electronic Filing & Service for Courts

St. Paul Minnesota's Ramsey County District Court Moves to Electronic Filing

Ramsey County District Court Moves to Electronic Filing with LexisNexis(r) File & Serve

Selection makes Ramsey County the first Minnesota court to incorporate electronic filing for civil cases

DAYTON, Ohio, May 11, 2006 - LexisNexis U.S. today announced that the Second Judicial District in Ramsey County, Minnesota, has implemented a pilot project involving the LexisNexis(r) File & Serve system to manage electronic filing and service. LexisNexis is a leading provider of information and services solutions.

The effort to bring electronic filing to Minnesota was led by Judge Michael DeCourcy of the Second Judicial District along with Civil Court Administrator Lynae Olson. "LexisNexis File & Serve helps us meet our objective to continually improve the litigation process," said Judge DeCourcy. "We expect to increase our ability to manage what is the largest caseload of complex litigation in the state. Not only will there be better access to case information, but we will spend less time pushing paper and more time making decisions and resolving cases."

Ms. Olson cited experience as a key factor in choosing File & Serve. "We selected LexisNexis File & Serve because of our experience with the service area of the system, implemented two years ago under the direction of Judge DeCourcy as well. Attorneys who had been using the system for electronic service also expressed a high level of satisfaction with it", she said.

With its selection of the File & Serve system, the Ramsey County District Court becomes the first court in Minnesota to incorporate electronic filing for civil cases. Ramsey County covers the city of St. Paul and surrounding area. The File & Serve system will initially be used with the court's civil asbestos litigation cases.

File & Serve addresses the issue of managing the overwhelming amount of paper generated in litigation, by providing the court with a streamlined process for automated docketing and real-time online access to filed documents. The system also provides links to LexisNexis legal citations directly from the documents submitted through the application. Attorneys benefit from the File & Serve system by gaining easier access to court documents and the ability to electronically file documents with the court.

File & Serve enables attorneys to deliver documents to the court online instead of using couriers or runners. The court clerks review the submitted documents online and forward those to the judge. The judge in turn reviews the documents and is able to issue court orders back out to the attorneys through the File & Serve system. Automated email alerts keep the court and attorneys up-to-date on new activity in the cases, and an online case file is created for easy access to documents.

"We continue to see strong demand for File & Serve as an online service for courts," said Michele Vivona, vice president and general manager, LexisNexis Litigation Services. "Because we develop the application and host the system, there is little to no financial cost to the court or the county. The benefits of electronic filing extend throughout the legal system. Judges have better access to information, clerks get a more efficient process, and attorneys improve the delivery of documents," she added.

File & Serve has electronic filing and/or service projects in jurisdictions in 26 states and has well over one million cases online. Today, there are nearly 70,000 judges, clerks, attorneys and other legal professionals nationwide who have been registered to use the service. File & Serve is offered to law firms through the new LexisNexis(r) Litigation Services, which provides strategic insight and greater control throughout the litigation process.

LexisNexis File & Serve Provides Courts With Integrated Redaction Capability

Monday May 8, 2006
New Feature Controls Disclosure of Sensitive Information in Litigation Documents

DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2006--There is a growing concern by governments, the judicial community and the general public about the exposure of sensitive information in documents associated with litigation. The LexisNexis® File & Serve electronic filing and service system has addressed this concern with the introduction of integrated redaction capabilities. LexisNexis U.S. is a leading provider of information and services solutions.

The File & Serve system has always allowed redacted documents to be up-loaded, with the sensitive information "blacked out." With the new integrated capabilities, File & Serve now gives courts the ability to redact information in documents that have been filed electronically, including scanned documents. The original un-redacted version remains available only to case participants and the court, and the redacted version is available to the general public. By giving the courts the ability to redact information, a final layer of protection is provided to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information.

"Adding integrated redaction allows File & Serve to respond to a growing court need that was not being met," said Michele Vivona, vice president and general manager, LexisNexis Litigation Services. "Courts are inundated with requests for access to public records, but a lot of those records still contain sensitive information. The only way for the court to comply is to manually redact those documents.

"File & Serve now offers a more efficient way to manage that information and preserve the integrity of the original document," she added.

This integrated redaction capability for the courts further limits the opportunities for the inadvertent or intentional exposure of sensitive information, such as social security numbers, the names of minors and victims, and confidential propriety information. It will provide the general public with a greater sense of security as well, reducing the chances for violation of privacy and the incidence of identity theft.

"What makes the addition of this feature unique is the way it is integrated with the e-filing application," said Robin Castro, vice president, LexisNexis File & Serve. "Court clerks can add redaction to a document during the intake process as well as redact content from documents that have already been filed and stored in the system. And both the redacted and un-redacted versions are retained as part of the online case file."

LexisNexis File & Serve gives courts and law firms better access to information and more control over case file management. The File & Serve service provides automated docketing and real-time online access to filed documents and the online case file. The service also provides links to legal citations through the Lexis® service from directly within the application, giving judges and attorneys a convenient approach to researching their cases. Attorneys further benefit by eliminating the physical delivery of documents to the court and opposing counsel.

File & Serve has electronic filing and/or service projects in jurisdictions in 26 states and has well over one million cases online. Today, there are nearly 70,000 judges, clerks, attorneys and other legal professionals nationwide who have been registered to use the service. File & Serve is offered to law firms through LexisNexis® Litigation Services, which provides strategic insight and greater control throughout the litigation process.

eFiling Launches in 'Paradise': Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

LexisNexis File & Serve launches the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court.

A couple of pictures of the CNMI Superior Court clerk staff and IT staff:

West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Chooses LexisNexis File & Serve

DAYTON , OH, April 03, 2006 - Joining a growing number of high courts across the country to recognize electronic filing as a “best practice,” LexisNexis U.S. today announced that the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has selected the LexisNexis® File & Serve system to manage electronic filing and service. The system is scheduled to go live before summer 2006.
According to LexisNexis, a leading provider of information and services solutions, File & Serve will provide the West Virginia Supreme Court with electronic filing of appeals, automated docketing and real-time online access to filed documents. File & Serve also provides direct links to LexisNexis legal citations, giving the court a more convenient approach for researching cases.

“Electronic filing with File & Serve will enable our court to operate more efficiently and give the justices and the attorneys more convenient access to documents for cases on appeal,” said Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis, who, along with the other members of the Court, was instrumental in the decision to move to electronic filing. File & Serve will be integrated with the court’s case management system to enable auto-docketing, and it will be initially launched for worker’s compensation cases, the largest case type heard by the court.

Attorneys with cases in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will also benefit with easier access to court documents and the ability to electronically serve documents on opposing counsel. All of this, according to Clerk of Court Rory L. Perry, will further support the use of technology in the courtroom. “Adding LexisNexis File & Serve to the court is part of our ongoing effort to address the needs of our constituents and use technology to improve the management of the appeals process,” he said.

File & Serve gives courts and law firms greater control over case file management. With a robust and secure infrastructure, File & Serve provides improved access to case documents and streamlines the intake process. Online clerk review and judicial action improve court operations, while the online document repository enhances care, custody and control. Law firms benefit from improved document access, automated case monitoring, and the elimination of the physical delivery of paper.

“We are very excited to add the West Virginia Supreme Court to the online File & Serve community,” said Michele Vivona, vice president and general manager, LexisNexis Litigation Services. “File & Serve has been very successful with trial courts across the country, and we continue to expand e-filing at the influential appellate level.”

File & Serve is used in jurisdictions in 25 states, including statewide in Colorado and Delaware. For large and small law firms in these jurisdictions, the service is now available as part of LexisNexis® Litigation Services, the company’s overarching offering of complete litigation solutions.

10 Great Tips for Successfully Implementing eFiling: #10

10. FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Start now! Too many projects are delayed by unnecessary impediments. There is no perfect project plan, and there are no perfect solutions. The sooner the court implements e-filing the sooner the judicial and legal community will realize the benefits. There will be time to make adjustments and changes, and your e-filing can serve as a model for other court technology efforts. It is a “gateway” project that delivers digital documents to the court, improves access to information, and streamlines the intake process.

Thanks to: Travis Olson is the national director for LexisNexis® File & Serve Implementation. He has advised courts and attorneys across the country on how to implement e-filing and has successfully implemented projects in several states. Olson is also an attorney.

10 Great Tips for Successfully Implementing eFiling: #9

9. ONGOING EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION IS CRUCIAL TO SUCCESSFUL E-FILING.

Evaluating an e-filing implementation requires looking critically at what is happening in the project and making a judgment about its value, worth, or benefit. Evaluation is important because it can indicate:
• How the implementation is going.
• What effect it is having.
• What changes we need to make to improve it.
Often people involved in the project can feel threatened by the thought of evaluation as it may suggest criticism by others. However, the essence of evaluation is not to lay blame or fault on people, but to find ways of doing things better and to show what has gone well. Evaluation is a positive process and should involve those who will be impacted. Not all metrics need to rely on external monitoring and instead can be built into the normal workflow. That way those involved in process can be involved in measuring its success and making corrections where necessary. Also remember that different stakeholders may have different expectations or interests to be met or preserved. And make sure to include your external users where appropriate, such as attorneys, paralegals, and law firm secretaries in the evaluation.

Thanks to: Travis Olson is the national director for LexisNexis® File & Serve Implementation. He has advised courts and attorneys across the country on how to implement e-filing and has successfully implemented projects in several states. Olson is also an attorney.

10 Great Tips for Successfully Implementing eFiling: #8

8. WEIGHING THE DECISION TO BUILD OR TO WORK WITH A VENDOR.

While the federal e-filing system is a government owned and run operation, state jurisdictions face a different environment
— lacking the resources and sometimes the skills to develop and manage a multimillion dollar complex enterprise application. In reviewing state e-filing projects, it appears that based on the number of registered users and number of documents filed and served, those states that contract for an Application Service Provider (ASP) model are the most successful.
Court IT organizations are increasingly partnering to meet their technology project needs instead of building their own applications. Driven by the need to deliver new technologies faster, the risk of project failure, and the increasing rate of change in technology, court administrators and clerks of court face significant risks when building their own systems.
To help assess the scope of the projects, there are generally nine steps to which you should assign costs when weighing the decision to build in-house, acquire a system, or work with an ASP. These steps include: initiation, planning, research, evaluation, development/implementation, operation, support, maintenance and upgrades. It is suggested that you weigh all options against these factors before proceeding.

Thanks to: Travis Olson is the national director for LexisNexis® File & Serve Implementation. He has advised courts and attorneys across the country on how to implement e-filing and has successfully implemented projects in several states. Olson is also an attorney.

LexisNexis File & Serve Surpasses One Million Online Cases

Major Milestone Indicative of Market's Acceptance and Growing Adoption of Electronic Filing by Courts and Litigators

DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2006--LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of information and services solutions, announced today that a significant milestone was reached this month by its electronic filing division. LexisNexis® File & Serve surpassed one million cases in its electronic filing and service system.

LexisNexis File & Serve is an Internet-based service provided to courts and law firms to enable the electronic exchange - filing and service - of legal documents such as complaints, pleadings, exhibits and proposed orders. By surpassing one million cases online, LexisNexis File & Serve demonstrates the continued acceptance and growing adoption of electronic filing in the market by the courts and, in turn, litigators.

"This is a very important milestone for the courts as well as litigators because it is one more indication that e-filing and e-service are becoming mainstream with the courts and the legal industry," said Michele Vivona, vice president and general manager, LexisNexis Litigation Services. "With support for a wide range of case types - from large multi-party complex litigation like asbestos, to smaller two-party cases like domestic relations - LexisNexis File & Serve is clearly a leader in the e-filing field."

LexisNexis File & Serve gives courts and law firms greater control over case file management. With a robust and secure infrastructure, LexisNexis File & Serve provides improved access to case documents and streamlines the intake process. Online clerk review and judicial action improve court operations, while the online document repository enhances care, custody and control. Law firms benefit from improved document access, automated case monitoring, and the elimination of the physical delivery of paper.

"Over 67,000 judges, clerks, attorneys and other legal professionals nationwide have been registered to use LexisNexis File & Serve," said Robin Castro, vice president, LexisNexis File & Serve. "They file and or serve about 17 million documents each year through LexisNexis File & Serve, and we believe that no other provider comes close in the number of subscribers and transaction volume.
"We expect continued, steady growth in the number of electronically-filed cases as well as the addition of more district and appellate courts around the country and internationally," added Castro.

10 Great Tips for Successfully Implementing eFiling: #7

7. FOUR KEY CRITERIA TO HELP EVALUATE YOUR CURRENT INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE.

Successful implementations of electronic filing must meet four IT criteria: 1) the system must be “scalable,” enabling a multi-phase e-filing implementation to progress smoothly as the total number of users and cases increases; 2) the system must be reliable and available 24/7 for filing; 3) support for the internal users, external users, and technical support for the system must be available 24/7; 4) the system and infrastructure must be secure so that care, custody, and control of the documents can be maintained as well as the privacy of sensitive information.

Thanks to: Travis Olson is the national director for LexisNexis® File & Serve Implementation. He has advised courts and attorneys across the country on how to implement e-filing and has successfully implemented projects in several states. Olson is also an attorney.

LexisNexis Service of Process the Latest Tool in the LexisNexis Suite of Litigation Services

New Online Resource Available Through LexisNexis(R) File & Serve, LexisNexis(R) Total Litigator 1.0

DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2006--Following the successful and highly-anticipated launch of LexisNexis® Total Litigator 1.0 just weeks ago, LexisNexis U.S. today announced the availability of LexisNexis® Service of Process, the latest addition to the company's suite of litigation services. LexisNexis is a leading provider of information and services solutions.

LexisNexis Service of Process is a new tool for managing litigation and associated costs more effectively. With this new service, law firms have one online source for fast, reliable service of summonses, complaints, subpoenas and other documents via an established network of process servers. It is available through LexisNexis® File & Serve, an Internet-based service provided to courts and law firms to enable the electronic exchange - filing and service - of legal documents such as complaints, pleadings, exhibits and proposed orders.

LexisNexis Service of Process is also available as part of LexisNexis Total Litigator 1.0, which provides litigation tools, all in one place, built around the way litigation attorneys work. LexisNexis Total Litigator includes a comprehensive suite of services which provides exclusive, relevant content, tools and services when and where litigators need it throughout the litigation lifecycle.

Law firms using LexisNexis Service of Process will realize a wide range of benefits, including:

Quick and accurate service of process: The network of reliable document delivery providers will serve documents on time anywhere in the U.S., with international and rush service available.
Increased control over cost management: LexisNexis File & Serve offers predictable, flat-rate pricing with monthly client/matter coded invoices.
Online placement and tracking of orders: After placing an order using a simple online form or by telephone, orders are easily tracked on the Web or through LexisNexis Service of Process Customer Support.
Flexible options for proof of service: Proof of service is available online with the original proof of service returned via U.S. Mail. Upon request, LexisNexis File & Serve can also file the original with the court via mail.
"With nearly 33 years of serving legal professionals and delivering secure and dependable electronic products and services, LexisNexis is uniquely qualified to provide law firms with a single resource for all of their service of process needs," said Michele Vivona, vice president and general manager, LexisNexis Litigation Services. "With the inclusion of Service of Process in our Total Litigator 1.0 solution, litigators are further assured that they have all of the tools they need to manage their cases effectively from start to finish."

LexisNexis File & Serve is used in jurisdictions across the U.S., including statewide e-filing and e-service in Colorado and Delaware, and gives courts and law firms greater control over case file management. With a robust and secure infrastructure, LexisNexis File & Serve provides improved access to case documents and streamlines the court intake process. Online clerk review and judicial action improve court operations, while the online document repository enhances care, custody and control. Law firms benefit from improved document access, automated case monitoring, and the elimination of the physical delivery of paper.

LexisNexis File & Serve is a component of LexisNexis Total Practice Solutions, the company's overarching offering of complete end-to-end solutions to help lawyers and law firms succeed in the business and practice of law. LexisNexis offerings are designed for the way legal professionals work, in all of the areas essential to their success, including Client Development, Research Solutions, Practice Management, and Litigation Services.