21 08, 2023

National Archives and Records Administration Requirements for Digitizing Federal Records

2023-09-08T11:20:33-07:00August 21st, 2023|Paper2Digital Blog|

National Archives and Records Administration Requirements for Digitizing Federal Records Requirements

No later than June 30, 2024, all permanent records in Federal agencies must be managed electronically to the fullest extent possible for eventual transfer and accessioning by the National Archives and Records Administration – NARA.

Starting on July 1, 2024, agencies will be required to digitize permanent records created in analog formats before transfer to NARA. Digitization and transfer must be made in accordance with NARA regulations and transfer guidance, including metadata requirements.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently published the final rule for digitizing permanent federal records. This new rule, known as 36 CFR § 1236 Subpart E, became effective June 5, 2023. The federal government is undergoing a digital transformation and this new rule is a significant step towards achieving that goal.

As a part of this initiative, NARA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two crucial memorandums, M-19-21 (Jun-28, 2019) and M-23-07 (Dec-23, 2022). These memos highlight the importance of modernizing and transitioning to digital processes and workflows in the federal government to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

In line with these memorandums, NARA added the new Subpart E to its records management regulations to provide standards for digitizing permanent records. The goal is to enable federal agencies to dispose of source records when appropriate and according to the Federal Records Act amendments of 2014. This is an important step towards achieving the government’s goal of digital transformation.

SOURCES:
https://records-express.blogs.archives.gov/2023/05/15/new-rule-for-digitizing-records-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-36/chapter-XII/subchapter-B/part-1236

24 07, 2023

Copy+Paste Email Campaign DRR Kick-off

2023-09-18T10:57:45-07:00July 24th, 2023|Copy+Paste Template, Resources|

SUBJECT LINE: Kick-off our new Airmail2 Digital Records Solution

MESSAGE CONTENT:

In collaboration with the team at DocSolid, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new Airmail2 Digital Records Room solution.

Game-Changer for Records
Digitizing paper records helps our attorneys and staff stay productive while allowing them to work securely from anywhere.


Airmail2 Overview

  • Batch work processes enable clerical staff to work productively, with minimal training, and without password access to the DMS.
  • Postmark® barcode labels enable highly efficient scanning of multiple documents at once, in stacks.
  • Includes QC software with Veritag® built-in quality controls.

These are just a few highlights to introduce you to our new Digital Records Room. More details will follow.


“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

– Buckminster Fuller

Airmail2 Digital Records Room


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11 07, 2023

Copy+Paste Email Campaign DRR 1

2023-09-15T14:12:47-07:00July 11th, 2023|Copy+Paste Template, Resources|

SUBJECT LINE: Productivity Tip – Airmail2 Digital Records Room

 Check the first and last page, and only thumb through the middle.

QC is looking for 95+ % accuracy with lightning speed. This is accomplished by comparing the first page and last page of the physical document to be verified. The QC operator can quickly scroll through the page thumbnails until reaching the last page of the document to verify it. While doing this, they are looking for pages that are too light, too dark, partially scanned or oriented wrong.

“Our experience over the years confirms this method achieves the desired result of catching scan errors with a minimal amount of time spent on each document.”

– Eric Lynn, Paper2Digital® Consultant.

Airmail2 Digital Records Room


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14 07, 2023

Copy+Paste Email Campaign DRR 2

2023-09-15T13:15:14-07:00July 14th, 2023|Copy+Paste Template, Resources|

SUBJECT LINE: Success Story – Airmail2 Digital Records Room

Idea Light Bulb Circle Icon Customer Success

Airmail2 is about enabling more productive batch work and keeping the physical work of scanning in a routine where a group of items are all done together in the same step.

Profile >> Scan Stacks >> QC >> Retain | Shred >>

To extend this further, one of DocSolid’s customers leveraged family members of their employees for summer help to get a large part of a backfile project done. They identified a large group of closed or closing matters that had to be scanned. First, they labeled all the boxes and came up with a naming convention based on what was already in the Records Management System.  For 8 weeks during the summer, college age and high school seniors related to the firm’s employees were trained to profile, scan and QC the boxes of records. The result? With about a dozen of those temp staffers, the team digitized over a million pages of paper records. One big ‘batch’ of work increased productivity, improved office space utilization and reduced risk for the firm… With zero time taken away from the firm’s full-time employees.

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”

– Charles Mingus

Airmail2 Digital Records Room


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14 07, 2023

Copy+Paste Email Campaign DRR 3

2023-09-18T11:02:33-07:00July 14th, 2023|Copy+Paste Template, Resources|

SUBJECT LINE: Change for the better with Airmail2

Mission Best Practices

For Records Managers, the requirements are to clear the clutter and capture the true documents as early as possible in the digital matter file. The requirement to retain a physical document are rare, (wet signatures, regulatory compliance, etc.). Once-and-done is the name of the game for records and retention compliance. Good policies enable post-scan shredding to be done confidently on a consistent regimen. With Airmail2 quality controls, Information Governance (IG) staff can focus on efficiency.

Optimizing a Digital Mailroom

  • Provide examples how to correctly identify and profile documents
  • Training on naming conventions
  • IG policy refinements
  • Exceptions to the firm’s scan and shred policy

Requirements include the ability to direct scanned documents to the intended destination folder in the DMS. Define standards for profiling repetitive doc types to make users more efficient.

“Geeks are people who love something so much that all the details matter.”

– Marissa Mayer

Airmail2 Digital Records Room


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22 05, 2023

DocSolid Announces New Airmail2 Customer Stewart McKelvey

2023-09-22T11:41:23-07:00May 22nd, 2023|Press Releases|

DocSolid Announces New Airmail2 Customer Stewart McKelvey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHOENIX, AZ – (May 22, 2023) – DocSolid, the legal technology experts for digital mailroom and records room solutions, announces Stewart McKelvey, a top 20 Canadian law firm based in Atlantic Canada, with over 225 lawyers, has implemented the Airmail2 Digital Mailroom solution which seamlessly integrates with the firm’s NetDocuments document management system, providing efficient, governed delivery of digital mail.

The shift to hybrid operations has accelerated technology digitization strategies for legal practices. Now more than ever, lawyers and staff need Airmail2 because it enables them to be more productive and work securely from home, in office or remote.

“Our firm has adopted a hybrid workplace strategy, and we needed a best practice digital mailroom as part of our new work environment,” said Sherri Thom, IT Director, Stewart McKelvey. “We selected Airmail2 from DocSolid because of its extensive capability set, and smart integration with NetDocuments. The project team at DocSolid were very organized and helped us seamlessly implement and bring the Airmail2 system into production.”

Airmail2 was designed specifically for law firms’ daily mail operations, with daily mail folder delivery to the document management system for secure, managed digital delivery. Airmail2 sets the industry standard for the efficient, governed delivery of digital mail.

Ten best practice features of Airmail2

  1. Multiple workflows for legal mail, docketing, administrative mail, HR, etc.
  2. Mail recipients receive a link to the mail item from the DMS, not emailed PDF attachments
  3. Barcode labels connect paper mail documents to the digital scan location in the DMS
  4. Stack scanning of multiple mail items at any brand MFD, with no additional hardware or software
  5. Quality controls for monitored imaging and disposition according to the firm’s policy
  6. Administrative tools – help desk, dashboard, audits, reporting
  7. Auto-generated mail arrival notifications alert individuals or groups, describe the mail and show a thumbnail image in the email body
  8. Airmail2 Hub provides a communication system between mail recipients and the mailroom
  9. Mail can be delivered to DMS daily mail folders, or directly into the related matter
  10. DocSolid is a NetDocuments Technology Partner using certified API integrations

“Stewart McKelvey now has a permanent digital mailroom, delivering inbound legal mail to recipient mail folders in NetDocuments,” said Steve Irons, President of DocSolid. “They’ve established governance and security for client information in their mailroom operation, and now are driving valuable efficiency gains for the lawyers, wherever they are working.”

Stewart McKelvey’s Airmail2 Digital Mailroom leverages the Airmail2 Hub which lets lawyers communicate back to the mailroom through a ticketed messaging channel on a variety of common issues that arise in digital mail handling. Lawyers viewing a digital mail item can initiate instructions to the mailroom including image fixes, physical document disposition, requests to scan envelopes, or ad hoc instructions on physical mail handling.

“Our robust partner ecosystem continues to deliver a great customer experience and enhance NetDocuments’ value for our user base,” stated Reza Parsia, Vice President, Strategic Partner Management with NetDocuments. “DocSolid’s seamless NetDocuments integration provides legal professionals, like the Stewart McKelvey team, with vast digital mailroom capabilities enabling users to work more productively and securely through one mission-critical cloud platform.”

Visit docsolid.com to learn more about Airmail2 Digital Mailroom and the companion, Airmail2 Digital Records Room solutions.

About DocSolid

DocSolid creates, sells and supports the Airmail2 Digital Mailroom and Digital Records Room solutions for a hybrid workplace. Reliable, secure delivery of digital documents is a best practice for leading law firms and corporate legal departments worldwide. DocSolid’s patented Paper2Digital® solutions reduce the costs, risks and inefficiencies of paper records. For more information, visit www.docsolid.com.

About NetDocuments

NetDocuments is the #1 trusted cloud-based content management and productivity platform that helps legal professionals do their best work. Backed by over 20 years of experience in cloud innovation, NetDocuments offers a complete end-to-end platform for document and email organization and management, including award- winning security and research capabilities; robust automation, collaboration, and search technologies; seamless integrations with other tools professionals use daily; and much more. NetDocuments supports over 7,000+ law firms, corporate legal departments, and public sector entities globally. Learn more about NetDocuments.

DocSolid media contact:
Michael Herzog, Director
michael@docsolid.com

5 05, 2023

CISO in Law Firms Face Hybrid Work Challenges

2023-09-22T11:41:30-07:00May 5th, 2023|Paper2Digital Blog|

Chief Information Security Officers in Law Firms Face Hybrid Security Challenges

Many law firms have shifted towards a hybrid work model, where employees alternate between working from home and working at their law office. While this model has provided greater flexibility, it has also presented significant challenges for Chief Information Security Officers, CISO in these firms.

Law firms have always been a prime target for cybercriminals due to the sensitive and confidential nature of the data they hold. The shift towards hybrid work has only made things more complicated for CISOs, who must now contend with a distributed workforce, varied devices, and continual risks from email phishing. In this article, we will discuss the challenges facing CISOs in law firms due to hybrid work and how they can mitigate these risks.

Remote Workforce
Hybrid Workplace Solution - Return to Office - Work From HomeWith employees working from different locations, it becomes more difficult for CISOs to maintain a secure environment. Home networks are typically less secure than office networks, and employees may be using personal devices that are not adequately secured. This can make it easier for cybercriminals to gain access to the firm’s network and steal sensitive data.

To mitigate this risk, CISOs must implement strict security protocols for remote workers. This includes ensuring that all devices are up to date with the latest security patches, enforcing strong password policies, and providing employees with secure VPN access to the firm’s network.

Increased Cyber Attacks
Cybercriminals have been taking advantage of the pandemic to launch more sophisticated and targeted attacks. With law firms holding sensitive data, they are an attractive target for cybercriminals looking to steal confidential information, commit fraud, or launch ransomware attacks. Email phishing continues to be one of the greatest ongoing cybersecurity threats.

To mitigate this risk, CISOs must implement robust security measures, including multi-factor authentication, intrusion detection, and threat intelligence. They should also conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in their systems and networks.

Cloud Security
With the shift towards hybrid work, many law firms have moved their operations to the cloud, making it easier for employees to access data from different locations. While this has provided greater flexibility, it has also created new security challenges, as data stored in the cloud is at risk from cyber attack.

To mitigate this risk, CISOs must implement strict access controls and monitor employee activities closely. They should also encrypt all data stored in the cloud and implement robust backup and disaster recovery procedures.

Mailroom Risk
There is a security problem in the mailroom that deserves a sense of urgency.

In a scanning mailroom, the typical scan-to-email-PDF approach puts the firm’s client information at risk and undermines information governance. Airmail2 solves this problem because it eliminates unnamed PDF attachments and delivers legal mail securely using integrations with a document repository like iManage, iManage Cloud, NetDocuments or OpenText eDOCS. Airmail2 also integrates with Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive.

This is an important cybersecurity consideration for law firms because email is the most frequent source from where cybersecurity incidents originate. Watch the 2-min. explainer video to learn more.

Conclusion
The shift towards hybrid work has presented significant challenges for CISOs in law firms, as they must contend with a distributed workforce, varied devices, and the increased risk of insider threats. To mitigate these risks, CISOs must implement strict security protocols, monitor employee activities closely, and conduct regular security assessments to identify vulnerabilities in their systems and networks. With the right approach, law firms can maintain a secure work environment and protect their sensitive data from cyber attacks.

CISO Digital Mailroom Resources

17 02, 2023

IFMA LIC Webinar – Digital Mailroom Workflows for Hybrid Law Firms

2023-03-13T10:49:21-07:00February 17th, 2023|Webinar|

Digital Mailroom Workflows for Hybrid Law Firms

IFMA LIC Presents: Digital Mailroom Workflows for Hybrid Law Firms

Mar 14, 20231:00pm EDT45 minutes

Convert to my timezone

DESCRIPTION
Law firms benefit from a Digital Mailroom with highly configurable workflows to accommodate different office locations, variable hybrid work schedules and different types of mail.

Airmail2 enables secure, productive digital delivery of postal mail, integrated with a law firm's existing document management system.  A best practice digital mailroom is essential for hybrid law firms.

AGENDA
1. Digital Mailroom Requirements
2. Mailroom Workflows
3. Demonstration

DESCRIPTION:
Law firms benefit from a Digital Mailroom with highly configurable workflows to accommodate different office locations, variable hybrid work schedules and different types of mail.

Airmail2 enables secure, productive digital delivery of postal mail, integrated with a law firm’s existing document management system.  A best practice digital mailroom is essential for hybrid law firms.

AGENDA:

1. Digital Mailroom Requirements
2. Mailroom Workflows
3. Demonstration

PRESENTED BY:

Steve Irons
President

Cadis Stuart-Hodges
Senior Director of Services

LIVE or REPLAY:
If you are unable to attend the live session, we will send you a link to the recording.

14 12, 2022

Reinventing Professionals Podcast – Benefits of a Digital Mailroom

2023-09-22T11:05:53-07:00December 14th, 2022|Paper2Digital Blog, Presentations and Webinars|

Benefits of a Digital Mailroom

Reinventing Professionals Podcast by Ari Kaplan

Runtime 16-minutes. Click the play button to listen now.

Host, Ari Kaplan, is an attorney, author, and leading legal industry analyst. He has been sharing interviews with industry leaders shaping the next generation of legal and professional services since 2009.

This episode originally aired on Dec-2, 2022.

Featured Legal Technology Leaders

Steve Irons and Joseph Scott discuss how Airmail2 supports remote and hybrid workplace preferences, why the proper management of scanned material directly impacts a law firm’s security protocols, and the benefits of digital mailrooms. This interview is from the Reinventing Professionals podcast episode released on December 2, 2022 and hosted by Ari Kaplan.

Steve Irons

President

Joseph C. Scott, J.D.

Senior Director of Client Engagement

22 09, 2023

How to Build a Business Case for a Digital Mailroom

2023-09-22T12:14:12-07:00September 22nd, 2023|Featured, Paper2Digital Blog|

How to Build a Business Case for a Digital Mailroom

As hybrid office planning continues to evolve in the majority of law firms across the country, firms can no longer rely on the typical scan-to-email-pdf approach. This cobbled together method of daily mail delivery is inefficient and it creates cybersecurity liability for the firm. This is where the Airmail2 Digital Mailroom comes in.

DocSolid’s Airmail2 Digital Mailroom completely transforms a law firm’s paper centric mail into a secure, efficient digital operation. Airmail2 is setting the standard as a best practice for law firm digital mailrooms because of how well it facilitates hybrid work. Legal mail items contain client information that is confidential and time sensitive. Therefore, the methods for processing the daily mail digitally must incorporate the same standards applied for all client data at the firm.

The Airmail2 Digital Mailroom was engineered from the ground up to solve the security and compliance requirements of law firms with direct digital delivery of daily mail fully integrated into the firm’s document management system (DMS). Sensitive information is protected and governed by DMS best practices consistent with the firm’s information governance policy.

To upgrade a law firm mailroom with a best practice digital mailroom solution such as Airmail2, the firm’s stakeholders must gain an appreciation for the distinct differences and advantages of implementing a new digital mailroom operation. Contact us to get the Airmail2 Advantages Checklist PDF. This information helps stakeholders and leaders at the firm understand the business case as it relates to their law firm. From that point, DocSolid will help you define the scope of a project including business requirements, objectives and budgeting.

In order to achieve a digital transformation of your mailroom into a best practice digital mailroom, it is important to understand a few of the fundamental differences and advantages:

Security and Information Governance

Law firms are driven by security and information governance concerns. Legal mail items are time sensitive and they contain confidential information. The rudimentary scan-to-email-PDF approach most law firms have in place are faulty because the scanned mail items are unnamed and uncontrolled. Using this method proliferates security risks that put the firm and their client’s sensitive information at risk. Airmail2 solves this problem because a best practice digital mailroom operation delivers daily mail directly into the law firm’s DMS where confidential client information is properly secured and governed.

“Cybersecurity was a large selling point. Having the ability to securely notify the legal teams and having that password protected was huge. Our managing partner is very involved in our cybersecurity practice area and he really liked that.”

-Database Analyst, Regional Firm US
Airmail2 + NetDocuments

Cost Reduction and Efficiency
Recognize the amount of labor, quantified in people and dollars terms, that is consumed by continuing to support makeshift scan-to-email-PDF methods. A best-practice digital mailroom is labor efficient because it enables batch work that requires fewer mailroom clerical staff, reducing the cost to operate it. It also stops the wasteful mail handling time currently in the hands of attorneys and legal assistants who should not be distracted by the redundant delivery of paper mail.

Overall Business Process Improvement
Mailrooms are scanning daily mail because some of that mail belongs in the DMS. But how do you know that ever even happened? A best-practice digital mailroom closes the loop on business process because it is a comprehensive end-to-end solution for getting mail into the DMS. It accomplishes this seamlessly with built-in quality controls, automatic email notifications and operator alerts. And one more thing… The entire mail delivery cycle time is faster too.

Woman Work From Home Laptop

Attorney / Employee Experience

A best practice digital mailroom achieves an attorney-focused experience that does not require employees to change the ways they work. For mail recipients, it is a reliable daily routine, no matter where they choose to physically work on any given day. Everyone appreciates the consistent experience you get with Airmail2 automated notifications and the option of communicating back to the mailroom with the Airmail2 Hub. For a hybrid workforce, it is ideal for fee earners and staff to have a few things that they can rely on operating the same way every day. The importance of this is greater than ever as hybrid work must be scrutinized for security from every angle by the CISO – Chief Information Security Officer, Records Managers and Information Governance leaders. The daily mail is a fundamental physical office function that is mission critical for law firms. That is why secure digital delivery with Airmail2 is essential.

Productivity

Labor is a one of the biggest considerations when deciding to budget for a new Digital Mailroom system. Using reasonable calculations, DocSolid has a spreadsheet tool that demonstrates how existing labor costs exceed the purchase price of the software. Use our Productivity Tool to reveal your existing mailroom costs and what you’ll find is that budgeting for a digital mailroom is a very smart choice.

With scan-to-email-PDF, or the old convention of physical mail distribution, operational labor costs add up quickly. This tends to be overlooked, but it becomes easy to see how these costs add up when the operational labor is taken into consideration for everyone that plays a part in supporting the mailroom operation. Contributing cost factors include:

  • Mailroom labor
  • Mail recipients labor
  • Quality control work
  • Physical paper mail delivery & disposition
  • Help desk, administration, IT involvement, supervision

The redundancy caused by a scan-to-email approach leads to additional labor costs that are avoided with a digital mailroom solution like Airmail2. Scanned mail has to be scanned and emailed to recipients, but in most instances, the mail is also physically delivered as well. This becomes double the amount of work for the mailroom staff, but it also adds work for recipients as they have to reconcile both the digital and physical documents while also creating the work of disposing of the physical mail once they are done with it.

Conclusion

The overhead costs of maintaining an inefficient mailroom operation alone makes a best practice digital mailroom operation a fiscally responsible decision for a law firm. The typical scan-to-email-PDF method is a waste of money each day it is kept in place, while the cybersecurity risks are akin to playing Russian Roulette with confidential client information. It’s impossible to align daily mail delivery with the hybrid work variability of each employee in every office location… Unless you adopt a best practice solution.

Next Steps

  • Contact us to request a copy of the complete Airmail2 Advantages Checklist.
  • Book a demonstration to learn how you can design a best practice Digital Mailroom for your firm with Airmail2.
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