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The Art of Document Management: Strategies for Modern Law Firms
Every legal procedural TV show has a scene where lawyers stay up all night, searching for hours in the archives for the one detail that will win them the case. It looks cool on TV, especially when the montage only takes about 20 seconds. It shows their hard work and dedication and how they’re not like other lawyers.
In real life? It’s not quite as cool. Honestly, it’s also kind of preventable.
Not always, of course. You may truly need to go through old case law in dusty books to find the one make-or-break argument for your client’s matter.
But also… what if you could just control+F the whole thing and save yourself all that time?
Legal shows are great and all if you’re looking for drama. But if you want to lower stress levels at your law firm, digital document management is one of the best ways to increase efficiency and get rid of all that unnecessary time spent searching for random documents.
5 strategies for effective document management
To a certain extent, individual habits and workflows are always going to impact your document system as a whole (especially if one person loves to save documents straight to their desktop). But to build an effective team workflow, you need a system that’s conducive to document management in the first place.
Here are the features you need to build a digital document management practice that works.
1. Keep your documents tightly organized
Document navigation and organization don’t get enough attention. But if you’ve ever spent any time with a disorganized filing structure… you get it.
When files are hard to find, entire workflows become black holes of “What is that file doing here?” Next thing you know, it’s been two hours, and you haven’t gotten much done, but you have found that random pro bono contract review you did in 2014.
Systems that build and reinforce efficient document organization save your law firm significant time and energy.
Cloud-based systems are your friend here. These systems allow lawyers to access their files from anywhere, including their mobile phones or tablets. But just as importantly, they allow you to build shared file structures that act as the architecture of your document management system. Users can create folders, sub-folders, and tags to help them easily find the legal forms and files they need quickly.
When you combine consistent structure with equally consistent file naming conventions, you’ll be on solid ground.
2. Make collaborative document editing easy
When you’re on a deadline, collaborative editing capabilities can save your firm time and produce a better end result for your client. Look for a practice management system that offers real-time collaborative document editing to enhance your workflows. This capability allows attorneys, paralegals, and other legal staff to work off a single source of document truth.
For collaborative document editing to be effective, it also needs to be fully integrated with common document creation tools like:
- Microsoft Office 365
- Dropbox
- Box
- Evernote
See a full list of Rocket Matter integrations here.
Effective document management needs back up, though. Anyone who’s worked in a digital environment knows how easily comments and feedback get lost once a tab or browser is closed.
This is where a tool like Rocket Matter’s Matter Stream is essential. The Matter Stream provides a real-time overview of new tasks, events, notes, documents, and billable entries. Users can even post messages directly in the matter stream to enable clear communication and a visible trail of edits or questions related to case matters.
Free Guide
The Paperless Law Office: A 12-Month Plan
for Going Paperless
This free guide will provide you with an actionable plan for going paperless, with monthly tasks that include:
1. Determining your paperless processes
2. Establishing naming and filing conventions
3. Choosing an online storage provider
4. Embracing mobile paperless tools
5. And more important resources!
3. Reduce the effort of assembling documents
Document management isn’t just about how you organize your files. It’s also about how efficiently you can generate complex legal documents in the first place.
Document assembly has had a long trajectory, starting in the 1970s with two professors at Brigham Young Law School who built the first computer automation for document assembly.
Since then, document assembly tech has advanced greatly. Law firms can create customized templates for their most frequently used legal documents and merge them with client and matter data stored in their practice management system.
Not only does this save time, but it also reduces the overall document management burden. (It also reduces the potential for human error—but who’s counting the benefits here?)
4. Prioritize document security
Attorneys manage tens of thousands of documents a year. That number of documents is like chum in the cybersecurity waters. (Dramatic analogy, we know.)
So how do you get things safely to and from when even vaunted tools like DropBox have faced security incidents and scrutiny over everything from data breaches to lack of end-to-end encryption?
In these situations, it’s important to look at legal-specific tools.
Rocket Matter’s secure file-sharing and eSignature tools allow users to send, receive, and request documents online without compromising security, using features such as customized security Q&A and expiring access deadlines. Through secure file-sharing, team members and clients are protected by bank-level encryption and security features.
This feature doesn’t just apply to internal users. Rocket Matter allows teams to securely send documents to clients and outside parties without sacrificing convenience.
To protect your practice management system, Rocket Matter also features two-factor authentication, basic and role permissions, and ISO 27001 and NIST 800-53 security certifications.
5. Make sure you can store everything
Remember those tens of thousands of documents we mentioned earlier? Law firms need a long-term solution that won’t hit max capacity one year into full adoption. Unlimited storage isn’t a “nice-to-have” feature; it’s a must-have aspect of any efficient document management system.
With Rocket Matter, both Pro and Premium users have access to unlimited file storage, no matter the file size (that’s right—upload all the episodes of The Good Wife if it’s relevant to your case).
With so many files stored in one place, peace of mind is paramount. That’s why Rocket Matter also provides backup and recovery features to protect your firm, and your clients.
Don’t let document management frustrations pile up
Improving your document management practices often feels like one of those “I’ll get to it tomorrow” tasks—but the problem is that those documents will still be there. In fact, there will likely be more of them to organize!
With the right tools and strategies, you can eliminate lost-file frustrations and which-folder-is-it-in confusion. Rocket Matter’s document management system has all the features you need to build an effective, efficient document management practice. Schedule a demo and get started today.
Free Guide
The Paperless Law Office: A 12-Month Plan
for Going Paperless
This free guide will provide you with an actionable plan for going paperless, with monthly tasks that include:
1. Determining your paperless processes
2. Establishing naming and filing conventions
3. Choosing an online storage provider
4. Embracing mobile paperless tools
5. And more important resources!
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