Getting to Paperless:A Lawyer’s Step-by-Step
Guide8:30 am – 9:30 am
Nancy DuhonDuhon Technology
Solutions, [email protected]
Donna NeffNeff Law Office
Professional Corporation
PracticePP1(Next Session: Hardcore Scanning for
Law Offices of ANY Size 11:00 am)
“[T]he first step in getting to a paperless society is getting rid of the lawyers”
(Carl Stoddard, 1969)
Survey Says.....
• Size of Firm
• Practice Area
• Paperless Experience
• Role at the Firm
Step 1: Charting Your Course
• If you don’t know where you’re headed, how will you know when you arrive at your destination?
Define Your Goals
• What do you hope to achieve by going paperless?
• WRITE them down– Circulate for comment in your firm– Incorporate the feedback
They’re the draft guidelines on how to run a ‘paperless’ office.
Step 2: Get Buy In
• MUST be from the top
• And all the way to the bottom
• If you skip this step, you pretty much insure a failed implementation
Step 3: Assess Your Physical Needs
Backup, Backup, Backup
• Reliable and frequent
• Recover from catastrophe
• Recover single file
• Multiple layers– incremental and full– on-site and off-site
The Equipment
• Take an inventory of existing software and hardware
• Software– Adobe® Acrobat® Professional– Document Management System (DMS)– desktop search engines
• Hardware– scanners – second monitors
Hardware Considerations
• New items:– Scanners– Multiple Monitors
Hardware Considerations
Hardware Considerations
Hardware Considerations
• New items:– Scanners– Multiple Monitors– More Hard Drive Space– More Backups (multiple layers of
protection)– Shredders– Staple Removers
“Hardware” Considerations
• Old items you will need less of:– Paper – Toner, paper clips, staples, envelopes– Highlighters– File Storage Cabinets/Offsite Storage– Office Space/square footage– Staff?
Software: a PDF creator
• Lots of freebies available– Just Google “free PDF
creator”
• Adobe Acrobat is the gold “standard.”– Gives you PDF menus and
add-ins in all Microsoft Office applications.
Software: a PDF manipulator• In the paper realm, we DO things to
the paper once we print it. Like:– Highlight words– Sign our names– Shuffle/bind them
• You need software that allows you to do that with a PDF.
• We both prefer Acrobat
Step 4: Training• By far the biggest hurdle, because it
means changing the way you work.
Training
• Give your workers the tools they need to succeed, and keep you safe.
Step 5: Launch
• Have a Pilot Study/Test Period– Representatives of all office groups.– Get volunteers who are excited
about the prospect (naysayers?)– They become cheerleaders and
mentors to their groups on roll out.
Scanning
• Portable Document Format (pdf)– THE Gold Standard for digital documents– 150 - 300 DPI, black & white
– Practice Tip: To get started, scan all documents and files going forward. Do not scan current documents or closed files for now.
File Naming Conventions
• If you have a DMS, someone else has already determined this for you.
• Just profile your PDFs like you do any other document.
Today, 4:30 p.m.
DMS: The "Must-Have" Tool for Every Practice
With Debbie Foster & Paul Unger
What’s in a Name?
• Name folders and documents in a consistent, standardized manner
• Facilitates retrieval & retention.
Practice Tip: Create a standardize folder and document-naming protocol and ensure all use it.
Create predefined folders
Step 6: Review, Revise, Repeat
Resources
• Online forum at www.planetpdf.com– Post your questions & get answers
• Rick Borstein’s Blog– http://tinyurl.com/a9bj9m
• Books– David Master’s Adobe Acrobat for
Lawyer– Donna Baker’s Adobe Acrobat 9 How
Tos: 125 Essential Techniques
A Paperless Society?!
Maybe the first step in
getting there will be taken
by the lawyers!
Top Related