A Guide to Managing Documents in Today s Law Firms

Transcription

1 A Guide to Managing Documents in Today s Law Firms An Osterman Research Report Published April 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. P.O. Box 1058 Black Diamond, WA Phone: (253) info@ostermanresearch.com

2 Executive Summary THE NEED TO MANAGE AND CONTROL DOCUMENTS Electronic documents are, for many law firms, the primary product that they manufacture. Many firms follow predefined document workflows and manage documents within a central repository; others choose to assemble, revise, and verify information using nothing more than their and word processing applications. Administrative and legal teams generate the majority of their documents using several different Microsoft productivity applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It is not uncommon for users within the same law firm to use multiple versions of the same application. These documents are then routinely sent via to communicate and share document drafts with other team members. In today s law firms, documents are created, revised and reviewed on desktop computers, on the go with laptops, and on mobile devices such as BlackBerries. As part of the review cycle, these documents are shared with others who then make modifications and forward them to additional interested parties, who further revise them and circulate them again to even more people. These teams not only review and share documents, but attach new versions to messages as they distribute them to co-workers, colleagues, partners, and customers for input. Documents are commonly stored in a variety of document management systems and formats, some of which cannot be edited by the people who need access to them. Many of these documents contain metadata or confidential information and can expose potentially sensitive content to those who are not authorized to see it. Managing documents effectively is critical for a law firm s ability to remain competitive and provide superior service to their clients The end result is a mish-mash of document management practices, version control problems, lost productivity, and higher costs all of which will become more pronounced as documents and document types proliferate, and as economic pressures force firms to do more work with fewer people and tighter budgets. THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT DOING THINGS PROPERLY A law firm that does not adequately address these problems can suffer a variety of consequences. Firms in which documents are not managed properly can have a severe loss in employee productivity. If we conservatively assume that the average firm employee who is paid $60,000 each year wastes just five minutes per day dealing with version control, file format and other document-related problems, a law firm of 1,000 such users will lose $625,000 annually in employee productivity. However, the consequences can be much more costly than just decreased productivity. There have been a number of legal cases in which metadata has been mistakenly exposed. A firm s inability to manage metadata or other proprietary information can damage the firm s brand image and ultimately cost the firm customers. ABOUT THIS GUIDE This guide focuses on the key challenges in managing documents in today s law firms and looks at the technology that is helping firms with document comparison, metadata removal, content 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. 2

3 security and firm-wide policy control. This guide also discusses key questions that decision makers should ask as they develop business practices and deploy technologies to resolve them. What are the Key Challenges in Managing Documents? MULTI-PARTY REVIEW AND MODIFICATION/VERSION CONTROL Collaboration has become the byword of the modern organization and will become more important as law firms become more distributed and more dependent on teams to manage projects. A key element of any collaborative process is the ability to create, review and publish documents of various types easily and efficiently. However, many collaborative tools today lack a variety of important features that are necessary to ensure a seamless document creation and modification process: Version control Arguably one of the most critical challenges in any collaborative document process is version control. The issue is exacerbated by the use of as a file transport mechanism, as well as by the large number of users that often participate in the document editing process. While the track changes feature available in virtually all word processors is of some help, it does little to solve the underlying version control issue with which most users must contend. For example, sending documents for review via cannot ensure that reviewers will use Track Changes or make edits to the latest version of a document, resulting in frequent modification of old versions and extra work in reconciling multiple, edited versions. Accurate document comparison The ability to accurately compare different versions of a document is critical, particularly for sensitive documents like contracts, proposals, statements of work and the like. This is especially true for documents in which the legal and/or regulatory consequences for misstatements can be severe. A good enough comparison that misses details like complicated formatting or table cell changes can have damaging consequences. Managing multiple document formats There can be difficulties in ensuring compatibility between multiple document formats, especially when different versions of the same software are used in an organization (e.g., the difference in file format between Microsoft Word 2007 and Word 2003), not to mention when different vendors software is used. For example, the typical user today will create or be sent.doc,.docx,.rtf and.pdf files. Resolving the differences between file types and allowing individuals to access and modify documents regardless of the software they use is vital to ensuring employee productivity. An inability to properly clean metadata from documents can expose a law firm to enormous liability Ease of use If a system is not easy to use, firm employees simply will not use it. Consequently, the difficulty inherent in using many content control solutions will keep employees from utilizing them, negating much of the value the law firm had hoped to realize by deploying the system. Solutions that are easy to use and leverage your existing software tools and infrastructure investments will increase adoption and limit training costs Osterman Research, Inc. 3

4 METADATA CLEANING & MANAGEMENT Metadata is often defined as data about data, an accurate and descriptive definition, but not an especially useful one. Metadata should be thought of as information associated with and made part of an electronic document that is not visible in the normal viewing or printing of that document. In that sense, hidden data might one day replace metadata as a more useful term. Metadata includes descriptive, historical, and technical information and is typically generated automatically. It can also include hidden information manually added by users of the document. Classic examples of metadata are the information contained in document properties and comments or tracked changes in Microsoft Word documents. What Challenges Does The Firm Encounter? MANAGING & ENFORCING CONTENT POLICIES The vast majority of law firms utilize a metadata solution on desktop computers to limit the risk of sharing critical content. However, metadata protection on the desktop is only part of the challenge. Today s firms require tools to easily monitor and enforce metadata policies across the organization. Firms also need to go beyond the desktop and secure documents across BlackBerries, web mail, USB drives, client extranets and deal rooms. The key to managing content no matter where the document is located is policy control. With the ability to define policies to manage and to secure and control content, law firms are able to enforce content policies. Whether it s monitoring users to make sure a firm s metadata policy is followed, or enforcing PDF file formats on any document that leaves the firm, policy management is one of the most important best practices that any organization can follow. INFORMATION GOVERNANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT Analyzing outbound communications and performing policy-based operations for documents that violate security policies are necessary protective measures in today s environment. From preventing IP data loss to enforcing information barriers to avoid conflicts of interest to preserving insider lists, firms today need to look at solutions that provide end-to-end, matter-level security. A PDF conversion policy is one solution to secure your content before it is ed as an attachment or transferred to a portable media device. Encryption is another option that allows today s firms to control data that is more mobile, such as when usedon laptop computers and USB devices. While the protection of the specific content generated and managed by users is important in and of itself, the information about this data or metadata is also important to maintain. In many cases, the metadata associated with electronic content is just as proprietary as the data itself, and so must be managed and secured along with the content. Without proactive metadata management, law firms are subject to increased risks. The ability to remove, preserve and manage metadata is critical for a variety of purposes, not least of which is complying with statutory and legal requirements. AUDITING DOCUMENT CHANGES The ability to track the changes each document reviewer makes can provide valuable information in legal matters, as well as identify process improvements. A history of the document changes can also provide a competitive advantage as it allows a lawyer to review the evolution of a negotiation process, for example, and analyze the history of a client s input, enabling a profile to be created of the client s negotiating priorities and drafting style. This has clear business advantages as it allows the lawyer to build up a thorough level of understanding, enabling them to build upon an existing client relationship Osterman Research, Inc. 4

5 INTEGRATION WITH A VARIETY OF PLATFORMS AND SYSTEMS Employees, particularly in larger firms, must access several different systems to do their work. A 2008 Osterman Research study found that 44% of information workers must access more than five different systems in the normal course of doing their job, and 68% must access more than three different systems. Consequently, leading solutions must be compatible with a large number of platforms and systems. The ability to leverage existing systems through integrations or webbased services will increase their utility as well as the employee productivity that will be gained from their use. LOST PRODUCTIVITY One of the key issues associated with poor document management and collaborative practices is the lost productivity that ensues. This is, for many firms, the worst problem they face because the problem is repeated over thousands of users in some cases. As noted earlier, just five minutes of wasted time per employee each day can result in $625,000 in lost productivity every year per 1,000 employees. COST While the problems discussed above can sap employee productivity and create a variety of other challenges, none of them will be solved if the available solutions are too expensive or provide a return-on-investment that is too low to justify their deployment. What Questions Should You Ask of Vendors? OVERVIEW Clearly, the problems outlined above are serious and should be addressed in order to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of the firm. However, it is important to ask the right questions at the outset of any product evaluation in order to accomplish two primary objectives: To define requirements up-front in order to satisfy all of the constituencies within a firm that will need to use the processes and technologies that are implemented. A solution should be able to support both serial reviews and parallel reviews in order to maximize the speed with which documents can be reviewed To put the vendors whose solutions are evaluated on a level playing field instead of relying on statements of individual vendor s various product features, functions and specifications. We have assembled a list of questions that law firms should ask of their prospective vendors. WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS YOU NEED? The features that a firm might require to help manage documents will vary based on a number of factors, including the number of documents it will need to review in a given period of time, the size of the firm, and the complexity of the documents that will be under review. Included later in this section is a list of features that should be considered for comparison among leading vendors solutions. Document comparison capabilities It is critical to evaluate the comparison engines of each offering. It is vitally important to test these engines using complex and lengthy documents with complex formatting, since simple documents may not reveal the differences in accuracy between each comparison solution. It 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. 5

6 is also important to test the comparisons on other document formats your firm relies on such as PDF. Multi-user document tracking capabilities Except for use in all but the smallest organizations or for the simplest of documents, a solution should be able to support both serial reviews and parallel reviews in order to maximize the speed with which documents can be reviewed and the efficiency of reviewers. Further, the solution must protect master documents against corruption during the review process. Single-master tracking capabilities This is a key feature, particularly in firms with a large number of reviewers or where multiple document repositories are employed. Single-master tracking ensures that the correct version of a document is the one under review regardless of where the document is stored. Metadata cleaning capabilities It is critical that a solution be able to clean metadata from any document. As noted earlier, reasons for cleaning metadata might include removing communications between a client and an attorney that could be included as comments in a document, eliminating earlier changes that might not have accurately reflected firm policy, or eliminating comments that could portray an organization in a negative light. Reasons for cleaning metadata might include removing communications between a client and an attorney, eliminating earlier changes, or eliminating comments that could portray an organization Provision of document change history An audit trail of a document s change history can be very important to demonstrate how a document evolved over time, and to determine who might have made changes and why the changes were made. Version control capabilities Version control is among the most vexing problems that any document reviewer will face. Any solution should ensure that the correct document is the one under review to prevent mistakes and time wasted reviewing older or incorrect documents. Comment management Comments are a vital part of the document review process because they allow reviewers to ask questions, request clarification from authors, point out potential violations of firm policy, and so forth. Any solution must be able to manage comments in meaningful ways, such as using tracking comments for each individual reviewer, allowing comments to be hidden, filtering comments by individual reviewers, and so forth. PDF capabilities Any solution should support both the creation and manipulation of the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) given the ubiquity of this format across multiple platforms. Individual reviewers should be able to create PDF documents, compare PDFs to other PDFs or Word documents, make changes to them, assemble multiple PDF documents into a single document, etc. Centralized policy management Document security policies should be centrally managed to provide the maximum level of 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. 6

7 control over metadata management, PDF conversion, encryption, or other security measures to enforce how documents are shared, who has permission to access them, and how they are controlled. Ease of use Ease of use is a critical consideration for any solution, since a system that is cumbersome, time-consuming or difficult simply will not be used. Document corruption prevention Corrupt documents are the fear of all firms particularly at the 11th hour. Solutions which control round-tripping can prevent corruption by protecting the integrity of the master version by not introducing bad formatting, styles and other word processing formats into the master document. Security capabilities and support Security is of critical importance for any solution. Depending on the law firm s policies, security capabilities might include the ability to redact comments or changes, clean metadata prior to document transmission or presentation, encrypt documents during transmission and at rest-- such as when written to CDs or DVDs -- support for PDF security, provide rights managementand data protection, and to ensure that sensitive information is not sent outside of the firm. WHAT PLATFORMS AND ARCHITECTURES ARE SUPPORTED? The platforms and architectures that a solution can support are a vital consideration, particularly in a heterogeneous desktop and server environment, or when document reviewers in different organizations are involved in the review process. Issues to consider here include support for: Microsoft Office, the near-ubiquitous desktop productivity application. Client/server capabilities. Support for leading server operating systems and desktop operating systems, including the growing penetration of 64-bit operating systems. Support for a variety of other systems, including Microsoft Active Directory, Citrix, Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Internet Explorer and various mobile platforms. HOW CAN THE SOLUTION BE DEPLOYED? It is important that a solution support deployment options that are most useful to the law firm today and also that it change as the firm s needs change. It is important to not only evaluate installation options such as silent installation on desktops, but also to look at solutions that offer modular deployments so different workgroups can have a tailored interface with different features. WITH WHICH SYSTEMS DOES THE SOLUTION INTEGRATE? A document solution should support all of the systems in use by an organization today or that it might use in the future. These systems might include Microsoft SharePoint (rapidly becoming the default collaboration platform in Exchange-enabled environments), Microsoft Office, EMC Documentum, Open Text, Autonomy Interwoven, Starlaw and various other platforms, as well as the systems in which these documents will be sent Osterman Research, Inc. 7

8 WHAT FILE FORMATS ARE SUPPORTED? Clearly, any document review solution must support conversion to and from all of the file formats that an organization might encounter, including all of the file formats even within the same vendor s offering (e.g., Microsoft s.doc and.docx file formats). PDF support is also critical for any solution given the ubiquity of this format. HOW ROBUST ARE THE OFFERINGS? A key consideration for any document review solution is its robustness: the performance of the solution when under heavy use with large documents,its scalability and the architecture that the vendor has employed. A solution that has been tested in many different environments will likely cause fewer issues. This is particularly important in very large deployments or when key users will be relying on the solution every day. HOW ARE POLICIES MANAGED? Policy management is becoming an increasingly important consideration for document review capabilities. Vendors need to be asked a variety of questions, including: Can document security policies be managed from a central administration point? What auditing and reporting tools are available to ensure compliance with firm policies? How granular are the policy capabilities? Are default policy templates provided? Can policies be integrated with Active Directory? Policy management is becoming an increasingly important consideration for document review capabilities The requirements for policy management will vary widely depending on the specific needs of individual law firms. HOW RELIABLE IS THE VENDOR? The strength of any solution typically rests on how well the vendor supports its offerings. Key questions to ask of prospective vendors include their support options (24x7 support vs. support only during working hours), the number of locations they maintain, the number of customers that have deployed the solution, the partnerships they have established for integration of their platform, and their financial viability. While this is not to say that a small, startup vendor cannot provide a robust and useful document review solution, solutions from large and established vendors can give decision makers confidence that their solution has been thoroughly tested by many users, will be supported over the long term, and that investments made in content review processes will not be lost. HOW DOES THE SOLUTION INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY? Law firms should be looking for solutions that: Dramatically reduce both fee earner and administrative staff time having to deal with processing, reviewing and distributing documents Eliminate user confusion over document versions and the master file Allow you to include clients in the review process HOW MUCH DOES THE SOLUTION COST? Of course, any document solution must be affordable the perfect solution that is too expensive to deploy or support for all of the constituencies that will need it is no better than an inadequate solution that is highly affordable Osterman Research, Inc. 8

9 When considering costs it is also important to identify and ask about other expenses such as implementation and training. If one solution requires a lot of IT support or many hours of end-user training that may no longer be the cheapest solution for your law firm. Also, be sure to evaluate the time-savings a solution may create. Some of the key questions to consider include: How many hours will the solutions save each firm employee Will there be a reduction in the time it takes to create and review documents Does the solution eliminate document issues like corruption or version proliferation If one solution requires many hours of end-user training or has a greater impact on user productivity that may no longer be the best solution for your law firm. Summary Managing documents effectively is critical for a law firm s ability to remain competitive and provide superior service to their clients. Today s firms produce and manage contracts, legal agreements, documentation, corporate policy manuals and more. A failure to adequately manage these documents and control their content can lead to a variety of consequences, including decreased employee productivity, legal judgments, and loss of clients. Technology that provides document capabilities that will permit individuals to manage documents efficiently and securely, and at the lowest possible cost in terms of both direct expenses and personal productivity are requirements in today s firm. As law firms evaluate the many solutions available to them, they should ask a series of detailed and probing questions to ensure that the solution they choose best matches their current and expected requirements Osterman Research, Inc. 9

10 Product Comparison Worksheet The following worksheet provides a list of common features and functions to look for as you review document solutions for your organization. DOCUMENT COMPARISON Can you compare Word-to-Word Can you compare PDF-to-PDF Can you compare Word-to-PDF Can you compare embedded Excel tables and other objects Can you compare multiple versions of documents? Can you synchronize between all versions and changes? Can you easily compare attachments in messages Can you accept/reject PDF and Word changes with Word track changes Can you a redline as track changes Can you or save a redline as a PDF Can you perform paragraph, line, character and word level comparisons Can you manage and customize rendering sets Are comparisons of complex documents (100+ pages) accurate Is accuracy high in tables, list numbering, bullets & complex formatting COLLABORATION Does the user interface allow for easy review cycles Can multiple reviewers work in parallel on a document Can you manage comments with/without MS track changes Does it support MS track change reviews Can you compare one-to-many document versions Does it control a single master document for you Does it provide an additional level of version control? Does it decrease document corruption SECURITY Will the solution discover and remove metadata in documents Does it detect metadata with mobile users (Web Mail, PDAs, BlackBerries) Can you easily enforce firm-wide rules for metadata cleaning Does it go beyond metadata and prevent IP data loss, enforce client confidentially and control information barriers Can rules dictate how to manage specific types of content Can the user initiate metadata discovery on files Solution A Solution B Solution C 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. 10

11 If text is improperly redacted will users be notified to fix the issue Are there different risk categories to help users (High, medium and low-risk) Can you remove metadata in a batch process Can you convert Office files to PDF Can you convert a PDF to Office file format Can you create a PDF from any application Does it offer 128-bit PDF security Can you enforce security rules: i.e. PDF all documents that are ed Can you combine multiple PDF documents into one PDF Can you add and remove individual pages from a combined PDF Are there encryption or fingerprint features available for added file security POLICY ENFORCEMENT Are there metadata removal, PDF and other security features Does it provide central control and management for administrators Can you enforce PDF creation/format with attachments Can you redact sensitive information from documents via admin policies Can you enforce routing policy based on recipients Can you enforce content filtering of IP, client confidentiality and financial disclosures Does it offer policy-enforced matter-level security? Does it provide metadata removal at the gateway (MTA) Are security policies protecting computers disconnected from network USER INTERFACE Is the user interface easy to understand Is the user interface customizable Can security policies run silently in the background Are settings easily locked down or removed Are there tools for Admin to create and manage security policies Does the application offer custom or modular installation INTEGRATION AND PLATFORM SUPPORT Does it provide Microsoft Office 2003 & 2007 System and UI Support Does it integrate with your DMS (Hummingbird, SharePoint, Interwoven, etc.) Does it easily integrate with other business applications (e.g. CRM, Practice and Matter Management Systems) Is there Unicode language support for all language documents and platforms Is there support for SMTP, FTP, HTTP, IM and Webmail channels 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. 11

12 AUDITING AND REPORTING Can you report on the entire document lifecycle Can you audit/report on user and firm wide activity Are there statistical and summary reports SUPPORT RESOURCES Are there phone, web, and support options available Are there global support options available Is there an active online user community (forums) Are there training resources available Are Professional Services available 2009 Osterman Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form by any means, nor may it be distributed without the permission of Osterman Research, Inc., nor may it be resold or distributed by any entity other than Osterman Research, Inc., without prior written authorization of Osterman Research, Inc. Osterman Research, Inc. does not provide legal advice. Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice, nor shall this document or any software product or other offering referenced herein serve as a substitute for the reader s compliance with any laws (including but not limited to any act, statue, regulation, rule, directive, administrative order, executive order, etc. (collectively, Laws )) referenced in this document. If necessary, the reader should consult with competent legal counsel regarding any Laws referenced herein. Osterman Research, Inc. makes no representation or warranty regarding the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this document. THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS, CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE DETERMINED TO BE ILLEGAL Osterman Research, Inc. 12