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Eliminate Waste by Going Paperless with Legal Practice Management Software
It’s no stretch to say that law firms consume a LOT of paper. Contracts, legal briefs, memoranda, and other documents are the lifeblood of law firms. In fact, the average attorney goes through 100,000 sheets of paper each year. And since the average pine tree produces 10,000 pieces of paper, this means that one lawyer alone can consume the paper of 10 trees each year.
Over a 40-year career, that adds up to 400 trees—per person.
This extensive consumption of paper has many unwanted side effects. Paper production contributes to deforestation, which is a leading cause of climate change, and its production requires an enormous amount of energy, water, and land. A lot of paper comes from monoculture tree plantations, which are called “green deserts” because they rob the land of resources and don’t provide a suitable habitat for other creatures.
Plus, even though most paper is recyclable, it still accounts for approximately 26% of waste in landfills.
This Earth Day, consider doing your firm and your planet a favor by going paperless (or, at least, as paperless as possible). While it may not be feasible to eliminate hard copies of documents altogether, practice management software can get you as close as possible to a truly paperless system.
Four steps toward a paperless law firm
A paperless practice is a win-win-win because it benefits your firm, your clients, and the environment. Here’s how you can use practice management software features to start today.
1. Digitize your documents
If your law firm has entire cabinets full of old case files and paperwork, consider digitizing your documents and recycling old files.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling one ton of paper can:
- Save enough energy to power a home for six months
- Save 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
- Save 7,000 gallons of water
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent
Going digital isn’t just beneficial for the environment. Because paper is a naturally degrading substance, files stored in less-than-ideal conditions can start to deteriorate.
On top of paper’s lack of durability, hard copy file storage:
- Takes up valuable square footage in an office environment
- Makes it easy for documents to become lost, misplaced, or damaged
- Creates extra work for teams who have to research topics and cases manually
By digitizing and organizing your documents in a searchable system, you can save your firm considerable time in conflict-of-interest searches and additional research (not to mention reduce the likelihood of human data entry and filing errors).
2. Use a secure file-sharing system
When time is of the essence, digital file sharing is the best way to send important documents to clients and team members.
As opposed to traditional snail mail, digital file sharing is:
- Convenient and efficient
- Easy to track, with certainty of delivery
- Secure
For example, secure file-sharing systems enable users to send documents featuring expiration dates and secure question-and-answer tests to ensure that documents end up in the right hands. That functionality also extends to the recipient.
Better yet, with Rocket Matter, you can send and receive files of any size.
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. Get client signatures faster with eSignatures
Hard copy signatures are a time-consuming pain point for law firms and clients. While meeting in person to sign documents is no longer a necessity, email still has its obstacles. For example, if your client needs to sign a document, you would email them the file.
Your client would then have to download and print the document, sign the document, scan it to their email, and email it back to you.
That’s a lot of steps. And even if it doesn’t sound too onerous, it takes time (and wastes a lot of paper). It requires that your client have access to a printer and a scanner or the tech know-how to work around printing documents.
Neither is especially convenient, and even your most responsive clients don’t like to do things that inconvenience them. Even the perception of added work on your client’s part can lead to a delay in their response, taking days or even weeks to get back to you.
That’s time you just can’t afford to waste.
Instead, use eSignature features alongside secure file-sharing so that clients can sign documents in just a few clicks. Look for features in a practice management system that allow your clients to sign important documents from their phone, tablet, or desktop—from anywhere.
By removing every possible barrier, your firm will achieve faster document turnaround, and your clients will have a better overall experience with your firm. (And as an added bonus, you reduce the amount of paper both you and your clients consume on a regular basis.)
4. Use electronic billing and online payments
Another area of significant paper and carbon consumption is the practice of mailing out paper invoices to clients each month. Instead of going through a mail service, consider switching to electronic billing and online payment systems.
With online payments, your firm can:
- Process multiple invoices with batch billing
- Schedule automatic electronic prebills to ensure invoice accuracy
- Send PDF invoices to clients via secure links
- Accept online payments via credit cards or eCheck
- Use automated payments for clients with appropriate fee structures
- Process payments faster than ever before
When you make it easier for your clients to pay their bills, you increase the likelihood of getting paid quickly and on time. Who doesn’t want to increase client satisfaction and decrease their law firm’s accounts receivable (AR) at the same time?
Need more reasons to go paperless?
If you’re still on the fence, consider how going paperless can provide the following four benefits to your law firm and your clients.
- Office paper consumption accounts for more than 20% of total U.S. paper consumption.
- Assuming your law firm goes through the average amount of paper in a year, reducing paper consumption could save you $1,000 per year, per employee.
- For your clients, switching to electronic billing can save 6.6 pounds of paper and 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per household per year.
- Moving to electronic invoicing can save companies $4-8 per invoice. By that measure, if a law firm had ten clients, that firm would save at least $4,800 by switching to electronic invoices.
Go paperless with Rocket Matter
Whether you’re driven by environmental concerns, financial savings, productivity, or a mix of all three, going paperless is always a smart move. Moving to electronic documentation is one of the best moves you can make toward building a more efficient and environmentally-conscious firm.
Eliminate waste, save space, and improve your practice with Rocket Matter. Schedule a demo or start a free trial today, and see the benefits for yourself.
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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