Describe how a law office can become a paperless office, law homework help
Describe how a law office can become a paperless office, law homework help
OBJECTIVES:
- Describe how a law office can become a “paperless office.”
- Describe the process of filing legal documents electronically.
- Outline ethical considerations related to a paperless office.
- Compare procedures for disseminating electronic versus hardcopy documents to clients and courts.
- Research the pros and cons of implementing a paperless office.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Read the scenario below.
Everyone was talking about the paperless office in the bar association meeting, but the reality had not struck home until attorney Mason received a call from his paralegal asking where to store the twenty boxes of files from the litigation that had just been settled. There was no room left in the small storage area allotted to them in the basement of the office building.
It looked like most of the documents in the file transfer boxes were already on the office file server. Only the documents received from the opposing side were still in paper form. The reality was that most of the files were paper copies of electronic files on the server. Scanning paper documents was a chore, but with the high-speed scanner that was shown at the tech show, it might not be a big issue. There was also the service bureau that would scan everything and reproduce it on a CD, like the electronic discovery in the recently closed case provided by the defendant.
It seemed like a good time to discuss the costs of storage and new equipment with the other attorney with whom he was sharing office space. Maybe there was a solution and a chance to recover all the storage space, save money in the long term, and get the coffee room back. Attorney Mason has asked you to research the pros and cons of implementing a paperless office and to make a recommendation.
- Assume that the office described above is located in your own jurisdiction. Determine whether or not your jurisdiction allows for electronic filing of legal documents, and obtain any guidelines or procedures that must be followed.
- Write a report with the sections indicated below.
- Recommendation: One paragraph summarizing whether or not you believe the law office described in the scenario above and located in your own jurisdiction should become a paperless office. (Note: You should write this section last, but it should be the first section of your paper.)
- Overview: Support your recommendation with a brief discussion of the pros and cons of implementing a paperless office.
- Electronic Filing: Compare procedures for disseminating electronic versus hardcopy documents to clients and courts in your jurisdiction. This section should include a description of the process of filing legal documents electronically. (Note: If your jurisdiction does not allow electronic filing of legal documents, state that in this section. Find out if there is a plan in place to begin accepting electronic documents in the future, and if so, describe it in this section.)
- Ethics Considerations: Outline ethical considerations related to a paperless office.
- Implementation: Briefly describe the basic steps the office would need to take to become a “paperless office.”
