Digitizing the Paper File
By Todd C. Scott
A frequently asked practice management question of the risk management
advisors at MLM has been, “How can lawyers begin scanning and digitizing
client files?”
Many of the lawyers who are considering saving a digital copy
of the file did not turn to the digital option out of a desire
to make their law office paperless. Instead, they found the
digital option after realizing they have assigned many more
files to permanent storage than they ever anticipated, and
they’ve come to realize that saving key portions of the
file digitally might be a cost-effective way of eliminating
the paper file before it reaches the end of its retention schedule.
Another reason lawyers are considering digital means for
saving client files is that, increasingly, documents arrive
in the firm in digital formats such as email, or are produced
within the firm in a word processor. These documents are
readily available to be stored electronically in the firm’s
network directory or in a case management software system.
Lawyers who are considering scanning client files are
also finding that many firms already possess several of
the key components a firm must have to scan and save client
information. As lawyers look around their firms and see
their networked computer can hold several gigabytes worth
of data, they have come to realize that they may be one
good scanner away from becoming a digital law firm.
There are four key components that a firm needs to have
to consider scanning and saving matters digitally. They
are:
- Networked computers—Many law
firms have only begun recently to network their computers
so workstation users can share client data.
- Data storage—With the price of data storage coming down in recent years, consumers can now own many gigabytes worth of storage space necessary for scanning and saving document images.
- Scanning software—Image-making
software like Adobe Acrobat Professional Edition
is necessary to save the scanned images in a format
that is both searchable and retrievable.
- Scanner—The primary
tool for converting paper to digital images.
Many copier machines now double as a scanner
and can scan digital images in the same time
it takes to copy a document.
For lawyers who are considering digitizing client files,
some initial considerations are necessary to determine
how the program will become part of the firm’s filing
process. For example, the firm needs to consider which
group of files will be part of the scanning program—open
files, closed files, both open and closed files, or perhaps
just files in long-term storage.
Firms that opt to begin scanning newly opened files take
the approach that the system for scanning client documents
will be administered on the front end—that is, scanning
the documents for the open client files as the documents
arrive, one by one, in the mail. Building scanned files
from the front end is a decision that allows the firm to
ease into the scanning process and build up the digital
files over time.
By incorporating a small, high-speed scanner that can
capture digital images at 30 pages per minute in the firm’s
mail sorting area, letters, reports, court orders, pleadings,
discovery documents, and anything else that arrives in
the mail that would ordinarily be delivered to the attorney
can be scanned and saved immediately to the digital file.
It is important that a firm organize its scanned documents
in an electronic filing system that is understandable by
everyone in the firm. Lawyers receiving paper copies of
the documents should know where in the firm’s computer
system they can find the digital equivalent.
In a digital office environment, backing up the scanned
data with a tape backup system or some other form of digital
media is more important than ever to preserve the scanned
images for all time. If the firm is going to make a conscious
effort to save matters electronically, it needs to know
that the current backup system is working and consider
adding another layer of protective backup.
Although some attorneys choose to take a big leap and
begin scanning client documents on the front end, most
practitioners who are choosing scanning for preserving
client information seem to be opting for scanning the old
files in storage. Scanning older, closed files does not
usually require that the firm initiate new systems that
everyone must learn. After all, the files in question are
the files that, in theory, the firm may never have to use
again.
For firms choosing to scan older or closed files, the
key decisions that need to be made are which files should
be designated for scanning (recently closed, or those in
long-term storage) and what, if any, documents from the
closed files do not necessarily need to be included in
the scanning effort.
The most common question for lawyers who are actively scanning
any file is, “When is it okay to destroy the paper file?” The
answer to that question is, of course, “It depends.”
Knowing when it is okay to destroy the paper file can change depending
on the goals the firm pursued when they initiated the scanning program
in the first place. For example, firms who initiate the scanning
program for files in long-term storage, where the likelihood of
needing the file ever again is remote, find that destroying the
paper file immediately after scanning the image is an acceptable
step to add to the file retention schedule.
Firms that initiate scanning on the front end, while the matter
is active and the file is building, are finding more often that
properly destroying the paper copy of the document soon after it
is scanned is an acceptable part of the procedure. Courts tend to
accept digital reproductions of common documents especially in cases
where the original documents can be produced if necessary (e.g.,
client medical records).
Of course, any scanning procedure that involves destroying paper
documents related to active or recently closed files must involve
thorough training for the individuals assigned with the task. Staff
personnel must be able to recognize the difference between an ordinary
letter of correspondence and a letter that bears more evidentiary
weight such as an opinion letter.
Coming Up With a Plan
Recently, an Iowa lawyer approaching his 60th year in
practice represented a fifth-generation farmer involved
in a land dispute with a distant relative. The lawyer
expressed how he sometimes wished he had the file with
his original notes from the 1940s outlining the wishes
of the great grandfather of the disputing parties.
A firm can now save all the items from any client file
forever—in a digital format. Whether the firm chooses
to maintain a paper file system, or to incorporate some
or all of the file in a digital system, it is important
that the firm have in place a well-documented file retention
policy. Everyone involved in the process should have
a clear understanding of his or her role in maintaining
a plan for the file, or bringing about its final destruction.
Remember that for any retention schedule, the plan must
be created and supervised by the attorneys. The staff
will not know of changes in law that could affect the
length of time a file should be stored.
By carefully considering the retention schedule, and
supervising the plan activities, your firm can be well
served for generations to come.
Todd Scott is the vice president of Member Services for Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, where he serves as co-chair of the Practice Management & Marketing Section, and the Nebraska State Bar Association.
© Copyright 2008, American Bar Association.
