Your Guide to OneDrive for Law Firms

Modern law offices store their legal files in the cloud. One of the most popular choices for cloud-based storage for law firms is Microsoft OneDrive. It integrates seamlessly with Office 365 and features a streamlined interface that’s great for small firms that need simple and quick file storage.

Are you considering OneDrive for your law firm? If so, there are some things you need to know before you choose a file storage tool.

Introduction to Law Firm Cloud Storage

There’s a push in the legal industry to move away from on-premise file servers. After all, servers are not only expensive to house and use, but they also lack storage flexibility. The more data you need to store away, the more costly server space you’ll need.

Cloud-based storage is different and enables attorneys and law firms to:

Plus, cloud-based file storage is easy to use, making it a great choice for larger firms that want something they can adopt fast.

How Does Cloud Storage Work?

With cloud services, such as OneDrive for law firms, Instead of being saved to a computer’s hard drive or another local storage device, files are saved to a remote database. To access your files, you’ll use an internet connection and an app or software on your desktop computer or mobile device.

If you run a modern, paperless law firm and you want the flexibility of cloud storage for your practice, there’s only one challenge standing in your way: Finding the right cloud storage system for you.

The Right Cloud Storage System Fits Your Needs

There are many different options for cloud-based systems on the market today, each with its own pros and cons. So, how do you choose? You should select the cloud storage solution that fits your firm’s specific needs.

For example, you should choose a tool that offers the functionality your legal team needs now and in the future. Plus, it should offer the benefits that your team deems important such as ease of use, mobility, and scalability.

Before you dig deeper into your options, meet with your team to discuss what they feel are must-haves in a cloud storage system. That way, you select an efficient and supportive tool your team will be thrilled to use.

Types of Law Firm Cloud Storage

Just like any tech niche, there’s always a ton of jargon involved when talking about software platforms. We like to keep things simple around here. So, for law firms, we categorize the whole lot of cloud storage systems into two classes: basic cloud storage and document management systems.

Basic Cloud Storage

Basic cloud storage does one thing well: provide simple storage for your firm’s documents and data. These tools don’t have a lot of features and instead focus on being the equivalent of an in-office filing cabinet (only much more organized).

Some attorneys choose to create a set of top-level folders they use across the firm. For example, they’ll create a new folder for each client or each matter. Then, all documents about those clients or matters will go in their respective folders.

Basic cloud storage is similar to finding a document on your computer. Yet, instead of pulling up File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS), you’ll access your files inside a browser or desktop app.

Some examples of basic cloud storage apps include Microsoft OneDrive, DropBox, and Google Drive. These apps offer several benefits, including:

Although these benefits are great for smaller firms, larger firms may find them lacking the document management system (DMS) features they need to truly manage their files. They are also limited in search capabilities, offer no email management tools, and are notorious for sync issues when multiple users are involved.

Challenges With Cloud Storage in Law Firm

Cloud storage is secure, cost-effective and easy to implement.  Even so, they come with challenges and drawbacks for firms larger than three or so people.  Consider these limitations and drawbacks when evaluating cloud storage for your firm.

You should carefully evaluate your law firms needs when it comes to evaluating cloud storage solutions.  Do you need a simple, online platform to create folders and upload data (only), or do you need more sophisticated tools to manage documents for your clients and matters?

Document Management Systems

On the other side of the spectrum is the document management system or DMS. Instead of being a fancy online box, a DMS is a robust system that enables you to both store and manage documents in a cloud environment.

In the past, these systems were installed directly into the on-premise server or your computer. Now, they’re available for you to use inside the cloud without sacrificing the feature-rich benefits of on-premise software.

Document management systems offer many advantages over basic cloud storage such as full-text search capabilities, integration with Office 365, document version management, and more.

Introduction to OneDrive for Law Firms

Microsoft OneDrive falls into the basic cloud storage class. OneDrive is an internet-based storage platform available to anyone with a Microsoft account. This includes users who pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription (OneDrive Business) and those who simply choose to use the free version of OneDrive (basic consumer account).

OneDrive works on a variety of operating systems, including Windows 8, Windows 10, and macOS. You can choose to have various files and folders sync to OneDrive automatically (such as Desktop, Documents, and Pictures) or you can manually add files as you create them.

To access files saved in OneDrive, you can visit onedrive.live.com via any browser or use the OneDrive mobile app on your phone or tablet. This includes access to all of the shared files created within your firm.

OneDrive Features

OneDrive offers many features for simple file storage and sharing. Some of these features include:

OneDrive Investment

OneDrive offers a free version for storing up to 5GB geared towards personal use. Yet, most law firms would burn through that amount of storage in no time. OneDrive for Business offers multiple types of subscriptions such as OneDrive only plans, including 1TB of data per user for $5.00/month and unlimited data storage per user for $10.00/month.

Additional plans include those that feature other Microsoft services such as Exchange and Teams as well as apps, including Outlook, Word, and OneNote. The plan you choose depends on the apps you currently use (or plan to use) within your firm.

Pros & Cons of OneDrive for Law Firms

To get down to the nuts and bolts of OneDrive, here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of the popular cloud storage tool.

A Note About Sync Issues

One of the most common issues with basic cloud storage platforms is their attempt to sync to each user’s device. Although this might work for a few users, larger law firms find the sync issues to be inefficient and confusing. For instance, sync issues often lead to document version conflicts and time lost trying to find client documents.

Related:

When Is OneDrive a Good Fit for Your Law Firm?

OneDrive is a useful cloud storage tool for many solo or small law firms that have simple file storage needs such as basic file and folder structures. It’s also a good choice if you don’t need full-text search or the features included inside a more robust DMS such as tagging and versioning.

Sample OneDrive Configuration for Law Firms

Are you using OneDrive for the first time? Looking to improve the way you and your legal team use OneDrive? We’ve seen our fair share of OneDrive setups over the years, from the simple to the complex. And we’ll be the first to tell you that keeping things simple is the best plan of action.

Here’s an example of an ideal setup:

In addition to central, firm-wide folders, OneDrive also provides each user within your firm with their own individual folders.  This gives each user in your firm access to firm-wide documents, as well as a workspace for private documents, or documents that are in progress and not ready to be filed (saved) to Firm Documents or Matter Documents.

Again, this is only a sample and should be tailored to fit your firm’s needs. Some attorneys create folders for closed matters as well as those that have been denied. And some go into further detail within each matter folder, adding folders for items such as discovery, pleadings, and retainer agreements.

OneDrive for Law Firms:  Part of a Larger Office 365 Design

When setting up OneDrive for your law firm, we recommend that it not be done in a vacuum.  OneDrive is part of the Office 365 suite, and tightly integrates with the other services within Office 365.

The core framework of Office 365 is the concept of Groups.  In Office 365 for law firms, a group is a logical container of people and functions.  For instance, you may create a group for a particular department, division, office or practice group within your firm.

When you create Groups in Office 365 (which we recommend as the first step to an overarching Office 365 deployment), Office 365 automatically creates shared folders (libraries), Teams groups and other Office 365 elements for that group.

Cloud-Based Document Management

Cloud file storage and document management are not the same, even though some software companies use the terms interchangeably. As we mentioned earlier, a document management system (DMS) is a robust solution that enables both storage and management of documents in a cloud environment.

If while reading about OneDrive you thought, “I think we need more than that,” you’re probably right. While some firms start with simple cloud storage tools, they typically find they need a full DMS later down the road. Choosing a DMS now can save you the headache of switching later on.

Document Management System Features

Not only does a DMS provide the storage of your critical documents, but it also provides the tools you need to properly manage them. Most solutions will provide a wide range of features, including:

Pros & Cons of a Law Firm DMS

If you’re considering moving forward with a DMS, it’s best to understand what to expect. Some of the pros and cons of using a document management system include:

A Note About Your Investment

It only makes sense that you would pay more for a full DMS versus simple file storage. Costs vary depending on the solution you choose. For example, the LexWorkplace document management base package is $395 per month. This includes a usage allowance of up to 5 users with 1TB of storage.

Remember, you shouldn’t choose a file storage solution simply based on price. You should make your choice based on what fits your firm best. If you don’t, you’ll spend more money later migrating away from a tool that doesn’t make sense.

DMS Email Management

In a modern law firm, a lot of business is done in the email inbox. Emails are documents too, and they require management. For example, they must be saved to matter files and shared with others on your team. 

Emails play an important role in managing your practice. Clients send signed documents via email. Contracts may be negotiated via email. And it’s common for invoices to be delivered this way too. Managing these emails is critical in keeping your practice running smoothly.

Unfortunately, simple cloud storage tools like OneDrive do not have full email management as a capability. For seamless email management, you’ll need to turn to a document management system instead.