Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
  • Home
  • Hot Topics
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Big Law
  • Small Law
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
No Result
View All Result
Home Legal Tech

Ukraine-Based AXDRAFT’s Resilience In The Midst Of War

Daily Legal Briefing by Daily Legal Briefing
August 18, 2022
in Legal Tech
0
An Immigration Blueprint For Businesses To Hire Skilled Professional Ukrainian Refugees
4
SHARES
32
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


ukraine-g6db170881_1920Back in March, we talked about how the invasion looms over the legal tech industry because of the strong IT presence in Ukraine. One of the companies we talked about was AXDRAFT, a document automation company that had joined the Onit family. Onit CEO Eric Elfman told me then that all of the over 60 team members in Kyiv were accounted for and safe.

I recently got a chance to chat with Yuri Zaremba, co-founder and managing director of AXDRAFT, to discuss the details of the company’s path from an intricate evacuation effort to its best quarter ever while facing invasion.

“When 2022 hit us we were ready for it,” Zaremba explained. “Unlike many people in Ukraine, we were getting ready for it, and I took the warnings and cautions seriously.” During the Russian buildup, while many assumed Putin was just posturing, AXDRAFT put together an elaborate evacuation plan for Kyiv. Many client-facing customer resources were prepositioned to Frankfurt, Germany.

“When everything started, we had already purchased satellite phones and satellite internet and we had pre-booked hotel and office space in Lviv,” the westernmost major Ukrainian city. While Lviv has suffered rocket attacks — including one that struck about a mile from Zaremba — it has remained free of Russian troops.

Zaremba returned to the country from Houston a week before the invasion. “I just knew that coordinating from the US would fail, so I came back from Houston to Lviv. When the first rockets started, I called in our head of customer implementation and said ‘it’s go time’ and the plan that we’d put together was put in action. The busses arrived, we moved everything to satellite communication, and began the move to Lviv.”

Evacuating AXDRAFT to Lviv took roughly 24 hours with mass congestion slowing the normally six-hour trip. When everyone resettled in the new location, Zaremba called the team together to tell them it was time to get back to business. “First of all because we can.” AXDRAFT sells internationally and didn’t want to let down its customers. “Second, because the survival of Ukraine depends on each of us contributing where we can by generating revenue and paying taxes,” Zaremba said.

Still, even though AXDRAFT was ready and client support was never interrupted, it did have to “build up our sales pipeline — this is where the Onit family was instrumental. We were able to leverage synergy with Onit.” The result was — after a first quarter that understandably suffered from the invasion — the best quarter in AXDRAFT history. “Double what it should have been,” Zaremba noted. The third quarter is also on track.

When Russian troops finally left the Kyiv area, Zaremba “had to almost forcefully hold them back. They wanted to go home of course but I told them please don’t go back right now… delay that for a month.” He was right to be cautious: “You weren’t allowed to go into parks because there could be landmines in the park — their everyday routines had, overnight, become dangerous and they didn’t stop being dangerous right away.” But now Kyiv is returning to normal. “It’s lively. Not as lively as it used to be, maybe 75 percent of stores and restaurants are open. People are trying to get back to living their ordinary lives.” While AXDRAFT now has a permanent location in Lviv, many employees have now been able to get back to Kyiv.

“Six months in, we are now stronger than ever. More resilient than ever. Business was never interrupted. And we’ve diversified as a business — we have a stronger product and engineering team outside of Ukraine now and a permanent team in Germany.”

AXDRAFT has another emergency plan in case of escalation, though Zaremba is much more confident now that they won’t need to call upon it. But that confidence can’t breed complacency for the rest of the world. “It’s super important to not get into a mental trap that ‘oh, they’re all right’ and forget about it. There are ongoing humanitarian and military initiatives. Many members of Onit team are donating to humanitarian causes. We fundraise for them, pick up in Frankfurt, and bring back to here. Important that these efforts continue because it’s an ongoing crisis here. We need international support to continue winning.”

Earlier: Ukraine Looms Over Legal Tech Industry


HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.







Click to Read Original Article

Previous Post

Florida Man’s Finesse Foiled By Find My App After Apple’s Finding Function Functions Phenomenally

Next Post

Love Working In Biglaw? It May Be Surprising, But You’re Not The Only One

Daily Legal Briefing

Daily Legal Briefing

The latest breaking legal news from across World all in one place.

Related Posts

Why The Legal Work Experience Is Broken And How You Can Do Better
Legal Tech

Why The Legal Work Experience Is Broken And How You Can Do Better

by Daily Legal Briefing
February 6, 2023
Startup Alley Voting Ends Friday; Here Are The Current Standings
Legal Tech

Startup Alley Voting Ends Friday; Here Are The Current Standings

by Daily Legal Briefing
February 4, 2023
OpenAI Wants To Help You Figure Out If Text Was Written By OpenAI; But What Happens When It’s Wrong?
Legal Tech

OpenAI Wants To Help You Figure Out If Text Was Written By OpenAI; But What Happens When It’s Wrong?

by Daily Legal Briefing
February 4, 2023
Now At The Non-Event: Check Out Our New ATL Swag! 
Legal Tech

How To Turn Your Firm’s Clients Into Raving Fans

by Daily Legal Briefing
February 4, 2023
What Do Millennials Think Of Law Firm Life?
Legal Tech

What Do Millennials Think Of Law Firm Life?

by Daily Legal Briefing
February 2, 2023
Next Post
Love Working In Biglaw? It May Be Surprising, But You’re Not The Only One

Love Working In Biglaw? It May Be Surprising, But You're Not The Only One

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Premium Content

How You Can Build Workflows That Work For Your Practice

How You Can Build Workflows That Work For Your Practice

April 28, 2022
Biglaw Associate Retreat Marred By ‘Nazism’ And ‘White Pride’ References

Biglaw Associate Retreat Marred By ‘Nazism’ And ‘White Pride’ References

December 19, 2022
How to Select the Right Insolvency Practitioner for Your Company

14 Tips for Creating Engaging Webinars That People Actually Want to Watch

June 20, 2022

Browse by Category

  • Big Law
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Hot Topics
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
  • Small Law

About US

Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing.
Online coverage of breaking legal news and current law headlines from around the US. Top stories, videos, insight, and in-depth analysis.

Categories

  • Big Law
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Hot Topics
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
  • Small Law

Recent Updates

  • Baker McKenzie Investigating Racism Claims; Partner Steps Away From Leadership Role
  • This Biglaw Firm Has The Urge To Merge, But Can’t Find A Willing Partner
  • Why The Legal Work Experience Is Broken And How You Can Do Better

© 2021 Daily Legal Briefing | Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines

No Result
View All Result
  • Contact Us
  • Home

© 2021 Daily Legal Briefing | Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?