How to Effectively Digitize Paper Records (Without Creating More Chaos)

Digitizing paper records is a priority for many law firms, but doing it effectively is far more complex than simply scanning documents.

To better understand what works (and what doesn’t), we spoke with experts across the records and information governance space, including Nathan Curtis, IGP of Mattern & Associates. His experience, spanning decades of hands-on work inside law firms, reveals a consistent theme: most digitization efforts fail not because of technology, but because of how they’re implemented.

From choosing the right scanning approach to building workflows that attorneys will actually follow, successful digitization requires a coordinated strategy across systems, teams, and processes. Here’s how leading firms get it right, and where you can start today. 

Why Law Firms Are Prioritizing Digitization Now

For most firms, digitization starts with pressure, both financial and operational. Offsite storage costs continue to climb, often significantly year over year. At the same time, attorneys expect immediate access to information, regardless of where they’re working. Physical records can’t keep up with that expectation.

Curtis also pointed to a more fundamental issue: many firms don’t actually know what’s in their storage. Boxes are sent off-site with minimal documentation, and over time, visibility is lost. When those records are needed, firms often retrieve entire boxes only to find incomplete or irrelevant information.

That combination (rising costs, limited access, and poor visibility) is pushing firms to rethink how they manage paper altogether.

Start With Strategy, Not Scanning

One of the most common mistakes firms make is jumping straight into scanning. Curtis noted that many organizations default to using office copiers for large digitization projects. In practice, that approach creates more work. Without safeguards like double-feed detection, pages can be missed during scanning, requiring manual quality checks and increasing risk if documents are destroyed afterward.

Instead, firms should start by defining their approach:

• What are you trying to achieve: Cost reduction, access, or both?
• What systems will support the process?
• How will records be managed once they’re digitized?

Digitization typically requires three coordinated components:

1. Capture solution for scanning
2. Document management system (DMS) for storage
3. Structured approach to managing records over time

Focusing on scanning alone often leads to disorganized digital files that are just as difficult to manage as physical ones.

Choose the Right Digitization Approach

There’s no single way to digitize paper records. Most firms use a combination of approaches depending on their priorities.

Start Day Forward

Many firms begin “day forward,” meaning digitizing new records as they come in, starting on the day they begin their transformation. These records have more retention years than the alternative - pulling legacy files from storage for digitization - and present the best ROI opportunity. This method prevents the backlog from growing and establishes a clear line where digital becomes the standard.

Digitize on Retrieval

Pulling records from storage creates an opportunity. Curtis recommends digitizing those files instead of sending them back. If a box has already been accessed once, there’s a higher likelihood it will be needed again. Digitizing at that point eliminates future retrieval costs and delays. But don’t forget to permanently remove these boxes in the storage provider’s inventory system to “stop the clock on storage expenses. This critical step is often missed, reducing the ROI of digitizing for firms. 

Digitize at the Front Door

Some firms are taking a more proactive approach by scanning incoming mail immediately. This “front door” strategy ensures that documents are digital from the moment they enter the firm. It also reinforces a broader shift, where physical copies become secondary to the digital record. This approach reduces the number of handoffs and helps streamline how information moves through the organization. In practice, firms often combine all three strategies to balance effort, cost, and long-term impact.

Build a Workflow That People Will Actually Use

Even with the right tools in place, digitization efforts can stall if workflows don’t align with how people work. One of the biggest challenges is ensuring adoption, particularly among attorneys. Curtis emphasized the importance of designing workflows that minimize friction. That often means separating responsibilities:

• Attorneys receive documents quickly and can take action
• Records or support teams handle filing and organization

This allows attorneys to focus on legal work without being responsible for managing records.

Consistency can also make a huge difference here. Standard naming conventions and structured filing practices make it easier to locate documents and ensure they’re managed correctly over time. 

For digitized materials, content is typically profiled to a unique scanned records folder within the client/matter rather than profiling to the specific document type, simplifying the scanning process while improving file accessibility in the DMS compared to paper held in offsite storage. 

Without clear structure, firms risk creating digital environments where documents are scattered across systems, making them difficult to find and even harder to govern.

What Happens to the Paper?

Once documents are digitized, firms need to decide what to do with the physical copies. In many cases, a scan-and-shred approach is appropriate. After a document has been captured and verified, it can be destroyed, reducing storage costs and eliminating unnecessary duplication.

However, there are exceptions. Certain document types may still require physical retention, depending on legal or regulatory requirements. Some firms implement workflows that allow users to indicate whether a document should be shredded or retained. These decisions can then be routed to records teams for execution.

For digitized materials, content is typically profiled to a unique scanned records folder within the client/matter rather than profiling to the specific document type, simplifying the scanning process while improving file accessibility in the DMS vs. paper held in offsite storage.

Common Challenges (and How Firms Are Addressing Them)

Digitization efforts often encounter similar obstacles across firms.

Volume of Legacy Records

Many organizations are dealing with decades of accumulated paper. Fully digitizing everything isn’t always practical. Curtis noted that once records have been in storage for an extended period, the cost of digitizing them often outweighs the benefit, especially if they’re unlikely to be accessed again. In these cases, firms may focus on defensible destruction rather than full digitization.

Staffing Constraints

Large-scale digitization requires time and coordination. Without the right workflows, teams can quickly become overwhelmed. Breaking the process into stages, such as preparation, scanning, and quality control, can make the workload more manageable.

Cost Considerations

While digitization requires upfront investment, firms are increasingly weighing that cost against ongoing storage fees. Over time, the economics often favor digitization, especially for records that are actively used.

Adoption and Change Management

Shifting away from paper-based processes can be challenging. “Their [Attorney’s] reluctance to utilize the DMS is typically just based on the labor involved,” shared Christian Villa. “ If they can receive the mail and then reassign it to somebody else to save, the legal team is happy because they're not having to save it.”

In other words, workflows that prioritize speed, simplicity, and immediate access tend to gain traction more quickly. 

Where Information Governance Fits In

Digitization addresses access and storage, but it doesn’t solve records management on its own. As firms transition to digital, the need for structured governance becomes more important. Without a clear framework, digitized records can accumulate quickly, making it difficult to determine what should be retained and what can be destroyed.

This is where information governance plays a critical role:

• Applying consistent retention policies
• Ensuring records are classified correctly
• Enabling defensible disposition

Structure and consistency are what allow firms to trust their processes. When records are managed properly from the start, firms can make disposition decisions with confidence, without needing to review every document individually.

FiT supports this process by integrating with capture and DMS systems, helping firms track records throughout their lifecycle and take action at the appropriate time.

Digitization is Not a One-Time Project

For firms looking to digitize paper records, the biggest takeaway is this: success depends less on the act of scanning and more on how the process is designed.

The firms seeing the most progress are those that:

• Start with clear goals
• Use the right tools for the job
• Build workflows that reduce friction
• Establish structure from the beginning

Digitization is about creating a more efficient, accessible, and manageable way to work with information.

See How FiT Supports the Digitization of Paper Files

Digitizing paper records is only part of the equation. FiT helps law firms connect digitization efforts with information governance, ensuring records are managed accurately, retained appropriately, and disposed of defensibly.

Schedule a demo to see how FiT can support your digitization strategy.

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