7 Best Ways for Lawyers to Go Paperless
Sure, keep your Post-It notes and legal pads, your expensive pens and marble paperweights. But when it comes to the important stuff -- client files, court filings, memos and the like -- your firm should be paperless.
Going paperless makes it easier to maintain and organize your records, share information between members of your firm, and, frankly, it just makes it much easier to work in today's always-connected environment. Here are seven of FindLaw's best "how to go paperless" posts to help you out.
1. Going Paperless? It May Be Your Ethical Obligation
A paperless law office isn't just about convenience and being able to check documents from your phone. Staying on top of tech trends, and getting rid of obsolete practices, can help lawyers meet their obligation to "keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology."
2. 5 High-Tech Ways Small Law Firms Can Go Paperless
You don't have to invest millions into I.T. in order to go paperless. Scanning, Google Drive, and cloud storage are all easy options for firms looking to reduce their paper footprint.
3. The Best Scanner Under $300
What do you do with all your old papers, now that you're going paperless? Scan 'em. And for under $300, there are some pretty good scanner options available.
4. How Cloud Storage and Confidentiality Can Work Together
Lawyers are understandably cautious about cloud computing. After all, storing confidential documents on "the cloud" -- really, just a server farm somewhere far away -- can raise some legal and ethical concerns. But, those concerns aren't insurmountable. When it comes to cloud storage, security and confidentiality aren't impossible to obtain.
5. 3 High-Tech Ways to Get Paid by Your Client: Online, Mobile, NFC
Forget dropping checks off at the bank or bulky credit card readers. These days, instant, even online, payment is easy.
6. The Most Disruptive Legal Technologies of 2015
From "Bring Your Own Device" policies to law firm social networking to the proliferation of the Microsoft Service Pro, many law firms are already well on their way to being largely paperless and increasingly mobile.
7. 11 Ways to Start a Virtual Law Office Today
If going paperless seems too easy for you, consider an even greater challenge: forgoing the brick-and-mortar world all together by switching to a virtual practice. You'll save plenty of money on printer ink.
Related Resources:
- Top 7 Things Lawyers Need to Know About the Cloud (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Need to Collect a Settlement? There's an App for That (FindLaw's Technologist)
- 5 Timekeeping Apps for Lawyers (FindLaw's Technologist)