With LexisNexis® File & Serve for Largest Category of Civil Cases
Change Makes Court One of Largest E-Filing Courts is California; Increases Court Efficiency and Public Access
San Francisco, Aug. 31, 2006 - LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of information and litigation support technology, today announced that the Superior Court of San Francisco has instituted mandatory electronic filing using LexisNexis® File & Serve for all documents related to the Court's largest single body of civil cases, asbestos litigation.
The Court instituted electronic filing for asbestos cases on a limited basis with File & Serve in 1998, and decided to expand its use of the technology based on the success of the project.
As a result of the decision, approximately 20 percent of the Court's 400,000 total annual filings will now be received and processed electronically - representing more than 68,000 filings a year. Starting this month, that annual volume of electronic filings will make the San Francisco Superior Court one of the largest e-filing courts in California.
"Over two and a half years ago we recognized that electronic filing created the potential for dramatic savings in storage, time and money for the Court, attorneys and litigants. Now we have accomplished this major change to our system, which preserves valuable resources for other significant Court needs. At the same time, we have improved access to information for attorneys, litigants and the public. This is definitely the wave of the future." said Asbestos General Order Judge Tomar Mason.
"Clearly, the San Francisco Superior Court is on the leading edge of electronic filing in California and nationally, and we are extremely pleased to work with them to expand e-filing for asbestos cases," said Tobias Hartman, vice president and managing director of LexisNexis File & Serve. "The project is a great example of how LexisNexis File & Serve provides courts and law firms more control over case file management-improving delivery of documents while enhancing access to information and increasing efficiency."
The benefits of the expanded electronic filing will be shared between the Court, attorneys filing with the court and the public. Moreover, the benefits delivered by File & Serve are a concrete example of the LexisNexis® Total Practice Solution strategy of providing a complete set of litigation support services.
Technologies such as File & Serve enable fast, secure filing capabilities for attorneys, increased public availability of court documents and a more cost-effective method for safely receiving legal documents for the Court.
Benefits to the Court.
Electronic filing technology offers the Court better access to filed documents. Clerks, judges, administrators and others gain the ability to receive, review and process a greater number of documents, as well as to act on them in a timelier, more efficient manner. Because the amount of paper is reduced with e-filing, the Court also saves money on document storage space and copying costs, as well as reducing staff time required to physically file and retrieve documents. LexisNexis File & Serve saves the courts it works with nationally millions of dollars annually.
Benefits for Litigators.
Litigants gain more control over their filing and service activities. Along with quicker and more cost efficient filing, electronic filing through File & Serve also offers improved case monitoring capabilities and online case files.
Public benefit.
The public benefits from the Court's ability to more efficiently manage documents and reduced costs for document storage and administration. An additional benefit for the public and those tracking asbestos cases the Court hears is that more case documents will be available for public viewing. Based on current trends, the San Francisco Superior Court estimates than through e-filing more than 5,000 more asbestos case documents will be viewable per month.
File & Serve is a customized Internet-based service that provides online delivery and management of public and sealed documents filed with the court and exchanged between attorneys. The service is paid for with transaction fees, so there is no charge to the court. File & Serve is used by more than 70,000 court personnel and legal professionals nationwide who file and serve an estimated 21 million documents annually into more than 1 million cases.
File & Serve is also a key component of LexisNexis® Total Litigator-the only single online destination offering litigation support tools to help attorneys manage cases through each step of the litigation process.
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