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Category: Blog

Published: Tuesday, 10 November 2015 11:32

Written by Pearl Scan

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Being a solicitor is hard work, or so we have been told by many clients. Many solicitors struggle to find resources that can help them develop their work, with many firms yet to embrace the digital revolution. With this in mind we have decided to round up our free essential online resources especially for solicitors.

Elexica

Offering registered users with an extensive range of legal information such as checklists, legislative updates and practical guides. Brought to us by leading international law firm Simmons & Simmons the site offers an extensive library of categorised web links, providing information from the firm’s international network of offices. Articles cover a variety of topics, jurisdictions and languages and make it easy for solicitors to find current awareness articles, case reports and practical checklists.

Wiki Mental Health

Used primarily by mental health practitioners, this internet resource looks at mental health in England and Wales. Set up by a mental health solicitor, anyone can contribute to the site which covers case law, and regularly updates commentaries on cases – with links to full text judgements. Solicitors can also read the full text of the Mental Health Act 1983, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and other related legislation. The site also explains concepts and jargon used in the field to help provide solicitors with helpful, practical guidance.

Jonny Law Online

Developed by conveyancing solicitor, Jonathan Achampong, Jonny Law Online offers information on commercial property, lease extensions, conveyancing and enfranchisement. The site also offers regularly updated articles on news items and current topics of interest.

e-Bible

Designed to eliminate the everyday issues experienced by solicitors, the e-Bible makes it easy for solicitors to manage their documents. With a clear indexing system the easy to use system allows legal professionals to local specific documents in seconds. All documents are fully text searchable and allows information to be stored on single, or multiple discs meaning it will be difficult for solicitors to lose vital information.

Abuselaw.co.uk

Set up by Abney Garsden McDonald Solicitors, this site provides easy to access information for the child and adult survivors of sexual, psychological or physical abuse on all aspects of the complex law area. Offering guidance and an understanding of the English legal system, the website gives solicitors working with abuse victims, information about the legal rights of an abuse survivor. It also gives an explanation of court proceedings, a guide to legal aid and a breakdown about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Adlex Solicitors

Specialists in advising businesses in all things law related on the internet, Adlex Solicitors was founded in 2002 and gives information about trading online, internet law and website law. The website includes vital information such as UK and EU data protection laws and regulation, Internet jargon and contracts and the regulations which apply when trading on the internet.

Founded in 2001 by internet and domain name lawyer, Adam Taylor the website also looks at domain name disputes, domain legal news and website hosting legal issues.

Is there a resource that you plan on using? Let us know what helps you. Join the conversation on social media!

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Category: Blog

Published: Tuesday, 02 June 2015 11:00

Written by Pearl Scan

Hits: 3375

We recently attended LAW2015, an event organised by The Solicitor’s Group, where we had a great time promoting all of the ways solicitors and legal professionals can benefit from going digital with the way they manage documents.

In case you missed us, here is a rundown of the main reasons solicitors everywhere should close the case on paper documents once and for all.

Space Saving

Solicitors know that even the shortest cases can produce a lot of paperwork which is usually then filed away in filing cabinets, boxes or folders in case they need to be referred to at a later date. Since you could be smacked with some pretty hefty fines if those documents are destroyed before the end of their retention periods, many people decide that their only option is to put up with the files overrunning their offices.

There is another solution though; scanning documents can free up that much needed space while still remaining compliant to file retention laws. Once stored in a digital format, the documents will only take up virtual space and that physical space can be utilised in a more productive way. Scanned documents are also now accepted as sufficient evidence in a court of law so you really don’t have any need to keep storing paper copies.

Instant Access

When you store your documents manually, it can be difficult to find relevant files quickly and this slow file retrieval can often delay the completion of cases not to mention bringing frustration to all concerned (yourself and your clients).

When you have your documents scanned, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software is usually applied to convert the scanned images into fully searchable files. These files can then be indexed by relevant fields such as client name, reference number etc. This means scanned and fully indexed documents can be pulled up from your computer system or cloud platform in seconds through simple text searches of file names or even the contents of your documents.

Shared Access

Cases often take longer to complete when more than one person needs access to the same documents. These documents have to be photocopied and passed to the relevant people or scanned in one by one and emailed across but if you already have the files in digital format, you can eliminate those time consuming elements. You can also use platforms such as Google Docs which allow multiple users to edit documents simultaneously which saves even more time.

Remote Access

When the only copy of your files is stored in hard copy format and locked away in a filing cabinet in your office, it means that the only place you can really deal with that work is in the office or you will have to pre-empt your need for the document at a later date. With digital copies stored centrally, you can get remote access to them whether that’s working from home or even out on the road.

Improved Productivity

With all of the benefits above, you are bound to see an increase in productivity, possibly even allowing you to complete more cases in a shorter space of time. A by-product of increased productivity will be the ease at which you can complete work leading to lower stress levels and perhaps even an all round happier workplace.

Reduced Costs

There are a wide range of ways you could be wasting money with your current manual document management system including;

• Off-site storage costs
• On-site office space for storage
• Longer file retrieval = slower case completion = lower profit margins
• Paper and printing costs
• Filing cabinet costs

All of the costs mentioned above can be reduced or even eliminated completely by scanning your documents and adopting a digital way of managing your archives and live documents.

Pearl Scan Can Help

We are a document scanning service with over a decade’s worth of experience helping companies of all sizes to switch to digital document management and reap all of the benefits mentioned above.

A subdivision of the Pearl Scan Group, Pearl Scan Legal, is specially dedicated to providing legal document scanning services for businesses across the UK. Our services can be fully tailor-made to suit your business needs and we will work with you to provide the best possible solution for your document management issues including additional extras such as our image search and storage software, Halogen.

For more information about the services we offer for solicitors and businesses within the legal, get in touch by phone, email or by completing our online contact form and one of our sales team can draw up a quote for your scanning project.

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Category: Blog

Published: Tuesday, 23 June 2015 11:00

Written by Pearl Scan

Hits: 5757

Having the right legal document management processes is vital for when unexpected disaster strikes. Are you taking the steps to ensure your legal documents are safe?

Problems With Physical Document Storage

We have established in many of our previous articles that physical document storage has many flaws and just doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to storing important, confidential information. Particularly in the event of natural disasters such as flooding or fire, many companies realise they haven’t taken the right measures when it’s already too late.

What Happens When a Data Disaster Strikes?

If your premises are hit by a fire, flood or even a theft, and you store legal documents solely in hard copy, then it is perhaps stating the obvious to say that your files will be lost forever including the information they contain.

While it might seem obvious to point this out, we have encountered a number of businesses who have put off digitising their documents only to be hit by a disaster that has left them without the vital documents and information they need to continue working efficiently. Some have seen client files burn and others HR records suffering so much water damage they become unreadable.

Protecting Your Legal Documents By Going Digital

To ensure that the information contained in these documents wasn’t lost, all these companies needed to do, first and foremost, was to create a digital copy of their files by having them scanned through a document scanning company like Pearl Scan.

Storing Your Data in the Cloud

Simply scanning your documents is not enough though as you need to be sure that your digital copies are backed up securely. Imagine you’ve gone to the effort of having your entire archives scanned only for your computer system to crash. Without disaster recovery in place, you will once again lose all of your documents.

So what’s the solution? Well, a lot of companies are now turning to the cloud as a reliable method of storage. Cloud systems can be externally managed so companies don’t have to worry about IT support and disaster recovery as it is all sorted for them. Storing copies of all of your archives in a cloud system will ensure that even if something happens with your computer network, you will still have your files ready and available from any device connected to the cloud network.

Last year, cloud storage received a lot of bad press but predictions are that 2015 will see an even bigger rise in businesses switching to cloud processes so it is clear that this is still one of the best methods of document storage.

Are You Prepared?

Switching to digital document management is a small investment to make for the safety of yours and your clients’ information and to ensure business continuity in times of disaster. If you’re not already prepared with backed up digital records of your clients’ files and business documents, there are services out there that can help.

Document Scanning Solutions & Digital Document Management

Here at Pearl Scan, we offer a range of document scanning services to help law firms secure their documents, preventing loss of information. Our document scanning solutions have been proven to minimise data loss by up to 99% making Pearl Scan Legal the number one choice for security conscious law firms.

We even have our own, fully managed cloud platform, Pearl Cloud which you can store your scanned files on once the project is complete. The system allows for quick retrieval, easy sharing and, more importantly, disaster recovery should anything go wrong with your physical storage or computer systems.

Why not give us a call and speak to a member of our sales team for more information. They will explain how the service can be tailored to suit the needs of your company with a range of bespoke features. Once they have established the service you need, a free quote can be drawn up so don’t wait, get in touch today.

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Category: Blog

Published: Monday, 18 May 2015 11:00

Written by Pearl Scan

Hits: 3243

UK courts have previously been described as Dickensian because a great deal of their processes have not changed since the early 1800s but all of that is beginning to change with the paperless courts project in full swing.

Even the smallest of court cases can produce mountains of paperwork and often this paperwork has to be collected, shared and sent to and from various locations, often by hand to avoid the loss of important information. Not only does this waste time, dragging out the length of court cases in the process, but it also uses a huge amount of money. This money is wasted on;

• Printing multiple copies of documents for disaster recovery.
• Lengthy admin processes.
• Hiring extra staff to deal with large amounts of paperwork for big cases.
• Legal costs as the case takes longer to prepare.

The Digital Takeover

Finally, the Ministry for Justice have recognised the need to bring court processes into the 21st century with the announcement of a £375 million project for the upgrade of technology in around 3,000 courtrooms across the UK. This work will mean that evidence in court will still be legally admissible when presented in digital format. Rather than collecting stacks of paper to present in court, lawyers will be able to simply take an iPad or other tablet device loaded with all of the files they need while saving on paper and printing costs and speeding up processes.

Remote Access

The use of tablets to store case files and legal documents digitally will enable remote access to the information legal professionals need whether in court, in the office or out in the field. Files can be accessed and shared very quickly, a far cry from the manual processes of the Dickens era and beyond.

Future Court Cases

The UK is one of the world’s leaders for business disputes, bringing an estimated £20 billion to the economy (according to TheCityUK). With the right implementation of the digital project this figure could rise because of the decreasing need to spend potential profits on paperwork.

Aside from cost savings, lawyers will be able to increase their productivity and take on more cases due to instantly accessible files enabling them to collate their cases quickly. The wild goose chase of collecting paperwork from locations across the city or even the country will be over.

Document Scanning Services - For a Smooth Digital Transition

In order to store these documents digitally, a large number of backfiles and archives will need to be digitised. Here at Pearl Scan, we offer document scanning and document management solutions specially aimed at lawyers, solicitors and other legal professionals. We can scan legal documents to a wide range of useful formats and even provide image management software which can be set up to your laptop or tablet device for use in the courtroom.

For more information about the services we offer please browse our website. If you see a service you like, don’t hesitate to get in get in touch and one of our friendly and experienced team can consult with you to draw up your free quote.