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Making a Case for Management
For years, the profession has been hearing about the growing importance of
case management. Unfortunately, seldom has anyone bothered to describe just what
"case management" is. In fact, it appears that anyone who writes software for
lawyers wants their product to fall within the outstretched arms of "case
management."
This article will define "case management" in a meaningful way, and describe
the various forms it can take in a variety of practices.
Traditionally, any computer program that is designed to give lawyers greater
control over their case load can be considered a "case management" program.
Again we are faced with the problem that almost any program meets the
definition.
A better definition of "case management" would be "a 'process’ by which a
lawyer moves his or her work product from inception, through development, to
delivery to or for the benefit of a client.
Note that this definition is devoid of any qualitative standards. It is
purely administrative. This is not to say that quality suffers when cases are
"managed." On the contrary, good case management precludes sloppy work in many
areas. And, as you will see, case management provides a means for building
quality into a practice. However, the quality ultimately flows from the lawyer.
Under this definition of "case management" there are four separate and
distinct tasks, or components, that must be woven into a smoothly functioning,
"transparent," system. These are:
C Docket/Calendar Control,
C Client/Case Database,
C Document Assembly
C Document Management.
The specifications of each of these components, and the extent to which they
are "integrated," determine the usefulness of the system.
Docket/Calendar Control
Most lawyers opt for simplicity over functionality when adopting a calendar
system. In doing so, they unwittingly sacrifice a 5% discount on Bar Plan
professional liability insurance premiums, because such systems lack an
"automatic" tickler feature. Unless the lawyer can show that he or she, or the
firm, has a written policy dictating that every critical date be preceded by two
reminders, or "ticklers," they are technically ineligible for the discount.
An example of a popular program that falls into this category is the
Appointment Calendar that is a part of WordPerfect Office. While this program is
indeed useful and easy to learn and use, and has many desirable features, its
lack of automatic ticklers keeps it from qualifying for the discount.
At the other end of the spectrum are programs like CompuLaw’s Advanced
Docket. This program allows for up to six automatic ticklers, which are
determined during the setup of the program by defining the critical event and
specifying for each tickler how many days in advance the lawyer will be reminded
of the impending event.
Another useful feature is the "court rule"--a sort of "template" that
automatically schedules events that are ancillary to, and calculated relative
to, a "master" or "key" date. These are also called "calendar plans,"
"scheduling macros," "event templates," and a variety of other names.
For example: A trial setting may be preceded by witness interviews ten days
before trial, assembly of exhibits and source documents no less than seven days
before trial, completion of legal research at least three days before trial, and
the filing of a notice of appeal no more than 20 days after judgment. One can
assume that each of the tasks is preceded by two or more ticklers. With this
feature, all the related events, as well as their ticklers, are automatically
scheduled as soon as the trial date is entered into the system. Assuming two
ticklers for each event, entering a trial date triggers at least 15 entries, one
date and two ticklers for each of five events, (including the trial itself).
More importantly, a change in the trial date automatically reschedules all
the dependant dates and ticklers. Finally, these sophisticated systems are set
up with rules governing how to treat dates that fall on weekends and holidays,
and alerts to notify the lawyer that a rule is being invoked and asking whether
he or she wants it followed.
Client/Case Database
Regardless of definition, any case management system should have some sort of
database containing information about clients and cases.
At its skimpiest, such a database is little more than an electronic Rolodex.®
Many lawyers use a Personal Information Manager (PIM) for this purpose. Among
the popular programs in this category are Act!, TeleMagic, Ecco, and Sidekick.
Some of these, such as Act!, include their own word processing module, a simple
calendar, and a limited number of user-definable fields that can contain
information such as the date and nature of an injury, attending physician, etc.
At the other end of the spectrum are practice-specific databases. These are
often extremely complex, "relational" databases with several files, each
relating to a different aspect of a case.
For example, in a workers compensation system there may be an accident file,
client file, insured party file, plaintiff’s insurance file, defendant’s
insurance file, etc. An estate planning system may have a testator’s file,
investment file, insurance file, personal representative file, etc.
This complexity is accompanied by the added convenience of having virtually
every aspect of a case instantly available. Traditional "files" are merely
repositories for original documents and evidence, and are dragged out and
organized just before trial.
Document Assembly
A lawyer looking for truly dramatic cost savings weds the client/case
database to the forms regularly used in his or her practice with a document
assembly "engine." This is a class of program that matches the information
contained in the database with the "blanks" in a (primarily) boilerplate
document.
In its most useful incarnations, the document assembly system typically can
generate all the pleadings required by court rules, (and many that aren’t), on
demand, and with just the press of a key.
The specifics of document assembly are too complex for a full treatment in
this article. It is sufficient to say that this kind of technology is the most
difficult to implement, but has the biggest payback.
Document Management
Document management can almost be considered "optional" for small firms. Most
such firms adopt a method of organizing their word processing files that they
are comfortable with. However, as a practice grows, the ability to locate
pertinent documents quickly becomes much more difficult.
Most case management systems have some provision for organizing the documents
it produces with it’s document assembly function. Seldom do these document
management "modules" measure up to the functionality of true document management
systems, such as PC Docs or Worldox. Nevertheless, they are more than adequate
for most small firms.
Which case management system is "best?"
This is like asking "Which car is best?" There is no answer. The cost of a
sophisticated system is easily justified where the caseload is heavy in a given
area of practice. Such a system would be "total overkill" for a general
practitioner with an "emphasis" on a particular type of law.
Sophisticated word processing programs, such as WordPerfect and Microsoft
Word have features that can be used to build very effective systems, especially
when used in conjunction with simple file managers or personal information
managers (PIMs).
In between there are myriad systems that offer some or all of the elements of
a case management system. However, the holy grail of totally integrated,
easy-to-learn and use, idiot-proof software still does not exist. The only thing
you can do to protect yourself is learn as much as possible about the features
available, how they are implemented (this is most important), and how they meet
your particular needs.
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