Solo Practice

Remote deposit for the busy lawyer is not only a tremendous time saver with it's expedience, but also eco-friendly as one no longer needs to make a separate trip to the bank to do check deposits.

What is remote deposit?

Remote deposit refers to the ability to deposit checks into a bank account from one's home or office without having to physically deliver the actual check to the bank. This is typically accomplished by scanning a digital image of a check onto a computer, then transmitting that image to the bank--a practice that became legal in the United States in 2004 when the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (or Check 21 Act) took effect. This service is typically used by businesses, though a remote deposit application for consumers has been developed.^[1] It should not be confused with:

• Direct deposit, which refers to the practice of posting an employee's weekly earnings directly to his or her bank account.
• Online deposit, which refers to a retail banking service allowing an authorized customer to record a check via a web application and have it posted, then mail in the physical check, giving the customer access to the funds before the check clears in the usual way. While this type of service does not involve a scanner nor take advantage of the Check 21 Act, it is also sometimes called remote deposit.

There are banks and companies which offer such services and you may want to explore the possibilities for your own practice.  One such company is USAA.com which offers this service under the name Deposit@Home.

Wachovia presents another very good article on the new age of remote deposits here.

It's worth investigating as I believe more and more institutions will start offering this service as we become more technologically efficient.