Peer to Peer Magazine

28 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | FALL 2017 FEATURES Updated Client File Management Practices Give Law Firms the Competitive Edge of firm systems to be on par with or exceed consumer technology. Many users are turning to consumer- grade collaboration, file sharing and storage apps such as Google Drive and Dropbox to simplify their collaboration workflows, oen without approval from their IT departments. As a result, law firms' electronic client files are oen fragmented across firm-approved and "shadow" systems (systems outside IT control), including everything from Outlook, network file shares and SharePoint to personal apps. Disjointed client file management processes not only put sensitive client data at risk, they make it impossible for firms to efficiently assemble maer file content for litigation holds, file transfers, knowledge sharing and, ultimately, review for disposition. Firms that seek proactively to meet client demands, preserve employee productivity, drive down unnecessary costs and beer serve clients should make client file management changes a priority. How To Reform Client File Management Practices Future-proofing your client file management function requires tactical changes as well as a strategic information governance framework and firmwide culture change. Updating decades-old tools and processes takes time and a dedicated team of experts. As law firm leaders adapt their client file management approach to the changing times, here are a few of the questions they should ask: » How do we currently handle the maer lifecycle? It seems like an obvious question, but you cannot update client file management practices without a complete understanding of how your process works today. Take time to audit all aspects of your existing maer life cycle from new business intake to disposition, including the policies, processes and technology systems involved to support the life cycle. Looking at the big picture rather than each step in isolation makes it easier to identify gaps and bolenecks. » Whom will we involve in this transformation? Modernizing client file management is an exercise in changing lawyer and staff behavior, and success hinges on securing firmwide buy-in for the initiative. Executive sponsorship by firm leadership is just as important as lawyer and support staff engagement in the process. Firms that consult with their practice groups during this planning period can get direct insight into what effective policies and procedures should look like, the business needs driving technology requirements and what changes would best fit their own workflows. » What will our information governance framework look like? To bring structure to the oen-haphazard client-maer life cycle, you need a detailed governance plan for how content is used and shared in each phase of client service. For many firms, this entails designating a centralized document management system as the primary source for all content Future-proofing your client file management function requires tactical changes as well as a strategic information governance framework and firmwide culture change.

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