Introduction to Paperless Lawyering

Intro to PaperlessProcess information faster, with less effort

Paperless since 2005

Used to be

– Technology was expensive/complicated

– Process was uncertain/untested

Why?

Becoming Paperless(now at least)

– Technology is cheap & pretty easy

– Processes have been created & tried

Today

– But, one thing stands in the way…

– Getting the right technology

– Developing sound processes

– (that other thing)

We’ll Cover

“paperless”Define

1. Completely devoid of paper

2. Devoid of paper as much as possible

3. All key information stored in digital form

4. Ability to work on documents anywhere, anytime

Four Definitions

Benefits

– cheaper storage– no lost originals– easier to copy (cheaper too)– easier to transmit (cheaper)– easier to search– backup & security easier/cheaper

Benefits

2,000

200,000

25 lbs

1 Ton?

80% of what’s filed never gets looked at again.

–The Leader-Post

1 hr a day looking for missing info.

–The Wall St. Journal

Smith Contract

Backup

– harder to re-order pages– not as easy to browse– paper is easier to read

Problems?

Why change?

Informationprocessing

Inform

OrganizeArrange

Facts

ResearchGather

Discover

Inspire

Story

Information Processing Factoid

Year Task Time20032010

Genome Sequencing 10 yrs

Genome Sequencing(if done today)

1 week

Bad info handlingmay cause death

‘O’ Ring Problems

Flight Date Temp °F Erosion Blow-by Damage Index

1 Apr. 1981 66° 0

2 Nov. 1981 70° 1 4

3 Mar. 1982 69° 0

5 Nov. 1982 68° 0

6 Apr. 1983 67° 0

41-B Feb. 1984 57° 1 4

41-C Apr. 1984 63° 1 2

51-A Nov. 1984 67° 0

51-C Jan. 1985 53° 3 2 11

51-D Apr. 1985 67° 0

61-C Jan. 1986 58° 1 4

‘O’ Ring Problems

Flight Date Temp °F Erosion Blow-by Damage Index

2 Nov. 1981 70° 1 4

3 Mar. 1982 69° 0

5 Nov. 1982 68° 0

6 Apr. 1983 67° 0

51-A Nov. 1984 67° 0

51-D Apr. 1985 67° 0

1 Apr. 1981 66° 0

41-C Apr. 1984 63° 1 2

61-C Jan. 1986 58° 1 4

41-B Feb. 1984 57° 1 4

51-C Jan. 1985 53° 3 2 11

‘O’ Ring Problems

0

3

6

9

12

15

70° 69° 68° 67° 66° 63° 58° 57° 53°

ErosionDamage

Temp °F

“paperless”Become

Law Firm 1. Organize our stuff 2. Organize client stuff

StuffClient filesCase docsE-mailsWeb-pages& other stuff

1. Keep it digital1.(avoid printing)

2. Make it digital

Principles

InputsE-mail

ApptsFaxesLettersTranscripts

OutputsE-mail

FaxesLetters

Principles in practice(or how to transition to a

paperless practice)

Step 1

Avoid printingemails

of emails are never printed out67%

Friends don’t let friendsprint out emails

Create new engagement letter

Step 2

Avoid printingaltogether

Mr. Rogers:

May 8, 2008

Enclosed please find lots of paper. I hope that you enjoy sifting through these documents as much I have.

Best wishes,

Ernest Svenson

123 Walnut St., Suite 1001, New Orleans, LA 70118

Svenson Law Firm LLC

New form letter

Dear NAME:

May 8, 2008

Best wishes,

Ernest Svenson

123 Walnut St., Suite 1001, New Orleans, LA 70118

Svenson Law Firm LLC

Mr. Rogers:

Enclosed please find lots of paper. I hope that you enjoy sifting through these documents as much I have.

File

Save as PDFSend E-mail

How to create?1. Scan in signature2. Erase background3. Import to Word, Acrobat

Web Fax

$9

$10

$17

Send2Fax

MyFax

eFax

Cost/monthService

Receive web faxEmail From Subject Date

jbac Crosby case

rsamson Miller matter

03/01/08

03/01/08

pbjelly Toasty bread issue

jgotti Criminal case

jford Auto case

02/28/08

02/27/08

02/26/08

New Message

To:Cc:

Subject:

15043240453@myfax.com

Attach: name of file

Step 3

Make digital

Scanner- PPM- Duplex- Deskew- OCR

Fujitsu ScanSnap

$394 @ Amazon

Model S1500Model S1500M

Paper Shredder

Cost: $63Model:Fellows

Paper Shredder

Cost: Free: (from Pound)

Model:Terrier

Shredder in Action

PDFs“portable document format” = ‘digital paper’ widespread use

PC vs. Mac

StandardProfessional

Adobe Acrobat

Acrobat XStandard Professional

OCR

Bates-stamp

Redaction

Compare PDFs

Step 4

File Organization

Moving Parts

?????

Applications Op Sys

DMS v.

Folders

Special softwareFolder structureFile naming system

DMS req’s

DMS Docs2008_02_132008_02_122008_02_102008_02_092008_02_082008_02_062008_02_052008_02_04

2008_02_132008_02_13_15_49_512008_02_13_14_28_312008_02_13_10_19_452008_02_13_09_59_012008_02_13_02_07_232008_02_13_01_59_192008_02_13_01_45_012008_02_13_01_39_45

Yourfolders

Crown v. Royal

01 Pleadings02 Correspondence03 Documents04 Word Processing05 Depositions06 Legal Research07 Attorney Notes08 Trial Documents

Yourfile names

01 Pleadings

2009_01_01 Complaint2009_01_08 Summons2009_02_15 Return 2009_03_02 Extension req2009_04_02 Answer2009_07_17 Motion SJ Def2009_08_01 Opp by Plntf2009_10_19 Order grantng

02 Correspondence

2008_02_13 EES ltr K Smith2008_02_01 K Smith email EES2008_01_04 Thompson fax EES2007_12_14 Chisom ltr EES2007_11_11 Ward fax Counsel2007_10_16 EES ltr Marion2007_09_23 EES ltr Feinberg2007_08_08 Mangione ltr EES

FolderFile nameWhole drive

Finding

Step 0

The only reliable backup is an offsite backup

Web-based options– Carbonite.com– CrashPlan.com – Dropbox.com– Sugarsync.com{

{

Step −1

Prepare for paperless– RAM (crucial.com) – Dual monitors– Email proficiency

Oh, and that 3rd thing?– breaking a habit is hard – start by yourself– keep up your tech skills

Why change?

Why change?– Do better for clients

– Enable more work flexibility

– Lower stress & save money

How to change?– Scan only new cases

– Don’t scan old files

– Scan old files only when you

reach point where only few left

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