Persistent DMS issues in law firms from perpetuation of the norm
Advances in enterprise IT continue to proliferate at a rapid pace, and law firms are constantly challenges to adopt the most effective tools to ensure security, discovery preparedness and more. These new technological advances come with massive complexities, especially those associated with eDiscovery, predictive coding and storage of electronically stored information (ESI). However, one new report indicated that law firms are actually prioritizing a tool that would likely surprise most legal IT professionals.
The Rise of SharePoint;
Law Technology News (LTN) recently reported that IT departments in law firms are widely making SharePoint 2013 their biggest priorities this year. According to the news provider, this is surprising given what most reports and trends in 2012 indicated would be the biggest priorities for every law office, such as mobility and security. The source explained that the latest version of SharePoint has a brand new interface with exciting features, document versioning, tighter integration capabilities with Microsoft Office and more.
LTN cited the most recent Law Firm CIO annual survey, which proved that the majority of IT executives in law firms are making this tool their priority. However, the news provider listed several reasons for companies to not get on board with this trend, such as the high cost of SharePoint. As many firms are already using SharePoint for their document management systems (DMS), the source explained that the software is incredibly complex and pricey compared to other options.
Finally, LTN asserted that law firms might be using SharePoint for no other reason than it is the long-standing norm in the industry, and this keeps costs high while also making the management of documents more complex and less efficient. If there are such better options out there for law firms, the author of the story posed the question of why other DMSs are not being considered, and what is the point of making SharePoint such a high priority?
Law Firms Simplify and streamline ESI management strategies;
Corporations are taking a deep look at their outside counsel in terms of their evidence handling policies and procedures, internal data security, and adherence to regulatory compliance. Highly regulated Corporations are looking at their law firms to have the same stringent policies and procedures in place. With that, the simplest and most efficient methods of storing and managing ESI are often the most affordable and effective as well. Law firms, as well as companies from virtually every industry, should adopt DMSs or consult and outsource the task to experienced solution providers to better prepare for potential discovery requests, ensure security of all information compiled and stored, keep costs low and maintain high returns on investment.