Legal Work and Sustainability: Reducing the Environmental Impact of Legal Processes

4 min read

Here’s how your firm can reduce its carbon footprint and become more sustainable.

Environmental sustainability has grown in popularity in recent years, particularly as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. Law firm leaders are increasingly conscious of their environmental footprints, and are actively taking steps to decrease their negative impact on the environment. Sustainability initiatives have a number of advantages for law firms, from making your firm more attractive to progressive clients, to reducing your energy bills, and more. As corporate sustainability continues to grow in popularity, expect more and more of your competitors to publicly advertise their sustainability initiatives. Here are just a few ways your firm can reduce its environmental impact – so you can better compete in a world where sustainability matters.

Digitize Your Paper-Based Processes 

Law firms generate a truly astounding amount of paper waste. One survey found that the average lawyer consumes up to 100,000 sheets of paper every year. Multiply that by the number of lawyers at your firm, and it quickly becomes evident that the average law firm’s paper consumption is out of control.

The process of making paper doesn’t just consume trees – it also involves a great deal of oil use, contributing to not only deforestation but also climate change. That’s why adopting paperless processes is one of the best things your firm can do for the environment.

Paperless processes don’t just save the environment – they also save you headaches. By digitizing your paper-based work, you can ensure all necessary parties always have access to the most up-to-date versions of critical documents; you can also share documents instantly with relevant parties.

To start eliminating paper, look for opportunities to digitize your current paper-based processes. For example, you can digitize client intake by adopting Client Relationship Management (CRM) software. Or, you can use a piece of software like Appara (that’s us!) to digitize your entity minute books and other critical documents.

Embrace Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexwork is a great way to reduce your firm’s environmental footprint. Under a flexwork policy, your employees can choose which days they come into the office and which days they work from home. By working from home, your employees no longer need to commute to the office, which reduces their individual carbon emissions. Flexwork also reduces your office’s energy expenses, as empty offices don’t require heat or electricity. You could even take this one more step and reduce the size of your office to further take advantage of this initiative.  

But flexwork doesn’t just have environmental benefits. It’s also a productivity-booster. Flexible working and work-from-home arrangements enable your team to work during the hours when they’re most productive, which helps them accomplish more work. Flexwork also results in more engaged employees who are less likely to leave your organization – making it an important employee retention initiative in a competitive industry that’s starved for talent.

Join the Law Firm Sustainability Network

The Law Firm Sustainability Network (LFSN) is a global network of law firms committed to promoting corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability in the legal industry. A 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2011, the LFSN is a resource for legal professionals to network, share ideas, and develop sustainability best practices for the legal industry. The LFSN offers a wide array of webinars, case studies, and monthly educational sessions around the topic of sustainability.  The LFSN also provides opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other legal professionals, which can help your firm to discover new cost-saving sustainability initiatives you may not have thought of otherwise. Joining the Law Firm Sustainability Network could be a great first step toward developing and implementing your law firm’s very own sustainability program.

Sustainability initiatives are a great way to reduce your firm’s environmental impact, cut costs associated with paper documents, and network with like-minded professionals who are eco-conscious. Building a sustainable law firm can also be a competitive advantage in a crowded industry; environmentally-minded clients will enjoy working with a firm that prioritizes sustainability. By joining sustainability networks, embracing flexwork, and digitizing your paper-based processes, your firm can become a sustainability leader and discover the myriad benefits of corporate social responsibility initiatives.Are you tired of the hassle of managing paper records? Is it time for a digital entity management and document automation Platform that saves you time and headaches? We can help. Book a demo of Appara today to unlock your free trial.