To stay competitive with the ever changing market of legal technology, law firms are becoming increasingly aware of the new advances taking place on the forefront of Case Management. Not only are Case Management systems offering more tools to help with the daily task of creating, processing and tracking information within a single system, but these systems are also taking the approach of integrating a Document Management system, or DMS, so that all information will be readily available at your fingertips.
Documents, media files, and electronic records are now being stored inside the integrated DMS within an Enterprise Level Case Management System. These integrated systems will allow instant access to all content within a file and allow the legal professional to not only view documents but also make changes and save those changes as a new version – all without leaving the application.
Enjoy a Unified Point of Access
There are numerous amounts of Case Management systems that will allow users to take in and store information related to a specific file, but only a few Enterprise level systems that will also permit users to collect, create and review documents for that very same file. Many legal professionals have faced the daunting task of searching through multiple applications, folders and drives to find documents associated with a particular file. An integrated DMS will give users a single unified point of access for all of their data. All documents will be saved under that file no matter what type of data — whether it is excel files, word documents, audio recording or videos.
Stop Wasting Valuable Time
With an integrated DMS, staff members will no longer waste time searching for documents stored within the network. Users will simply profile documents in a way that is easily accessible – such as associating documents to a client or matter – and those documents will be readily available whenever and wherever they are needed. Users will also have the added ability of scanning in documents directly into the files they are associated with. But it doesn’t stop there. With an Integrated DMS, firms will still have the ability to secure confidential information in documents just as they would with their case files. Any document can be defined and secured only to those people who need to see them. Users will also have the ability for version control and, by the use of a built-in audit trail, will be able to see everything that has happened to a document whether it was viewed, edited or deleted. Users will also have the ability to know who performed that activity and at what time on which date. Also with the ability of full text index search, users will be able to search based on keywords or phrases to find facts, case parties, emails, documents, evidence etc.
Email management plays an important role in the integrated system as well. Legal professionals will have the added ability to attach their emails to a specific client or matter without leaving the system. With an integrated system, users will no longer need to store emails in individual folders outside the network. Each email will be associated to a specific file and users will have the ability to review those emails, as well as perform keyword searches.
Focus On What You Do Best – Practice Law
Carefully organizing case data and documents means less time searching and sorting through files to find one specific piece of information, and more time building an effective case, filing a motion or garnering a settlement. An integrated DMS within a case management system will help legal professionals manage numerous amounts of files more easily and enhance productivity throughout the practice.