Most Law Firms Embrace Digitizing Records, Just Not Backfiles: Survey
An ALM and Omtool Survey found while a majority of firms scan current records, few have taken the leap to full digitization. So why the delay?
January 29, 2016 at 10:26 AM
3 minute read
A survey of 100 law firms conducted by ALM media and document and workflow solutions provider Omtool found while over two-thirds (69 percent) of law firms currently scan at least some of their records, only about a third (35 percent) expand scanning to both current and historical files. Which means 65 percent of firms have not yet gone fully digital. So what's the hold up?
Denise Meyer, director of marketing communications at Omtool, explained that “Some may feel overwhelmed at the prospect of digging into the archives. It is often simply a question of where to start with the knowledge there are potentially thousands of boxes to dig through. The hefty investment in time and resources to do so may feel insurmountable. And we have found this is why many firms opt to start with one department or section of the records room to start and show early success.”
Changing habits and processes does not come easy. While firms “see the need, they haven't developed a plan for it,” Meyer said. “Part of the challenge is that the boxes of paper and rooms of storage has been the way the firm has always handled their records and archives. These volumes of paper continue to grow, making finding older documents increasingly difficult—not to mention the cost of the storage space consumed in expensive firm real-estate.”
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