What should law firms know about document management?
There's a clear reason why law firms should be investing heavily in cutting document management platforms specifically designed for the legal profession. Simply put, the right solution here can easily save time and money, providing a solid return on investment and simultaneously improving workflows for an entire practice.
While many firms have already invested in this kind of software, it's important for decision-makers to occasionally evaluate how effective those platforms have been and if there are any areas with room for improvement, according to CIO Review. For instance, if it takes a relatively long time to scan a document into a system, or that software doesn't always seem to hold up – over the course of a busy day, week or month, for instance – it might be time for an upgrade.
Other things to consider
Certainly the ability to store documents digitally makes them easier to access, but when firms are continually growing, it's important to think about the scalability of that document management platform, the report said. Certainly, firms will have to make space for physical documents even as they expand their digital capabilities, but if older platforms designed for smaller firms' needs can't keep up, that's a potentially massive hurdle that could have otherwise been easily avoided.
Equipment to invest in
Along similar lines, when law firms are scaling up, they need to make sure they have the right equipment on hand to do so as well, according to expert Amanda Reaume, writing for Forbes. For instance, more economical scanners might have been appropriate for smaller practices, but as firms grow so does the need to scan documents as quickly as possible and make them digitally searchable automatically. That kind of difference can help staffers save potentially hundreds of man-hours over the course of a year.
Of course, not all solutions are going to make sense for every law firm. As such, decision-makers have to work diligently to make sure they're evaluating all of their options to right-size the equipment and software platforms they will use for bulk document scanning and storage on an ongoing basis, for potentially years to come.
