Stop wasting time and money searching for documents

Are you the type of person who throws their socks into a drawer and then has to sort through it…in the dark…at 6:00 am…looking for a match…that just doesn’t seem to exist? OR, do you neatly fold your socks together and arrange them in your sock drawer, so when you need them, all you have to do is reach in and grab them?

Law firms can experience the same frustration searching for mismanaged documents. Precious time is wasted every day looking for documents that were mislabeled, misfiled or lost forever on a crashed hard drive; not to mention the redundancy of having to recreate those files, if not found. Like the neatly paired socks, the right document management system can save you time which translates to billable hours and bottom line…money.

So, what exactly is a Document Management System (DMS)? The Business Dictionary defines it as an: “Electronic system designed to organize and manage documents. These documents are usually organized with software, which provides the user with the ability to access, modify, and centrally store the documents.” When you do your online banking and access your bank statements, you are using a DMS that your bank has put in place.

If we bring a DMS into a law firm, we would expect that all documents related to a Case are kept in one place. That means ALL documents…discovery documents, forms, letters, case information, and emails are easily searchable, accessible and organized in one place. How is this valuable to you?

• Everything for a matter is in one place…no more wasted time searching.
• It is cloud based which makes it economical, flexible and scalable as your company grows.
• There is an audit trail of who worked on what document and when.
• Your data is secure. Your clients will thank you for keeping their confidential information safe.
• Reduces the risk of losing valuable client data
• Document management cohesiveness creates efficiencies in the firm.
• Properly archived information allows for institutional knowledge. Your new associates can learn from past cases.

Let’s not forget, Document Management Systems can pay for themselves by reducing the time spent searching for documents…talk about value added!

Everyone can relate to the missing sock dilemma. How many “singles” do you have that you can’t find a match for?

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