Increasing Legal Practice Productivity with Cloud Computing
Collaboration is one of the foundations of legal work. Lawyers regularly need to get in touch not only with other lawyers in their team, but also with their clients. Collaboration may be necessary for many different aspects of the case such as sharing of evidences, discussing ideas, or formulating strategies among others. Unfortunately, physical or geographic distance is a huge hurdle for effective collaboration. So where does cloud computing come in and are there real benefits from it?
1. Increased Efficiency
What is the value of productivity and efficiency in the law profession? Will a law firm benefit from flexibility, scalability, and ease of use of technology? Cloud computing can deliver all of these to law firms and help increase collaborative. This can be done from the pre-trial up until a decision is rendered or an appeal becomes necessary.
Cloud computing is all about improving the quality of work of a law professional. How can you collaborate with other lawyers or clients who are halfway around the world without cloud technology? Some use the traditional methods of email, social networks, and other similar mediums of exchange, which unfortunately do not present the necessary security measures that every law firms need to protect sensitive client information from prying eyes.
Do you want to do an online meeting or conference? Cloud computing delivers all the necessary tools to achieve this using easy to use tools with familiar interfaces. By eliminating the need to switch back and forth using different applications, cloud computing increases the efficiency and productivity of work that law professionals can do. It is just like working together face-to-face in real time and with minimal cost.
2. Global Workspace
Cloud computing can help law firms, regardless of size, to create global workspaces. Are you a small law firm afraid of getting international clients because of the potential logistical nightmare? Not anymore with cloud computing.
In fact, cloud computing is becoming one of the standards in the law profession. So much so that cloud-based electronic trial technology is being implemented. This allows for easy management of voluminous documents, expert reports, storage of transcripts, creation of motions and pleadings, and other necessary actions that law practitioners might make.
Global workspaces will make paperless trials the norm of the future as even the Supreme Court of the United States is now taking steps to institute an electronic filing system. In some countries, the use of paperless law practice extends beyond the filing stage and reaches to the actual practice of law that spans some trial-based activities.
Singapore, as early as 1997 developed an e-filing system that now has blossomed into a web-based trial method known as E-Litigation. This allows for access to trial documents regardless of you physical location around the globe.
3. Savings
Perhaps the most interesting and desired real benefit law practitioners can get from cloud computing is savings. If you eliminate the tremendous amount of time that you spend going through pages of testimonies, motions, and other documents, will this help your law firm save money? Of course, because it gives you more time to deal with clients and less time browsing through paper pages.
But why choose cloud computing? For one, cloud computing is dynamic. It responds to the real needs of clients as well as the changes in computing technology. This means that you no longer to shell out additional capital to upgrade servers or update software that you need in the practice of your law profession. The minimized upfront cost in hardware infrastructure can best serve your law firm by being dedicated to your law practice.
The usual need for an IT staff to man your office needs is also taken care of. Scalability does not even become an issue. Cost of deployment is suddenly dragged down because of the minimal investment cost, regardless of the size of the case you are handling. Savings will come in many forms with cloud computing.
There is no doubt that as cloud computing becomes the standard even in the law profession, more and more real benefits will begin to manifest.
To help you make the transition easier and faster, or if you are looking for a better provider, contact NexStep management free technology in cloud computing for lawyer to let you focus your energy on your legal practice and leave the document management to the cloud.