Did you know that the average attorney receives over 26 thousand documents every year? These can come from email attachments, records, PDFs, and many other file formats for all different types of cases.
Whether you work at an old or a new law firm, there is no doubt that you have many documents to organize. Have you ever wondered how you can fix your office filing system to work better? Here are some tips to get you started.
Declutter Your Documents
You may find that you have scrap papers, irrelevant emails, or other junk paperwork that you no longer need. You should go through every client file, both paper and digital, and sort out what you need to keep and what you can safely get rid of.
Once you sort your documents, you can then dispose of paper and files with non-confidential information by throwing them away or putting them in your desktop’s recycling bin.
Safely Get Rid of Confidential Information
If you have confidential client or firm documents, then you have to dispose of them in a way that makes information irretrievable in the future. For paper documents, use a good cross-cut paper shredder.
For digital information, you need to do more than just delete it and empty your recycle bin. You may want to consider using disk shredding services. It is a paid service that will destroy your files in a way that data can’t be recovered.
Set Up a Detailed Organization Process
Once you finish purging, you need to ensure that your files will not end up cluttered again. At this point, you should set up your new office filing system based on both legal filing taxonomy and efficiency for your firm.
You should make sure to note different types of files, such as client contact information, evidence exhibits, or witness testimony. Stickers are a great way to easily sort files, such as these exhibit stickers here.
Digital vs. Paper Filing
When you decide on your legal filing system, you may want to rely on both paper and digital. Paper is a great way to have easy access to documents if your servers are down. Some people focus better while looking at the paper as well.
However, it is vital that you back up any office filing system onto the cloud, especially in the legal industry. The best method for safe filing is to save both a paper copy and a digital copy.
Organize Your Legal Files Today
You can find all kinds of legal Documents online in all formats including PDF, MS WORD and Google docs for free.If you want to organize your legal files, you should not have to worry about finding a process that works best for your law firm. With these tips for a new office filing system, you can feel much more put together and organized about your legal filing system.
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