Going paperless: the many benefits (and some pitfalls to watch out for)

Lawyers often waste fifteen minutes or more a day looking for things they can’t find. That’s over 50 hours of lost billable time each year! In a paper-based office, 10% of cases have at least one piece of information that cannot be found when it is needed. There are many benefits of going paperless that I will discuss below.

Going paperless can help improve your efficiency. You can find electronic documents faster with electronic search, retrieval, and viewing software. Sending these documents becomes quick and easy, done right from your desktop.

Reduce costs

o Reduce the space and equipment needed to store documents

o Reduce costs of archiving time and retrieval of paper documents

o Reduce the costs of sending documents that can be sent by email

Improve customer service

o Respond faster to customer inquiries

o Provide clients with electronic copies of their documents.

reduce risk

o Reduce lost or misplaced documents

goes green

o Save paper, toner, folders and storage cabinets and help the environment

o Save energy used for printers and photocopiers and help the environment

Paperless Office Checklist:

o Use practice management software for calendar and case management: eliminate paper case files, paper calendars, paper to-do lists, and paper reminders by managing all your important data in one an integrated single entry program.

o Scan and save your paper documents: Scan all your incoming and outgoing paper documents and link them as PDF attachments to your case management software.

o Link your emails: Save emails and attachments directly into your case management software.

o Link your electronic documents: Link electronic documents to your case management software.

o Create PDF Short Forms: Generate PDF short forms directly from your case management software.

o Enter your billable time electronically – Automatically capture your billable time as you work. Tracking and entering billable hours electronically means no more paper timesheets.

o Save your invoices in PDF format: Save all your invoices in PDF format in your case management software.

o Use instant messaging: Instantly send and receive text messages with people in the office and take messages for those who are out of the office.

o Use the call manager With a call manager feature, you can take notes on your phone calls while reviewing other data, and when you’re done, just click to bill.

Pitfalls of the “paperless office”:

o Not fully committing to going paperless: The only thing less efficient than a “paper” office is an office that falls somewhere in between: half “paperless” and half “paper.” This forces people to search both paper files and the web for the documents they need.

o Don’t invest in a complete solution: If you’re serious about the financial benefits of going paperless, don’t buy less than you need.

o Not creating and following procedures – When working with scanned files, emails, documents and forms, it is critical to adhere to office-wide procedures. A single employee who fails to link saved documents to name and subject can sabotage your paperless system.

o Resorting to bad habits: Change is hard and it’s easy to give up on a new project before the fruits of your labor are realized. Make sure that new activities and procedures are monitored and enforced.

o Failing to get buy-in from everyone involved – it will only take a couple of reluctances to derail your plans. Sell ​​to all benefits and build consensus before you start making changes.