I have been thinking about new language for the paperless office concept. Paperless is unnecessarily confusing in the context of a paper dependent industry. And the concept is laden with baggage of a failed promise. Computers were supposed make the office “paperless”, instead they made every person a publisher. But most importantly, “Office” fails to capture the real value of 21st century computers in the law office.
We need a fresh start and a specific focus; we need to start talking about “Digital Practice.”
“Paperless” v. “Digital”: It’s about having more not doing without.
Just the word “paperless” is enough for many lawyers to dismiss the idea immediately. Lawyers do paperwork, end of discussion. I’ve seen it happen many times and without prior knowledge of how paperlessness works in the law office it is difficult to avoid rapid foreclosure.
Oddly, explanations of how paperless really works in the law office puts the paper back into the equation. A paperless law office is not actually paperless; it is an office than engages in selective printing. The central idea is to shift from printing documents by default and instead scanning to digital or refraining from printing a file already digital. Documents are then printed as required or desired.
So when is printing desired or required? The answer to that question depends on the perceived limitations or hassle dealing with digital documents. That is, what can pulp paper do that digital documents can’t?
This leads to my primary objection to the term “paperless.” For lawyers, the PDF is the workhorse format for digital documents and PDF is paper. It prints, looks, and acts just like its wood pulp cousin. The only difference is that one is displayed as light and the other isn’t.
Within Acrobat, a digital document can do everything paper can. It can be signed, stamped, highlighted, bookmarked, and scribbled upon. Using digital documents gives up nothing. But digital documents acquire a range of features not possible under a paper-centric approach to practice.
All of a sudden we can organize, duplicate, store, share, search, and secure with mind-boggling speed, ease, and precision.
Digital practice is not about being paperless, it is about having documents in their most flexible and powerful form and the greater includes the lesser.
“Office” v “Practice”: Forget the office, remember the people
The paperless office invokes images of flat screen monitors upon barren desks set in the glass, metal, and polished concrete offices. This fabled paperless office is a cool vision often shattered once people start to work in it.
I would use reams of paper a day, go through pens by the carton, print everything, and stack files to the ceiling; if that were really a better way to get work done. The office has never really been about the office. So why use a noun to describe a verb?
Digital practice is action. It’s something we do because it is better and has nothing to do with the place where we sit. Indeed, increased flexibility arising from the reduced sensitivity to location is one of the game changing benefits of digital practice.
Digital Practice Defined
Digital practice is an approach to working that takes advantage of the awesome power common technology delivers to lawyers practicing law.