Technology Corner: the Mobile Warrior's Briefcase, Part 1 (organization)
| Publication year | 2019 |
| Author | David M. Lederman |
David M. Lederman
David Lederman is the Immediate Past Chair of the State Bar of California Family Law Section (FLEXCOM). He also served as the Contra Costa County Family Law Section President (and is its current Legislative Director). A Certified Specialist in Family Law since 2001, he is the current Association of Certified Family Law Specialists' Technology Director. Mr. Lederman is a frequent speaker and writer on family law and technology issues and speaks Mandarin.
t's really all about data. Access to information is the foundation of effective advocacy. We include exhibits to support our claims of facts and weave those facts into our declarations. However, anything can happen at court. Evidence we thought of marginal importance can become significant in response to claims made by an adversary. In order to be effective, it is helpful to have quick access to information. To have access to information, we must be organized.
Organization starts in the office. When a document comes into or leaves the office, it must be digitized. Every office should have at least one high speed scanner. Most modern copy machines have a scan function. If you are operating on a shoestring budget, I recommend getting a fast 2-sided desktop scanner and Adobe DC Professional (which is the current professional version). I recommend the Adobe monthly subscription, so that you always have the current updates. Adobe also has an iPad app that allows a person to edit, highlight, and sign documents.
It is easy to scan and lose documents - especially given the volume of data coming into the office on a daily basis. Once you have your documents scanned into your system (server, computer, cloud storage, etc.), you need to organize the documents so that you do not lose them. Your organization methods should be consistent with your mental organization processes. For my office, we developed our digital database around the organizational partitions of our physical files. This is done by creating folders and sub-folders. The main folder structure under a client's name (which is a folder organized by last name, comma, first name), such as Lederman, David. Within that folder, we have at least the following folder entries:
Correspondence (with sub folders for: Drafts, Ours, Theirs);...
Client Pleadings (with subfolders for: Drafts, Partially signed, Control (which are the fully signed documents) and
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