Document Management On-Premise and in the Cloud
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WSSFC Technology Track Session Session 3 File it, Find It, Use It: Document Management On-Premise and in the Cloud Gregory J. Banchy Banchy Law Center LLC, Eau Claire Brent J. Hoeft Hoeft Law LLC, Madison Jeffrey S. Krause Solfecta LLC, Waterford 10/15/2014 File It, Find It, Use It Document Management On-Premise and in the Cloud Greg Banchy, Banchy Law Center LLC Brent J. Hoeft, Hoeft Law LLC Jeffrey S. Krause, Solfecta, LLC What is Document Management? Saving documents in a systematic, logical way so that you can find them when you need them Includes more than just the traditional definition of documents 1 10/15/2014 The History of Document Management Traditional Systems Paper, folders and cabinets First Generation Electronic Systems Drives, directories and sub-directories Dedicated Document Management Profiles and searching Document Management Makes a Comeback Scanning and Email Why Document Management? Document Management is About Organization There Are More “Documents” Than Ever Incoming Electronic Documents Incoming Paper that is Scanned Incoming Email Outgoing Email Things Move Faster You need to be able to find things right away 2 10/15/2014 Types of Document Management Manual or DIY Standalone Standalone with Integrated Link Component of Another System File It, Find It, Use It: Document Management On-Premise and in the Cloud Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference - 2014 4:00 p.m., Thursday October 23rd, 2014 Brent J. Hoeft, Hoeft Law, LLC hoeftlaw.com 3 10/15/2014 Windows Directory Structure • Use the Windows Directory structure to organize and manage your documents EXAMPLE Library Forms Reference OfficeManagment Accounting Advertising Banking Insurance Client ClientIntakeForms ProspectClient OpenClient xClosedClient Naming Client Files • Named by the date agreement was signed (YYYYMMDD) • Followed by a matter designation – Business Law = B – Estate Planning = E – Real Estate = R • Client last name and initials EXAMPLE 20140101E_Smith,J 20131212B_Doe,J 20121010R_Smith,J 4 10/15/2014 Options for Accessing Files Remotely • Remote Access software • Take electronic files with you on laptop, tablet or USB drive • Online document storage My Criteria • Windows Directory structure • Mobile access and sync across all platforms • Security • Versioning backup • Cost 5 10/15/2014 Online Document Storage Options • Dropbox • Box • Drive (Google) • OneDrive (Microsoft) • iCloud (Apple) • Sugarsync • SpiderOak • Worldox • Netdocuments …just to name a few… Workflow • SpiderOak – Document storage, all firm and client files • MyCase – web-based practice management system 6 10/15/2014 Worldox Footer Text 10/15/2014 13 Planning for implementation • Where will documents be stored? • Create profiles for each set of related documents – Examples might include . o Clients o Forms o Library (articles, sample documents, etc) o Leads/Referrals o Legacy documents o Documents related to the business (tax, etc) o Policies and procedures (including for Worldox) Footer Text 10/15/2014 14 7 10/15/2014 Planning for implementation • Profiles (How files are described) o Maintain separate folders? o Number of divisions (ways to describe – level of granularity) o Example of a client database profile • Client • Matter • Type o Correspondence o Pleadings o Client meeting notes • Searchability – Tags are a useful way to help make topics easier to search Footer Text 10/15/2014 15 Planning for implementation Footer Text 10/15/2014 16 8 10/15/2014 Planning for implementation • Naming standards - Example o 20140901 (Date – in a sort friendly format) o Client number o Type • Who will have access? • What will be kept? For how long? • Understand the system’s quircks and limitations – All file names are stored as “8.3” names in the actual file directories – much harder to find if Worldox is unavailable Footer Text 10/15/2014 17 Planning for implementation • Licensing o Per concurrent user - around $425/seat o Annual maintenance fee (per user license) – around $90/year/seat • Updating o Done on the “server,” typically by an administrator o Usually does not require restarts • Indexing o Process runs on the server – required to maintain the system index of terms found in documents – this is what makes the retrieval process work quickly Footer Text 10/15/2014 18 9 10/15/2014 Implementation • Start small – one of the smaller but still useful databases • Monitor/gather feedback from users • Roll usability changes into design • Wash, rinse, repeat until ready for prime time Footer Text 10/15/2014 19 Implementation • Document o Initial design o Changes (and reasons) o Final “go live” system o Include in policies and procedures manual • Continue to monitor – system design should change as circumstances change when needed Footer Text 10/15/2014 20 10 10/15/2014 Questions/Comments 11 File It, Find It, Use It: Document Management On-Premise and in the Cloud What is Document Management? For purposes of this presentation, we will define document management as “saving documents in a systematic, logical way so that you can find them when you need them.” In addition, we’ll define documents broadly to incoming and outgoing documents, paper and electronic documents, email and any other records that received or produced in a law office. Almost everyone uses some form of document management, even if all of the documents are paper. Document Management: A Brief History Prior to computers, document management consisted of filing cabinets, red rope folders and manila folders. This system worked fine for many decades and still works today if you take computers out of the picture. When computers became common in the law office, a new form of document management was needed. It was now necessary to organize electronic documents. At first, people decided to file electronic documents in a way similar to how they filed paper documents. Drives became file cabinets, directories became red ropes and subdirectories became manila folders. This did not solve the problem because, at the time, people were too unfamiliar with computers. Expecting them to create and manage computer directories simply caused too many problems. In the 1990s, document management software solved the problem by taking over the save process. Saving documents became easy when all you had to do was identify the client and matter rather than create or navigate through directories. Finding documents was also much easier when you did not have to search through folders to find documents. However, by the 2000s, users were more comfortable with computers and document management fell out of favor a little bit. While very worthwhile, it came with a cost and some users began to feel that document management was limiting the way they could save documents. Things changed again around 2010. Suddenly, document management is back in favor and is probably the hottest legal technology around. Why Document Management? {00040398.DOCX.} Document management software is popular again for two reasons – scanning and email. For a long time, firms ran two parallel document management systems. Electronic documents were saved to directories while paper documents were saved in file cabinets. Even firms with electronic document management often had document in two places. Scanning makes it possible have all documents related to a matter in electronic form but greatly increases the number of documents. This made it even more necessary to save them in an organized fashion. When email became the default form of business communication, it added another complication. A significant portion of the communications related to a matter were now outside of both the file cabinet and the electronic directories. People needed a way to integrate emails with scans and the documents they created on their own. Document management makes it possible to organize and manage all three critical aspects of documents – those produced electronically at the firm, those produced outside of the firm and emails. Types of Document Management Document management comes in several forms. Many firms still use directories in Windows. There are systems dedicated exclusively to document management and many practice management systems include document management. Other systems serve as document repositories with links to practice management. Document management in any of these forms can be either installed on a server or hosted in the cloud. In this presentation, we will discuss how document management works and provide specific examples of several document management systems. File It, Find It, Use It: Document Management On-Premise and in the Cloud Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference - 2014 4:00 p.m., Thursday October 23rd, 2014 Brent J. Hoeft, Hoeft Law, LLC (hoeftlaw.com) I. Windows Directory Based Document Management System A. “Windows Directory” document management structure 1. Master Folder Structure EXAMPLE Library Forms Reference OfficeManagment Accounting Advertising Banking Insurance Client ClientIntakeForms ProspectClient OpenClient xClosedClient 2. “Open Client” Folder – Named by the date the representation agreement was signed, followed by a matter designation (B= business law, E= estate planning, R= real estate), followed by client last name and initials. EXAMPLE: 20140101E_Smith,J 20131212B_Doe,J 20121010R_Smith,J 1 - Hoeft 3. Document Naming a) All documents are named with the date of the document or date the document received, followed by a description of the document and client last name. b) Client last name is always included for searching purposes