During the year, I attend trade group meetings and seminars.  One of the great benefits of these events is the ability to visit with other attorneys with both retail and commercial collection practices throughout the US and Canada, as well as overseas.  One of the hot topics for several years has been whether to take the leap of "going paperless."  There is still trepidation in the industry, mostly with older lawyers (like myself), about giving up the addictive habit of using hard files.  Folks-you need to get over it-paperless is not something for the future-it is the present!!!  There is great technology out there and it works well.  Imagine a forwarder or client calling to get the status of his or her file or to review a matter with you.  In the "old days”, more often than not, one would put the caller on hold, hope the file was in his office or correctly filed in the filing cabinet, and once he located the file after a long or short delay, he could then assist the caller.  Often, one would have to tell the caller that the call would be returned "after we located the file”.  The same would happen when a debtor called.  

 

In a paperless world, your files are literally at your fingertips and can be accessed immediately.  Calls can be prompt, efficient and accurate.  You can also make contemporaneous notes of the conversation in the paperless file; send a confirming e-mail, fax or e-mail pleadings and documents at your desk.  If opposing counsel calls you with a request, often a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse allow documents to be sent immediately, making discovery responses and requests much easier and less costly. 

 

Most importantly, the near-instantaneous turnaround is VERY attractive to large clients.  When they know a firm can produce results for them in a magnitude shorter amount of time, they will flock to that firm. 

 

How much space does your file room take up in your office?  With paperless system, the file room should be small or non-existent.  Once a system is devised to store originals and other documents that cannot be imaged to the file, you can be limited to one cabinet.  

 

How much are you paying file clerks to hunt for files all day, and how often is a file temporarily lost or misplaced?   Some of those personnel can be retained and used to scan documents into your system, or trained up to higher positions, thus saving costs of personnel headhunters.  Without the extra personnel and extra office space for files, imagine what you could be saving in overhead. The cost of going paperless is not insignificant, but it pales in comparison to the overhead in an old fashioned office with actual files.

 

A significant barrier for some is the psychological need to "touch" the file.  We have found this to be something that is easily overcome in a short period of time.  If you need your file, you can print it in a minute or two, which is what our firm does when we need to take a file to court.  As attorneys, we sometimes cannot imagine walking into court without a hard file.  We have found that oftentimes, the entire file does not need to be printed to go to court; just the applicable pleading or motion will suffice.  As for appearances, those of us who are insecure can carry any old file into the courtroom, if need be, and hold it as our security blanket as we argue our motion.  I promise you, nobody will notice! 

 

Another advantage is the ease with which hearings can be set and the ability to respond quickly to time sensitive pleadings or other matters that may need to be immediately addressed.  An unexpected move on the part of a debtor can be quickly countered.  File management is much easier and more efficient; files don't simply vanish into outer space as hard files sometimes can.  As a bonus, imagine having the ability for a secretary, collector and attorney to access a file at the same time.  Finally, you can brag to your friends how you saved half the forests in the world by having a "green" office!!

 

As with any successful office, a paperless office must have a good flow plan for documents.  For example, a pleading comes in this morning's mail. There needs to be a process for imaging the file, being sure that the attorney sees it almost immediately and documents don’t just get scanned and ignored.  It is no different from having a process for paper files, except the lawyer should have quicker access to view pleadings, letters and cost, fees and debtor payments.  It is important to select a good imaging system-there are several on the market that are being successfully used by collection firms.  Most importantly, your emergency or disaster plan should already contain backup in various locations both local and out of the area.  In the event of a flood, hurricane or other disaster, you will not have to deal with wet or destroyed hard files, and you should be in a position to obtain immediate access to your paperless files.

 

The automation of this part of the collection practice allows the practitioner to handle many more files at once OR perhaps gives him or her the luxury of getting home to family and friends at a decent hour! It is time, folks, to throw out the dictation and transcription equipment.  I know it takes resolve and fortitude, but the rewards will far outweigh your fears. 

 

Summary
 

 

 

Born New York, New York, October 8, 1955; admitted to Florida Bar, 1979. Education: Emory University (B.A. 1976); University of Miami School of Law (J.D., 1979). Member: The Florida Bar; Hillsborough County Bar Association; Commercial Law League of America. AV Rating, Martindale-Hubbell.

 

Attorney Singer can be contacted at Kass, Shuler, Solomon, Spector, Foyle & Singer, P.A., 1505 N. Florida Ave., Tampa, FL 33601, Phone: (813) 229-0900 x 1369, Fax: (813) 769-7575 or via email at gsinger@kasslaw.com.