It was interesting that we agreed on 90 percent of the general procedures, but we disagreed on some of the nuts and bolts. He has used paperless workflow for a long time. I was assigned to speak with Illinois lawyer Bryan Sims at ABA TECHSHOW 2015 on the topic “Beyond the Scanner - Paperless Workflows That Work.” (Some of you met Bryan Sims when he was a guest speaker at our 2014 OBA Solo & Small Firm Conference.) He contributed significant parts of his own office procedures manual for our TECHSHOW materials. This month we are going to go more in depth about the procedures associated with implementing (or improving) your digital workflow. Last month I communicated to you that “Practice Management Shootout at the OK Bar” materials were available for OBA members to download at MyOKBar. Practice management software allows a lawyer to quickly open a client file on the computer when a client calls without having to track down the physical paper file folder. Not only can you find all of your notes on a particular client file quickly without having to flip through pages of paper in a bradded traditional lawyer’s file, but also others who are assisting you (or perhaps stepping in for you in the event of an emergency) can also quickly review those notes. In the event of a fire or flood, items contained only on paper may be lost withĢ) Digital workflows allow you to operate much more quickly and effectively. Those law firms that continue to exclusively rely on paper files will find their backup may not include a number of items such as attorney file notes, hand-delivered documents or correspondence from opposing counsel. Here are the two primary reasons:ġ) Law firm backup procedures should protect the firm’s information and allow it to reconstitute its operations in the event of a digital or physical disaster. Lawyers need to incorporate digital workflows for several reasons. Law firms need to convert to paperless office processes and digital file management. It is destined to fail because they are going paperless for the wrong reasons, with the wrong equipment, without proper planning, without feedback, without buy-in from the other lawyers and staff who will be affected by the changes, without budgeting for new equipment and training, and without any professional assistance. Thus begins the perfect storm of a paperless law firm makeover absolutely destined to fail. Tell the mail room people to start scanning all the mail instead of delivering it to everyone.” So, let’s send out a memo! Effective Monday, we’re going paperless. “What a great idea! We’ve already got those big, expensive printer-scanner-document senders in the hallways on every floor. We can free up all that space in the file room and quit paying so much for outside file storage.”
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