The client has a distinguished reputation in corporate law and compliance management. The legal team works with local as well as multinational companies and their expertise areas include regulatory compliance, contract negotiation, legal counseling, and more.
Cloud-Based Document Management Software for a Legal Firm
Industry
Legal Compliance Services
Country
UAE
Team Composition
7 Experts
Key Technologies
Angular.js, Python, Azure, MongoDB
Project Duration
10 months
Company Background
The Problem
While attending a tech conference on how legal firms are increasingly becoming paperless, the COO of the company gained insights into the new-age trend of document management on the cloud. That particular event served as a stark realization of the inefficiencies within the firm and the urgent need for a more streamlined approach. So, they collectively decided to invest in document management software (DMS) to address the existing challenges and time wastage associated with the manual storage, searching, and retrieval process.
Project Targets
Working with thousands of corporate clients generates a huge amount of paperwork, including contracts, compliance documents, financial agreements, governance records, and so on. Finding misplaced papers and documents manually was a time-consuming task and had to be streamlined for ease. Additionally, the entire routine of searching files in the local storage and mailing them using a different system to clients had to be automated process through a single platform for higher productivity.
As part of our consultative strategy, our legal software development team engaged in a series of workshops with the client's legal experts and end users to decipher the nuances of their workflows and understand the specific challenges they face.
Subsequently, we created a detailed project plan for the development of the cloud-based document management software. This plan outlined the technical tasks, the iterative phases of development, and clear milestones so that progress remained transparent, and the client had ample opportunities to provide feedback throughout the development lifecycle.
Cloud is one of our strongest areas, particularly modernization and migration. So, the moment I was informed about this project, I knew we could deliver something amazing. I gave a heads-up to our business analyst right away.
Naresh Devra
VP - Product Development, Radixweb
Challenges Encountered
- The existing system's slow processing capability was a significant challenge. The inability to efficiently retrieve and deliver huge volumes of documents remotely affected the client experience.
- The client didn’t have system support for creating, managing, and reviewing different types of legal documents. Their legal team usually deals with diverse document formats, from contracts to financial records.
- Managing the transition from paper-based to digital workflows within an intricate legal framework was challenging in categorizing and accessing historical and current data.
- Getting accustomed to the workflows of the new DMS also involved comprehensive training and change management strategies to ensure a smooth transition and minimize disruptions in daily legal operations.
Resolutions Offered
Leveraging our expertise in cloud migration services, we brought about a significant change in the client’s office. They no longer have to chaotically search for a specific document in endless files spread across multiple offices. Now, when clients reach out, they can engage in immediate and informed conversations about the status of their cases.
Remote Document Processing
Our team built an advanced document management platform with caching mechanisms and database indexing. This reduced document retrieval times for remote requests and enabled timely access to critical legal documents.
Centralized Document Management
We designed and integrated a dedicated module within the system, which facilitated standardized document review processes in legal arguments and presentations. We also incorporated version control and collaborative review features.
Streamlined Workflow and Data Segregation
The DMS built by our software developers has intuitive metadata tagging for the organization and retrieval of documents. They established a clear demarcation between old and new data so that we can reduce the risk of errors and ensure a more organized and accessible repository.
Cloud-Native Development
We hosted the system on the cloud using Azure Functions for serverless computing. With Azure Blob Storage for object storage and Azure SQL Database for managed relational databases, we optimized resource utilization and improved processing power.
Secure Document Storage
Using industry-standard encryption algorithms, coupled with secure key management practices, we ensured that sensitive legal documents remained confidential. Additionally, access controls were implemented at both the system and document levels.
Struggling with Outdated Systems That are Hindering Your Business Growth?
Standalone Features
We integrated a number of features in the DMS, each with its specific functionality to streamline the overall document storing, searching, and access process.
Full-Text Search
The system supports quick full-text search across vast document repositories. Advanced indexing and tokenization ensure high precision and recall in retrieving relevant legal information.
Document Check In/Out
Users can check out and edit any document. Git branching mechanisms enable parallel editing, and check-in functionalities provide a systematic audit trail of document revisions.
Document Profiling/Meta Data
The system utilizes metadata tagging and profiling through Azure Cognitive Services. It automatically extracts and categorizes metadata, which, in turn, enables users to classify documents based on content.
Unique Documents ID
In the DMS, each document gets assigned a unique identifier. This ensures global uniqueness and provides a robust foundation for traceability, audit trails, and linking documents across various legal processes.
Microsoft Office Integration
Integration with Microsoft Office 365 API facilitates real-time collaboration and editing. Features such as co-authoring in Word and Excel streamline collaborative document creation and editing.
Emails Management
Leveraging Microsoft Exchange Web Services (EWS), the system seamlessly integrates with email platforms for archiving, indexing, and retrieval of emails directly within the DSM.
3 Hours
of Work Saved Daily
$25,000+
in Annual Savings
90% Users
Reported High Usability
Final Results
The document management system has increased the legal team’s productivity so much that its clientele has been expanding as well as its workforce. The measured improvements in efficiency, cost savings, collaboration, and compliance underscore the significant positive impact on the overall business operations.
Reduced Document Retrieval Time
The system has cut down document retrieval time by nearly 3 hours on average per day compared to the previous paper-based processes. The client team now can quickly respond to legal queries.
Cost Savings
A recent finance analysis report reveals that operational costs dropped by $25,000+ annually, primarily due to the decrease in physical storage needs, printing expenses, and streamlined document handling processes.
Real-Time Information Sharing
The legal team now experiences a great improvement in real-time information sharing with email and DMS integration. This helps in prompt decision-making and reduces bottlenecks in document approval processes.
Improved Compliance Management
The tracking and document auditing feature, including automated reminders for compliance deadlines, coupled with comprehensive audit trials, has helped the team adhere to regulatory requirements. Compliance deadlines, which used to be delayed, are now met on time over 98% of the time.
User Adoption and Satisfaction
Since its implementation, the system has seen rapid user adoption, with over 150 legal professionals actively using it daily. Feedback showed that 9 out of 10 users find the system easy to ease and highly effective in doing their day-to-day tasks.
This was a high-stakes project for us because we were doing a complete revamp. But the team really got what we needed and wrapped things up in a great way. We hardly have any issue working with the system and if any, they’re quick to fix it on the spot.
Majed Rahman Shehhi
Senior Vice President
Got a Project Idea to Work on? Start by Reaching out to Us
