3 Ways Document Management Software Can Dramatically Change A Small Law Firm

Documents are a huge part of any legal practice. Attorneys are paid to prepare them, produce them, examine them, edit them, advise on them… you get the picture.

And yet how much attention do you pay to improving these processes?

The old saying, time is money, never rang more true. If your firm is experiencing any of the following inefficient workflow issues, then please read on!

• Each person in the firm is saving documents in a different place.
• Your filing system consists solely of paper cabinets.
• When you create a new document you usually have to start from scratch.
• You don’t know which of your templates are up to date.
• If someone is away sick you don’t have access to their work.
• You always type in client or other party details into your forms manually.

This wavering dependence on paper, lack of collaboration and manual production methodology isn’t uncommon. In fact it is often the difference between a successful firm and a struggling firm in today’s competitive market.

A little bit of  digital organization and automation goes a long long way.

Here are three of the biggest benefits of using document management software in your small law firm.

1. Less Paper

It’s nice to have physical documents but paper is also a massive productivity road block. Paper documents are fundamentally more difficult to share and to collaborate on. With legal document management software your firm can use a digital filing system that organizes and safely stores documents on your servers or in the cloud.

2. Greater Morale

Document management software can help you get more work done with the same amount of staff through improved efficiency. Through automation you’ll spend less time repetitively typing the same information over and over again. You won’t have to worry about saving over old documents or making edits that will potentially affect other matters; with the right software, versions will be automatically saved and organized for you. And when you need to access something immediately – an email, a form or a phone number – you’ll know exactly where to find it. All this leads to less stress and a happier practice.

3. Reduced Risk

Document management software can standardize your templates and forms so that you know you are using the right document for a particular matter. One unique thing about Smokeball is that it provides more than 3000 updated court forms for counties in Illinois, which are included free with the software package. Furthermore you can automate these forms, so that you don’t make costly typing errors or miscalculations when putting together, for example, a real estate closing statement.

Want to learn more about document management and automation?

Watch a demo of Smokeball in action or drop us a line on 1855 668 3206!