We know legal document management isn’t everybody’s favorite thing to talk about. OK, it’s nobody’s favorite thing to talk about. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less crucial for the success of your personal injury law firm. Keeping documents organized and accessible helps increase efficiency in your organization and prevents the kinds of mistakes that can derail a legal case.
Truly cutting-edge solutions go a step further to create alignment between document management and other business processes. With the right document management software for law firms, you can elevate your practice and get better results for your clients.
Why is legal document management so important?
Poor legal document management can quickly become like a bad game of Telephone. For the uninitiated, Telephone is a group game where one person whispers a phrase to the person next to them. Then that person tells the next person and so on down the line. The idea is to pass the same phrase all the way through the chain. But more often than not, people mishear things along the way, replacing words and otherwise messing things up so that what the last person hears is completely different from the original phrase.
Think about document management in this same context. A particular document can pass through many different hands multiple times throughout the case lifecycle, but you need to achieve a very specific result with that document in the end. Legal document management is even more challenging than Telephone (What? Managing a law firm is harder than a kid’s game?) in that instead of keeping the message the same, people will intentionally make changes to documents along the way. That means you need to be able to track revisions, maintain originals and find ways to streamline collaboration. If you don’t, you’ll end up wasting valuable time trying to locate and organize documents instead of working to get justice for your clients.
In Telephone, messing things up is half the fun. But for personal injury law firms, major breakdowns in communication generally aren’t received with such enthusiasm. That’s why it’s so important to adopt a legal case document management system that supports your overall law firm management operations.
Legal document management systems
Legal document management software on the market today offer many different ways to store and manage your digital files. Any solution worth buying will have features that allow you to store, edit, share, and comment on documents using a secure network. The basics are largely the same across solutions, so when choosing a document management system, you need to focus on the details.
Ask questions like: How are my files stored? Will I have access from any connected device? What level of security does the system provide? All of these questions will help you understand the true value a document management system can provide for your practice.
You also need to be mindful that the management solution you’re considering was made specifically for the services to law firms. All types of businesses use document management software, and some companies will advertise their solutions to a wide range of industries. This one-size-fits-all approach usually doesn’t work well for personal injury law firms that need matter-centric software. To truly elevate your practice, you need a solution that was designed for your business needs while providing the capability to move that business forward.
The CloudLex® difference
This is where CloudLex comes in to save the day. CloudLex is built exclusively for personal injury law firms so you can trust that our document management capabilities are tailored for your needs. With CloudLex’s Matter Manager app, you can store a variety of data (from PDFs to audio streams) and classify it however you want for easy retrieval. The communication tools allow you to easily collaborate and share documents both in-house and with clients.
CloudLex’s integrated applications mean increased efficiency compared to using a stand-alone legal document management system. With non-integrated systems, when you update information in one software program, the changes aren’t reflected in the others. This separation means you’ll be creating silos of information and a lot of manual and duplicate work. CloudLex, on the other hand, is one comprehensive, complete legal practice management platform, so when you update information in our system, the changes are immediately available to everyone in real time.
Because CloudLex is a cloud-based legal platform, you see lower upkeep costs while still getting the security of a HIPAA-compliant cloud server. CloudLex is also integrated with Microsoft Office Online®️ for seamless connectivity. Managing documents may be only one part of your business, but with CloudLex, you get a system that can elevate your entire law practice.
Also Read: Why CloudLex Is the Best Way to Safeguard Your Personal Injury Law Firm’s Data
Keep better archives
Legal document management doesn’t end when a case is resolved. Thankfully, Bankers Boxes are largely a thing of the past. Digital files require a digital archive system that provides security and a hassle-free way to store and access your documents. Often these long-term document storage needs to go beyond the capabilities of general document management systems. You can create your own archive using a data storage vendor, but why not choose a solution that’s already built into your existing system?
CloudLex’s Digital Archiver app provides a seamless experience that could save you 75 percent over traditional physical storage. With Digital Archiver, you can store any relevant case data—including digital correspondence, task assignments, and user data—for as long as necessary. Our unique Electronic Legal Record (eLR) technology makes archiving, searching and retrieving your closed cases faster and easier than ever. Your archive will be backed and secured by Microsoft Azure and around-the-clock monitoring so you can feel confident your files are secure.
While it may be a bad conversation starter at cocktail parties, legal document management could make or break your business. You need a solution that allows you to track documents and streamline collaboration in a secure digital environment. By choosing the right legal document management system, you can do away with tedious record-keeping activities, saving your firm time and energy that you can use to do more for your clients.
Also Read: Seize Your Day with Our Case Management Dashboards
Ready to get your records in order? CloudLex—the Next-Gen Legal Cloud®—can help. Schedule a free demo today and we’ll show you how our unique solutions can transform your personal injury law firm.
