P2P

26 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 • complete transactions—from creating and updating checklists to assembling due diligence documents, gathering signatures, and generating closing books; • control our finances, including invoices, e-billing, time tracking, and more; • deal with documents in litigation, particularly during discovery; • share and store the firm's content, through intranets and extranets; • handle confidential client records; • collate and organize our knowledge resources, including research, case law, and internal memoranda and notes; • manage our internal governance documents, such as employee handbooks and policies; and • communicate and collaborate with clients and external partners. Every one of those areas has a tendency to be hung up in paper-based ways of thinking. You might still be printing documents out to review them and circulate them for edits. Maybe you're asking clients to print, sign, and scan their signature pages during a transaction. Or perhaps you're tracking lawyer time manually, Bates-stamping discovery documents, and storing boxes of records (and renting larger offices to accommodate those boxes). Many lawyers are still doing all of the above. The challenges of 2020 have highlighted chronic, longstanding deficiencies in how lawyers work. Litera recognizes the gravity and the importance of this moment, and we believe 2020 is the year to follow through on this change. When law firms fall behind the technology curve, they lose staff and clients to more innovative firms with modern, updated processes. That's why we're leading the charge with regular discussions of paperless workflows on Litera TV and in our publications. We're working with our partners in the legal community on bringing the journey to becoming a paperless practice to law firms. We're also meeting with individual customers to pinpoint where they're stuck with paper and help them commit to digital transformation. Taking this step is necessary for firms to keep from going under in this tough economic climate and for their services to remain relevant to their clients. ILTA F E A T U R E S Curt Meltzer, Litera Evangelist, has more than 30 years of experience in applying technology to the practice of law. His career has included work in litigation support, software, training, publishing, and management consulting. He has also been CIO for 4 law firms. He is a frequent speaker and writer on legal technology. Curt is also a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia.

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