“Case management” means different things to different lawyers. For attorneys in transactional practices, it means staying on top of things like the relationships between the parties, keeping track of the versions of documents going back and forth with clients or remembering when to contact clients about renewals. For litigators, case management can include these tasks as well as managing the paper and electronic files that accompany modern litigation, plus analyzing information and determining a case strategy.

The typical case includes the litigants, witnesses, experts, attorneys who represent the parties and others, depending on the nature of the case. Keeping track of the players, their roles and information they provide that supports or hurts your case is one of the main tasks in managing litigation. As cases get more complex, lawyers should consider tools that assist in tracking and managing these relationships and information. Even before accepting a retainer, attorneys may want to use an analysis tool to assess whether the case is worth taking.

Legal cases, like stories, have a beginning, middle and end. The beginning is the start of a relationship between the adversary parties. The defendant may dispute some of the “facts” the plaintiff presents in the complaint. The lawyer determines what issues are being contested and investigates to uncover the facts. This often includes legal research to determine what statutes apply and how the courts have interpreted similar situations. Unfortunately, even small cases can have voluminous documents and keeping track of all this while handling a busy case load is a challenge for even the best organized among us.

Years ago, lawyers gravitated to software based outline tools that allowed lawyers to expand and collapse sections to see the overview or detail of information in a case. While these tools were flexible, they were limited in their utility and didn’t allow lawyers to more closely collaborate with clients.

Latest tools

Fortunately, there are computer based tools that can assist with managing this mass of information. Among the best-known is CaseMap, acquired by LexisNexis in May. CaseSoft, the company that created CaseMap, also has other litigation related tools: TimeMap, TextMap and NoteMap. If, like me, you’ve wondered what these tools can do for you, come along for a tour. Having seen these programs on my clients’ computers, I decided it was time to learn more.

CaseMap 6.0 adds to an already strong tool for entering and viewing case related information. For entering data, you can use either its spreadsheet style screens or import from a wide variety of programs and sources. The latest iteration has added a “Send to CaseMap” button inside Adobe Acrobat as well as most of the leading transcript management and electronic discovery tools. Even better, when these documents are sent to CaseMap, they remain linked to the original passage in the source document.

CaseMap is refreshing both in its power and simplicity. It has five interconnected sections and helps lawyers get started gathering information about potential cases. Before an initial client meeting, you either can use CaseMap to print an Intake Interview using its built-in wizard to guide you through the steps or, even better, email the Intake Interview to the client. The completed interview is formatted so it can be imported into CaseMap.

If you prefer, the Intake Interview can be printed (in Word, not WordPerfect) and the form filled out when discussing the case with the client at the initial meeting or on the telephone. The form asks for the list of people connected to the case and a description of their relationship. It also assists in collecting all the facts, events and rumors surrounding the controversy. The format requires dates so they can be used later as part of a timeline. There’s room to list any pertinent documents and a description of how these are important to the case. The questionnaire ends with a page for clients to note any questions.

The completed form can be imported directly into CaseMap. Afterward, you can view the Report Book, which can be used many ways. For example, you might print it or e-mail it to the client to verify the initial information is correct. The Report Book lists the case by people and entities, fact chronology, document index and client’s questions. This is essentially the same way the software views the case information.

How it works

The program’s help file recommends starting with Objects. If you’ve used Intake Interview, this already has information about the people and companies the client has identified. Objects also can include the initial documents collected or, if further along, those from your adversary. By pressing Insert, more objects may be added to the case file. A right click on any item brings a wealth of tools, such as sending the object (usually a deposition or pleading) to Word or WordPerfect, to a report or to TimeMap or NoteMap, CaseSoft’s other litigation tools.

As issues are identified, they can be listed in the Issues section. Now it’s time to turn to the Facts section, where the basic case information is entered. It’s displayed in a spreadsheet view with columns for date and time, description, source of the information, a column to indicate whether the fact is material, another column to indicate whether the fact is disputed and finally a column that links to an item identified in the Issues section.

Once you’ve collected this information, you can use the program’s tools for sorting, searching and creating reports that are easy to work with. They can be in pdf, word processing or webpage formats so they don’t have to be printed to be useful. If the client asks for an update, you can display a report on the screen for a quick overview. In the latest version, there’s a Statement of Fact feature to assist in preparing a motion for summary judgment based on the data entered.

LexisNexis’ CaseSoft division (www.casesoft.com) also produces TimeMap, TextMap and NoteMap. TimeMap lets you build a graphic chronology. If the case hinges on disputed timelines, this tool may be just the thing to help a jury visualize your client’s version of when events occurred. TextMap assists with deposition management by providing tools to summarize the deposition information. Again, with the links, this information can be shared with CaseMap or TimeMap. Finally, NoteMap is an outlining tool.

Having worked with many programs over the years, one of the things that struck me as I looked at CaseMap is its simplicity of design which makes it both intuitive and flexible in assembling information to analyze a case. Information intake wizards are starting to appear in other popular programs, too. We can only hope manufacturers take some tips from CaseMap to develop more elegant tools that follow the logic and flow of our work.

Carol L. Schlein is president of Law Office Systems in Montclair, a training and consulting firm specializing in law firm automation. Copies of her previous columns are on losinc.com, which also lists upcoming meetings and training classes. For information, e-mail info@losinc.com or check the website. Schlein formerly chaired the Computer and Technology Division of the ABA Law Practice Management Section and can be reached at carol@losinc.com.

Questions for Carol L. Schlein on law office technology may be e-mailed to New Jersey Lawyer at news@njlnews.com or faxed to (908) 226-0165.