Keys to Creating a Paper-Free Office

Excerpted from The Lawyer's Guide to Adobe Acrobat, Third Edition

By David L. Masters

What system do you use right now, today, to find a given piece of paper? Perhaps it sounds something like this: Every client matter has a file, and somewhere you have an index of all those files (so if you want to find the Smith file and can’t remember where in the filing system it resides, you go to the index, find the file identifier (such as a file number) and then locate the file. Now you know the document you want is in the Smith file—great—but what if the Smith file contains five thousand or ten thousand pages? At this point, the paper filing system starts to break down. How many subfolders are you willing to create, and how do you keep track of them? Unless you have an absolutely huge number of files, or a moderate number of really big files, then the paper filing system can be replicated, refined, and expanded in the digital world.

It may help to think of the digital filing system in terms of a physical filing system. The digital file room consists of electronic filing cabinets filled with folders that contain everything found in traditional paper files. Think of a shared hard disk drive as the file room. The cabinets within the room are large divisions on the disk; within those cabinet-size divisions are folders for each client matter. Most client matter folders are further divided into subfolders to aid in organization.

A simple system for electronic filing can be implemented and standardized by creating a set of predefined subfolders for client matters. A standard set of folders can be created for litigation, transactional, or other types of matters. The matter subfolders sort information by categories that you assign. If information fits two categories, you can put it in two places. For example, you might have a folder for pleadings where you put all pleadings associated with a matter, including discovery requests and responses. But then you might also find it convenient to have a separate folder to make it easier to find discovery requests and responses. Or, you might create a folder named “Orders” and put copies of (you guessed it) court orders that can also be found in the pleadings folder.

It is no more difficult to scan a document and properly name the PDF file than it is to make a photocopy and put it in the correct physical folder; indeed, it may be easier. When a letter arrives from opposing counsel, it goes through the scanner, and then goes to the proper recipient within the office. A letter is written to the client that discusses the enclosure that typically begins, “Enclosed for your review and records please find an item of correspondence that we received from opposing counsel. We have retained a copy in our records.” Following this procedure, paper comes in, goes through the scanner, then goes out to the client. In some cases, with the right client, you simply send an electronic mail message and attach a digital copy; the original letter then goes to the recycle bin or shredder.

Following a few simple rules, any office can switch from paper to digital filing: (1) scan all incoming documents to PDF, (2) print all outgoing work product to PDF, (3) create a virtual filing cabinet with folders for each client matter, (4) segregate document types within the client matter folders into appropriate subfolders, and (5) use dates or a numbering system when naming files so that they display in chronological order.

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