Document Management

Am I a litigator or a professional emailer? A professional document manager?

I love these jokes by lawyers--poking fun at what we thought we'd do as lawyers versus what our days are really like.

The project management aspect of this gig plays to my strengths. You simply cannot manage your cases without thinking through something like document management.

This starts with a filing system--you likely have to default to the one your firm uses. Fine.

But, how do you name your files? How to do you keep track?

Naming conventions can play a helpful role in this, but:

👀 Important_Doc_Final_Final_REALLY FINAL_v3.pdf 👀 is not it.

Like most things, this can be a deeply personal exercise, but, I like the following:

📃Due DATE -- DRAFT -- Description of Document

📃Matter Name -- UPDATED DRAFT -- Description of Document

📃DATE -- E. Stedman Ltr to NAME Re: Description

📃 Matter Name -- FINAL -- Description of Document

And, when a new version comes to be--like a whole new document, because we know that happens, I change the name of the old files, in the firm system, to:

😲DO NOT USE 😲

Keeping track of documents and maintaining version control can be a critical way for associates to show ownership over a matter.

Create a filing system that is intuitive and consistent, using clear and logical conventions across all files.

A good rule of thumb: if you cannot find it in 30-60 seconds, the system needs refining.

❤️✌️🔥