If you’re reading this blog on the internet, then you understand the benefits of going paperless. If you’re not reading this on the internet—well, just catch up with us tomorrow…you know, sometime after the office opens and your assistant gets a chance to print it out for you.
But also, why are you doing that? Whether you’re a solo practitioner or one of the “big boys”, paperless law firms are no longer the wave of the future; they’re the cresting swell of the present—an absolute requirement for any personal injury firm looking to compete in an ever-evolving practice area.
While the list of reasons your firm should go paperless could fill infinite Bankers Boxes, we won’t take up that much of your mental space— instead, we’re giving you the top 6 reasons your firm should think outside the box (both literally and figuratively).
1. Your clients are paperless
Consumers today are spoiled. They can get real time updates on their pizza, so they (rightly) expect a higher standard from their fiduciaries. If your client needs a document from you ASAP, they want it ASAP.
They’re not going to understand when you tell them, “the office is closed on weekends” or “it’ll take a few days to find.”
Failure to meet your clients’ (justified) expectations can have irreversible effects on your firm’s reputation, goodwill, and bottom line—after all, they can open an app on their phone and write a bad review quicker than you can say, “I’ll get right back to you.”
2. Going paperless keeps you organized
Plaintiffs come with more than just a valid cause of action; they also come with a lot of paper. A single plaintiff can bring thousands of records into your PI office—after a couple of years, finding an individual client’s medical certificate can be like finding a needle in a haystack mountain.
With a paperless law firm, you can sift through your firm’s entire document history with the same ease of a Google search—saving you hours of headaches and allowing you respond to clients on their schedules.
3. Going paperless makes you efficient
Your time is also valuable. You shouldn’t start from scratch every time you take on a new client.
A huge plus of a paperless firm is the ability to search for documents by more than just whatever’s written on the box; instead, you can search through your firm’s documents and emails using criteria like keyword or document type (e.g. contract, motion)—so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time you draft something new.
Cutting down on unnecessary repetition and search time lets you be more productive…so you can take on more work without taking on more staff.
4. You’re always on the go
The life of a personal injury attorney is increasingly mobile…you never stop and neither do your cases—but lugging around hundreds of boxes everywhere you go just isn’t tenable.
Going paperless allows you to access your documents from anywhere. Whether you’re stuck in traffic or a courthouse lobby, you can view and edit your documents with ease—so you’re always ready to meet the collaborative needs of your clients and staff alike.
5. Going paperless prevents document loss
If your firm’s important files aren’t in the cloud, they’re probably in some dusty war room or storage closet—leaving them vulnerable to permanent loss by a myriad of harmful forces, like hurricanes, floods, fire, theft, or careless interns.
Switching to a paperless firm combats these risks. Because all documents are stored digitally, they aren’t susceptible to things like natural disasters or naturally disastrous staff—ensuring your data remains safe even when things look bleak.
6. Going paperless Will save you money
Running a personal injury firm is expensive, but going paperless is a great way to save your firm some major paper.
In addition to the savings you gain from increased efficiency and low incidence of loss, eschewing hardcopy documents for the cloud saves you loads of money on storage space—especially if you live in a big city where square footage comes at a premium.
That’s because cloud-based case management software doesn’t require storage space…we’ll even archive your closed files for a period of seven years.
Don’t wait seven years to try out the cloud; head on over to our website and check out all the ways our innovative suite of paperless applications can help build, manage, and grow your personal injury practice by signing up for a demo…after all, paper may grow on trees, but money doesn’t.
