File names and document titles turn out to be a big deal. Without proper file names, it’s hard to find the right document.
Where document management systems prevail, lawyers and staff often fail to provide meaningful titles. So much so that you have to wonder how authors will identify their own documents in the future.
Those of us not on a DMS have to name files. I am constantly surprised – and irritated – that so few people name files descriptively. I regularly receive documents from colleagues, vendors, job seekers and others where the file name bears little relation to contents or where someone has saved over a document in spite of very substantial edits. Perhaps others don’t mind living in chaos but when sending documents, it makes sense to use file names that clearly identify the content, author, and date. That certainly helps the recipient – it might even help you.