Document Access Delays: A Hidden Cost for Legal Firms
For law firms, time is money. Every delay in retrieving a file, locating a case record, or waiting on archives reduces billable hours. These delays may seem negligible, but across a firm, over the course of a year, they add up to significant opportunity cost and frustration.
Why Delays Hurt Firms
Law practices generate thousands of records — contracts, pleadings, discovery files, and client correspondence. These are often stored in multiple formats and locations: boxes in off-site storage, files on shared drives, or older records in other physical formats.
When retrieval takes hours instead of minutes, firms face:
- Lost billable time while staff wait for files
- Slower case preparation when critical documents aren’t available
- Higher costs from inefficient manual retrieval
Why Delays Happen
Common causes include:
- Paper records stored without consistent indexing
- Different practice groups using different filing methods
- Legacy formats requiring special equipment
- No single portal to request physical records
The result is wasted time, rising costs, and unnecessary risk.
A Better Way to Manage Records
The solution is not scanning everything. The smarter approach is structured and selective. GRM supports legal firms with:
- Inventory and Indexing – Index records so they can be tracked and retrieved quickly.
- Secure Storage – Store active and archived files in off-site facilities with climate control, restricted access, and fire protection.
- Targeted Digitization – Digitize the files that matter most, such as active cases or compliance-critical records.
- eAccess Portal – Allow attorneys and staff to request physical records securely through GRM’s online portal.
Example: Litigation Support
A litigation firm managing decades of case files struggled with long retrieval times. Paralegals spent hours requesting boxes and scanning pages, while attorneys waited for the information they needed.
By consolidating records with GRM, the firm:
- Indexed and stored all case files securely
- Digitized select documents tied to active cases
- Enabled staff to request physical files quickly through eAccess
Retrieval time dropped from hours to minutes, improving case preparation, reducing overall costs, and enhancing client service.
Final Thought
Document access delays quietly erode profitability and weaken client confidence. With GRM’s combination of secure storage, selective digitization, and online access to physical records through eAccess, legal firms can keep information under control and ensure attorneys always have what they need, when they need it.
Learn more about our Legal Software for Document Management.