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How to Store Legal Documents Securely

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Legal documents contain a large amount of information and data that needs to be kept secure for clients' security but some law firms are failing without even realising it.

Paper. It's susceptible to damage in the form of rips, tears and discolouring. It's susceptible to theft and it's also pretty easy to lose. So why on earth do we still store our important documents in paper form?

A (Very) Short History of Paperpile of paper

  • It is thought that paper was invented in the 2nd century AD by the ancient Chinese and reached Europe as early as 1085.
  • Although initially expensive, paper and it's production began to reduce in price by the early 13th century with experiments of different minerals and materials to produce the pulp needed for paper.
  • By 1900 paper was used widely in developed countries for books, newspapers and writing materials.

Thus began our love of paper. With it's rich history and apparent all-round usefulness, it's not surprise that paper was the first port of call for storing important information. You could file it away, organise it how you liked and have a hard copy document in your hand when you needed information.

Of course, this was before the digital age came into play and rained on paper's parade...

Digital vs Paper

When computers were first introduced, it was still seen as the most efficient solution to store documents in paper copy in filing cabinets, boxes and folders. New technology was expensive and as people, we prefer to shy away from change. But advances in technology have meant that digital means are now overtaking our old paper favourites. Newspapers are more popular online, eBooks are flying off their virtual shelves and less and less people are sending post using envelopes and stamps preferring the instant nature of emailing.

What Does This Mean For Document Storage?document storage

As I've already mentioned, storing paper documents leaves them open to being damaged, lost or stolen and with usually no backup documents, you can be left in quite a sticky situation. This is where law firms are turning to digital document storage for a safer, more secure and cost effective solution.

By digitising legal documents once kept in hard copy, they can secure information about clients through password protection and file encryption and backup files to avoid the loss of important documents.

The Security of Files Increases Greatly Through Digitisation

Although there will always be skeptics about the safety of digital documents, especially in the wake of recent hacking news, digital storage is still the safest solution when implemented correctly. Using strong passwords and secure shared networks will help to ensure your information doesn't get into the wrong hands.

Digitising Legal Documentslegal-document

Here at Pearl Scan we specialise in document scanning for the legal sector with our bespoke legal document scanning and legal document management services. We have a top of the range, secure scanning bureau where we can scan legal documents in the highest quality, with a quick turnaround for a competitive price. If that's not enough, we can also offer a number of perks for choosing Pearl Scan's Legal Scanning Service;

  • You will receive a free sample of some of your digital documents before the process begins to ensure you are completely happy.
  • Your digital documents will undergo meticulous quality checks to ensure your scans are up to the standard required.
  • We can host your documents via our specialist cloud platform, Pearl Cloud Legal.
  • You will also receive our specially developed legal document management software, Halogen.

If you would like some more information before choosing Pearl Scan Legal for your document scanning project, get in touch today to speak to a member of our friendly and experienced team. Alternatively, if we have convinced you of the need to have your legal documents scanned now, complete our online form for a free, no obligation quote for your scanning project by following the relevant links below.

 

Where Can I Scan My Legal Documents?

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Legal document scanning is becoming an increasingly sought after service but what does it offer and where can you get your legal documents scanned?

Law firms produce a great deal of paper on a daily basis. Depending on the number of cases and clients they are dealing with, these files could be kept in boxes, folders and filing cabinets or in off-site document storage facilities. In times past, this used to be the perfect solution to comply with file retention laws but now, as technology advances, there is a much more beneficial legal document storage solution. Legal document scanning has provided many companies with an effective and future proof document storage solution.

Legal Admissibility

It is a requirement in the legal sector to retain files (sometimes for a number of years) but with the sheer amount of paper involved in the practice, this has become a costly and space consuming process. Recently, the legal admissibility of digitised documents has changed meaning it is now ok to retain files and documents in a digital scanned format as opposed to in hard copy. If these documents are used as evidence, they can hold the same weight in court as the paper copy (often provided there is proof of the destruction and disposal of the original).

lawyer-document-scanningBenefits of Legal Scanning

Legal Scanning offers a whole range of benefits for companies in the legal sector. You can;

  • Save on document storage costs
  • Free up extra office space
  • Increase office efficiency
  • Speed up file retrieval times
  • Increase document security

There are many more benefits and the list could go on forever. For more take a look at some of our other articles from Pearl Scan blog.

So, Where Can I Scan My Legal Documents?

It's a common question and the answer is simple...right here with Pearl Scan Legal.

Pearl Scan Legal have been providing legal scanning services and legal document management for over a decade now and we are dedicated to helping our clients reap the benefits of going digital with their document management.

If you would like some more information on the legal document scanning and document management services we offer here at Pearl Scan Legal, why not browse our website or get in touch today for a free, no obligation quote for your scanning project.

 

Success Starts With Unrivalled Legal Document Management

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Why settle for inadequate document management systems that hinder rather than a help when you can reap the benefits right here with legal document scanning and legal document management?

Everyone wants to succeed in business and come out on top of their competitors. Some might say, it's not that simple but it can be with Legal Document Management.

Legal document managementWhat is Electronic Legal Document Management?

Electronic legal document management is the process of storing legal documents through a computer based system giving you and your company better access to important information as and when you need it.

With a digital document management system, you will no longer need to spend forever searching for hard copy files manually. With a simple text search on your device, you can have the document in front of you ready to view, edit and share with ease. Now let's take a closer look at the advantages of a system like this.

 

Advantages of Adopting a Digital Document Management System

Claiming Back Space
Legal documents are often stored in filing cabinets, boxes or through other storage means and, depending on the size of the legal firm, this is often no mean feat. Having those hard copy files and documents scanned and placed onto an electronic document management system can free up much needed office space or remove the need for off-site storage.

Increasing Efficiency
You might never have noticed how inefficient the way you work is; with long file retrieval times and inflexible access to the information you need. With legal document scanning and management, you can make your documents available through a number of means such as through an online platform or shared network. This flexibility will make it easy for you to access the information you need on any number of devices from any location. This increased efficiency won't lack security either as files can be encrypted and password protected to ensure that the only people who view the files is those with permission.

Cost Savingsdocument-scanning-saves-money
Every company is always looking for ways to reduce expenditure and increase profits and transferring legal documents to a digital document management system can provide just that. With digital documents, the need to print and photocopy is reduced or often eliminated completely as a result of the ability to view, edit and share files virtually. This will save costs of paper, ink, printers and photocopiers and even reduce the use of electricity often taken up by that equipment. Also, as a result of the above mentioned benefits, costs will also be saved on office space and storage and well as as a result of increased office efficiency.

How Can I Adopt a Digital Document Management System?

  • To adopt a digital document management system, you will need to transfer all hard copy documents into electronic format and collate them with any digital documents you already have.
  • To make searching and file retrieval easier, all files will need to be fully indexed.
  • To fully appreciate the space saving benefit, you should securely dispose of the paper copies once you have digitised them.
  • If the electronic system fails, you will need a trained technician or IT department to deal with repairs and updates.

While digital document management offers a wide range of great benefits, handling the entire process on your own can be time consuming, costly and counterproductive but have no fear, we have a better solution...

legal-document-scanning-servicePearl Scan Legal Can Make Things Much Easier

Here at Pearl Scan Legal, we provide legal document scanning and document management services to lots of law firms looking to improve the way they handle documents to save money, time and space. We offer a fully bespoke service including the collection, scanning, OCR processing and indexing, conversion, delivery and secure disposal of the original documents. We also offer our cloud platform, Pearl Cloud Legal and document management software, Halogen to alleviate the stress of having to deal with repairs and updates to the system yourself.

If you would like some more information about Pearl Scan's legal scanning services or about the legal admissibility of scanned documents, get in touch today. For a free, no obligation quote for your legal scanning project, complete our online form by following the relevant links below.