how to create & maintain the paperless law office
DESCRIPTION
Are you tired of stacks of papers creating clutter and slowing you down when looking for specific documents? Transitioning to a paperless law office can alleviate these pains and reduce stress in your work environment – it can also create leverage. That’s why we brought in well known attorney and author, Ernest Svenson (aka “Ernie the Attorney“), to explain how to make the switch. Here are slides from his presentation.TRANSCRIPT
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Ernie Svenson
PaperlessLaw Office
TheHow to Cr eate & Maintain
Ernie Svenson‣EDLA Law Clerk
‣Practiced law 27 yrs
‣ErnieTheAttorney.net
‣“Acrobat in One Hour for Lawyers” (ABA book)
‣PaperlessChase.com
since 2005Paperless
3 Phases1. Contemplation 2. Implementation 3. Optimization
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Poll Question #2
What best describes your paperless state now?
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Contemplation
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You may be surprised to learn you’re already on your way
Common Questions• Am I ready to go paperless? • How hard? Expensive? • Need to hire a consultant? • Convince staff & lawyers? • Possible in my practice area? • Isn’t it impossible to be totally paperless?
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Define “paperless”• No paper: impossible, silly, self-‐defeating
• Reasonable: “less paper” • Focus on benefits, not rigid definitions
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forget definitions; focus on benefits
Key Questions• How much less paper? • How quickly to reduce? • What process should you follow? • What benefits do you most want?
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be realistic about the true challenges
How much less?• how much paper you have now • where it’s being stored now (onsite, offsite?)
• How much can or should be digitized
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depends on factors such as…
How quickly?• how many people in your firm • how much paper you have now • your folks’ technology skills • commitment to act (not just plan)
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depends on factors such as…
What process?• The simplest & easiest • Minimally disruptive • Tried & true (by lawyers) • Reliable; likely to succeed
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The ideal path should be…
Which benefits?• Organization & efficiency • Information retrieval • Remote access to files
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Keep in mind the things you most want to attain
Benefits Summary• Easier to store, retrieve • Cheaper to store • Oversight is possible • Access from anywhere (e.g. iPad) • Backup & remote synchronization
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reasons why digital documents are better
Some downsides• Easier to reorder pages • Easier to browse certain kinds of information
• Easier to read (but eInk technology is changing this)
• Need to practice “digital hygiene”
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it’s true: paper is easier in certain situations
Poor excuses• E-‐filing isn’t allowed • Judge requires paper in court • My practice isn’t conducive to being paperless
• Other attorneys send me paper�22
Bad reasons to dismiss becoming paperless
Ethics issues• Rule 1.1: competence • ABA 20/20: tech requires attention • But what about wills and promissory notes etc.?
• Create a good engagement letter�23
aren’t an impediment, but require attention
Engagement letter• You’ll scan all files to PDF • You’ll destroy all paper you receive • You’ll only keep digital files for X years (but actually keep longer)
• You’ll give client digital copy upon written request (via digital download)
• Engagement letter is valid in PDF format�24
should make it clear to the client that…
Implementation
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Is mostly about building momentum and avoiding catastrophes
Getting Started• You’ve already started, so… • Build momentum steadily • Use consultants for “digital hygiene” & training.
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Is not as hard as you’d expect, because:
Keys to Success• Tackle the easy stuff first • Avoid premature (or unnecessary) challenges
• Use consultants appropriately�28
grab low-‐hanging fruit & avoid land mines
Two Principles
1. Keep digital things digital 2. Make paper into digital
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to keep in mind as you steadily move forward
Keep it digital• Don’t print emails • “Print to PDF” more often • Capture faxes to PDF • Think digital at all times
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Is not as hard as you’d expect
Make it digital• Buy the right scanner(s) • Use often; get familiar • Send out large jobs to scanning services where appropriate
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is your first small challenge
Fujitsu iX500
Make digital
PDFs‣widespread use (in law too)
‣“portable document format”
‣think: ‘digital paper’
‣learn: how to manipulate them
Adobe Acrobat
StandardProfessional $409
$289
Key PDF Skills• Create PDFs from Word, Excel… • Zoom, Jump to Page, Rotate • Bookmark, Highlight, Comment • Search PDF, or group of PDFs • Bates-‐stamp & Redact • Digitally sign a PDF
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Acrobat Book
Consultants• Optional: for the easy stuff • Helpful: for digital hygiene and software training
• Mandatory: for major challenges like setting up a DMS, or if firm is large
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optional, helpful, or mandatory?
Summary
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Stuff you need, or should, buyEquipment & Tools Cost
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 $409
Adobe Acrobat: Professional (Adobe Acrobat: Standard)
$413 ($289)
Book: Acrobat for Lawyers $50
Tips: PDF for Lawyers.com Free
Tips: PaperlessChase.com Free
Implementation Costs
Optimization
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Document Mgt• How big is your law firm? • How many attorneys? How many users?
• How many separate offices?�41
Key questions ask in deciding how to manage
Digital Workflow• Start with a simple model • Refine based on need & real world experiences
• Continue refining as new technologies are adopted
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how will you work in a less paper-‐centric world?
Current System
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How do you manage digital files right now?
Doc Mgt 101
• Phase 1: Nested folders • Phase 2: DMS software
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nested folders special software
Two Phases
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Jones v. Smith Hawkins v. Magee Kramer v. Kramer Masters v. Johnson Jarndyce v. Jarndyce Bushmill v. Gored Fordham v. Chevy Thompkins v. Carr
Ordinary Folders Special DMS Software
Simple folders
Crown v. Royal
01 Pleadings 02 Correspondence 03 Documents 04 Word Processing 05 Depositions 06 Legal Research 07 Attorney Notes 08 Trial Documents
Simple file names[Date] [Description]
[Date] [Description]2014-02-27 Motion for Summary Judgment…2014/02/27 Motion for Summary Judgment…2014_02_27 Motion for Summary Judgment…2014.02.27 Motion for Summary Judgment…
01 Pleadings
2009-01-01 Original Complaint 2009-01-08 Summons to … 2009-02-15 Return on Service 2009-03-02 Extension Request 2009-04-02 Answer by Defend.. 2009-07-17 Motion for Summary 2009-08-01 Opposition to MSJ 2009-10-19 Order granting….
02 Correspondence
2008-02-13 EES ltr K Smith 2008-02-01 K Smith email EES 2008-01-04 Thompson fax EES 2007-12-14 Chisom ltr EES 2007-11-11 Ward fax Counsel 2007-10-16 EES ltr Marion 2007-09-23 EES ltr Feinberg 2007-08-08 Mangione ltr EES
Problems• Deletion: someone makes a mistake. • Conflicts: two people access at same time; now we have 2 versions.
• Version control: which version is the last one we worked on?
• Email: how do we put emails into the nested folders?
• Naming convention: not everyone is adhering to the system for naming files and folders
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nested folders are simple but…
Firm Size
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More than 3 -‐ 5 users: time for DMS
DMS Software
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Leading “Document Management Systems”
Benefits• Forced save: have to save to the system, and have to profile document to an open matter
• Conflicts: are no longer possible. • Version control: system automatically creates and keeps track of versions
• Email: can be saved to DMS, and shared with everyone as needed.
• PDFs: can handle storage & manipulation • Remote access: pull files from outside of office
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DMS imposes organization
Bottom Line• You can now afford it • You almost certainly need it now (or soon)
• You may need a consultant to help you
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regarding DMS systems
Wrap Up
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Things you can work on now to build momentum
Summary
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Stuff you need, or should, buyEquipment & Tools Cost
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 $409
Adobe Acrobat: Professional (Adobe Acrobat: Standard)
$413 ($289)
Book: Acrobat for Lawyers $50
Tips: PDF for Lawyers.com Free
Tips: PaperlessChase.com Free
5 Takeaways
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the best keys to getting started now
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If you have questions feel free to email me
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