The legal sector relies on printing for its daily operations more than many other professions. With many law firms also under financial pressure, there is a focus on getting value for money. This means managed print services can be crucial – and resellers have a vital role to play.
For law firms, documentation is at the heart of much of their work, whether it is on the criminal or corporate side of the profession. Often, documents are still required to be printed out, either for sending to other parties involved or for the necessary keeping of physical records.
This means that printers and managed print services (MPS) are still crucial for law firms large and small – and will continue to be so for some time to come, which means there remain plenty of opportunities for resellers.
“The legal sector is still heavily reliant on paper-based workflows and although this is slowly changing, for many, print is still an important part of their process,” says Ian Fox, UK channel solutions and services specialist at Xerox. “Key priorities include reliability, security and compliance. They’re also looking to partners that can help streamline document workflows, taking them beyond print and towards more efficient working practices.”
Greig Millar, chief revenue officer at Brother UK, adds: “The legal sector remains heavily reliant on printing, with physical documents like contracts, transaction bibles and court bundle prominent in daily operations.
“However, lawyers are under increasing pressure to maximise their billable hours, meaning they cannot afford to waste valuable time on basic administrative tasks. This is where MPS can make a tangible difference, helping firms to streamline processes, improve efficiency and focus on delivering legal expertise to their clients.”
Importance of security
Given the sensitive nature of legal work, security is paramount. With printers now part of the network – and therefore a target for cybercriminals – security is a key part of any MPS solution.
“Security is a non-negotiable priority in the sector, given the highly confidential nature of court bundles and client data,” says Greig. “An effective MPS solution integrates robust security measures, such as encrypted printing, user authentication and secure document storage, ensuring sensitive information remains protected at all times. Law firms cannot risk data breaches or unauthorised access to sensitive information, making security one of the most compelling selling points for MPS in the sector.”
Ian agrees that security is a key concern. “Clients should look for solutions that can offer firmware, password and policy management of the fleet, to ensure that their MPS solution is not the weakest link in their security chain,” he says. “Resellers need to ensure they guide the client towards well-established, enterprise-capable solutions, which include a choice of data centre locations to assist GDPR compliance and data sovereignty requirements.”
With the growth of hybrid working in recent years, this also needs to be factored into security solutions. “MPS is helping facilitate firms’ move to long-term hybrid working,” says Ian.
“But a decentralised workforce of legal professionals still requires seamless access to critical files, often saved in a secure, central location. We’ve partnered with Tungsten Automation to help resellers address this need. Tools like PowerPDF and SignDoc offer search and redact features, with only the necessary information visible to those allowed access to documents stored on the cloud.”
Move to digitalisation
But while print and MPS is still important, there are more movements to digitalisation in certain aspects of the legal profession. “While some aspects of legal work still rely on paper, the trend is clearly moving towards a more digital approach,” says Ian.
“If we look at a paper-heavy legal process, such as conveyancing, the government just announced an initiative to streamline homebuying processes. This will likely drive a digital first approach and reduce the reliance on print for such transactions.”
Cameron Mitchell, business leader for Indirect Channel at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd, agrees that a good MPS will support paper and digital workflows, to aid bridge the gap as firms transition towards digitalisation. “It must also balance security, reliability, cost control and regulatory compliance,” he says. “To successfully sell MPS to the legal sector, resellers need to be on the lookout for tailored and scalable solutions that can address each of these issues.”
Financial pressures
For some law firms, especially smaller ones, the market is tight and profit margins are thin. So another key part of an MPS solution is for it to help bring efficiencies and cost savings – which they can do.
“A good MPS will improve cost control and efficiency by reducing wastage and the ability to manage printing volumes better,” says Cameron. “It will add a level of automation that not only streamlines workflows and facilitates the shift from paper to digital but also frees staff time to focus on billable work. In short, a good MPS improves efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances business operations for law firms.”
Ian adds that a good MPS solution will provide extensive MI dashboards that can be used to identify inefficient or costly processes, such as high colour utilisation or excessive use of scan to email. “Regular account reviews are great opportunities to review the data, opening discussions about document workflows,” he says. “Xerox provide a wide range of apps and workflow solutions, including AI-powered redaction, summarisation and translation workflows that can significantly increase the productivity of employees.”
Reseller conversations
Taking the above factors into consideration, there are various things that resellers should highlight in conversations with customers in the legal profession.
“It’s not about speeds and feeds anymore,” says Ian. “Security, reliability, productivity and compliance are the key considerations in the legal sector.”
Ian adds that resellers should seek to understand the document-related challenges the legal sector is facing and demonstrate how their solutions and services can help clients be more secure and productive.
Valuable tool
MPS – and print in general – looks set to remain key to the success of law firms for the foreseeable future and can help with the gradual digitalisation process that many are embarking on.
Greig says that law practices are balancing several regulatory requirements and print partners have a key role to play in ensuring their customers remain compliant. “MPS is a valuable tool at resellers’ disposal for delivering this, as well as helping businesses reduce costs, manage print demand effectively and eliminate downtime – all of which directly contribute to better financial performance and an improved client service experience,” he says.
“With print remaining a vital part of legal workflows, there is a strong demand for solutions like MPS, making it a market full of opportunities for resellers who can demonstrate value and expertise.”