Paper. Paper. Paper. We were promised that computers would, in time, eliminate paper. That certainly didn’t come true. But computers can help manage the volumes of information we now distribute on paper. And litigation? Litigation is fueled with haystacks of paper. Finding that needle that turns the screw that makes the case — that is the art. And the science. By the file-full, the box-full, the room-full. Litigators are all too aware of how much paper a trial can create. Your documents, case history, opposing discovery….

And the explosion of electronic communications — email — has increased the volume of documents exponentially. And where is that one key document at the exact moment you need it?

Whether yours is a smaller two-day proceeding or a two-year class action suit, each case and its trial team can benefit from a well-planned system of managing your documents.

What a Wonderful World

How amazing that with today’s technology, after you amass all your paper, you can chose to no longer have to deal with its physical properties. And then, the information contained on those thousands of sheets is there for you to research, sort, highlight and cherry-pick to make your case using your time as a strategic litigator, a wordcraftsman, rather than a paper sorter and (mis)filing clerk.

Turn it all over to a document management company and the end result for you is a web-accessible, key-word searchable database. No shuffling papers. No need to remember which box contains which deposition.

Simply access your database from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and search for the deposed’s name, or search by key words of the testimony. Within moments, the documents you need appear onscreen for you.

Elements of Document Management

Getting from boxes of paper to a searchable database is easier than you may think.

Turning Paper into Images — Scanning

The first order of business is to scan all documents so that they are now digital images in file formats accessible from any computer platform (such as a .tif file). The length and cost of the scanning project greatly depends on the condition of your documents.

Are they mainly loose-leaf and ready to feed into a scanner? Or are they intricately filed, stapled, bound, and full of sticky notes that must be removed and replaced?

Another factor in your project is whether you need every single word of a document available for searching or just main ideas. If you want each word, then the scanning process must include optical character recognition (OCR), which can take a bit longer and add some expense — but the result is that you may later search on any single word in any document.

Making the Documents Key-Word Searchable — Indexing and Coding

As mentioned in the scanning section, you must decide whether you want every word available to your search or just main concepts. Many of the popular litigation software programs such as Sanction and Summation allow your document management team to index and code your items by both objective and subjective fields.

Your service provider can attach names to each item or create descriptive fields or index each word. Each successive level of coding takes more time and costs more. What do your trial team and your budget require?

Storing Your New Digital Documents Securely — Data Repositories

If your scanned documents are not properly filed and stored ina well-managed repository, then you will have no better luck finding a digital document than a paper one. Your custom repository will hold all your case documents, graphics, photographs, video, and any other related case materials.

Each item must be properly and securely stored on a server then logged into a software system that will later allow you to retrieve the document. You must ensure that the servers and software are accessible and available 24 hours a day and that your case files are absolutely locked-down and password protected. Ensure that no one can view your files without authorization.

Accessing Your Documents — Internet or Local Hosting

Before you can begin searching your new repository, you must determine where and when you need access to the information. Is your trial team located at the same address? Will you only need access during regular working hours only from your office? Perhaps your documents can reside on an office computer.

Or, will your trial team have to travel to a different location? Are you collaborating with another firm? Will you want access to your documents in non-working hours and from your hotel room or your home? Do you have a broadly dispersed team of experts, traveling attorneys, co-counsel, local counsel, general counsel, client representatives and paralegals? Then you’ll need secure internet access allowing you to search your documents anytime, anywhere.

Searching and Retrieving Your Information

Your documents have been scanned, coded, added to a repository, and hosted in the right place — finally you can now search and retrieve the documents you need. Search objective or subjective fields or any key word — as your project allows. Put your boxes of paper into storage as necessary and enjoy the luxury of a paperless repository.

Hardware and Software Considerations

Your document management system needs a hardware solution — the server to physically host the files and software interface. And you need the software that allows you to search and access your documents

Your team needs to answer a few questions before making hardware and software decisions.

Chances are that no firm wants to take on IT responsibilities for a multiple “players.” And, with the many different versions of office software, even exchanging basic Microsoft documents can be a headache.

There is another solution. Have your document management partner host the hardware and software solutions.

Hardware

Safe. Fast. Secure. Available. The Data Company’s server environment has the capacity and bandwidth to store small, large, or massive data repositories and serve them up over the Internet fast and safely. And you don’t have to purchase or maintain servers — we do it for you.

Software

Ensure that your document management team’s environment allows you to choose the software of your choice. Don’t get locked into proprietary software that limits your utility. One popular choice is Summation’s iBlaze, which is an open-platform database solution developed specifically for case management and litigation.

Whether you choose Summation or another solution, how many people will need access to the software? Will they likely all access at the same time or at staggered times throughout the day and night? Is your team familiar with the software or do you need some training and support?

The Data Company offers a customized internet-access system called DataLawyer. We can place a wide range of digital information you require on our secure servers including all Windows-based applications. DataLawyer is compatible with all major operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Sun Microsystems, Unix, Linux, and Mac. We can host your document repository along with all the software your team needs to access the data — such as Summation, any of the Microsoft Office products (to ensure you’re all using the same versions), or any other software you need.

You won’t need to buy the software, install it on your computer and then try to log on from another computer that does not have the right resources. The software stays with the files, accessible anytime from anywhere.

You log into DataLawyer through the internet, open the program you need, and work just as if the software were sitting on your desktop. But, you don’t actually purchase the software or worry about maintenance. Similar to a car lease, you only pay for the access you use. And, because many “leases” are on a per-case basis, the costs are recoverable through case fees (which may not be true if you purchase the software directly for your office).

We can provide training on DataLawyer as well as Summation or Sanction and many other popular case management software systems.

 

Other Digital Storage Advantages

With scanning and coding, there is a one-time fee to digitize your file set. After that, you can distribute your file set by copying a single CD-ROM or providing password-protected access to your secure repository. Online storage is significantly less expensive than warehousing multiple hard copy sets at several locations.

And your offsite war room is no longer packed with document boxes. A single CD can hold about 20,000 pages — enough to fill five banker’s boxes. A DVD can hold 120,00 pages — or 30 boxes of data.

You can reduce a room full of paper to a single DVD or to a simple password that accesses your online repository.