Litigation Databases for Dummies - Part One
Dawn Crider
CLA
Although it looked like an almost impossible task, I slowly begin learning and using a database program on the first case assigned to me. It was a very time consuming process in the beginning; however, many valuable hours were later saved that would have otherwise been spent reviewing, searching and retrieving documents. After about a year, the case went to trial and I discovered that I had fairly successfully used the database from the beginning to the end. It was an eye-opening experience. Times have changed considerably since then and almost all legal assistants are required to be computer-literate. I am grateful that my supervising attorney pushed me to learn how to use databases. Without his persistence, I might today not know the benefits of computer litigation support.
Abstract databases are those in which specific information is pulled from each document and entered into categories or fields that you have created when designing the database. Abstract databases are the most commonly used litigation databases because they allow the legal assistant to easily locate a document or group of documents very quickly if abstracted accurately. An abstract database will not pull up the entire document on your computer screen, but it will give you the information you need to quickly find and pull the hard copy of the document if you need it. This article primarily contains helpful information relating to abstract databases.
If you do not have experience with databases, I recommend you contact a litigation legal assistant who is experienced before you purchase software. It is important to contact as many legal assistants as you possibly can that have experience with full-text and abstract databases and the brand(s) of software your firm or client is considering. The most important person to speak to is the legal assistant; not the lawyer, not the litigation computer support personnel, and not the software salesperson. Each member of a trial team has his or her own perspective as to how well
the database functioned and worked for their case. The person who has the most knowledge about certain software functions that would affect YOU, is the legal assistant.
Some of the questions you may want to ask:
Most litigation sections of large, metropolitan law firms employ legal assistants who are familiar with and have used all types of litigation databases. These are the people to contact. If you do not know anyone personally, contact your local legal assistant association. These individuals will most likely know of someone you can contact.
Step 1. Know your case. Before you can build a database that will work for you, you must thoroughly know your case. It is imperative for you to spend as much time as you need studying all aspects of the case. You must also have a thorough knowledge of all legal issues involved in the specific case as well as the law in general. The procedure on how to get to know your case, of course, depends upon how your trial team works. If you are involved in a case that
is so document-intensive that you are considering hiring temporary personnel to help summarize and input documents into the database, it is essential that temporary workers get educated as well as anyone else with the facts and details of your case. Temporary personnel can help immensely; however, it is critical that they know the case as well as anyone. As the word "temporary" reflects, the people you have working for you one day may be gone the next. Tip: Videotape your presentation or orientation to your temporary personnel, so that when new people arrive, they can simply watch the videotape and ask questions later. You will find this extremely helpful dealing with turnover of personnel.
Step 2. Know your documents. What type of documents are you dealing with? Are there many duplications? Before you begin summarizing these documents, spend time reviewing them to determine ways of handling them. For example, are you representing a corporate client whose CFO distributed the same memo to various individuals down the corporate ladder? Duplicates should be identified and consolidated so as to eliminate littering your database with the same information over and over again. Remember, however, that a document containing handwritten notes is not a duplicate of the same document that does not contain notes. These documents should not be eliminated, but you should reference the similarities somewhere in your database.
Are there large groups of documents that can be assembled together in a single entry in your database? For example, I once worked on a case involving a computer manufacturer. Among the hundreds of boxes of documents were thousands and thousands of change orders, purchase orders and other similarly repetitive documents. It would have been a waste of time and client money to have summarized each change order. I did foresee the possibility, however, that these change orders may become important to the case. Instead of summarizing each change order, I grouped them together and simply summarized them as one record called "change orders." Since the bates number range was included in the database, I was able to quickly retrieve the change orders if they later become important to the case.
Step 3. Information to include in your database. The most important information to capture for your database is: document number, date, and names. With this information alone, you can probably find 90% of the documents your attorney needs. The more information you include in your database, the more detailed it will be. It is important to keep in mind, however, that detail does not always make the best database. The more information you include, the more time consuming the input will be. The more keystrokes it takes to include all the information you desire, the more likely mistakes will be made. It is important to weigh the desire for detail against the time it will take to complete your database and the likelihood of mistakes. Ask yourself and your attorney what you wish to accomplish in this database. The location of a key piece of paper from a sea of documents is the most common function of a database. Collecting documents for the examination of a witness is another key function of a database. Ask yourself if all the detail is important or necessary to justify its inclusion. Also, keep in mind that every case is different; therefore, the information you included in one case database may not be the best for the next.
In Part Two of this article, to be published in June, 1997, I will discuss what specific types of information should be included in your database, how to set it up, and how to search it once the information is all in.
TEXAS PARALEGAL JOURNAL
Spring 1997
©1997 Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas