Law Practice Today

Lawyers are the ultimate knowledge workers because laws are nothing more than rules written down in casebooks and statutes. We spend most of their time reading, writing and analyzing legal information. In short, we are ‘information processors’ and most of what we process is embedded in paper. That’s how it’s been up until recently.

But now we--like everyone else--are having to deal with digital information: email (with attachments), spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and digital audio and video files. So, today we not only have to manage an unprecedented amount of paper, but also an increasing amount of digital information. Fortunately, we know how to handle paper, even if we can’t keep up with it. We have systems for dealing with paper that have been around for many years, systems that everyone understands.

But digital information (in its many forms) is new, and there are no default methods for how to manage it. To compound the problem, there are more options for handling digital information than exist for paper. Figuring out which system is best is a real challenge and, even after determining the best option, you’ll still have to teach your staff how to use this new system on a day-to-day basis.

Maybe we should just put off developing a news system for managing digital information. Hmmmmmm. An enticing proposition, but not very realistic.

Deal with the reality

The main problem is that too many office workers don’t know how to handle digital information. But digital information is intruding into our lives, and its growth rate is frighteningly exponential. Sadly, the only realistic option is to increase our skill in handling digital information.

People who know how to handle digital information already have a large advantage over those who do not. Tech-savvy office workers are not commonplace today, but how quickly might that change? Probably happen a lot sooner than we expect. Meanwhile, it seems prudent to take advantage of your opponent’s weakness.

So, how can lawyers take advantage of the efficiency of digital information without increasing their existing burdens? How much should they continue to rely on paper? Which papers must be kept, or should be kept? How does one make the transition from a largely paper-based system to one that is mostly digital?

The main rule of transitioning to a digital practice is this: ‘first, do no harm.’ There are some options that should be avoided, even if they seem promising and are touted by seemingly tech-savvy consultants. Remember, picking out software is easy; training your office staff to adapt to a new workflow is hard. Hence, the second rule is: focus on strategy and training above all else.

First thing we do: eliminate all most of the paper

The method for becoming paperless is easy to describe: (1) keep digital information in digital form; and (2) convert the paper information into digital form. In other words, don’t print out your emails and then file them in physical file cabinets (that would be going against the grain). And don’t print out letters, which can be sent by email, just to sign them; put a graphic image of your signature in your form business letter. Then you after you create it you just the final copy as a PDF by email. Lastly, get a scanner and learn how to scan paper to PDF so that you can store your ‘papers’ in digital form.

That’s all there is to it. No big cost, no fancy method. But, of course, there will be challenges. So, let’s take a look at where the challenges lie and how they are overcome. Let’s talk a little bit about what ‘workflow’ is.

Workflow doesn’t require any thought

Any business, including a law firm, naturally develops some pattern for handling incoming and outgoing information. This pattern is called ‘workflow.’ If you look at different businesses you’d probably find similarities in how they process their paper.

But ‘processing’ means more than just filing. If all that was required with incoming paper was to file it then developing a good workflow system would be easy. But it’s not that easy. Why not? Well, consider how an office typically processes incoming mail.

Mail is delivered in the morning, and then sorted and distributed to various people. Secretaries review mail and then prioritizes it for their bosses. Copies might need to be distributed to other folks for them to take some immediate action. And this, my friends, is where the tension arises.

That is, there’s often tension between: (1) the long-term goal of storing the information reliably, and (2) the short-term goal of re-routing the information for immediate use. EVERY workflow system faces this tension; an effective system is one that balances this tension automatically, with near perfect reliability. The paper-based system you have now does this automatically. A new digital-based system will not.

So, where do I start?

Well, you’ll obviously need a scanner (I recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap which comes with a full version of Adobe Acrobat). The long term goal of reliable storage requires that you scan EVERY single piece of incoming paper. Right away. No exceptions. Otherwise your ‘capture system’ will become unreliable.

The immediate goal of ‘information sharing’ will exert a strong pull against the long-term goal. Obviously, your new system will need to address this goal. But not at the expense of immediate capture and storage.

Scanning doesn’t take any longer than copying. Or it shouldn’t if done right. The problem, at first, is that scanning is unfamiliar, i.e., not AUTOMATIC. So people will tend to revert to the old paper-handling system when they face pressure to distribute the information quickly. Hold your ground; don’t let this happen.

You have to make a total commitment to capturing ALL paper, and doing so IMMEDIATELY when it arrives (or departs). This is the main challenge you will face in shifting to a paperless system. After that everything will be fairly easy, and painless.