In the 21st century there has been a shift in the common attitude towards the environment. Our focus in America and around the globe is to sustain the environment for our future generations. Individuals with any knowledge of biology understands that trees produce oxygen and releases oxygen into the atmosphere for us to breath. When we cut down trees and manufacture them into furniture or other sellable goods, we are hurting the environment in so many different ways. Responsible and ethical businesses around the world, large or small, have been taking steps towards reducing the amount of paper that they use in attempt to help sustain the environment.
In the past, a prominent paper consumer have been law firms. The innovative, 21st century law firms, however, are going in a different direction and have converted their firm into to a paperless business. This call to action has been directed by the American Bar Association and will continue to influence law firms around the country to become paperless.
Personal Experience
Working for a law firm last summer, I was shocked at the amount of paper being used and recycled in the three months that I worked there. It was discomforting to think about how many trees they used to support their everyday activities. This is a major problem for many law firms around the country and will continue to be for many years to come. Many law firms are good about recycling paper, such was the law firm I worked at, but not all paper needs to be recycled and in fact most documents in the law industry have to be kept for up to a decade.
One of my responsibilities while working at a law firm this past summer was to file legal documents in a storage room. Even though this law firm had a very large storage room – about 80 feet by 40 feet – it was crammed full. l found it difficult to maneuver around the storage room and do my job due to the propensity of files. I am sure many lawyers working there feel the same, thus why I was hired to organize the storage room for the lawyers. The worst part of this task was not that there were over 70,000 red rope files and file boxes that I had to organize, but how humid the storage room was. After about 15 minutes filing documents and case files, I was sweating. Until this summer, I was not even aware of how dangerous humidity can be for documents.
Problems Arise When Documents are Stored Improperly
Humid Environments
When documents are stored in a humid environment, they deteriorate. The humidity levels were not over the threshold in the storage room that I spent hours in filing, but if they were the documents would deteriorate at a fast rate. Deteriorating documents is severely detrimental for law firms and many other businesses. Humidity drives mold growth as well, which is never good for indoor environments. Storing documents in a humid or unsuitable environment is not smart, for individuals or businesses. Moreover, storing documents in an office is also not a smart decision.
Decreased Productivity
It is obvious that an office space is better used for work space than file storage. Why would a business ever decrease productivity? They wouldn't, but unknowingly they do when they store files in an office space. If they have a storage room it needs to be dehumidified and large enough for their needs. If it is not then it can cause documents to become lost or damaged. Not being able to find an important and physical document can be a problem, especially for industries such as law firms who are paper centric. There is a solution to storing documents and files in an organized and safe manner.
The Answer to the Paper Problem for Papercentric Industries
A climate controlled storage unit is approximately 10 feet by 20 feet, which costs costs $200-300/month. It not only keeps documents in a suitable environment, but also secure environment. We have units that are located inside a building, surveyed by security cameras from every angle (except inside a unit). Our security system is one of the most advanced on the market and you can learn more about it by contacting one of our representatives here.
Too many documents and files take up space causing marginal productivity to fall, which results in a business or firm to not maximize efficiency. Although many law firms are going paperless, it does not eliminate the need for storage for legal documents. Clearing storage space for office space will only promote efficiency and will increase productivity. We want to help you make this possible. Click here to see our facilities.
Innovation for the Greater Good
Before 2000, climate controlled storage facilities were almost non-existent. With advancement in technology and innovation within the storage industry, many storage facilities today are climate controlled around the U.S. Climate controlled storage units allow sensitive items to be stored and preserved for years on end. Paper as we know, deteriorates due to humidity and can become damaged from large fluctuations in temperature. Additionally, new technology ahas allowed storage facilities to utilize advanced security systems.
Technology has allowed law firms to become a paperless industry, but with this seemingly good idea there are problems. Paper documents will always be relevant in law and with any legal case. Many people can edit online documents and change the digital documents, which is why physical copies of legal documents will always be kept. Storing documents that are irrelevant at a location separate from the office building is best for law firms and many other industries.
