Lanman Rayne Attorneys
How did a Portland, Maine-based law practice put document management at the centre of its business - and handle the failure of the firm’s computer server without a hiccup?
When Lanman Rayne decided to adopt Mac-based document management system DocMoto in 2016, the firm wasn’t using a document management system at all.
Kate Rayne, Partner at the firm said: “We wanted a document management system that was a native Mac application and we found DocMoto, which is probably the best offering for a professional services company using Apple Mac computers.”
Improving business processes
The firm soon gained the benefits of DocMoto, including the ability for all staff to access the same documents with a check in/check out system, implementing document access permissions and file sharing with clients.
In fact, the DocMoto team customised the system’s file sharing capability to allow a longer period before sharing links expired. This reduced the need to re-send links to clients.
In addition, DocMoto’s version control meant the Lanman Rayne team could edit and share documents with other law firms and clients, view and identify different versions and obtain agreement on final drafts.
Kate Rayne added: “In the early days there were just two attorneys and the document management challenges were fewer, but now it would be near impossible without DocMoto.”
Moving to DocMoto in the cloud
When the firm’s computer server ‘died’ in the middle of a busy work period, there was good reason to panic, according to Kate.
Getting a new server running the latest Mac OS system meant there would be compatibility issues with our document management, particularly file sharing. At that moment, the DocMoto team recommended we move to the system’s cloud version.
“Within one day we made the decision and were up and running in the cloud within two days. While that was happening, DocMoto set us up with a hosted version so we could still access documents, so downtime was brief.”
“We’ve been using the cloud version since March and the transition was seamless: we’re getting the exact same products and services we had before and for the team it’s business as usual.”
Managing the document flow of tax reporting
The tax reporting requirements for clients from January to April is a demanding period for the firm and DocMoto’s file sharing functionality has transformed the workflow:
Kate explained: “Clients need to send documents of between 10 and 100 pages and, with this volume, it really helps us to have a file sharing facility for them to upload their documents directly to DocMoto. It’s taken away a huge administrative burden and the system just notifies us when new documents arrive.”
“It’s made a huge difference to us. We couldn’t live without DocMoto at this point; it’s central to our functioning.”
Smart service
According to Kate, providing legal services is a customer-service business and, therefore, the firm recognises good service from its own supply partners.
She said: “Service is the best part of DocMoto. The team has been so available, so attentive and very helpful; they are a group of very smart people which isn’t the same with all the software providers we deal with.”
When we email for support, we’re are contacting someone we know and they get back to us, even out of hours. They’re fantastic!”
