Every law firm can benefit from going paperless through legal document management software. You don’t necessarily eliminate all the paper in the office, but you only print off paper as needed. Considering how the average law firm prints off between 20,000 and 100,000 sheets of paper each year, you want to take active measures to lower the demand. We’ll show you how a legal document management system can benefit you.
#1: Better Security
You can break into most filing cabinets with a slight amount of pressure. Some people have done it with a simple nail clipper. Using document management software in the law office will lower the risk of someone breaking into your filing cabinets.
You won’t cut out the need for them completely, but you will lower your dependence. Instead, the software organizes the documents via a software platform. You use a password and can even add multiple layers of authentication for extra security.
Data breaches at your law firm could destroy your business and reputation in minutes. Therefore, you must take every action to preserve your law firm and its integrity.
#2: Better Organization
Have you ever had trouble looking for a document you misplaced in a filing cabinet? Unfortunately, this was common back when everyone depended on filing cabinets.
With document management software, you use keywords to identify your documents. The software works a lot like Google. As long as you use the correct keywords, you won’t struggle to find the right document quickly and print it off.
That matters when you have an eager client who wants a specific document. You can pull it up, run a copy and hand it over without spending time looking for it in the filing cabinets.
#3: Declutter the Office
You only print off the documents as you need them with legal document management software. A law firm management application eliminates the need to keep piles of paper around the office. As a result, your office will look cleaner, and if you accept clients into the office for consultations, you will present a better business image.
You will have extra space in the office because you have eliminated much of the clutter.
#4: Better Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory compliance is big because the software will keep you in compliance with the laws. You don’t have to worry about falling behind because the software will manage this for you.
The legal industry has many compliance standards they must keep up with, which often change depending on your field of law. However, the software will do the bulk of this heavy lifting. In addition, HIPAA mandates strict security and privacy guidelines that you must follow or face hefty fines.
You can automate some of the other things, like record retention schedules. In addition, the software lets you classify and store documents much easier.
#5: Backup and Disaster Recovery
One other issue with keeping everything in filing cabinets comes from how you can lose everything from a natural disaster. For example, you may have a fire in your building that destroys much of your records or a flood that causes severe damage to your documents.
Keeping everything on a document management system will make it readily available so you can print it off at home. In addition, with document tracing abilities, you reduce the risk that you would misfile a necessary file.
Most law firms can’t survive if all their documents get lost to a fire, tornado, or flood.
Conclusion
In business, we should always look for new ways to raise the standards of our services. Legal document management software makes sense for every law firm. Most law practices have adopted this technology because it makes things easier. If you want to compete, you will want to buy software that gives you an advantage or levels the playing field.
Legal document management software is a great way for lawyers to maintain client files and collaborate on cases. With such solutions, attorneys can access client documents from anywhere. They can edit documents, send and receive emails, and synchronize data in real time. In addition, these solutions offer many benefits, including unlimited storage, automatic backups, data protection, and flexibility. Moreover, they are more affordable than other law firms’ management solutions.
