How to Choose The Right Legal Document Management Solution

September 19, 2017

I’m very excited to be joined for the first of a two-part series regarding Legal Document Management Systems (DMS) by Marco Maggio, U.S. Legal Practice Director with Konica Minolta’s IT Services Division, All Covered. The Konica Minolta and All Covered Legal team have produced a combined, robust portfolio of products, services and solutions for all segments of the legal industry. However, with the variety of legal solutions to choose from, it can be a confusing proposition for legal professionals to try and decipher which one to pick. Here, Maggio talks about his ebook and offers some valuable insight on the topic.

Marco, what was the catalyst for you publishing the eBook, “Choosing the Right Document Management Solution”?

Maggio: At Konica Minolta, we come across countless clients and prospects that are either intimidated or simply confused about content management for their firms. Our legal document management team created this eBook to attempt to demystify and simplify one of the most enabling technologies that a law firm or legal department can leverage within their organization.

What is the value-add that your team brings to the Legal DMS space?

Maggio: Our team has more than 20+ years of experience installing, integrating and supporting document management systems into law firms. That experience coupled with the fact that we are a national IT services and security provider yields exposure to a myriad of integrated applications and countless installs at firms across the country. The knowledge gained by all of our past installations and supporting so many clients gives us a tremendous amount of intellectual capital that is compiled into a centralized knowledge base that we leverage for our clients. This allows us to develop best in class system designs, solutions to common and rare issues, and of course share best practices with our clients to enhance the value we bring to our clients.

In the last few years the trend towards the cloud is increasing. How are the solutions your team provides addressing those needs?

Maggio: Clients nationwide are seeing a dramatic increase in their knowledge workers requesting secure access to data anytime from anywhere and from any device. DMS cloud solutions are holistically addressing that requirement. I have to say that, although all of our solutions have cloud options, I’m incredibly impressed by the investments being made in the SaaS offerings from netdocuments® and iManage. They’re assisting clients with world-class solutions that are user friendly and economically advantageous, all while being extremely secure and stable. Our team makes sure to carefully plan and clearly communicate the advantages of the systems during implementations, and we generally take extra time in training the users to eliminate any fears or uncertainty about embracing cloud technology. What we generally experience after implementation of these cloud solutions are very happy clients that embrace the technology and get quickly spoiled with all of the benefits that a SaaS model offers.

It’s hard to talk about any technology without bringing up Cybersecurity. Is it dominating conversations with your prospects in their search for content management solutions?

Maggio: I agree with you. Cybersecurity is dominating all of our conversations regardless of the technology we’re speaking about. As most of our clients are getting bludgeoned by security requests for information (RFIs) and elaborate questionnaires from their clients. They are looking to respond to the simple question: “How do I know my data will be secure at your firm?” We’re assisting firms in responding to those questions by leveraging key functions of DMS systems such as data encryption, practice segmentations, multi-factor authentication, multiple firewalls, data randomization, document audit trails, compliance with HIPAA, FINRA, and SEC rules and by leveraging access rights, permissions, and ethical walls.

Why are iManage, Worldox, eDocs, and netdocuments among the top choices for Legal DMS?

Maggio: Our legal clients are very specific in their requirements for references from firms their same size and that operate with similar practice areas whenever we talk about technology. Quite frankly, all of these products have been primarily working with the legal industry for decades and have become the defacto standard for several reasons. In my mind, none resonate more than the fact that they are technology solutions designed for lawyers and the industry is very cautious about pioneering technology that is not 100 percent proven within the industry. Other reasons vary from their integrations with other leading legal applications, legal specific workflows, matter centric designs, and their core functionality all influences the market’s purchasing decisions. We see newcomers come and go in this space every year, but the products you mentioned always seem to withstand the test of time and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.

What are the top five reasons why a legal entity should have a Legal DMS as opposed to the traditional way they store documents?

Maggio: There are so many reasons, but if I had to pick a Top 5, I believe they would be:

  • Dramatically improved searchability and findability of information
  • Matter-Centric workflows
  • Integrations with leading legal applications and the Microsoft Office suite
  • Integrated email management
  • The security functionalities mentioned in a previous question

 

Check back next week for the second part of this Legal DMS series that will explore how Artificial Intelligence is being integrated in DMS.

Zina Motley-Weaver, SAFe Agilist, PMI-ACP, PMP
National Practice Manager, Legal & Finance

Zina Motley-Weaver is responsible for the legal and finance vertical go-to-market strategy. Nationally supporting both the Direct and Dealer Sales Channels and global initiatives with marketing, training and sales enablement tools, spearheading initiatives to drive innovative technology, solutions and services. She develops internal and external creative ideas that increase industry brand awareness. Zina holds a master’s degree in law and governance with a concentration in legal technology, compliance and regulations and several industry project and agile management certifications. Zina enjoys refinishing antiques, gardening, volunteering and hiking in the mountains of the Southwestern United States.