Law Firm Eliminates Costly Storage Requirements with SmartSearch

Speak with almost any Law Firm about their filing and the first priority they speak to is how to manage their closed case files. These files represent completed matters however they still require occasional reference as questions arise post close. As a result many firms turn to off-site storage facilities which charge them not only by the number of boxes stored but also by the number of retrievals requested.

The New York firm of Brady, McGuire and Steinberg was no exception to the storage dilemma. This Hastings on the Hudson practice which specializes in Union Labor law was fortunate to rent storage space in the basement of its building but retrieving document still required considerable time and effort.

Office Manager Beverly Casado did her best to maintain a well organized paper based filing system which included filing each case by its client name and matter number into a box which was then tracked using a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. When a file was required, the administrator would look up the matter number in the spread sheet find out what box it was archive in and then head to the basement. Even under the most optimal circumstances, this process still took a minimum of 10 minutes to locate the file. Then the file was brought upstairs where the required section was copied before being re-filed back down in the basement.

That was before SmartSearch however. With the help of Square 9 Softworks partner Connecticut Business Systems, Ms. Casado now digitally images each closed case file into SmartSearch from their multifunctional printer. “Now it is so much easier with SmartSearch, Ms. Casado states. “We simply enter the matter number or client name into SmartSearch and the document is available immediately. I just print out the pages I need and I’m finished.”

With current closed files now in check, Ms. Casado is focused on eliminating the files currently in storage. Boxes are being pulled from the basement whenever time allows and scanned into SmartSearch. Despite this not being a daily event, several hundred case files are now digitally archived with as many as 40 new files captured in a given day. In addition, as documents are requested, they are now being scanned and shredded rather than being returned to the basement. It is only a matter of time before the basement is no longer rented for storage and Brady, McGuire and Steinberg has access to all of their files on line.

To learn more about how SmartSearch can help increase efficiency and lower operating costs in your business, contact Square 9 Softworks today at (203) 789-0889 ext 130 or visit us on the web at www.square-9.com.