrastructure upgrades.