I am looking forward to presenting “The Business Case for Going Paperless” with Britt Lorish at this year’s ABA Techshow in Chicago.
So you’ve decided to move to a more paperless environment. Now what? How do you accomplish your goals, make sure your whole team is on board, and not break the bank? Do you scan everything as it comes in, and if so, how will everything be consistently filed and retrieved? These are some of the logistical questions every firm must think through before diving head first into the process. And it is a process…
Our presentation will guide you in how to make the transition, from obtaining “buy-in” from your staff, to creating procedures and selecting both hardware and software to achieve your goals. Explore how to reduce the time you and your staff waste looking for paper files by storing externally-received documents with internally-generated work product. Converting to a paperless office means you don’t need to pull hard copies from paper files nearly as often, which increases efficiency and results in fewer lost billables, increased profits, faster client communication response time, and no more missing documents!
There are a wide variety of benefits for moving to a paperless office. It is more environmentally friendly, and provides clear productivity gains and cost savings over traditional storage and paper generation. Further, it allows you to effectively retrieve and collaborate on documents, which not only saves you time, but gives you and your staff a better quality of life. Make sure you have the proper infrastructure foundation for the job. Don’t try to handle an endeavor like this with old, slow equipment or cut corners by purchasing inferior scanners and/or software. What you save now will cost you productivity and frustration in the long run.
Any move to a paperless law office should be done in consultation with your support staff and associate lawyers. The move could take several months or even years and there will likely be some bumps in the road along the way.
The benefits of moving towards a paperless office will be improved efficiencies, better staff moral with the flexibility a paperless environment can offer, and most importantly improved client service and happier clients.
The 2012 ABA TECHSHOW is a must for every lawyer interested in technology and learning new ways to make their firm more efficient.
Learn more about this year’s Techshow at
http://www2.americanbar.org/calendar/TECHSHOW/Pages/CompleteSchedule.aspx
Or register today at www.techshow.com/register
