Share Documents Privately With This Blockchain Based Document Manager

While blockchain technology is applicable to a variety of industries and solutions, in this article we will look specifically into legal document management. Read on to find out about document management systems, the peculiarities of managing legal documents, and how law firms can benefit from the introduction of blockchain technology into their workflows.

In addition, an advanced DMS retains information about who viewed the document and what changes were made to it, so documents are easy to track and the risk of outsiders interfering with company documents is greatly reduced.

Statistics say that 82% of office managers admit that navigating different systems and locations to check the most recent versions of documents negatively affects their productivity. At the same time, 91% agree that their job would be easier if they could quickly find and access the most recent version of a document without worrying about which system it is in.

An essential feature of a good document management system is the ability to set role-based access to specific documents since every enterprise has sensitive information that should only be accessible to certain employees.

Blockchain-based document management systems are the next-generation software because blockchain provides much better safety and security. All the information stored on the blockchain is protected through encryption and hashing.

Since blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology, it allows the system to be decentralized. When using centralized systems, there is always a central authority that controls the system and which can potentially change the documents stored in the DMS. Thanks to the decentralization provided by blockchain, companies can be sure that their information is protected and that the risk of corruption is completely eliminated.

Document management systems are applicable in a myriad of domains, and the legal industry is no exception. However, legal document management software can be very different from generic DMSs as law firms have their own peculiarities of working with documents and specific requirements for electronic systems.

Lawyers are super-skilled at understanding and analyzing complex and bulky legal documents. At the same time, legal documents require careful management in accordance with industry standards and regulations.

Legal DMSs, including blockchain-based ones, are designed to help law firms and their employees focus on their cases and day-to-day tasks, and do their job better, as modern technology now gives them an opportunity to delegate document management to dedicated legal electronic document management software.

A good DMS is one that is matter-oriented and acts as a virtual office with a filing cabinet for documents. Here users will be able to store and manage documents and keep matter-related emails and notes.

In the legal industry, emails are often equated with documents, which makes email management another essential feature that an ideal legal DMS should have. The best legal document management software should integrate with the email platform the firm uses and allow company employees to seamlessly save emails directly to a particular matter.

Being a distributed ledger technology, blockchain creates a shared ledger available to all parties to an agreement. They can view the history of the document, as well as chat and add new information to the network.

Legal contracts are usually backed by a physical signature. Unfortunately, manual processing of documents often leads to human error, and the legal sphere is also vulnerable to this. Blockchain can significantly improve the situation through the use of smart contracts. The terms of smart contracts are programmed into the system, and the contract is executed automatically if the terms are met on both sides.

All corporate documents and transactions can be recorded on the blockchain. In this way, a time-stamped, permanent record of all corporate actions can be created, allowing company executives, lawyers, and staff to view all relevant information in chronological order.

During an investigation, evidence can change hands many times, which unfortunately creates opportunities for some people to spoil or replace evidence on purpose. Evidence information, as well as audio and video materials, can be recorded on the blockchain, which has an unalterable nature. Thus, judges and lawyers in court will be able to compare the original evidence that was recorded in the blockchain-based system with what was ultimately presented in court. In this way they can make sure that the evidence has not been changed.

Apart from handling public records, blockchain generally is capable of dealing with a wide range of legal documents and procedures, including long-term contracts, testamentary matters, and other legal instruments.

The firm has already designed DocFlow, a blockchain-powered document management system that is suitable for various industries, including the legal field. Using this application, law firms can log and hash legislation records, benefit from improved protection of digital identity and biometric data, and take advantage of automated taxation.

At its very core, blockchain technology is merely a data structure and this phenomenon allows it to be used by any business, not just cryptocurre