Whenever I talk to lawyers about switching to a digital workflow system I always get the same question: what's the best way to switch? The answer: all at once. Next question. What's the second best way?
Ah, excellent question. And the answer is: just work on becoming a mobile lawyer. The more mobile you are the less dependent on paper you'll become (after all you aren't going to be very mobile if you have to drag tons of paper around with you). I was pretty mobile before Katrina pushed me into that extreme form of mobility known as nomadism. But Katrina was good because it forced me to think more deeply about how to diminish my reliance on paper, and anything else that would keep me tethered to a specific location.
One thing that is hard to escape from is your physical mailing address. You pretty much have to have one, and that means your mail will go to that location. And then you have to figure out how to retrieve it from a distant place. Wouldn't it be nice if you could have your mail sent to a place that scanned it and sent it to you by email? Well, turns out there is such a place. It's called Earth Class Mail.
You have to choose to have mail delivered to one of 18 regional P.O. centers. For about $10 per month they'll scan up to 35 envelopes and email you the image. You then decide if you want them to shred the envelope and its contents, or open it and scan the paper. You get up to 50 pages scanned for the $10 monthly fee and then pay .25 per page after that. There is a corporate package, and soon they will be adding the ability to electronically cash checks.
Obviously, this is not worthwhile for the average person. But if you are on a long trip, or if you don't plan to spend time in any one place for very long this is the way to get your paper mail.
Have you seen "Startup Junkies" on the MOJO channel? I've only caught a couple episodes but it's basically "the story of Earth Class Mail". I've got it on cable but you can also watch episodes online (http://www.mojohd.com/video/?sid=22). Cool stuff.
Posted by: Jim Halberg | April 19, 2008 at 12:48 AM
At last, I have found a like-minded attorney!!!! Sorry for jumping the guns (e.g., not doing in depth research on your older postings), but I really need a tip (or a few) on how to deal with paper-based government agencies and courts, when I am attempting against all odds to go paperless. I am a civil and immigration law practitioner, and for all the talk of e-government, the Department of Homeland Security still works around paper, as well as the local courts in Puerto Rico. It's a hassle to scan everything I receieve, and then proceed to file it; as I could get sued pretty easily for malpractice by shredding every paper document I get, after scanning it :-).
To make matters worse, I am a solo practitioner: no secretary, no law clerk, no paralegals.
I have found that my Brother MFC is a pretty decent scanner, but still, I waste plenty of time scanning and filing, that sometimes I just go straight to filing (even though the idea was to go paperless from day one).
Any ideas?
Posted by: Fernando Zambrana | May 28, 2008 at 08:15 PM