Is the paper-free office a reality in legal firms? Debbie Jones thinks not
All industries are being tempted to go paper-free, but has the legal profession embraced the idea? Or are firms still too reliant on paper filing systems? According to our research the profession still relies on keeping hard copies of all key literature. The legal industry is still a paper-heavy sector and companies like ours, which supply legal firms with systems to store and protect legal documents, continue to experience a strong demand for the filing systems on offer.
A matter of culture
Firms often cite a number of reasons for continuing to be paper-heavy. Dene Rowe, IT director at Halliwells LLP, believes that the culture of not only litigation solicitors but also of the courts and associated public bodies is paper-based. Dene says: “In our legal processes there is an emphasis on context as well as content, and this is not easily described by an electronic system. It would be easy to pass this off as out-of-date thinking, but that really misses the subtlety of what happens. There is detail that is beyond the
