The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/57001
best practices The second dimension of control, the "what," gives firms the flexibility to create fixed naming conventions with tags, such as "witness" with prefixes (John Smith Witness) or suffixes (Witness John Smith). Fixed naming conventions with tags allow firms to standardize naming conventions, while giving lawyers the flexibility to structure the foldering in a way that can be easily understood across offices. A single witness folder, for example, will suffice we've seen a renewed focus on security. However, working around the clock, globally and collaboratively, requires a deviation from the traditional centralized security model. For example, a lawyer in New York who wants to hand off portions of a matter to the Hong Kong office at 8:00 p.m. isn't served well if he has to track down who can give the Hong Kong lawyers access to the secure folders in the matter. A new approach to security uses a model I call "matter team Working around the clock, globally and collaboratively, requires a deviation from the traditional centralized security model. when a matter has only two witnesses. However, in large, complex matters, most lawyers would like the ability to create a separate folder for each witness. Fixed naming conventions with tags provide the consistency required for collaboration and the flexibility to provide additional levels of categorization. This approach has been put to the test, and it works. I'm familiar with a large global firm that uses this approach very successfully to facilitate collaboration across their offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Centralize the Data With the exception of "supermatters" like giant mergers and acquisitions (such as Kraft's acquisition of Cadbury), I also suggest that law firms create one centralized workspace for each matter to eliminate confusion about where all the matter information lives. WAN technology supports this concept, and it is crucial for global collaboration. Make Data Secure, Easily Our license to practice law requires us to maintain and protect our clients' files. As an increasing number of data breaches surface, Keith Lipman, Esq., President of Prosperoware LLC, is a well-regarded expert in the areas of information management and e-discovery, and he has been involved in information management for over 19 years. Prior to his work with Prosperoware, Keith served in numerous capacities, including paralegal, lawyer, IT director in a law firm and technology consultant to law firms. He is a frequent speaker and author on the topics of e-discovery and the management of email, documents and records. Keith can be reached at keith@prosperoware.com. management," and it makes security both easy and friendly without sacrificing the firm's standards. Matter team management puts the responsible lawyer, or designee, in charge of who has access to the matter. In this model, the responsible lawyer — without IT support — can add and delete members to the matter team and limit access to specific folders or provide full access to the entire matter. The document management system grants or denies access to documents and folders according to their actions. Better Collaboration, More Sleep Effective global collaboration strategies will require us to rethink how we work together and how we use the technology that supports that work. It will also require some very specific changes in how we manage our legal processes. Concepts like on-demand foldering, data centralization and matter team management are first steps in the right direction — steps that are sure to get everyone on board. And, just think, no more calls at midnight. 12 Peer to Peer