Legal Scanning Services for Solicitors
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- Published: Tuesday, 02 June 2015 11:00
- Written by Pearl Scan
- Hits: 3858
We recently attended LAW2015, an event organised by The Solicitor’s Group, where we had a great time promoting all of the ways solicitors and legal professionals can benefit from going digital with the way they manage documents.
In case you missed us, here is a rundown of the main reasons solicitors everywhere should close the case on paper documents once and for all.
Space Saving
Solicitors know that even the shortest cases can produce a lot of paperwork which is usually then filed away in filing cabinets, boxes or folders in case they need to be referred to at a later date. Since you could be smacked with some pretty hefty fines if those documents are destroyed before the end of their retention periods, many people decide that their only option is to put up with the files overrunning their offices.
There is another solution though; scanning documents can free up that much needed space while still remaining compliant to file retention laws. Once stored in a digital format, the documents will only take up virtual space and that physical space can be utilised in a more productive way. Scanned documents are also now accepted as sufficient evidence in a court of law so you really don’t have any need to keep storing paper copies.
Instant Access
When you store your documents manually, it can be difficult to find relevant files quickly and this slow file retrieval can often delay the completion of cases not to mention bringing frustration to all concerned (yourself and your clients).
When you have your documents scanned, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software is usually applied to convert the scanned images into fully searchable files. These files can then be indexed by relevant fields such as client name, reference number etc. This means scanned and fully indexed documents can be pulled up from your computer system or cloud platform in seconds through simple text searches of file names or even the contents of your documents.
Shared Access
Cases often take longer to complete when more than one person needs access to the same documents. These documents have to be photocopied and passed to the relevant people or scanned in one by one and emailed across but if you already have the files in digital format, you can eliminate those time consuming elements. You can also use platforms such as Google Docs which allow multiple users to edit documents simultaneously which saves even more time.
Remote Access
When the only copy of your files is stored in hard copy format and locked away in a filing cabinet in your office, it means that the only place you can really deal with that work is in the office or you will have to pre-empt your need for the document at a later date. With digital copies stored centrally, you can get remote access to them whether that’s working from home or even out on the road.
Improved Productivity
With all of the benefits above, you are bound to see an increase in productivity, possibly even allowing you to complete more cases in a shorter space of time. A by-product of increased productivity will be the ease at which you can complete work leading to lower stress levels and perhaps even an all round happier workplace.
Reduced Costs
There are a wide range of ways you could be wasting money with your current manual document management system including;
- Off-site storage costs
- On-site office space for storage
- Longer file retrieval = slower case completion = lower profit margins
- Paper and printing costs
- Filing cabinet costs
All of the costs mentioned above can be reduced or even eliminated completely by scanning your documents and adopting a digital way of managing your archives and live documents.
Pearl Scan Can Help
We are a document scanning service with over a decade’s worth of experience helping companies of all sizes to switch to digital document management and reap all of the benefits mentioned above.
A subdivision of the Pearl Scan Group, Pearl Scan Legal, is specially dedicated to providing legal document scanning services for businesses across the UK. Our services can be fully tailor-made to suit your business needs and we will work with you to provide the best possible solution for your document management issues including additional extras such as our image search and storage software, Halogen.
For more information about the services we offer for solicitors and businesses within the legal, get in touch by phone, email or by completing our online contact form and one of our sales team can draw up a quote for your scanning project.
billing data, court documents and any other legal documents you may need in a simple and easy to use system.
