Getting to Paperless:A Lawyer’s Step-by-Step

Guide8:30 am – 9:30 am

Nancy DuhonDuhon Technology

Solutions, LLCduhon@duhon.biz

Donna NeffNeff Law Office

Professional Corporation

donna.neff@nefflawoffice.comPaperless

PracticePP1(Next Session: Hardcore Scanning for

Law Offices of ANY Size 11:00 am)

“[T]he first step in getting to a paperless society is getting rid of the lawyers”

(Carl Stoddard, 1969)

Survey Says.....

• Size of Firm

• Practice Area

• Paperless Experience

• Role at the Firm

Step 1: Charting Your Course

• If you don’t know where you’re headed, how will you know when you arrive at your destination?

Define Your Goals

• What do you hope to achieve by going paperless?

• WRITE them down– Circulate for comment in your firm– Incorporate the feedback

They’re the draft guidelines on how to run a ‘paperless’ office.

Step 2: Get Buy In

• MUST be from the top

• And all the way to the bottom

• If you skip this step, you pretty much insure a failed implementation

 

 

 

Step 3: Assess Your Physical Needs

Backup, Backup, Backup

• Reliable and frequent

• Recover from catastrophe

• Recover single file

• Multiple layers– incremental and full– on-site and off-site

The Equipment

• Take an inventory of existing software and hardware

• Software– Adobe® Acrobat® Professional– Document Management System (DMS)– desktop search engines

• Hardware– scanners – second monitors

Hardware Considerations

• New items:– Scanners– Multiple Monitors

Hardware Considerations

Hardware Considerations

Hardware Considerations

• New items:– Scanners– Multiple Monitors– More Hard Drive Space– More Backups (multiple layers of

protection)– Shredders– Staple Removers

“Hardware” Considerations

• Old items you will need less of:– Paper – Toner, paper clips, staples, envelopes– Highlighters– File Storage Cabinets/Offsite Storage– Office Space/square footage– Staff?

Software: a PDF creator

• Lots of freebies available– Just Google “free PDF

creator”

• Adobe Acrobat is the gold “standard.”– Gives you PDF menus and

add-ins in all Microsoft Office applications.

Software: a PDF manipulator• In the paper realm, we DO things to

the paper once we print it. Like:– Highlight words– Sign our names– Shuffle/bind them

• You need software that allows you to do that with a PDF.

• We both prefer Acrobat

Step 4: Training• By far the biggest hurdle, because it

means changing the way you work.

Training

• Give your workers the tools they need to succeed, and keep you safe.

Step 5: Launch

• Have a Pilot Study/Test Period– Representatives of all office groups.– Get volunteers who are excited

about the prospect (naysayers?)– They become cheerleaders and

mentors to their groups on roll out.

Scanning

• Portable Document Format (pdf)– THE Gold Standard for digital documents– 150 - 300 DPI, black & white

– Practice Tip: To get started, scan all documents and files going forward. Do not scan current documents or closed files for now.

File Naming Conventions

• If you have a DMS, someone else has already determined this for you.

• Just profile your PDFs like you do any other document.

Today, 4:30 p.m.

DMS: The "Must-Have" Tool for Every Practice

With Debbie Foster & Paul Unger

What’s in a Name?

• Name folders and documents in a consistent, standardized manner

• Facilitates retrieval & retention.

Practice Tip: Create a standardize folder and document-naming protocol and ensure all use it.

Create predefined folders

Step 6: Review, Revise, Repeat

Resources

• Online forum at www.planetpdf.com– Post your questions & get answers

• Rick Borstein’s Blog– http://tinyurl.com/a9bj9m

• Books– David Master’s Adobe Acrobat for

Lawyer– Donna Baker’s Adobe Acrobat 9 How

Tos: 125 Essential Techniques

A Paperless Society?!

Maybe the first step in

getting there will be taken

by the lawyers!