Using Law Practice Software To Go Paperless

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Using Law Practice Software To Go
Paperless
“Modern law practice software
makes the paperless law firm a
reality. Version control, acc “ess
permissions and automated
distributions are just some of the
features that practice management
software brings to electronic
document management.
he promise of the paperless office
sorting, filing, retrieving, re-filing, misfiling
has existed as long as computers
and searching for misfiled documents
Tand the Internet. It's likely that becomes astronomical.
when the earliest computers were being
built, someone looked at these room-sized
Early efforts with electronic documents had
collections of vacuum tubes and transistors
challenges as well. Emailing the large files
and said proudly, "Someday this will
bogged down the network. Version control
replace my file cabinet." Thanks to
became impossible because there was no
advances in practice management software,
longer an original, just dozens of copies. No
the (practically) paperless office is possible
one knew who was responsible for changes,
in the legal profession.
and the audit trail became muddled.
Changes in one version weren't carried over
Document Control
to other versions because an attorney was
Capabilities - Then and Now
working off an old copy.
Saving trees is a laudable goal, but law
Today, all of these problems are eliminated
offices need to know if paperless law
by using the document control capabilities
practice software makes good business
in modern practice management software.
sense. And it does. Paper documents are
A single copy of the electronic document is
inefficient. The manpower involved in
stored centrally on the law firm's server.
www.lexisnexis.com

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Sequential versions are created, but changes
Advantages of Practice
are made to a single source with no danger
Management Software
of parallel versions.
Advanced law practice software automates
Document Distribution
many document management tasks, reducing
Models
errors and improving audit trails. A new
document is scanned, automatically named
The simplest electronic document
and stored in the correct folder, and
distribution system is the 'hot potato'
distributed to applicable recipients. All
method. A document which needs to be
changes are tracked. The original document
reviewed is passed to each person on the
is safely stored away, with all modifications
distribution list; the person looks at it, makes
made through the practice management
any needed changes, and passes it to the next
software.
person on the list. This system is simple and
maintains a single version, but document
The paperless office no longer has to deal
editing is slow since each person has to wait
with misfiled records. Document searches
for everyone before to finish.
that used to take days are done in minutes, if
not seconds. Electronic files are both more
A 'wide net' distribution system uses practice
accessible and more secure than paper. They
management software to simultaneously
are more accessible because authorized users
assign specific tasks to everyone who needs
have access to the firm's entire library at the
to review the document.
click of a mouse. They are more secure
because each document can be assigned
Reviewers look at the document, complete
permissions, so only people who need to see
their tasks, and then sign off on it. Document
the information have access to it.
review is faster since attorneys and other
contributors work simultaneously; but
After many years of chasing the goal,
review status is more difficult to determine
features of today's law practice software like
and the line of responsibility can become
document control, automated distribution
complicated.
and access permission have finally made the
paperless legal practice a practical reality.
LexisNexis® is a developer of legal billing software
and practice management software that makes the
dream of the paperless legal office a reality.
www.lexisnexis.com

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