Philly Law Firm Finds Success with RFID
11 September, 2007
category: RFID
Philadelphia-based Blank Rome LLP announced its system-wide implementation of the 3M RFID Tracking System after successful pilot programs.
The firm isn’t the first to use RFID. Fulbright & Jaworski and Fish & Richardson have also reported success.
International Law Firm Blank Rome to Expand Its Use of 3M RFID System to All Practices
[09/11/07] Based on the results of a successful three-month pilot program in its New York office, the Philadelphia-based international law firm of Blank Rome LLP is expanding the application of RFID for file tracking throughout its practice areas in its Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., offices and in other offices with large concentrations of files, reports 3M, the firm’s RFID system provider.Blank Rome joins Fulbright & Jaworski and Fish & Richardson among major law firms that have begun firm-wide use of the 3M RFID Tracking System following pilot programs.
Karen Jablonski, senior director of operations for Blank Rome, says the firm chose its real estate practice in New York as a test case, applying RFID tags to more than 5,000 client files. In addition to substantially improving the speed and efficiency of locating and retrieving files, the system has dramatically reduced the time and effort required to conduct inventory, says Jablonski.
The firm’s intellectual property practice, centered in its Washington office, soon will undergo the tagging process in preparation for adoption of the new system. The same process already has been underway for all practices in its Philadelphia home office. Founded in 1946, Blank Rome serves a broad range of industries in more than two dozen fields of practice.
Keeping track of physical case files represents a costly and time-consuming problem for law firms, especially in practice areas in which files tend to pass rapidly among attorneys. RFID tracking systems employ a microchip and tiny antenna implanted in a tag, which is attached to a file, in much the same way as a barcode would be attached. A major difference,however, is that an RFID tag transmits its information to a tracking device using radio waves, and therefore no line of sight is required between the tag and the tracker.
The 3M RFID Tracking System can stand alone or be integrated into existing records management systems. For many applications, RFID is easier to use, more accurate and more cost effective than other inventory tracking systems. RFID makes it easier to take frequent inventories, and provides employees with a simple file check-in and check-out process that assures high compliance.
Joal Storm, marketing development manager, 3M Track and Trace Solutions, observes that the 3M RFID File Tracking System is finding a growing number of applications beyond law firm practices. “This important new tool is already being embraced by corporate patent departments, university administrators, medical service providers and insurance companies, as well as federal and county government agencies, all of which face similar issues with respect to file tracking and retrieval,” she says. “A great deal of time and money, not to mention frustration, can be saved with this technology.”
The 3M RFID Tracking System is among the comprehensive, practical and easy to use Track and Trace solutions that 3M provides for customers in diverse markets, including health care; safety and security; aerospace and government; oil and gas; process industries; supply chain; construction and utilities; libraries and legal. Utilizing RFID, GPS and RTLS technologies, 3M’s asset management, protection, and utilization solutions enable customers to reliably and accurately track and manage high-value assets. Unlike similar offerings, based on components rather than complete solutions, 3M Track and Trace is designed with full implementation in mind, deploying the right solution, with the right technology, suited for the customer.
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