The Paper-to-Digital Law Firm

Even though the costs and inefficiencies of paper records are an obvious strain on the law firm business model, law firms struggle with less-paper initiatives for one key reason: according to ILTA members informally surveyed in over 20 cities domestically, about half of today's attorneys would still prefer to work with paper, even if the entire file is digitally available from the DMS.

This is why a law firm's paper-to-digital transformation requires more than adopting a scanning technology: it requires best practice disciplines and change management initiatives attuned to the unique culture of that law practice.

When a law firm determines it wants to get serious about scanning, it generally has an initial and a long term objective. For long term objectives, we hear aggressive ambitions to 'Go paperless' in the practice areas or 'Eliminate offsite records storage.' Initial objectives are more grounded in practicality, such as 'Start scanning closed matters instead of sending them offsite to records storage' or 'Start scanning all incoming paper for the IP Practice Group.'

'Start' is the key word. When the only scanning experience has been casual scanning at the copier, best practice enterprise scanning is a big leap forward. It must fit the culture, the workflow, and the operational future of the firm. This requires a plan and should incorporate answers to these questions:

• What are our specific goals for paper document scanning?
• What volume of incoming paper will we need to address with this project?
• How does the paper arrive and get managed as it heads to the scan capture workflow?
• Who profiles the documents into the DMS? Who scans? Who QCs?
• How do we identify and serve the range of scanning needs, firm wide?
• How do we apply security, process integrity and QC to the overall job?
• How do we intersect with and apply Records policies? How do we engage the Records staff?
• Do we have physical records retirement policy? Do we shred? How? When?
• What staffing, infrastructure and application resources are required?
• Who owns this new operation?
• How do we measure productivity, and most importantly, ROI?

To tackle these questions, and others, firms must develop an approach to the project that marries the overall objectives with the firm's existing culture about paper, the ROI targets, and the investment resources. Here are some of the frameworks we have developed which have been implemented successfully by our customers, many of which are AmLaw 100 firms. These frameworks give firms a way to start ' and most importantly, to also complete ' their scanning initiatives.

Scan and Retire the File Room

This is an effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Reduce the real estate and other costs for paper file rooms and storage;
• Move offices to smaller square footage space; and
• Improve the efficiency of the attorneys and staff by building a fully digital matter file.

Scan and Retire the File Room is the most aggressive approach to an enterprise scanning initiative. The premise is that all incoming paper headed for the file room will instead be scanned, profiled and stored in the DMS. The paper is then retired (a process that usually ends with shredding) ' so, too, the file room. Workflow is established to channel inbound paper documents, usually to the legal secretary, but possibly through Records or an extended mailroom operation. After documents are scanned, profiled and stored in the DMS, they are distributed digitally, if required. The paper proceeds through a process that applies records retention and destruction policy. Quality controls check that the scanning process has properly captured and stored the related images. The few types of paper documents that must be retained physically are separated out. Eventually, based on a firm's policy, the bulk of the paper can be shredded.

The result is that previously managed paper records are now available digitally from the DMS, as part of the active digital matter file. Attorneys and staff become much more efficient because the entire matter is managed, retrieved and shared from the DMS. File room operations become largely unnecessary and can eventually be shut down, or greatly reduced. The square footage dedicated to file space firm wide is dramatically reduced, as is the corresponding cost for such real estate. And the flow of paper to offsite storage is shut off, along with that cost. This results in substantial ROI in cost reductions and productivity improvements.

Scan and Retire the File Room delivers a high-impact ROI. Its aggressive approach to enterprise scanning requires strong executive backing because of the change and cultural adjustments it brings.

Target Image Enthusiasts

This is an effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Measured rollout of enterprise scanning, based on user advocacy;
• Soften the cultural change by dealing with scanning-eager practice groups first; and
• Generate independent internal success stories for practice groups enabled with imaging.

This framework is based on the principles of adoption, specifically that eager participants in document scanning and image viewing are going to be the most successful, and that laggards who love the paper file are going to need collegial success stories to embrace the change. Using the Target Image Enthusiasts framework, a firm profiles and scans all incoming paper documents to the DMS, but only for the practice groups that are eager to remove paper from their operations. Then, based on project success in these practice areas, the rollout bandwagon extends to each of the next practice groups who want to hop on board.

This is a 'farming' approach to enterprise scanning and image retrieval. But don't confuse it with a trial. A trial implies that the decision to proceed is dependent on results or impressions. Target Image Enthusiasts presumes a commitment to enterprise scanning, and uses this method to contain cultural resistance while a rollout spreads.

Target Image Enthusiasts gives eager adopters the image solution they've been clamoring for, and engages them in the success of the overall project as participants, an active source for solution improvements, and advocates. They become the stakeholders that spark the project forward.

Scan and Maintain the File Room

This option is an effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Stop the growth of offsite storage costs;
• Accommodate both paper and digital work preferences; and
• Establish an enterprise scanning platform for gradual transition to a paper free operation.

This framework is based on the principle of accommodating the old-school culture of paper, while going digital. Using the Scan and Maintain the File Room framework, a firm profiles and scans to the DMS all incoming paper documents, but still manages a paper Redweld (paper file) during the matter's active lifecycle. The firm may choose to keep a paper file for every matter, or only for the designated matters for which the attorney has a paper preference.

DocSolid's survey with over 100 firms shows that about half of the attorney population today prefers working with a paper file, and the other half wants everything digital and available from the DMS. So the Scan and Maintain the File Room approach runs a dual system during the active lifecycle of the matter, to do both. This accommodates all preferences about the use of paper and images, and softens the adoption curve with attorneys who want to progress gradually toward a digital workplace.

When the matter is retired, all related paper is already scanned, profiled, and in the DMS, and after a QC and retirement process the paper can be shredded. This results in substantial hard savings by eliminating long term records storage, and unifying overall retention and disposition practices ' everything is digital.

Scan and Shred Closed Matters

An effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Cut off the growth of offsite storage costs;
• Build a 'scanning muscle' in the Records Department for scan capture competency that can be leveraged throughout the firm; and
• Establish a back-office scanning platform for the firm, and lay a foundation for scanning during the active lifecycle of the paper, either in the front-office or as a Records services function.

This framework is based on an initial, hard goal of eliminating long term records storage costs, and establishing Records as the place to start enterprise scanning competency. Using the Scan and Shred Closed Matters framework, a firm scans inactive matter files instead of sending them to offsite storage. Firms get a quantified payback by cutting off the growing cost and risk of
offsite records storage, and establish a 'scanning muscle' that enables gradual migration to integrated DMS scanning for active matters.

When matters are closed, practice areas review and send corresponding paper files to Records. Records profiles and scans to the DMS all inserts (folders) in the matter Redweld (expanding file). Documents and document groupings are OCR'd to create searchable PDF files. An extensive QC process ensures accurate image capture and storage as archived files in the DMS. Records policy is applied and the paper documents are scheduled for destruction, not boxed for offsite storage. Any subsequent retrieval from the inactive records base is serviced by DMS image retrieval of the scanned files.

Note that scanning matters after they close does not extend the digital advantage into the active lifecycle of the matter. But once the system is in place and operating well, moving the scan workflow to capture just-arrived documents to the DMS is easier and the capabilities are quantified, so gradual migration of scanning from the back office (Records) to the front office (Practice Areas) can be paced into a firm's paper-to-digital culture and adoption patterns.

Conclusion

The paper-to-digital transformation for law firms is a journey, not a project. Begin by determining your destination and get started with that place in mind. There are numerous ROI milestones along the journey, but you need a firm commitment to the destination, a map to show the way, and a guide to keep you on the path. All together, with the commitment of the firm, you can become a Paper-to-Digital Law Firm.

Steve Irons is the president of DocSolid, provider of enterprise scanning solutions for the legal market. He can be reached at [email protected].

Even though the costs and inefficiencies of paper records are an obvious strain on the law firm business model, law firms struggle with less-paper initiatives for one key reason: according to ILTA members informally surveyed in over 20 cities domestically, about half of today's attorneys would still prefer to work with paper, even if the entire file is digitally available from the DMS.

This is why a law firm's paper-to-digital transformation requires more than adopting a scanning technology: it requires best practice disciplines and change management initiatives attuned to the unique culture of that law practice.

When a law firm determines it wants to get serious about scanning, it generally has an initial and a long term objective. For long term objectives, we hear aggressive ambitions to 'Go paperless' in the practice areas or 'Eliminate offsite records storage.' Initial objectives are more grounded in practicality, such as 'Start scanning closed matters instead of sending them offsite to records storage' or 'Start scanning all incoming paper for the IP Practice Group.'

'Start' is the key word. When the only scanning experience has been casual scanning at the copier, best practice enterprise scanning is a big leap forward. It must fit the culture, the workflow, and the operational future of the firm. This requires a plan and should incorporate answers to these questions:

• What are our specific goals for paper document scanning?
• What volume of incoming paper will we need to address with this project?
• How does the paper arrive and get managed as it heads to the scan capture workflow?
• Who profiles the documents into the DMS? Who scans? Who QCs?
• How do we identify and serve the range of scanning needs, firm wide?
• How do we apply security, process integrity and QC to the overall job?
• How do we intersect with and apply Records policies? How do we engage the Records staff?
• Do we have physical records retirement policy? Do we shred? How? When?
• What staffing, infrastructure and application resources are required?
• Who owns this new operation?
• How do we measure productivity, and most importantly, ROI?

To tackle these questions, and others, firms must develop an approach to the project that marries the overall objectives with the firm's existing culture about paper, the ROI targets, and the investment resources. Here are some of the frameworks we have developed which have been implemented successfully by our customers, many of which are AmLaw 100 firms. These frameworks give firms a way to start ' and most importantly, to also complete ' their scanning initiatives.

Scan and Retire the File Room

This is an effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Reduce the real estate and other costs for paper file rooms and storage;
• Move offices to smaller square footage space; and
• Improve the efficiency of the attorneys and staff by building a fully digital matter file.

Scan and Retire the File Room is the most aggressive approach to an enterprise scanning initiative. The premise is that all incoming paper headed for the file room will instead be scanned, profiled and stored in the DMS. The paper is then retired (a process that usually ends with shredding) ' so, too, the file room. Workflow is established to channel inbound paper documents, usually to the legal secretary, but possibly through Records or an extended mailroom operation. After documents are scanned, profiled and stored in the DMS, they are distributed digitally, if required. The paper proceeds through a process that applies records retention and destruction policy. Quality controls check that the scanning process has properly captured and stored the related images. The few types of paper documents that must be retained physically are separated out. Eventually, based on a firm's policy, the bulk of the paper can be shredded.

The result is that previously managed paper records are now available digitally from the DMS, as part of the active digital matter file. Attorneys and staff become much more efficient because the entire matter is managed, retrieved and shared from the DMS. File room operations become largely unnecessary and can eventually be shut down, or greatly reduced. The square footage dedicated to file space firm wide is dramatically reduced, as is the corresponding cost for such real estate. And the flow of paper to offsite storage is shut off, along with that cost. This results in substantial ROI in cost reductions and productivity improvements.

Scan and Retire the File Room delivers a high-impact ROI. Its aggressive approach to enterprise scanning requires strong executive backing because of the change and cultural adjustments it brings.

Target Image Enthusiasts

This is an effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Measured rollout of enterprise scanning, based on user advocacy;
• Soften the cultural change by dealing with scanning-eager practice groups first; and
• Generate independent internal success stories for practice groups enabled with imaging.

This framework is based on the principles of adoption, specifically that eager participants in document scanning and image viewing are going to be the most successful, and that laggards who love the paper file are going to need collegial success stories to embrace the change. Using the Target Image Enthusiasts framework, a firm profiles and scans all incoming paper documents to the DMS, but only for the practice groups that are eager to remove paper from their operations. Then, based on project success in these practice areas, the rollout bandwagon extends to each of the next practice groups who want to hop on board.

This is a 'farming' approach to enterprise scanning and image retrieval. But don't confuse it with a trial. A trial implies that the decision to proceed is dependent on results or impressions. Target Image Enthusiasts presumes a commitment to enterprise scanning, and uses this method to contain cultural resistance while a rollout spreads.

Target Image Enthusiasts gives eager adopters the image solution they've been clamoring for, and engages them in the success of the overall project as participants, an active source for solution improvements, and advocates. They become the stakeholders that spark the project forward.

Scan and Maintain the File Room

This option is an effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Stop the growth of offsite storage costs;
• Accommodate both paper and digital work preferences; and
• Establish an enterprise scanning platform for gradual transition to a paper free operation.

This framework is based on the principle of accommodating the old-school culture of paper, while going digital. Using the Scan and Maintain the File Room framework, a firm profiles and scans to the DMS all incoming paper documents, but still manages a paper Redweld (paper file) during the matter's active lifecycle. The firm may choose to keep a paper file for every matter, or only for the designated matters for which the attorney has a paper preference.

DocSolid's survey with over 100 firms shows that about half of the attorney population today prefers working with a paper file, and the other half wants everything digital and available from the DMS. So the Scan and Maintain the File Room approach runs a dual system during the active lifecycle of the matter, to do both. This accommodates all preferences about the use of paper and images, and softens the adoption curve with attorneys who want to progress gradually toward a digital workplace.

When the matter is retired, all related paper is already scanned, profiled, and in the DMS, and after a QC and retirement process the paper can be shredded. This results in substantial hard savings by eliminating long term records storage, and unifying overall retention and disposition practices ' everything is digital.

Scan and Shred Closed Matters

An effective framework for firms with these objectives:

• Cut off the growth of offsite storage costs;
• Build a 'scanning muscle' in the Records Department for scan capture competency that can be leveraged throughout the firm; and
• Establish a back-office scanning platform for the firm, and lay a foundation for scanning during the active lifecycle of the paper, either in the front-office or as a Records services function.

This framework is based on an initial, hard goal of eliminating long term records storage costs, and establishing Records as the place to start enterprise scanning competency. Using the Scan and Shred Closed Matters framework, a firm scans inactive matter files instead of sending them to offsite storage. Firms get a quantified payback by cutting off the growing cost and risk of
offsite records storage, and establish a 'scanning muscle' that enables gradual migration to integrated DMS scanning for active matters.

When matters are closed, practice areas review and send corresponding paper files to Records. Records profiles and scans to the DMS all inserts (folders) in the matter Redweld (expanding file). Documents and document groupings are OCR'd to create searchable PDF files. An extensive QC process ensures accurate image capture and storage as archived files in the DMS. Records policy is applied and the paper documents are scheduled for destruction, not boxed for offsite storage. Any subsequent retrieval from the inactive records base is serviced by DMS image retrieval of the scanned files.

Note that scanning matters after they close does not extend the digital advantage into the active lifecycle of the matter. But once the system is in place and operating well, moving the scan workflow to capture just-arrived documents to the DMS is easier and the capabilities are quantified, so gradual migration of scanning from the back office (Records) to the front office (Practice Areas) can be paced into a firm's paper-to-digital culture and adoption patterns.

Conclusion

The paper-to-digital transformation for law firms is a journey, not a project. Begin by determining your destination and get started with that place in mind. There are numerous ROI milestones along the journey, but you need a firm commitment to the destination, a map to show the way, and a guide to keep you on the path. All together, with the commitment of the firm, you can become a Paper-to-Digital Law Firm.

Steve Irons is the president of DocSolid, provider of enterprise scanning solutions for the legal market. He can be reached at [email protected].