Transitioning to the Paperless Law Office - A Paralegal's Guide

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Paperless Process, Procedures, and Pointers 
   1:00 - 2:00, Samantha Taylor
   1. Realities of Going Paperless - Barriers, Benefits, and Helpful Resources 
   2. Overview of the Steps 
   3. Creating a Manageable Conversion Plan 
   4. Equipment, Software, Backups, Cloud Integration: What Are the Best Options? 
   5. Procedures for Incoming Mail, Existing Documents, Closed Files, and Other Docs 
   6. Authenticating Documents as They Arrive 
   7. Intelligent Scanning 
   8. Converting Files 
   9. Adobe Tricks 
2. Data Storage, Organization, and Management
   2:00 - 3:00, Peter Vanderhooft
   1. Organizing and Labeling Files for Scanning and Retrieval 
   2. Digital Collaboration Pointers 
   3. Tips for Using Electronic Filing Systems 
   4. Managing Multiple and Individual Files 
   5. Checks to Ensure You're Adequately Storing Electronic Copy 
   6. How to Prevent Data/File Loss 
   7. Cloud Storage 
   8. Security Concerns and Solutions 
   9. Search and Retrieval Tools 
   10. Electronic Storage and Destruction: When and How 
3. What to Do With Original, Hard-Copy Documents
   3:15 - 4:15, Peter Vanderhooft
   1. Retain, Destroy, or Return to the Client? 
   2. File Organization Strategies During Bulk Organization 
   3. Determining the Best File Format for Each Document 
   4. Document Naming and Storage 
   5. Prioritizing Files for Easy Access

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Samantha Taylor is the Director of Operations and a senior litigation paralegal at Wharton Law, PLLC in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally hailing from the Information Technology industry, she brings a wealth of operations, business administration, and project management experience to the legal profession. Among her many credentials, she holds the Legal Process Improvement Professional certification from the International Institute of Legal Project Management, an Executive eDiscovery certificate from ACEDS, and is an Accredited Legal Professional. Through her consulting company, Penumbra Legal, Ms. Taylor assists law firms to improve their internal processes and procedures, teaches CLE for various organizations nationwide, and provides expert witness services in the areas of digital evidence and eDiscovery. She earned her paralegal certificate from Weber State University.

Peter Vanderhooft is a licensed paralegal practitioner (LPP) and owner of Vanderhooft Legal. He has been working as a paralegal since 2017 on a wide variety of litigation matters, including real estate, contact disputes, family law, debt collection, unlawful detainer, medical malpractice, and personal injury. Mr. Vanderhooft is a certified paralegal with the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), a member of the Utah Paralegal Association, and the secretary and Region 2 director of the Paralegal Division of the Utah State Bar. Mr. Vanderhooft has also worked as a librarian and became a certified records analyst (CRA) with the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) in 2018.