The pandemic helped drive law firms to expand the ability for attorneys and staff to work from anywhere. This shift to working from anywhere meant that law firms needed to focus on technology solutions and new ways to automate and maximize their processes to ensure their businesses run smoothly across a combination of remote and hybrid work environments. The ability of document management systems to streamline document management across a variety of work environments enhances their ability to organize, control, and access data. Here are some things to look for when considering document management systems.
Document accessibility and increased document functionality
In a work from anywhere landscape, the need for seamless access to documents and tools is critical, no matter where your users are working. A system that enables the scanning of documents means that users have access to documents no matter where they are working. Having a document management system in place that associates documents with case files, matters, or users means that organization is built-in and makes it simple for users to access documents from anywhere quickly and securely.
Ease of collaboration
With stakeholders working from multiple locations, collaboration across different work environments and systems is vital to ensure that everyone can access the necessary tools and documents from anywhere and on any device. Many document management systems offer the ability to include multiple collaborators who can access, audit, share changes and annotations, and even sign documents electronically through 3rd party integration. The ability for users to easily edit or create documents and see what version they are working in helps streamline the document review process. This makes it easy to securely share and collaborate on documents with clients, co-counsel, experts, and other stakeholders.
On-premises or cloud hosting
Firms need to consider how, where, and when users can access documents in a work from anywhere hybrid environment. Document management systems offer various options for storing and accessing documents, ranging from on-premises systems that host documents in the office, to those with a hybrid of on-premises and remote access, to systems where documents are hosted in a cloud server. Which solution works the best will depend on the size and needs of your firm.
Security
Document security is always a concern, no matter where your users work. A security breach could expose your clients and your firm to potential consequences, from a short-term service disruption to leaked documents and injury to reputations. Document management systems come with various security features, including authentication before a user can access it. Data encryption ensures that only authorized users can read documents. Restricted access that controls what level of read and write permissions a user has and audit trails that track user actions help ensure that only the right people access documents and make changes. Automatic backups ensure that your documents are protected if original data is lost.
Is your document management system optimized to handle work from anywhere? At Worldox, we believe that providing our clients with resources to understand the digital environment legal has accelerated into is vital. To learn more, contact us directly.
