Being swamped with paperwork is nothing new for lawyers. Contracts, invoices, legal documents – the list is endless! Such an extensive list of documents may cause lack of organization and numerous problems. For this reason, more and more law firms are starting to operate without paper.
Switching to a digital filing system can help you and your company increase productivity, efficiency and streamline your organization. Becoming an e-lawyer can also help you attract environmentally conscious clients and triple your profits. While these benefits may seem intriguing and enticing, you may still wonder if it’s really worth replacing traditional practices in favor of a modern electronic system? It’s time to dig deeper into this topic.
Why it is worth joining law firms that have gone paperless today?
In fact, becoming a paperless law firm is not a quick change. However, the effort you need to put into this process will mean that you will soon receive a number of benefits resulting from this change. The transformation process may be difficult at first, but it will give you the opportunity to use an efficient archiving system in your company. This system will also have a positive impact on the environment.
If you’re still wondering whether it’s worth going paperless, be sure to take note of the benefits outlined below.
- Reducing the cost
Do you spend a large portion of your budget on office supplies? No matter how much stock you have, paper, pens and staplers always seem to disappear in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, office supplies are an expensive endeavor, and every piece of paper you use increases your expenses. The advantage of working with digital platforms is that you can significantly reduce costs. With a paperless system, these expenses will be significantly reduced.
- Data safety
Data compliance and security is a huge factor in the success of a law firm. Although paper has been an effective information medium for centuries, it is not the safest or most reliable form of data protection.
Going paperless and using digital platforms means your business data will be automatically encrypted and protected from hackers. Your customers will be able to rest assured that the well-being of their confidential information is your top priority.
- Ease of collaboration
Remote work may be with us for some time. Therefore, creating a good work environment from home is key to achieving e-lawyer status. Instead of running to the office to download the necessary file, you can instantly access the file in question through an online system built for your company and customers.
Additionally, multiple users can access documents at the same time, ensuring that teamwork in your company does not suffer whether you work from home or in the office.
How to become an e-lawyer
With all the changes facing traditional work environments today, digitizing your business operations is crucial if you want to succeed. Here are some steps you can take to keep your business growing.
- Build a map of actions for the future
Creating a road map for the future will help you determine which files should be transferred first. You will also see how to spread this whole process over time. Planning during the transition period will undoubtedly help reduce potential chaos.
- Choose software with an archiving system for your law firm
The platform you choose should meet all your business requirements and ultimately help you increase your productivity. If you are wondering what to focus on when choosing software for a law firm, read this post on our blog.
- Introduce your team to new realities
The involvement of your team is essential to make paper in your law firm a thing of the past. Provide training on the new software, give your employees the opportunity to express their opinions, and be lenient during the transition period.
- Create a paperless workflow
Having a new set of processes and systems will bring clarity to your digital office experience. If in doubt, your employees will be able to refer to the newly developed workflow.
- Back up your data regularly
Whenever you work with digital data, you must remember to back it up regularly. However, if you choose to work with cloud-based software, this process will be automatic .
Implementation of document management systems
Law firm management applications often offer many solutions in one place. Lawyers may include among the necessary functions: for a full archive with document files, PDF document editor such as SwifDoo PDF, CRMs with the ability to issue invoices for clients, as well as legal information systems.
OCR integration come to the rescue here and help convert scans, i.e. DWG to PDF, into a text form that is easy to view, e.g. by keywords.
Summary
Paperless office is the future. You just need to learn to live in the new, digital environment. Technology is for people, it is supposed to help them and make their lives easier. We can only gain by making it easier for us to work in a team, allowing us to work on the go, automating it, and ultimately saving time and money.
In the era of new technologies, more and more law firms decide to fully digitize resources and Legal-tech solutions, which accelerate the implementation of professional duties as much as possible.
Source: Swifdoo.com
