HSF Kramer redefines ESG reporting with HERO

Tilt Legal partnered with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer as its dedicated technology and development partner to design and deliver HERO, a secure web-based platform that simplifies and accelerates ESG reporting across multiple regulatory frameworks, including AASB S2, ESRS and related international standards.

The challenge

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer identified increasing demand from major corporate clients for structured, defensible ESG reporting. Existing spreadsheet-based collaboration was no longer sustainable or scalable. It limited visibility across reporting obligations, created version control risks, and did not provide a high-quality client experience.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer required a digital solution that could:

• Embed complex ESG legal and regulatory frameworks into a structured system
• Maintain intricate relationships between reporting obligations and supporting data
• Enable lawyers to easily update and maintain evolving regulatory content
• Provide clients with a clear, intuitive way to track obligations and completion progress
• Meet enterprise-grade security expectations of ASX 100 organisations

Our role

Tilt Legal acted as the end-to-end development partner, working in close collaboration with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s digital change team and advisory practice group. We established clear lines of communication across legal, technology, design and IT stakeholders, maintaining weekly alignment while enabling agile, delivery-focused collaboration.

Our core contribution was translating complex legal reasoning and multi-jurisdictional regulatory frameworks into a structured, scalable data model. Our combined expertise in law and technology enabled us to design an architecture that:

• Accurately reflects the structure of frameworks such as AASB S2 and ESRS
• Allows lawyers to maintain and evolve content as regulations change
• Preserves legal nuance while presenting information in a highly usable format
• Supports scalable onboarding of multiple enterprise clients

The solution

Within three months, Tilt Legal delivered a functional MVP demonstrating a modern, web-based alternative to spreadsheet collaboration. The first paying client was onboarded within six months. Within 12 months clients were actively using HERO.

HERO is now used by major ASX 100 organisations.

The platform was designed with a strong emphasis on user experience:

• Familiar, intuitive interface aligned to legal workflows
• Fast, responsive performance across desktop, tablet and mobile devices
• Clear tracking of reporting obligations and completion status
• Seamless onboarding that enables lawyers and clients to make meaningful progress immediately

Client feedback has consistently highlighted HERO as one of the easiest legal technology products they have used, with one of the smoothest onboarding experiences experienced to date.

Security and governance

HERO has been developed in alignment with ISO 27001 standards and incorporates best-practice security by design. The platform architecture reflects the expectations of large enterprise clients, ensuring confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive reporting data.

Impact

The success of HERO has:

• Elevated Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s profile with major corporate clients
• Deepened existing client relationships through technology-enabled advisory services
• Demonstrated a scalable, product-based legal service delivery model
• Generated significant interest in expanding the platform into adjacent areas such as employment relations reporting and cyber and data reporting obligations

https://www.hsfkramer.com/marketplace/hero-by-hsfkramer

Our capability

While HERO is tailored to ESG reporting, the project demonstrates Tilt Legal’s core capability: taking complex legislation, regulatory frameworks and legal reasoning, and embedding them into secure, intuitive digital products that enhance legal service delivery.

We are not simply developers. We are a collaborative partner who understands both the structure of the law and the realities of legal practice. We work hand-in-hand with legal teams to:

• Design robust data models grounded in legal logic
• Deliver enterprise-grade, secure web applications
• Prioritise user experience across devices
• Support ongoing iteration, feature development and client onboarding

Tilt Legal continues to maintain and evolve HERO in close partnership with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, ensuring it remains current, secure and responsive to client needs.

HERO stands as a clear example of how innovative collaboration between lawyers and technologists can redefine how legal services are delivered.