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A System of Record is Requisite to Information Governance and Managing Risk

In the beginning, document management was a system used to manage versions and eliminate the risk of sending the wrong version to clients. Documents could be more easily shared and re-used when stored in a managed library.

As the market matured, four things happened to change the economics and structure of the market for systems of record solutions and help move this market across the chasm.

1. In the wake of a dramatic increase in compliance and risk-based concerns (Enron, SarBox, FRCP), organizations realized that they needed better control over their silos.
2. SharePoint disrupted the market by entering at the low end.
3. Users realized that they were spending too much on all of their silos.
4. Users realized that they could only automate across departments if they did something about[1]

Fast forward to today and we see that the top five issues keeping Chief Legal Officers[2] awake at night, three pertain to how law firms handle of their records, including:

1. Protection of corporate data
2. Governance and management of data
3. Ethics and compliance requirements

Why DMS is Necessary

Client information must be managed within the technology framework of the document management system (DMS).  Only through the technology of the DMS can we deliver security and the effective, timely, and consistent disposal of physical and electronic information that no longer needs to be retained should be a core component of any Information Governance program.

Email (for better or for worse often) is a corporate “record” just like any other document. Email is the de facto standard for business communication across organizations at this time. Just as any other type of business information and record, email must be included as part of, and adhered to, the organizational standards addressing information and records.

Therefore, scanning inbound postal mail via email is creating a new record that must be filed in the document management system.  This is an inefficient, laborious process that puts unnecessary labor on the part of the attorneys who must then file the email.

There are other options such as sending inbound postal mail via the DMS directly to the attorneys without using email.  This eliminates the inefficiency of sending via email and protects the firm’s information governance processes.

The Digital Mailroom enables productive, secure delivery of daily mail directly into the DMS. Learn more by downloading our free guide, 7 Reasons to Upgrade to a Digital Mailroom Operation

[1] https://info.aiim.org/aiim-blog/newaiimo/2010/10/20/systems-of-record-and-systems-of-engagement

[2] 2018 ACC Chief Legal Officer Survey