The work of lawyers is closely associated with handling a large number of documents. Currently, lawyers are compelled to manage documents in various formats: paper, Word documents, PDFs, among others. Additionally, these files can be stored on different devices such as office computers, a personal laptop, a mobile phone, a tablet, a private server, or in the cloud service. For our managing partner, Hector Torres, change is ongoing, and the adaptability of law firms is crucial.

“Document management in a law firm should not be viewed solely as an internal process but also as a way we serve our clients. It will also result in less work and better access to all documents for lawyers and administrative staff,” our specialist remarks.

In response to this, our expert suggests that poor document management in law firms can impact the client’s perception of the quality of service provided by the lawyer: “Not only because when they are here, the office can be cluttered with stacks of papers on the desk, causing delays and even problems in finding important documents,” Torres states.

To formalize the document management of the office, our managing partner believes that it is essential to consider whether a centralized filing system is desired, where all parties involved have defined how and what information they can access.

Secondly, Torres explains that firms must decide what to do with old documents. Our expert recommends categorizing which information will be kept in physical form, which will be deleted, and designing a digitization methodology.

When adopting a digital document management system, Torres believes it should be designed to meet the specific needs of its area of application. Therefore, a document administrator will be needed to improve the archiving and custody of client information, the firm, and its employees.

“Along with digital archiving software, the implementation of a document assistant will help address all the problems a law firm may encounter, but the human factor remains a key piece,” our lawyer suggests.

For Torres, a document management system will keep information up to date, provide accessibility to stored documents, enhance data security, securely and timely share client data, and reduce error margins in other law firm processes.