The legal profession is one of the most document-intensive industries, placing great pressure on law firms to manage documents efficiently and effectively. Firms without superior enterprise document management technology are bound to make more mistakes, be less efficient, and fail to deliver exceptional client experiences. On the other hand, practices with excellent law firm document management protocols will likely win more customers, attract top talent, increase profitability, minimize risk, and enhance their reputation.
As one of the best document management software solutions for law firms – according to Inc. magazine (2018) – M-Files provides intelligent information management technology that can simplify case management, eDiscovery, and contract lifecycle management while dramatically improving productivity.
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When considering investing in document management solutions and document control software, understanding the potential ROI can help legal firms make the leap to a digital solution. Here are four of the most important benefits of law firm document management solutions.
Many firms employ several solutions to manage casework, track workloads, and monitor deadlines. Continually switching between platforms could mean that deadlines get overlooked. With the right digital document management technology, firms can automate workflows to keep on top of deadlines, even when processes require multiple collaborators.
Keeping client case information close at hand and up to date is critical. By consolidating client files on a single system, law firm document management software can make relevant documents immediately available while attorneys are in communication with clients. By simply entering case data or the name of a client, a superior document management tool will present all related information on screen.
Document management solutions that use metadata make it easy to quickly find legal files and avoid hours spent poring through documents to find the right information. And truly superior software employs machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze documents and extract relevant data, making classification of documents a breeze.
Legal professionals often work outside the office, whether it’s on location with a client or in court. The ability to access, file and process client documents is essential to productivity and case management. The right document management solution should make it easy to access files from anywhere, at any time, on any device.
M-Files is a next-generation intelligent information management platform that makes it easy to serve up the right information to the right people – right when they need it. As a law firm document management solution, M-Files provides a single view of all documents related to a client or case, no matter where those documents reside.
M-Files’ unique solution for storing and managing documents is based on a "what is it" rather than a "where is it" approach. In M-Files, documents are tagged with metadata that contains all relevant information about the document – client names, case numbers, deadlines, workflow requirements and many other details. When searching for a document, legal professionals don’t need to remember where it was stored or how it was named. Instead, they can simply type what they’re looking for into the M-Files search bar and get connected with the documents they need in seconds.
As a result, M-Files can provide a single, complete view of all documents within a law firm, no matter where those files reside. Individual documents can continue to live in network folders, on individual devices or within specific applications and platforms. M-Files eliminates data silos to connect them all and make them simple and fast to find.
M-Files also serves as a compliance management solution, automating document workflow to ensure documents are handled according to practice guidelines and compliance requirements. With M-Files, you can simplify document-intensive tasks, minimize human error and streamline processes to meet deadlines and reduce risk.
5 Ways Document Management Platforms Produce Deep Value for Legal Teams
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With M-Files, staff can quickly pinpoint and find the correct document – no matter where it resides – simply by searching on one or more criteria.
M-Files makes it easy to consult with external counsel and to securely share information, contracts and other documents. Multiple users can annotate and redline documents at the same time.
M-Files keeps one authoritative version of each document, eliminating the confusion that arises when multiple files are emailed back and forth. Historical copies of each document are kept every time changes are made, making it easy to roll back to an earlier version when needed.
Because lawyers and staff members spend a lot of time off-site, M-Files provides a mobile client that provides access to documents at any time, from anywhere in the world, on any device.
M-Files makes it easy to scan documents and create fully searchable PDF files of everything from case files to contracts and invoices.
M-Files helps to make the paperless law firm a reality, eliminating the need for (and the expense of) rooms full of filing cabinets.
Managing contracts manually is time- and resource-intensive. With M-Files’ automated workflows, dynamic contract templates and version tracking, contract lifecycle management is a breeze. M-Files’ workflows route contracts efficiently and securely from draft to approval and signature, saving time and enabling attorneys to meet deadlines easily.
M-Files makes it easier to manage cases by unifying all documents and related matters in a single view. Even when documents are scattered throughout a practice in email strings, network folders and software applications, M-Files’ AI-powered technology can locate and provide context for documents related to specific cases or legal matters.
M-Files integrates easily with standard productivity applications, legal practice management software and other document repositories. That lets law firms avoid the need to migrate documents to a new system. And legal professionals can continue to use the applications and tools they’re familiar with to find documents within M-Files’ system.
M-Files helps legal teams through all five eDiscovery task categories: plan, preserve, prepare, review and share.
What you need, when you need it. That is the way M-Files works. Fast, easy, and intuitive.
You can use your favorite daily tools, such as MS Teams or Salesforce to manage your documents.
Share content securely, and co-author documents simultaneously — wherever you work.
Let M-Files suggest tags for your documents and add workflows for faster processing.
As an intelligent information management platform, M-Files connects all content within an organization or law firm across every platform and location, automatically analyzing each document to place it in context. As a result, users can find relevant, current and accurate information anytime and anywhere, no matter where it is stored or in what format.
M-Files increases the productivity of knowledge workers while delivering a seamless digital experience, strengthening collaboration, enabling business continuity and simplifying enterprise risk management. Document-intensive tasks can be streamlined and automated to reduce human error and accelerate timelines. And by employing security measures like encryption and advanced permissions, M-Files enables staff and partners to get the information they need while keeping sensitive data safe and controlled.
Thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries (including NBC Universal, OMV, SAS Institute, and ThyssenKrupp) use M-Files to manage their business information and processes—and give their employees a smarter way to work.
Document management is a set of practices and protocols for storing, retrieving, organizing, securing and managing the lifecycle of business documents. Document management technology helps organizations to tame the complexity of managing volumes of documents that are growing at an exponential rate.
Law firm document management is the task of handling the storage, retention, security and compliance requirements of documents within a legal practice. The field of law is one of the most document-intensive industries, and many law firms use law firm document management technology to find files faster and to ensure the security of documents and sensitive material.
Document control refers to practices that ensure documents are created, used, distributed and destroyed in ways that verifiably adhere to company guidelines and regulatory requirements. Document control solutions help keep files safe from unauthorized access, and help to reduce risk by ensuring that documents are always handled according to guidelines and best practices.