Share: How CMS delivers legal expertise working at the speed of thought

The all-too-familiar hum of fans. The heat emanating from a device hard at work. For years, that was the norm for the team at CMS. Their devices were powerful, but for a global law firm where work happens anywhere, they saw room for improvement, especially in efficiency and mobility.

As collaboration moved between office and home, small factors like fan noise and battery life became ever harder to ignore. The team wanted devices that could deliver the same performance they relied on, but with less heating and enough power to get through a hybrid workday.

For a firm that lives and breathes digital work, an upgrade was the next natural step. CIO Razvan Cretu began exploring available options, and immediately got curious about Snapdragon X Series. Before enterprise models were even on the table, he picked up a device powered by Snapdragon and put it to the test at CMS.

At CMS, early adoption isn’t simply a slogan. It’s how the firm works. A volunteer group of more than 25 nontechnical staff regularly pilots new tools and gives feedback that shapes broader rollouts. They do it because they’re curious—and because the firm makes space for that curiosity.

That culture starts at the top. “I’m a geek at heart,” said CIO Razvan Cretu. “But more importantly—we’re allowed to be geeks. We’re encouraged.” That openness creates room to test ideas early, see what holds up in practice, and make smarter decisions about what to move forward with.

It’s a mindset that runs deep. No matter what they’re evaluating, CMS takes the same approach: Move early, listen carefully, and scale what works.

When it came to testing PCs powered by Snapdragon, Razvan didn’t just test the new devices himself. He built a pilot program—small, cross-functional, and deliberately honest. A group of lawyers and business support staff tried Microsoft Surface devices powered by Snapdragon in real CMS workflows.

They noticed two things right away: speed and battery life. “It’s like the machine moves at the speed of thought,” Razvan said.

When the IT team requested one device for a routine check, the lawyer pushed back, unwilling to part with it—even temporarily. She agreed only after being promised the exact same model would be returned to her.

The pilot ended with a clear takeaway: the devices powered by Snapdragon delivered the performance, battery life, and reliability CMS needed, setting the stage for full deployment across the firm.

The rollout didn’t happen all at once—but it did happen fast. Today, CMS has nearly 500 AI PCs powered by Snapdragon in use across the firm, with more joining the fleet every month. These devices form a key part of a broader, mixed-device environment that enables CMS to meet the diverse needs of its end users.

With Microsoft’s modern deployment tools already in place, getting the new platform up and running took just a week. A few common driver issues came up, but they were quickly resolved with Microsoft’s help. “They were a great partner,” Razvan said. “Always ready to support us.”

Like any shift to a new platform, adopting Windows on Snapdragon came with a few new processes to learn. But for Razvan and his team, that’s just part of how modern IT moves. “We’re supporting six to seven generations of hardware at any given time,” he said. “This was just one more.” A few early app compatibility quirks came up, but the team worked through them with standard testing and support.

At CMS, better tech isn’t just about better specs. It’s about better client service. Lawyers reported faster response times, less lag, and more freedom to work from anywhere. On a long-haul flight from Hong Kong to London, one partner was able to work the entire way—no charger needed.

That kind of performance turns into better responsiveness. “If you don’t have to wait for your apps to load,” said Bram, “you can respond to your clients faster. That’s the impact.”

CMS isn’t chasing every new AI tool. They’re exploring, testing, and integrating with purpose. As one of the first global companies in the Microsoft Enterprise Copilot program, the firm has been hands-on since 2023.

Devices powered by Snapdragon help them go even further. In the future, as more apps take advantage of the dedicated NPU to run AI tasks locally, the firm expects to reduce cloud dependency and improve both speed and efficiency across workloads.

Razvan has already noticed the difference. “I’m finally seeing the NPU kick in,” he said. “It’s helping spread the load—and opens up where we go next.”

For CMS, staying competitive in a changing industry means staying ready. Ready to try new tools. Ready to embrace better performance. Ready to support client needs from anywhere, without friction. Razvan put it simply: “We’re not here to make noise. We’re here to raise the bar.”