The Attorney's Office Tools
Policy on Handling Documents Te most important part of a paperless office is a
written policy. Optimally, your firm should scan every single document entering the office (aside from junk mail), and every single document that leaves the office. In most cases, incoming documents should be scanned before they even reach the hands of attorneys, who are prone to losing important papers. If need be, an attorney may be the first to see documents that come into the office to determine if it needs an instant response, but he/she must immediately give the documents back to the paralegal or secretary for an immediate copy and scanning into the system. Also, there must be a policy to guarantee timely scanning—everything should be scanned within a few hours of receipt. Some firms have one person dedicated to scanning everything; other firms assign each attorney’s secretary to scan his/ her mail. Finally, the scanned documents must somehow be sent to the employees who need to see them—most case management programs can be engineered to provide e-mail or other electronic notification of new documents. Many attorneys ask what should be done with
the original documents? Some law firms destroy most documents, while others file them away, and only pull them out again if the need arises. Te hard file can be a good secondary backup. Importantly, you must be sure to save documents with original signatures (for example, pleadings) and any evidence that cannot be reliably duplicated.
Conclusion One question that attorneys frequently ask about files
is how long they have to retain them? With a paperless office, the simplest answer is to ignore the question and save files forever. With everything scanned in, and with electronic storage so inexpensive, there is no reason not to keep everything. Te entire hard copy of case files can be disposed of (with certain exceptions, of course) as soon as you are comfortable doing so. As for cost, it is not prohibitive. You can get a decent
sheet-fed desktop scanner for $1,200, and Acrobat Pro licenses for $450 each. Obviously, you can spend a lot of money on bells and whistles, and your office may need heavier duty scanners (a good multifunction scanner can run $25,000, though leasing options are available), but the cost is bearable. Also, if you are making the move to paperless, decide
first whether you are going to scan every document in every case. Without additional support, this is probably not worth the hassle, as the backlog could impair your
office. Instead, try scanning only all documents that come in prospectively, or only scanning documents for new cases. Eventually, the paper files will be cleared, and you will have achieved the goal—the paperless office.
Biography John J. Cord, Miller & Zois, LLC,
graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law. He concentrates his practice on assisting victims of automobile negligence, medical malpractice, and defective products. He is licensed to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Minnesota. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and is a former chair of the MAJ Technology Committee. Read his blog at
drugrecalllawyer.com, and follow him on Twitter at @johnjohncord.
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www.stutmanchiropractic.com | Se habla español Trial Reporter / Spring 2010 65
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