Moving to a paperless operating environment
Many lessons have been learnt over the last 18 months, and law firms will be looking to see how they can use these to make their operations more efficient and reduce the risk of disruption should another event of such magnitude happen again. Firms that have had to operate remotely for the first time will have seen the difficulties of doing this, but hopefully, they will start to see that moving to this type of operation could be a way of making their operations move effective and enable them to save significant operating costs and overheads, leading to a reduction in costs for their clients.
Clients will see how law firms have operated recently and are likely to ask why this can’t continue as we move into 2022; traditional ways of doing things will no longer be acceptable if it has been shown there is a better and less expensive way of doing them.
Operating the traditional way
Prior to the pandemic, most law firms were operating in traditional ways, with some using complete paper files and others using a mixture of paper/digital files; such forms of operating can have significant drawbacks including costs related to renting office space, paper, printing, hardware, maintenance, shredding, and other issues such as security, health & safety (tripping and fire risks), and traceability of clients’ paper assets.
In addition to client files taking up costly office space, firms will also have libraries of law books and other reference material, much of it having gathered dust over many decades.
Most firms will have significant numbers of client files in their archives, especially if they don’t operate an effective file review and destruction policy. These archives are normally located in buildings firms own or stored in facilities owned and managed by third parties. Archive costs can be a considerable overhead for firms, but these could be reduced dramatically over a period of time if digital files were introduced.
With the introduction of new data protection legislation (GDPR) another issue with retaining a paper-based operation is being able to locate and access data within a short period of time when a data subject access request is made; finding all the data that has been requested can be a major task if it is not located in a central depository.
Challenges to change
One of the major challenges to change is the attitude of staff and whether are willing to buy-in to proposed changes; there will always be some who have become so used to working with paper that they will be loathed to change to anything else. However, big changes require big decisions and the resolve to stand by them, even if that means having to have tough conversations with any dissenters, no matter what position they hold within their firm!
With more firms taking a flexible or hybrid working approach, many firms are now able to make the move to a paperless operation. It has shown anyone who may have had any doubts about making such a change that the time is now right if their firm wants to be able to compete and meet similar challenges in the future.
The cost of moving to a paperless operation is also likely to be seen as a real challenge, however, this needs to be considered as a long-term project rather than a short-term one. A properly considered and implemented change plan can lead to substantial long-term savings, which will pay for any short-term costs in scanning existing documents, purchasing new IT and scanning equipment.
Operating a zero-paper regime
Although the legal profession is moving in the right direction, there are still a few legal documents that will have to remain in their original form, but this does not stop them from being scanned and then retained in secure storage for when they are needed. This should not be seen as a barrier to moving everything else onto digital systems.
Case management systems are now regarded as the most efficient and effective way of managing client matters and therefore these should be utilised as much as possible, including the storing of client documents and archiving; such systems, if used effectively, can make compliance with data protection legislation much easier, in that the location of data is centralised rather disparate.
Online research and training systems are also widely available and can eradicate the need for hardcopy legal reference materials and face-to-face training.
Experience has shown that in many sectors utilising a large PC screen or two smaller screens is the most efficient way of operating, as this allows users to view different windows together, for example, reviewing a file using one and being able to type a document in the other.
Operating a paperless regime can lead to substantial ongoing financial savings for firms, including from a reduced need for paper and stationery supplies, filing cabinets, printers and consumables, maintenance, archiving, and staff to undertake filing.
Many firms are currently looking at how they can reduce their impact on the environment, and by moving to remote and digital operations they can show they are playing their part in this; this can then be used when tendering for corporate work where clients want to see that the law firms they instruct are environmentally friendly.
If a firm is also looking to increase the number of staff working remotely as a consequence of moving to a completely digital environment, there can be significant reductions in office, insurance, and cleaning costs. Firms can still retain a much smaller office-based, client-facing presence with a reception, offices to hold client meetings, and hot desks for staff needing to work onsite on a temporary basis.
The risks of remote working
Going fully remote and digital does come with some risks, however, as long as these are identified and mitigated it should not stop such operations from moving forward; risks can be mitigated as follows:
- IT equipment – provide those working remotely with firm owned equipment that has been appropriately configured and protected; ensure they only have access to systems and information they need.
- Cybercrime – ensure staff are aware of all relevant policies and procedures (cyber, information security, data protection, social media, email), and that compliance with these is monitored and enforced.
- Supervision – hold regular online meetings with staff so they can discuss any problems they may have; alternatively, invite them to the office periodically for face-to-face meetings.
- Isolation – for some staff working remotely will be very different and will require discipline to ensure they continue to meet their obligations; remote working can lead to feelings of isolation so regular communication is very important, as is monitoring the mental health of staff.
- Policies & procedures – staff working remotely need to be clear about what they can and can’t do, so making policies and procedures available when they need them is key; these must be reviewed and updated as appropriate, but at least annually.
- Confidentiality – no matter how a firm decides to operate it still has a duty to maintain client confidentiality; for those working from home this includes making sure anyone else in the house is not able to see or access client data.
- Competence – ensure staff are competent to carry out their roles and provide them with appropriate training.
- Regulatory reports – ensure staff are aware that any breaches, claims, complaints, data subject access requests, or suspicious activity reports, are promptly reported to the relevant manager or compliance officer.
Firms are now operating in a world that is very different from what came before, and the sector needs to recognise this and ensure they adapt accordingly, otherwise, they will be at a commercial disadvantage.
