Out with the old and in with a new and organized way of documenting, transporting and sharing legal document binders. Litigators have countless amounts of legal documents that they organize in binders, which can be heavy, cumbersome and costly. More and more companies are beginning to go paperless, which in the long run works in their favor. User friendly applications, like MyLitBag, have made it an easy and efficient transition from endless amounts of printing to virtual binders.Â
What is a Virtual Binder?
Instead of bookshelves and filing cabinets scouring your office filled with heavy and space consuming binders, switch to virtual. Virtual binders and documents are just a click away when utilizing tools like MyLitBag. Instead of having to constantly scan or mail documents the old fashion way, sending entire binders can be done via email.Â
A lot of the times people worry when switching from physical binders to virtual, because of the functionality. Fortunately, this new technology provides the same attributes and functions as creating and using a physical binder. The virtual binders are also a fraction of the cost and allows attorneys to practice at the highest level, with the least amount of friction, and no learning curve. Instead of countless physical binders, virtual documents are kept safe on one device.
Below are some of the main benefits of switching from physical to virtual.
Hard Copy Binders are Expensive
- Copying one entire litigation binder can cost you hundreds of dollars.Â
- Â Rearranging one binder can cost more than a thousand dollars when accounting for the fees associated with rearranging and checking tabbing.Â
- Virtual binders allow you to copy and rearrange instantaneously.
- Virtual binders also offer automatic auto-renumbering of documents.
Sending Hard Copy Binders is Expensive
- One binder can easily weigh up to five pounds.
- Mailing a binder can cost a fortune.
- When in a pinch, sending can take at least a day, which can cause you to miss deadlines.Â
- Miss delivery or lost packages means your confidential documents are in the wrong hands. Unless you are hand delivering these documents, there is no way to know for sure they have made it to the correct destination safe and secure.Â
- Virtual Binders allow you to send binders for way lessor cost, with security and encryption.Â
- The recipients of the virtual binder have the option to delete after use, instead of having a physical binder laying around unsecure.Â
Bringing Documents to Meetings
- Attorneys often have to run from one client meeting to another carrying document files for each client in a litigation bag or car. This can be strenuous and time consuming, as well as it is easier to forget physical documents.
- Virtual binders allows for all of the documents for each client to be stored and accessible at the touch of a button.
- Another form of security for these virtual binders is using unique passwords for each binder. This ensures that no client will see another client’s documents.
The Paperless Office
- Due to the pandemic, legal teams have been working from home, working from hotel rooms and hot-desking. As a result, there is no way to transport bookshelves or filing cabinets that hold these physical documents and binders.Â
- Alternative office arrangements require a paperless office.Â
- Virtual binders allow you to keep walls full of document binders on your laptop, IOS device or whatever your office space may look like during this time.Â
- Each and every virtual binder is just as useful as a hard copy binder, if not more user friendly. Virtual binders allow you to zoom into documents, rather than trying to read the small print on physical documents.
This is a great idea especially now that most companies are going digital. It’s also an amazing way to lessen plastic waste.
Thorny issue of which, I admit, I am very little. That’s why I read with a lot of interest and took notes!
This just makes so much sense! We live in a digital age. There’s no reason to be cluttering up our spaces with so much paper.
I like the idea of this. However, I’d probably use it as a back up as well.
We keep trying to eliminate paper storage where I work and we have had some success. Some things, saving paper is necessary but the majority can be replaced with virtual. It’s the way to go, whenever possible.
Going paperless and switching to digital can have huge benefits. I have not heard of MyLitBag but it does sound promising!
I recently made the switch to digital, and I love it. My office is so much cleaner and easier to navigate now.
This would be a better option. I have always strived to declutter and go paperless. But I do have a back up hard copy of my very important documents. You know, just in case something goes wrong.
Saving paper is so important this day in age. The paperless office is the way of the future!
This is so innovative and smart with how our footprints are effecting the atmosphere and the world we live in. Paperless is the new thing and so convenient.
Truth be told, hard copy binders are very heavy. And if all your energy is depleted before you can get to where you are going, aren’t we bound to under-function? The paper-less office is the way to go!
Virtual binders sounds like new cutting edge technology. I love when tech makes you more organized!
There were so many great tips and tricks to read about in this article! Super informative, thank you. 🙂
I am trying my best to eliminate wastes and one way is to lessen my paper use. I have never heard of such a virtual binder and I would love to try it. Less paper, less waste.
Any hard copy that I can toss in favor of digital is a win. I love a minimal, clean space.
I try to make everything digital now. It’s much more convenient. Also, it helps declutter unnecessary documents or files. It saves the environment too.