Document Management: A Life Preserver for Legal Professionals
According to a survey by Xerox, 40% of all business processes are still document driven, especially in the legal world where legal professionals are drowning in documents streaming in from multiple sources.
How your firm manages these documents from the moment they enter into your document processes can greatly affect your legal team’s productivity, not to mention your operating budget.
The decisions you make about how you manage your documents all play a part in helping your firm be more productive, secure sensitive client information, and reduce administrative costs traditionally associated with documents.
For many, document management sounds like a complicated process. In reality, document management can even be as simple as the copying, printing, and filing away of documents that you are already doing every day. The basic things you physically and electronically do with documents to complete your daily work.
In a true digital document workflow, documents are manipulated in an electronic sense from end-to-end. This includes document routing, storing, sharing and printing. In some solutions, mobile print and cloud access are incorporated to ease the sharing of documents with others, especially during the discovery process.
It is true that the hardware and software tools exist to create a truly paper-free office. Tools like workflows, document management, email, online storage, the ability to read and share documents on multiple devices (tablet, phone, laptop), etc. However, people still like paper.
Start With What You Have
One of the easiest ways to implement a digital workflow is to start using the advanced features of the office equipment you may already have right in your office. By leveraging in-house technology, an option that is quite attractive to smaller firms operating on limited budgets, legal teams can dramatically reduce document review litigation expenses.
Printers and multifunction printers (MFPs) with Xerox® ConnectKey® Technology enable you to scan directly into a breadth of cloud-based services including Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive and Office 365, while ConnectKey Apps open up a wide range of advanced document processing features such as auto redaction, translation services, and more.
Seek Counsel From a Trusted Technology Parter
While a great portion of document management is scanning, digitization can quickly get complex, especially when you start trying to connect systems that may already exist in your firm. That’s why most firms need guidance from a trusted technology partner, with specific expertise in both the hardware and software side of managing documents.
An initial print assessment can show you exactly what you are producing and reveal valuable insights into how you can organize digital and hard copy processes so that information flows smoothly, predictably, and efficiently across your legal teams.
By implementing an end-to-end MPS solution that includes print, document workflow, cloud technology, security and mobile, you can be assured that confidential case information stays secure and your teams stay on top of their caseloads.
Migrating from a paper to digital document processes has the power to transform the way your firm operates. Contact us today for an assessment of your legal office.
