It’s time to upgrade your legal firm: To keep your firm’s records organized and searchable, put in place a Document Management System. And when it comes to legal document management software, the choices are plentiful. Both new and old products are available. solutions on-premises and cloud-based goods.
Worldox
Long-standing legal document management software is called Worldox. Worldox is an established product with over ten years of use in legal offices. The robust and capable Worldox interfaces with the well-liked legal practice management and accounting software Tabs3, which is used by many law firms.
Because Worldox is a server-based application, you must own and keep an on-premises server in order to use it. The hosted version of Worldox is available, but it is not a genuine cloud application; rather, it is a remote desktop connection to the original, on-premises Worldox.
LexWorkplace
A cloud-based, matter-focused document and email management solution called LexWorkplace. The first and only document management system with full support for both Windows and Mac is LexWorkplace. Your papers, emails, and notes will be kept organized by matter, indexed, and searchable via LexWorkplace.
Document versioning, thorough searching, Outlook/Email Management integration, and document tagging/profiling are all features of LexWorkplace. Because it is cloud-based, no on-premise servers or software installation is necessary. Data stored in LexWorkplace is protected by geographically redundant data centers, two-factor authentication, and data encryption in transit and at rest.
iManage Work
iManage Work has been a DMS for many years. It offers as many features to handle documents and email as other document management systems in the sector, if not more. It is strong and powerful. It has a potent index and search engine that searches through emails and documents.
To implement and manage iManage, you’ll need a lot of server resources and a highly qualified IT specialist. The technological requirements for iManage, which can be run on your own internal server or in a private cloud, are viewed by many as being large and occasionally onerous. In general, iManage is not a viable choice for small legal firms looking for a document management system, but it can be an excellent alternative for very large companies.
ProLaw
ProLaw is a Practice Management, Document Management, and Accounting system for legal firms. It is the only legal software package that properly manages practice/case administration, document management, and accounting in one application, despite the fact that its document management feature isn’t quite as robust as some of the stand-alone DMS alternatives.
Many law firms prefer ProLaw’s all-in-one functionality over employing different programs to cater to each client’s specific needs. Because ProLaw is server-based, a capable on-premise server or a strong private cloud is needed.
NetDocuments
One of the earliest cloud-based document management programs was NetDocuments. Legal, accounting, and financial services are just a few of the areas that use NetDocuments, and it is well-liked in each one. Its Microsoft Office integration, ndOffice, is part of NetDocuments. Due to its web-based nature, NetDocuments does not require the installation of any other software outside the office or an on-premise server.
NetDocuments will require you to employ a third-party consultant (VAR/reseller) to implement the software and transfer your data to the platform because NetDocuments does not handle data migrations on its own. Responses to this network of independent consultants have been conflicting.
Opentext
A well-known Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system utilized by a range of industries, including law firms, is Opentext eDOCS, previously Hummingbird. Legal departments inside larger corporations favor eDocs because it has basic Document Management and Records Management capabilities.
A tile-based interface that may be customized by the user is part of the recent update to eDOCS. eDOCS is a more dated program. Fewer law firms now use eDOCS than did so a decade ago because it is not cloud-based.
Microsoft’s Office 365
Microsoft’s Office 365 includes SharePoint, a cloud-based intranet, a business portal, and a minimal document management system. You can construct lists (database tables) and libraries in SharePoint (document repositories).
Libraries can be set up by law firms, and they can manage records for proceedings or clients. However, out of the box, SharePoint is not set up for legal firms or organized by clients or matters. As a result, it needs to be customized by a SharePoint specialist in order to be effective.
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