5 errors law firms often make when it comes to document and print technology
Law firms can make errors when considering their printing and document management
“Time is money.” Benjamin Franklin, 1748
The great American polymath Benjamin Franklin understood the truth that time and money are connected. Since law firms charge by time, any efficiencies gained can be applied to their bottom line.As well, office space can have a large impact on costs with the area often needed to store documents.
Law firms make errors when considering their printing and document management. The following items include five of the most common errors:
The days of manually managing printed documents are numbered. It can be very time-consuming and inefficient to print, sort, copy and store documents on an ad hoc basis. Manual document management is also open to security breaches and locking away data that must be manually retrieved in the future can be complicated.
Firms need an effective workflow management platform that is efficient, scalable and secure.Such a platform needs to include:
Firms that embrace these practices would lower their print, storage and staff costs and improve their productivity.
Print costs can be significant, and many law firms do not have systems in place to track costs according to jobs and clients. Or print jobs are done manually, which can be time-intensive and inefficient.
A better solution is to use print management software, which can:
The benefits of automating print administration are realised in better data and reporting, which leads to the ability to charge clients for the printing costs they engender.
While much of the security of data is focused on cybersecurity, it is common for breaches to occur through more obvious means, such as leaving documents on a printer.
Close to half of law firms in a recent survey took no active steps to secure the data on their printers. This oversight includes the insecure practice of failing to erase internal hard drives on multi-function devices when they are sold.
Clients should consider systems that require authorisation at the device before they can be collected to greatly improve security.
Some law firms embrace technological advances while ignoring the human repercussions that may result from the changes. It can be a challenge to get staff to change their behaviour.
Effective law firms can take these steps to improve the process:
While a completely paperless office is not yet a reality, there are some simple changes a firm can make to greatly reduce printing.
It is possible to reduce costs by up to one-third for printing through:
Law firms that learn from these common mistakes can employ improvements in printing and document technology.These changes can lead to reduced costs, reduced waste, improved workflows and increased financial margins.
The second in a series of blogs by A.I. expert Dr Jeroen Vendrig
For forward-thinking legal firms alternative legal services (ALT) an exciting opportunity to shape the future. Is ALT the next step for your practice?
While email has become an everyday part of our work-life, you still might be doing it wrong.
Protecting your patient data is increasingly complex with threats of cyber-attacks and data breaches coming from both inside and outside your practice.
Canon’s uniFLOW print management software can connect with major practice management software
Managing your information security is a complex business. Like any device connected to your network, your printers could be jeopardising your information security if not implemented and managed carefully.
AI has shifted from being experimental technology to the mainstream. Here are six areas where AI is impacting the legal industry right now.
As technology enters classrooms, auditoriums and libraries, it brings new risks to the education sector. All it takes is one click from a student device to potentially compromise your entire network. Faced with these various threats, does the education sector receive a ‘High Distinction’ for its efforts to protect its troves of student and staff data? Recent findings from the inaugural Canon Business Readiness Index on Security suggest not.
In this digital world, data management is a significant responsibility and a data breach is an equally significant risk. Should things go wrong, businesses must take steps to minimise the impact. With the changes to the Privacy Act coming into effect this week, Andrew Giles, Head of Public Relations and Communications for Canon Australia, shares insights on how to preserve trust and maintain strong customer relationships.
There is a lack of clear standards relating to how school records should be secured. As a result, the level of security varies from school to school, and sometimes within an institution itself. What can you do to ensure your school is exercising best practice with your school records?
If you're on the Internet, you face security risks. You can no longer afford to assume that your business won't be a target because you're not big enough. Here are some big business takeaways that can substantially benefit your business' security.