Law Firms and the Data Deluge

4 November 2011 by Sonya Sherman, Senior Consultant (Records Management), Ignition

Information and data are growing at a frightening rate. Individuals and organisations are creating, collecting and communicating content at lightning speed. Will we drown in the deluge? Or learn to surf the tsunami?

Too much information equals greater risk that it will be misused or end up where it should not be. It’s difficult to manage (takes time, costs money) and is generally useless if you cannot find what you need. On the plus side, there is a wealth of potential benefit dissolved in this ocean of data. Intellectual property, business intelligence, research and analysis – you’ve invested in this corporate knowledge; it’s a resource for better decision-making, faster customer service and other commercial advantages in a competitive economy.

Challenges for Law Firms
Law firms are certainly not the only organisations dealing with data deluge. However, their core business generally relies on the collection, analysis and transmission of large and numerous documents, with evidential value. Common challenges include:

Storage space

• in the file room
• on networks or hard drives

Document sharing

• internally among staff
• externally with clients and other parties

Compliance

• retention
• discovery
• confidentiality

Agile Data Solutions
Records management strategies can address the challenges of information overload.

Storage: Document scanning is a viable alternative to physical storage. Ignition’s Scan Squad has converted millions of paper files to digital images, ready for capture into your document management system (eg WORLDOX, iManage etc). Save online storage costs by moving data to the Private Cloud.

Sharing: Digital documents are easier to share with multiple parties across different locations, but files may be too large to send by email. A hosted SharePoint site offers a secure portal for associates and clients to access and edit the latest version of a document from anywhere in the world… without duplication or crashing Inboxes.

Compliance: Records management policies formalise the rules for filing, streamlining your searches and automating work processes – to ensure your firm consistently meets requirements for document retention, client confidentiality and discovery requests.

Contact me to find out more about managing information overload and how records management strategies can help.

services@ignitionmsp.com