Mr. Rod Welch
rodwelch@pacbell.net
The Welch Company
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111 2496
..
Subject:
CaseMap 4 Software for Case Management
Dear Rod,
CaseSoft [see FYI below]
has a series of products intended to provide information support
for legal cases.
..
Since some features of SDS are predicated on legal practice, some of the
features incorporated in these products might prove of interest.
..
What caught my attention in this newsletter was their
integration with Adobe
Acrobat (pdf) files. ..
The Plug-in also automatically creates an entry in the fact's Source(s)
field that's linked back
to the specific page and line in the Acrobat file.
Later, as you view the fact in CaseMap, one click of the source will reopen
the linked file in Acrobat and select the proper section of the document.
..
Here is a proof-of-concept that there is a way to do this sort of thing.
Their intent in this case is much like ours - to provide links into the
content of originating documents. This renews my interest in attempting to
do similar things.
..
The pdf files on features called out in the newsletter may prove of
interest.
Interested in a simple idea for making the most of client interviews (one
that doesn't even require the use of our products)?
Please read 5 below.
..
Use Adobe Acrobat PDF files? Get our Send to CaseMap Acrobat PDF Plug-in
for free. Again, details below.
CaseSoft FYI
is our monthly e-mail newsletter providing updates and tips for
CaseMap, TimeMap, NoteMap, and TextMap users. To unsubscribe, follow the
instructions at the bottom of this message.
TimeMap makes it incredibly simple to create timeline graphs -- so
simple that you can use these charts in dozens of new ways. Many
TimeMap users now create graphs that illustrate the flow of depositions,
hearings, etc., preceding trial. This type of timeline is great for
communicating with both client and trial team.
..
Click here to see an example of this type of visual ...
If you're not using TimeMap already, please visit www.casesoft.com to
learn more about this tool and to check out the full-featured trial
version.
..
Learning the New Features in CaseMap 4
CaseMap 4 is already hard at work at 1000s of firms and government
organizations.
..
The best way to learn the new features in CaseMap 4 is to read "What's
New in CaseMap 4" and "What Went Where in CaseMap 4," a document that
explains which CaseMap 3 features have been moved, renamed, or
eliminated in CaseMap 4.
..
You'll find both of these topics on CaseMap 4's Help menu. You can also
obtain PDF versions of these document by clicking ...
Using CaseMap 4's Live Spell Checking & AutoCorrect Features
CaseMap 4 offers live spell checking just like that found in today's
word-processing programs. As you type, CaseMap flags any words not found
in one of the on-line dictionaries. Right-clicking words underlined with
red wavy lines displays a pop-up menu with suggestions for possible
corrections.
..
To increase the effectiveness of CaseMap 4's spell-checking feature,
we've procured a legal-term dictionary and a medical-term dictionary.
When you install CM4, these dictionaries are automatically placed on
your computer along with the standard American English dictionary. The
legal-term dictionary is on by default, the medical-term dictionary can
be turned on by clicking Spelling and Autocorrect Options on CaseMap 4's
Tools menu.
..
CaseMap 4 offers AutoCorrect, another feature found in word-processors,
but rare in database programs. As you type, CM4's AutoCorrect feature
can fix common typing errors. For example, if you type "teh," CaseMap
automatically corrects this transposition error, replacing it with
"the." CaseMap 4 also corrects dual capitals typed accidentally at the
beginning of word.
..
High Stakes Case? How About a CaseMap Jump-Start Session at Your
Offices?
Are you using CaseMap to work up a high stakes matter? If so, you may
want to consider having a member of CaseSoft's Support Staff visit for a
daylong case file jump-start session.
..
We'll work with your team to customize the case file and to get the cast
of characters, issue outline, and fact chronology rolling. We'll also
provide case-specific training.
..
These daylong sessions are $1500 plus travel expenses. If you're
interested in learning more about this offering or setting up a session
for a particular case, please contact our Training and Support Manager,
Julie Parker, at (904) 273-5000 x246 or jparker@casesoft.com.
..
Get Our "Send To CaseMap" Acrobat PDF Plug-in For Free
Do you use PDF files? If so, you may be interested in our free "Send To
CaseMap" Plug-in for Acrobat.
..
The Plug-in works with the full version of Acrobat and with the free
Acrobat Reader. It requires CaseMap 3.2 or later, but it works better
with CaseMap 4 (only kidding).
..
Here's what the Acrobat Plug-in does:
If an Acrobat file contains text, use the text selection tool to select
a text chunk of interest and, with one click, send it to an open CaseMap
case as a new fact. The Plug-in also automatically creates an entry in
the fact's Source(s) field that's linked back to the specific page and
line in the Acrobat file. Later, as you view the fact in CaseMap, one
click of the source will reopen the linked file in Acrobat and select
the proper section of the document.
..
The Plug-in also works when the Acrobat file contains images, but not
the associated text. When you find a page containing an important fact,
click the "Send To CaseMap" button our Plug-in adds in Acrobat. A new
fact is created in CaseMap with a source that's linked back to the
proper page in the Acrobat file. Please note that as there's no text in
the Acrobat file that can be sent to CaseMap as the fact entry, the Fact
Text cell will be empty. You'll need to enter your own synopsis of the
fact in CaseMap.
..
The Plug-in is available at ...
In addition to these new links with Adobe Acrobat, CaseMap already links
to these other excellent litigation support tools: Summation,
Concordance, LiveNote, e-transcript binder, TrialDirector, Sanction,
Doculex, IPRO, and Opticon.
..
The Benefits of CaseSoft Extended Maintenance
Is your organization on our Extended Maintenance Plan? Being on
CaseSoft Extended Maintenance offers numerous benefits, including some
new features we've added for 2003.
..
-- Simplicity: One critical advantage of Extended Maintenance is that it
saves the time and energy needed to make separate purchase decisions
regarding each upgrade, each phone training, and each support call.
..
-- Free Product Upgrades: When you firm is on our Maintenance Plan, all
upgrades are provided at no-charge. While our development plans for
2003 have not been finalized, we're expecting to release a number of
important upgrades in the coming year.
..
-- No-charge Phone Support: Maintenance covers the cost of all support
inquiries by you and your users.
..
-- Phone Training, Even For License Transfers: When you're on Extended
Maintenance all users are eligible for no-charge phone training
sessions, even when you're transferring an existing license to a new
user. If you're not on Maintenance, phone training for license
transfers is $200 per session.
..
-- Free Advanced Training at CaseSoft Florida Offices: In 2003, firms on
Extended Maintenance are eligible to send one or more staff members to
our Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Headquarters for a day of Advanced
CaseMap training. We'll waive the normal $1500 fee for this session.
..
Cost: CaseMap Annual Maintenance is $120 per user license. Annual
Maintenance for TimeMap, TextMap, and NoteMap is $50 per user license.
Please contact us at (904) 273-5000 for a Maintenance quotation on your
organization's licenses.
..
Client Interview Best Practice: Make Them Open-Ended
Here's a surefire way to make the most of client interviews: treat the
interview as open-ended.
..
Rushing is both the most common flub made when conducting client
interviews and the most critical one. Rushed interviews leave treasure
buried and minefields uncharted. Rushed interviews can leave clients
wondering if they made the right choice for counsel.
..
The rushed interview is typically the byproduct of thinking of the
interview as a one-time, closed-ended event, e.g., the interview is
Friday from 10-12. Big mistake. This approach means that the schedule
drives the interview, when the interview should drive the schedule. The
best interviews are open-ended -- they continue until they reach a
natural conclusion -- a complete map of the critical case knowledge the
client possesses.
..
Another major cause of rushed interviews is simply underestimating the
time required to accomplish the task. This problem is easily rectified.
Approximate the hours needed to conduct a detailed review of the
client's case knowledge. Then double your estimate. Use this inflated
figure to set the expectations for your team and your client. Tell them
the interview process may wrap up before you've used all the hours in
your estimate, but given the importance of the interview, you want to
budget plenty of time. You should also point out that you take an
open-ended approach to interviewing and that, as such, your estimate may
prove to be low, not high.
..
Most clients believe the initial time they spend with you to be a
critical step in developing the hardest-hitting case and, as such, are
only too glad to let the interview process take whatever time you deem
necessary. When that's not the case, setting client expectations re the
length of the interview process keeps them from trying to rush due to
their own busy schedule, due to a self-defeating desire to hide
weaknesses in their case, or penny-wise/pound-foolish desire to limit
billable hours.
..
Don't expect the interview to be completed in a single sitting. Plan to
hold two or more sessions. The final meeting should be devoted to
recapping the evidence the client has provided. Holding a separate
session for this important task gives you time to organize the knowledge
you've gleaned from the client and to do that most important part of
your job -- thinking -- before you follow up with the client.
..
Determine how many meetings may be needed by taking your inflated
estimate of hours the interview will require and dividing it by three.
Why three? Because you'll conduct the interview in three-hour chunks.
Anything less and you don't have time to get into the flow of the
interview. Anything more and the quality of the knowledge you obtain
plummets as participants fatigue. Schedule the appropriate number of
interview sessions with your client. Keep the dates for the sessions
close together so you'll minimize the time needed to get back into the
flow of the interview.
..
Please try this double-time and opened-ended approach in your next
client interview. We bet you'll end up with a far better understanding
of the case and an improved plan of attack. You'll also show your
clients just how serious you are about their case.
..
Organizing Case Issues in CaseMap
Use CaseMap's Issue spreadsheet to create an outline of the major
disputes at the heart of the litigation. Once you've developed this
issue outline, the facts, documents, and witnesses organized elsewhere
in CaseMap can be linked to your issues, making it easy to assess the
evidence that bears on each key case dimension.
..
Here are some pointers for building your issue hierarchy:
-- Create an initial Issue Outline as soon as you start your CaseMap
file. You'll find it useful when educating your client and others on the
trial team. And you'll find it an aid when developing a discovery plan.
..
-- The major claims in the case and the elements required to prove each
claim should be the foundation of your CaseMap issue outline. Have the
latest Amended Complaint and Amended Answer handy when you create your
outline structure in CaseMap.
..
-- It's common for different members of the trial team to see the issues
differently. Distribute copies of your initial issue outline to
everyone on the trial team for feedback. Get buy-in on the basic issue
outline before you start the process of linking facts to issues.
..
-- When you're early in case preparation, keep the issue hierarchy
simple - no more than two levels deep. If your initial outline is three
or more levels deep, it's likely you'll be spending unnecessary time
reworking the outline as case thinking evolves.
..
-- When naming case issues, use the same nickname you'd use when
discussing the issue with other members of the trial team. For example,
would you ask someone, "What did you discover about the Did Smith
Defraud Jones issue today?" No way. You'd say, "What did you discover
about the Fraud issue today?" "Fraud" should be the name of the issue
in CaseMap.
..
-- If you want to capture a formal statement of the issue, one that
parallels what you expect to appear on the verdict form or special
interrogatory, enter this statement in the Issue spreadsheet's
Description field.
..
-- Most cases contain a number of key factual disputes. These are often
the lynchpins in the factfinder's analysis of the case, i.e., if the
factfinder resolves the dispute your way, the case goes your way. List
key factual disputes as issues (if logical, list them as a sub-issue of
the major claim on which they bear). This strategy makes it easy to
organize the facts that tend to prove or disprove your view of each
critical factual dispute.
..
-- Don't limit your issue outline to those issues tied directly to some
legal claim. Include any important topic that might influence juror
thinking. For example, if you are working for the defense in a products
case, you might want to include a Plaintiff Greed issue. Even though
you would never explicitly make such an argument, it would be
interesting to see what facts point to plaintiff greed, allowing jurors
to reach such a conclusion on their own.
..
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
The CaseSoft Support Team
support@casesoft.com
(904) 273-5000