Part II: Docket & Court Services
Summary:
JoAnn Buss discussed the work of docket and court services professionals, which she acknowledged is sometimes a mystery to other law firm employees. The main focus is calendar and case maintenance for attorneys. To ensure success, there are four main areas of concern: (1) risk management, (2) information gathering, (3) docketing software considerations, and (4) vendor selection.
Risk management primarily involves the calculation of litigation deadlines and timely communication of those deadlines to attorneys and staff members. While this may seem straightforward, quality control is essential to ensure accuracy so that no deadlines are missed. If possible, it’s best to have a docketing specialist assigned to each case team, and many firms now have staff attorneys or managing attorneys to oversee this work.
Information gathering is essential to assembling the relevant data into the docketing system. A key to this function is to set up delegate email addresses in the docketing software so that notices go to the docketing team, and not just to the case team. This helps ensure that nothing falls between the cracks. Communication with the case team is important to ensure that any documents not required to be filed with the court (e.g., notice of deposition) are entered into the system. Monitoring court dockets via various vendor services is another way to help ensure that all deadlines are captured in the software.
Buss next covered various docketing software considerations. She noted that most firms use rules-based systems that help calculate dates for various matters. However, this approach is not complete or automatic. A member of a docketing team must review case documents and court orders thoroughly to determine if responses are required and then manually enter those deadlines in the docketing system.
Another docketing software consideration is the ability to push notifications to an attorney’s calendar and send periodic reminders via email. The ability to customize these reports and notifications is a nice feature so that you can adapt to various attorney preferences.
Integration between a docketing tool and other firms tools, such as accounting and DMS, can make it much easier to set up and maintain docketing records. Connecting with knowledge management and marketing systems can also be beneficial, since docket records have so much data that can be leveraged for those functions.
Finally, Buss covered some of the major players in the rules-based docketing software area, including CompuLaw/eDockets, CourtAlert, ProLaw, and JuraLaw. There is no single solution that fits the needs of all firms, so it is important to do a thorough review of your needs and select the best option. While these do provide value to docket management and some overlap with other docketing tools, the needs of your firm may dictate your best choice for a full software suite for managing your firms needs.
About the Webinar:
On June 7, 2022, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) hosted a webinar called Demystifying the PACER Services Marketplace, From Docketing to Analytics that helped explain and clarify the service options from various vendors. It was moderated by well-known legal tech journalist Bob Ambrogi, who was joined by a knowledgeable and experienced panel of legal professionals:
Each panelist covered one of the four main categories of PACER-related services offered by various providers: Analytics, Docketing, Tracking & Alerts, and Electronic Case Filing Automation. Due to the number of PACER tools on the market today, it can be confusing when they overlap to truly determine which ones are best for your organization.