Law firms place client confidentiality, legal professional privilege, data privacy and information security to the strictest standards. A law firm’s reputation is built by its integrity and compliance with all laws, regulations, and the professional code of conduct. In the digital era, a software provider’s role goes hand-in-hand with the legal practitioners’ enforcement of data governance, which is integral to cybersecurity. Clearly defined access rights are a key part of efficient decision making for information management and governance.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops and publishes international standards for regulating a range of business practices, product or service quality, and management techniques. Through third party organizations, businesses can obtain ISO certifications to prove that they meet the standards recommended by ISO. For example, many technology companies pursue certification in ISO/IEC 27001 (IEC is short for the International Electrotechnical Commission), which is globally recognized as an indication that the certified information security management system (ISMS) is aligned with information security best practice, in terms of people and processes as well as technology.

While not every ISO category applies directly to law firms, the standardized guidelines set out for each category provide valuable information about good practices in data access principles and structure. For example, ISO 8000:150 provides a framework for Data Quality Management that law firms could find useful when laying out the roles and responsibilities to govern the collection, management and use of data in a legal practice. Please note, however, that ISO 8000:150 certification is not required for law firms, and that we are just referencing its contents to illustrate standards of good practice. Please bear in mind that these are general guiding principles only and do not correspond to definitions under any data privacy legislation, rules, or regulations.

ISO 8000:150 generally sets out three roles that each organization should have at minimum:

The data manager has the highest level of authority and accountability for the firm’s data. This would typically be a Managing Partner, Senior Partner or equivalent, with the authority to approve the firm’s policies, procedures, and rules on data management. The data manager operates in a high-level company-wide perspective which very often aims to ensure compliance of relevant laws and regulations.

A data administrator is responsible for defining and implementing safeguards for data protection in accordance with policies, procedures and rules approved by the data manager. There can be multiple data administrators in a law firm, each overseeing a single domain such as a specific department or team, e.g. human resources or finance. Data administrators typically supervise the designing and setting up of data management processes in accordance with approved company policies and oversee the implementation of data management strategies within their respective departments. This role is generally held by high-ranking executives of each department.

A data technician processes data on an everyday basis, applying relevant policies, procedures, and rules to ensure the quality and integrity of data. For example, in a department that involves information of the company’s financials, the data technicians would be the employees responsible for organizing the data structure and access control in accordance with the company’s approved policies, procedures and rules.

As more and more law firm data are being processed and stored digitally, whether on internal servers or secure cloud providers, additional technical support will most likely be needed to embed and implement governance controls and processes. Whether in-house or third party, information technology providers form the final piece of the puzzle, completing the law firm’s data management strategy by offering system support and maintaining the firm’s information systems.

People, not technology, are often the weakest link in cybersecurity. The conversation of cybersecurity for law firms is shifting from a technology-focused discussion to a demand for increased engagement from senior management. Without a well thought-out, legally compliant, and practical data governance policy, a company would very often fall short of the standards of ethics and integrity required under modern day corporate governance. Ensuring from the top down that the right people have the right access to data in the firm is a necessary foundation for effective cyber security controls, and thus the strong protection of valuable data that may involve ownership or information rights from third parties.

If you are looking for service providers, choose solutions that make it easy for you to implement your access control policies. LEGALX is designed with strictest information security and access in mind. Its granular level access control can be granted to individuals or teams, given by folder or individual file, or changed in terms of editing, reading, downloading, or deleting rights.

To learn more about Cloudwork | LEGALX and its suite of productivity tools, visit our website or contact us today.

Data Access Principles for Law Firms: 3 crucial data management roles for every legal practice

3 crucial data management roles for every legal practice

In 2019, every respondent to the PwC Law Firms Survey reported suffering a security incident. This is 40% more than the previous year, and almost a 60% increase from 5 years ago. On one hand, this suggests that law firms are being increasingly targeted for their valuable data. On the other hand, there is also the possibility that security incidents had previously gone undetected, meaning that the high reporting rate actually indicates an increase in strength and awareness of cybersecurity among law firms.

The top three cyber threats to law firms are:

Phishing attacks
Phishing is a type of social engineering where attackers influence users to disclose information accidentally or click a bad link. Phishing is most prevalent over email, with attackers targeting both law firms and clients by spoofing one party’s email address to make the correspondence look more convincing to the recipient. 100% of top 10 firms surveyed by PwC reported a phishing attack.


Malware attacks
Malware is short for “malicious software”, and describes code designed to gain unauthorized access or cause damage to data and systems. Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to files or data on a device or network until a ransom is paid. Email is also the most common attack vector for ransomware: it is estimated that 80-90% of ransomware attacks enter via email.


Data breaches
A data breach is the intentional or unintentional exposure of sensitive or confidential information to unauthorized parties. A notorious example is the Panama Papers hack in 2016, in which Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca lost 2.6 Terabytes of data, the largest amount of data lost in a single incident ever recorded. It was believed that the breach happened because the law firm’s client portal had not been updated in 3 years. The firm never recovered from the damage to their reputation.

What can law firms do about these cyber threats? First of all, use software that has been certified by independent authority that includes regular penetration testing. Secondly, ensure that information technology systems in the firm are updated to minimize the weaknesses in the system that hackers can exploit. Thirdly, the firm should devise clear and practicable information technology handbook which delineates protocols when handling different types of information. For instance, limit downloads from unfamiliar or unsafe emails and websites to guard against malware attacks. Fourthly, train employees to maintain good cyber security practices such as using strong passwords and looking out for unusual correspondence that may be a phishing attempt.

Cyber threats have persisted and will continue to evolve as security measures develop. Gartner forecasts global spending on cybersecurity to reach US$133.7 billion in 2022. By cultivating good cyber security practices throughout all levels of the organization, law firms can establish a solid foundation to build a cybersecurity strategy that can grow to detect and withstand future threats as and when they arrive.

LEGALX adopts an internationally recognised framework for best practice in Information Security Management System (ISMS) and understands the need for appropriate controls in risk management when dealing with important information. 

To ensure your IT system has adequate cyber security protection, visit our website or contact us today to learn more about Cloudwork | LEGALX and its cyber security standards.

In 2019, every respondent to the PwC Law Firms Survey reported suffering a security incident. This is 40% more than the previous year, and almost a 60% increase from 5 years ago. On one hand, this suggests that law firms are being increasingly targeted for their valuable data. On the other hand, there is also the possibility that security incidents had previously gone undetected, meaning that the high reporting rate actually indicates an increase in strength and awareness of cybersecurity among law firms. What are the top 3 cyber threats faced by law firms?

Top 3 Cyber Threats to Law Firms

What cyber threats are law firms most vulnerable to?

Google became who they are today by doing one thing to reach the world’s epitome of excellence, the search engine.

Search is undoubtedly an integral part of the digital era. Your specific niche set of data for work or your profession is incredibly valuable today; yet most professionals underestimate the value of data, if it is accessible or retrievable at all. Very often, we are deceived by the word "research" to justify the inherent inefficiencies when accessing or retrieving information before analysis. Our human minds are built for processing complex information deeply but are not designed to “read” through large amount of noise due to natural fatigue.

When was the last time a particular detail, term or name triggered an echo of a previous case or template, only to be unable to materialize as more than a word, or a name? Human memory is fallible, after all - but that is where technology can help. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are buzzwords that get thrown around a lot, but what can “intelligent” search functions really do for you?

The value of data lies in how you use it. It doesn’t matter if you have access to all the data in the world if it is just sitting around, disorganized and unusable. Effective data search plays an integral role in internal knowledge management as well as data collection from external data sources. Not only does it ensure that you can find what you need when you need it, imagine the time that can be saved by going through vast quantities of information that is available for your professional services or strategic planning.

So where do concepts such as AI and NLP fit in? NLP is a sub-field of AI that allows you to discover content based on relevant context and intent, even if it is not part of the explicit wording of the search. This improves the depth and accuracy of search results, reducing the time and labour required for research. The best search engines combine both search by “Boolean operators” (such as AND, OR, AND NOT) together with NLP search that understands natural language.

Furthermore, the relevance of the set of data varies from industry to industry. Someone working in the legal profession will conduct searches with very different contexts and intents in mind than someone working in a marketing firm. However “smart” a search engine is, its effectiveness depends on the design and thorough understanding of such contexts.

An example is Named Entity Recognition (NER), also known as entity extraction or identification, a form of NLP that detects and categorises named entities. Entity categories could include names, organizations, locations, and field-specific categories such as legal terms and phrases. The more relevant the data is to the task, the more accurate the technology will be at completing it. NER developed from legal data will return more relevant results for ease of analysis.

The Cloudwork team has over five decades of experience in legal and financial services, giving us first hand knowledge of practitioners’ needs which we brought to the development of our NLP-based search engine with professional service practitioners in mind.

LEGALX’s search engine uses NLP to effectively retrieve documents, messages, tasks and file content with links to your projects or case matters. LEGALX’s search engine also covers as per request public knowledge base, giving you clarity to data under your research scope with clarity in seconds.

Why Your Enterprise Search System Matters

The value of data lies in how you use it. 

Why Your Enterprise Search System Matters?

Most of us in this day and age cannot avoid the involvement of technology in some form in our professional lives. Whether in the form of client emails, contracts or internal documentation, more and more important information is being stored and shared online. When so much information is stored and transferred in digital form, keeping sensitive data private is an important part of ensuring client confidentiality and data security. For any solutions that a professional service provider uses, such as cloud storage, DMS or productivity solutions that have access to your data, you should understand how they protect your data. One important matter to be aware of is how your data is encrypted.

Encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext that no one but the target recipient will be able to decrypt for readability. The recipient holds a key for decryption, which is when data is translated back into its original readable form. More complex understanding involves the use of specific mathematical formulae to perform symmetric or asymmetric encryption.

Encryption can be applied to data in transit and data at rest. Knowing the difference between the two is important because it is important to minimize vulnerabilities in both mechanisms.

Data in transit is also known as data in motion, and describes data that is actively moving from one location to another, whether it is across the internet, web browsers, between devices, or through a private network. Data is often less secure while in motion, so it is important to ensure effective data protection. Data in transit can be protected by encrypting data before it is moved, or by using encrypted connections such as HTTPS, SSL, TLS, or FTPS.

Data at rest describes data that is not in motion, which includes data archived or stored on a device or network, such as a hard drive, laptop or flash drive. Data at rest can be protected by encrypting sensitive files before they are stored, or by encrypting the entire storage drive itself.

LEGALX is an SaaS solution that uses military grade cloud storage services. Our services support a number of options to encrypt data at rest, including service-managed keys, customer-managed keys, and client-side encryption. For data in transit, our services use the TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol to protect data in transit between cloud services and customers, as well as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web/mail server and a client.

For any solutions that a professional service provider uses, such as cloud storage, DMS or productivity solutions that have access to your data, you should understand how they protect your data. One important matter to be aware of is how your data is encrypted. What are the different kinds of encryption involved in data protection?

What Professional Service Providers Need to Know about Encryption

We see this time and time again: A law firm’s local file server has reached its end-of-life and has become a headache to maintain. So the firm looks to the cloud to modernize its file storage and document management. Wouldn’t it be great to get rid of that server and be able to access documents from anywhere?

A solution search often leads the firm to “public cloud” services like DropBox, Google Drive or Box. The firm transitions to such a consumer-grade cloud storage service, only to find that its features are insufficient to sustain the needs of a legal service provider. Eventually, the firm incurs further costs and complications in subscribing to other applications to provide the necessary functionality.

The Problem with Consumer-Grade Cloud Storage

Consumer-grade cloud storage services, such as DropBox, Google Drive, or Box, are designed for home and consumer use, not for businesses, and certainly not for the sophisticated needs of law firms. These products often lack document management features beyond simple storage, such as version management, indexing, search, metadata, and more.

Another fundamental problem with these services lies in the limited scalability of data synchronization. Many such products attempt to synchronize data to each user’s computer. This is a good solution for a small organization of a few people, but when you get to more than a few users, synchronization becomes inefficient and inconsistent. The resulting data asymmetry between one person’s computer and another’s increases the risk of error, which could lead to costly consequences for the company.

Thirdly, many established and functionally sophisticated services are not accessible in the Mainland China area.

Lastly, consumer-grade cloud storage likely does not support setting a controlled environment for downloading a file. As information security is paramount to enterprise risk management, using such cloud storage services may put the company at risk of having proprietary information leaked.

Consumer-grade services are great for personal storage and sharing of files. However, in a business context, such services are often not robust enough, do not scale well, and lack features required by most professional service firms.

What is a Document Management System (DMS)?

The term Document Management will vary depending on whom you ask to define it. Some consumer-grade cloud storage services self-describe their products as document management solutions, while other service providers may insist upon a certain list of features being present in order to count as a DMS. At the end of the day, semantics don’t matter–what matters is the functionality your business requires.

For a business providing legal services, we suggest that an effective legal DMS should ideally include the following features:

Project Management and Collaboration: A system that supports real-time collaboration amongst multiple stakeholders.

Workflow-centric Document Storage & Management: Re-use past project workflows and documents with minimal effort of retrieval.

Email Management: Save and file emails together with relevant documentation.

Indexing & Search: Indexing is the key to quickly locating a specific document.

Version Control: See, compare, and restore prior versions of a document.

Document Locking: prevent other users from modifying a document while you are working on it or to protect a finalized version.

Document Profiling or Tagging: Tag or code documents for easy internal identification, such as by document type, case nature, internal case references, etc.

Alerts & Reminders: Receive notifications when a specific event is updated or changed.

Analytics: Review and understand different aspects of productivity in a confidential environment driven by rigorous access control.

Many consumer-grade cloud storage services are designed for home and individual use, not for businesses, and certainly not for the sophisticated needs of law firms. These products often lack document management features beyond simple storage, such as version management, indexing, search, metadata, and more. What features should an effective legal DMS include?

What difference can a DMS make to a legal practice?

Learn how cloud document management system transforms your legal practice. 

Why do Lawyers Need Cloud Document Management Systems?

The cloud is an umbrella term for software and services that run on the internet with shared computing resources. General advantages of cloud computing include increased file storage capacity, more convenient file sharing, and easier data back-up. For law firms, this means no longer having to store, guard and maintain physical servers on office premises; no longer having to hunt down the last colleague who took your USB for a file transfer; and no longer panicking upon closing a file before hitting save. The main disadvantage of cloud computing is that internet connection is required - however, technology has developed such that many cloud computing applications support offline working with automatic syncing once internet connection is restored.

There are three main types of cloud storage: public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud, each with its own characteristics and advantages. 

Public cloud storage solutions are offered by third party services providers over the internet, with all of the hardware, software and other supporting infrastructure owned and managed by the cloud provider (“Cloud Service Provider”). Users of these solutions (cloud “tenants”) access these services via web browsers, and may share hardware, storage and network devices with other tenants. Data ownership can be safeguarded by reviewing the services contracts with the actual service provider, often a software as a service (“SaaS”), which is often not the Cloud Service Provider. It is a further protection for the end-user to choose a SaaS that provides data-backup and asserts legal ownership to the end-users. 

Examples of public clouds include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Google AppEngine, and Windows Azure Services Platform.

Cloud Service Providers often operate and maintain a vast network of servers, such that clients enjoy relatively high scalability and reliability. Public cloud solutions also have the benefit of lower procurement and maintenance costs, since service providers take care of the hardware and software.

An often cited drawback of the public cloud is a relative lack of control over security, which is to a large extent controlled by the Cloud Service Provider. However, when implemented effectively through a SaaS with proper security methods, the public cloud can be as secure as or even more secure than a private cloud.

Private clouds are also known as internal or corporate clouds. The private cloud can be physically hosted at the business’s data centre, but can also be hosted by a third party service provider; the main difference from the public cloud is that services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network and used exclusively by one business. The public cloud has more computing resources available, but also more tenants taking a share.

Well-known private cloud providers include Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), VMware, Dell, and Oracle.

Private clouds bring greater flexibility for internal adjustments and more customizable security controls. However, even with private cloud solutions hosted by third party providers, the business remains responsible for the software and hardware. This significantly increases the cost of implementation and maintenance, which limits scalability to some extent. Businesses without proper IT support should still be wary of the potential time and costs required as well as limitations in upgrading its infrastructure in light of the marginal benefits offered by private cloud.

A hybrid cloud combines the on-premises infrastructure of private clouds with public cloud services by allowing data and applications to be shared between them. Sensitive data can be secured on private cloud, while public or customer-facing information can be exchanged at higher volumes on the public cloud. Hybrid cloud enables “cloud bursting”, which is when an application runs in the private cloud until a spike in demand causes it to “burst through” to the public cloud for additional computing resources.

Examples of hybrid clouds include VMware Cloud on AWS, the Cisco Hybrid Cloud Platform for Google Cloud, and Microsoft’s Azure Hybrid Cloud.

Hybrid clouds bring great flexibility to the adjustment of resource usage, and also further increases the available options for access and security control. On the other hand, increased options lead to increased complexity in implementation and maintenance, which incurs greater costs.

Large law firms with sufficient infrastructure and resources may choose to maintain their own private cloud. Small to mid sized law firms, on the other hand, are likely to benefit from public or hybrid cloud solutions. If lowering costs is the primary concern, a public cloud solution may be preferable; if scaling up with existing infrastructure is the focus, then a hybrid cloud may be the best fit.

However, cloud storage is the beginning, not the conclusion. Particularly for small to mid sized firms, it may be more cost-efficient to reduce in-house tech spending by outsourcing to third party SaaS. Cloud solutions such as LegalX build upon cloud storage to enable cost-effective work management tools for lawyers.

What are the differences between public, private, and hybrid cloud storage? More importantly for law firms looking to move resources online securely, how do you choose between them?

Cloud Storage for Law Firms

What, really, is “the cloud”? And, more importantly for law firms, how do you choose one?

Cloud Storage for Law Firms: Public cloud, Private cloud, Hybrid cloud

Document Management Solutions (DMS) are critical software for the productivity, security and scalability of professional services. A DMS helps professional service firms organize their information, including documents, emails, and attachments. A good DMS can make a big difference and help teams become more productive, reduce costs, better serve clients, and achieve better outcomes.

While DMSs are becoming widely popular across different industries, lawyers and law firms may require specific features in the productivity tools they use, and it can get overwhelming to be faced with all the options on the market. In this post, we’re going to talk about the list of questions that could help you choose a DMS that's suitable for your firm, so that you can maximize the value from using the software. We will also compare NetDocuments and iManage, two brand-name document management software solutions.

So what should you look out for to find out which DMS works for your firm?

Most DMS are generic and are not designed for specific industries. To appeal to a wide audience, basic offerings for these options often consist of generic features that fit the common basic uses across business sectors. This may fall short of the needs of law firms for rigorous project management where numerous internal and external deadlines have to be met. While some DMS software offer customization, the additional design and implementation processes may incur significant monetary and time costs. Choosing a DMS that is versatile and places an emphasis on specific workflow makes it easier for users to tailor existing functions to day-to-day business needs.

2. Does the software offer the features you need?

Having a list of must-have and value-add features can help you narrow down the options on the market. For example, do you need more efficient email management capabilities? Do you require collaboration capabilities for your team to track and communicate project progress? Do you need analytics to understand your team’s performance and workload? Does the DMS you are looking at allow you to set up individual user or team access permissions or security controls? Can you check-in and check-out documents? Can documents be indexed and searched? Do you need templates of documents or workflows for standardization of practices? The more boxes that a DMS checks, the more use you will likely get out of the software.

3. What are your accessibility requirements?

Who will have access to the DMS, and where can they access it from? If the software is limited to an on-premise server, it is not going to be available to you when you are not in the office. If the DMS provider says that their software is cloud-based, or has a “cloud option,” find out what that actually means. It could be that they provide you with a web browser-based log-in that provides limited functionality when you are accessing it. If you need to access the DMS when you are away from the office, look for something that can either be hosted and run from a private cloud or something that is a cloud native (meaning it was made specifically for use on the cloud). It also helps if you have an understanding of what cybersecurity considerations you should look out for with different cloud-based options.

Learn more about cloud storage and how to choose the the right cloud-based option for your law firm.

4. How does the software perform data searches?

Does searching rely on the folders, file names, file body or tags? Can it allow cross parameter search? Does the software have the ability to capture data within documents, e.g. optical character recognition (OCR)? OCR is key to getting accurate search results from large volumes of data. You can use a name, word, or phrase for search results that include content in the document text body as well as tags and folders.

5. How hard will it be to move your data?

Data migration is an important part of the process, and can make or break your experience. Depending on the DMS you choose, you may be required to move your own data. You either have to do it yourself or hire a professional to help. Data migration can be complicated and costly. Look for a solution that provides data migration as part of its package, ideally from the vendor that develops the software.

Now that you know some of the things you should look for when evaluating a DMS, let’s look at NetDocuments and iManage.

NetDocuments is a cloud-based document management system. Documents are arranged by workspace. A law firm may need to create a workspace for every client or client matter, or a workspace for each lawyer to manage all of the projects they run. NetDocuments manages documents and email (with an added extension), allows users to work together on documents and compare previous versions of documents or approve changes, and includes a mobile app.

Pros: We like that NetDocuments gives users the ability to access their documents from anywhere. The folder and sub-folder system is also relatively user-friendly, and it is easy to sort and save data. Firms that purchase the module extension ndMail can save emails and attachments directly into their folders. We also really like that NetDocuments allows users to check-out documents as a “read only” file.

Cons: NetDocuments has a number of apps and extensions. While these apps and extensions are useful in their own rights, their modular nature also means that users are required to switch and jump back and forth on different tools which can be frustrating at times. Moreover, NetDocuments charges on per user and per gigabyte (GB) of storage and is expensive. The entry plan we found costs US$20 / month / user, and comes with only 1 GB of storage. More storage (which you’ll undoubtedly need) will cost more.

iManage is a (mostly) on-premise-based document management system. Documents are arranged under projects, which hold all the files, emails, and data for managing a client matter. iManage integrates with Microsoft Office. Users can also set up document change alerts, document check-in and check-out, as well as create tags and profiles. Documents are indexed as part of the searching feature. iManage also offers integrations with Dropbox and other third-party storage programs, and has an app available for Apple iOS users.

Pros: We like that iManage has a great search function that includes relevant documents in the results returned. iManage also has a significant array of functions to improve the editing of documents for users. Users can edit documents within the app without overwriting the original document. Setting up tagging, security and permissions for documents and data is quick and easy. iManage also has timely prompts in place to make sure that you don’t accidentally lose or overwrite important documents.

Cons: iManage does a lot, but it also requires a lot. Depending on the features you need, the software can be very expensive especially when compared to other document management software options that have similar features. Moreover, iManage requires powerful server infrastructure to run and significant IT resources to maintain. There are a number of user feedback reports of performance issues (e.g. slow system response) and occasional bugs.

NetDocuments needs additional extensions to integrate into Microsoft Office and Outlook. If your professional service firm is small, you may find that the $20 per user per one gig of storage is ideal. This program also has ShareSpace which can be used to work on documents with another person. It works best if there are fewer than 25 documents and fewer than 25 individuals. ShareSpace cannot be used or even viewed through the mobile app. We believe that NetDocuments may be better suited for smaller professional service firms.

iManage has many of the bells and whistles, but it is extremely expensive, and often just “too much software” for most small and mid-sized firms. It also needs specific technical requirements to work. It does have a cloud version as well as an app, but the app is only available for Apple iOS. We believe that while the cost may be prohibitive for some professional service firms, iManage is a great program that may be a good option for larger professional service firms, especially those which operate in multiple locations. Just keep in mind that Android users will need to use an extension app to connect to iManage on their smartphones.

NetDocuments and iManage are brand-name DMSs that have served many businesses across different industries; however, they have their pros and cons and their limitations. If you are looking for a solution that caters not just to large law firms, but also small to mid size firms, or if you are looking for something that is more than just a DMS, it may be worth looking into alternatives that are built with your day-to-day work processes in mind.

LEGALX provides workflow-centric document and project management  for professional collaboration and execution, enabling law firms to go paperless, get organized and increase productivity anywhere. LEGALX is not just a DMS but a comprehensive productivity solution that extracts the best features from shared network drives, cloud native interfaces and modern productivity tools (such as Asana). In addition, LEGALX is built with military grade security that comes with full audit trail and access controls to accommodate any professional settings, and enables the automation of highly repetitive processes.

How can law firms choose the right legal Document Management System (DMS) for the company? How do popular EDMS systems NetDocuments and iManage compare?

Legal DMS Comparison - NetDocuments vs iManage

A good DMS can make a big difference and help teams become more productive, reduce costs, better serve clients, and achieve better outcomes.

How to Choose the Right Document Management System for your Law Firm

The legal industry faces an unprecedented need to adapt to remote work arrangements, reduce costs to increase competitiveness, improve client service through better communication, and manage data securely and effectively. Law firms today are adopting technology to stay competitive: legal technology is no longer a good-to-have, but a necessity to business survival.

Remote working is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Without access to physical documentation and ill-equipped remote working facilities for frequent access to data on internal servers in the office, many law firms have adopted digital productivity solutions such as Document Management Systems (DMS), Content Management Systems (CMS) and File Synchronization and Sharing solutions (FSS solutions) to enable lawyers and support staff to work from home.

On top of facilitating the digital creation and management of documents, remote productivity solutions improve efficiency and reduce costs by automating workflows and integrating business functions like emails, calendars, and time-keeping. Thomson Reuters’ 2017 survey on solo and boutique law firms found that 40% of an attorney’s time is spent on activities other than the practice of law. Digitizing information and digitalizing processes can significantly reduce the time spent on tedious but necessary administrative tasks in running a business of law, freeing up more time and resources for the practice of law.

(2) Legal technology helps law firms serve the new economy.

Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and startups are a promising but under-served market to legal service providers. SMEs make up 99.9% of the UK’s 5.4 million private sector businesses, but a large proportion of them do not actively involve legal service providers in their businesses until it is too late: the United Kingdom’s Legal Services Board (LSB) found that in 2018, legal problems caused total annual losses of £9.79 billion to SMEs. Legal technology allows law firms to increase the cost-efficiency of their services to capture the under-served SME market ahead of competitors.

(3) Legal technology gives law firms control over cyber-security and data management which are integral for compliance.

The transition to technology-enabled alternative working arrangements is a good opportunity for law firms to revise their data management strategies for security and long-term optimization.

How many sensitive documents are sent over email or instant messaging applications such as Whatsapp or WeChat? How do you ensure that clients don’t get access to internal documents by mistake? Data management is a central issue in cyber-security, encompassing how any information is received, stored, processed, transferred, shared, or deleted. Having a good data management strategy enforced with the appropriate technology reduces security incidents and ensures that the right people are able to access information at the right time.

Strong data management not only brings operational enhancement, but also leads to business benefits. The cost of a data breach includes expenses on breach detection and incident escalation, revenue loss from business disruption and damaged reputation, resource spending on notifying parties such as data subjects and regulators, and regulatory fines; this accumulates into a formidable amount. IBM Security’s Global Cost of a Data Breach Report determined that in 2020, the average total cost of a data breach was $3.86 million USD.

This is not to say that lawyers must all become experts in cyber-security, but high-level decisions on data management and governance are critical to identifying legal technology providers who offer data management and cyber-security strategies that fulfill compliance requirements. For example, the location that data is stored (e.g. on-premise, off-premise) affects the type and extent of protection required. If cloud storage is preferred, the choice of a a public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud solution  each comes with different privacy and security considerations.

Good data management not only strengthens cyber-security, but also safeguards business continuity and preempts liabilities that may be detrimental to a modern enterprise.

(4) Legal technology enables law firms to leverage on existing data, and derive insightful new data for work and management.

Technology enhances the accuracy and depth of research by enabling professionals to reach into details of past cases via top search and visualization technologies. Intelligent search based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) which uses machine-learned statistical models to increase the depth, accuracy, and relevance of search results. NLP technology could be applied to publicly available data such as public company disclosures, or implemented privately to internal data such as past precedents, cases or standard contractual terms. Technology increases the value added by legal services in the same amount of billable time by enabling lawyers to drive additional business value.

Valuable data in a legal firm is not limited to facts and figures, but also extends to the individual expertise of its team members. Lawyers could collaborate with their colleagues, clients and expert consultants to build workflows with input from their respective domain experience, refining the final product over time and application. The ability to collect working processes honed by collective intelligence goes beyond risk and resource management to the preservation of valuable intangible assets that could vastly improve the quality of service over time.

(5) Clients perceive technology as a key measure of service quality and brand image

Clients are more willing to pay for the value they perceive in long-term relationships with trusted legal service providers rather than one-off contract drafting or legal representation, and legal technology makes it easy to maintain and manage mutually-beneficial businesses relationships of understanding and trust. In Australia, 58% of SMEs rely on legal service providers in the course of their business, but turnover rates are surprisingly high: in a span of 12 months, 32% of SMEs had changed their lawyers at least once. Cost was still the principal issue, with 40% citing this as the principal reason for switching legal providers, but 26% and 23% of SMEs did so because they felt that the previous lawyer did not understand their business or were poor at responding.

Internationally, law firms that integrate technology in their service provision receive significantly greater customer satisfaction levels: a Thomson Reuters survey recorded 100% satisfaction with client portals, 96% satisfaction with online document review/mark-up, and 97% satisfaction with e-signatures. Modern clients expect technological engagement from their lawyers, and lawyers who meet these expectations will benefit from the increase in perceived personal connection.

Technology solutions that provide workflow and communication functions enable team collaboration and clear timelines so that legal teams can keep each other and their clients up to date on all significant developments in each project. New methods of secure multi-channel communication also contribute to improved communication and closer client-firm relationships. Productivity solutions and work management tools now offer integrated email, instant messaging, voice call and video conference functions. All information shared, however it is shared - as plain text, email attachments, audio recordings - should be securely protected and accessible to all authorized team members and clients.

In times when lawyers are under growing pressure to deliver more with less, technology makes legal work smarter, enabling lawyers to gain more control over their volumes of work and increasingly fast-paced commercial needs. Traditional models of working are making way for technology-enabled solutions that bring lower cost, higher efficiency, enhanced quantity and quality of work, as well as increased scalability to drive long-term value and growth. Legal technology paired with human intelligence, intuition, and interaction will empower lawyers with new ways of working that will drive the entire legal industry onwards and upwards.

Why are law firms increasingly turning to technology? Legal technology helps law firms adapt to remote work arrangements, reduce costs to increase competitiveness, improve communication and client services, as well as manage data securely and effectively. Technology takes care of the firm so lawyers can focus on high-value legal advice.

Is Legal Technology Transforming Law Firm Management?

Why are law firms increasingly turning to technology? Technology takes care of the firm so lawyers can focus on high-value legal advice.

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