Osborne Clarke (OC) recently introduced an imaging management system, in a drive to improve the productivity of its lawyers. The firm faced the challenge of maintaining full client records in electronic form, automating document capture, integrating the new system with existing document management and centralised faxing systems, while also aiming to improve print productivity and reduce print overheads.

Maintaining client records is a time-consuming business. We at OC recognised that further investment in new technology will provide the means to capture and manage all matter-related information more efficiently. Our imaging project reviewed all aspects of document and file management, with the aim of elevating the electronic file to represent the primary record for each matter.

All documents have to be introduced into the electronic file operated within content management service provider Interwoven's WorkSite document management system, something that is simple enough to do with documents generated by, or delivered electronically to, our lawyers. However, one of the key hurdles we faced concerned the introduction of documents delivered in hard copy: these had to be scanned at a digital sender, emailed to a PC and only then introduced into the electronic file. It was a time-consuming process.