Vol. 3, No. 4, Pg. 20. Document Imaging for More Effective Litigation.

• Author: By Brad Slutsky

South Carolina Lawyer

1992.

Vol. 3, No. 4, Pg. 20.

Document Imaging for More Effective Litigation

20Document Imaging for More Effective LitigationBy Brad SlutskyFor years, technology has promised the proliferation of "paperless offices" where executives would maintain only computer "images"--or pictures--of documents. While some companies, such as USAA, have had remarkable success with this technology, law firms have been slow to adapt. As document imaging becomes widespread, law firms with antiquated technology will fall behind in productivity and, more important, in client recruitment This article discusses the uses and benefits of document imaging in law firms and concludes that the advantages of imaging make it incumbent on law firms to consider using the technology in large cases involving many documents.

The Nature of Document Imaging

In simple terms, document imaging is a process for transferring paper documents into electronic pictures stored in computers. While the text of a paper document can be typed into a computer, this method of transfer is unlikely to provide an effective solution for the thousands of pages often exchanged during discovery. Imaging takes a different approach to transferring documents into a computer. With imaging, a computer takes "pictures" of documents and then "reads" the documents and then "reads" the documents so that a lawyer can search them in the same way he or she can search cases on LEXIS and Westlaw. Unlike LEXIS and Westlaw, however, imaging systems store both the text and an image of each document so that graphs, handwritten notes and formatting are all preserved.

The mechanics behind document imaging consists of four steps. First, the computer takes a "picture" of each document to be imaged. This step is known as digitizing and is typically completed by a computer device called a scanner. Second, the computer stores the pictures so that they can be retrieved and viewed later. Because of the large amount of information required to store a digitized image, large capacity storage devices known as WORM drives (Write Once, Read Many) are typically used to store the images. Third, the computer attaches or "links" information to the pictures so that they can be located quickly and easily. This step usually involves either coding, optical character recognition or both. Coding is a process whereby a person reviews each document and records certain descriptive information about it. Optical character recognition is a process by which the computer deciphers the text of a document. Finally, imaging software provides a system for searching and retrieving documents.

The Function of Document Imaging

Document imaging makes coded information and pictures of documents available for instant search and retrieval. For example, a lawyer defending a contract suit between two large corporations may need to depose an officer of the opposing corporation with the knowledge that, of the 100,000 documents produced during discovery, a fair number of the documents were both written by the deponent and demonstrate the deponent's understanding of the contract in dispute. In compiling a deposition notebook, the lawyer typically might send a document clerk, a paralegal or an associate to review all 100,000 documents and pull each document written by the deponent that addresses the contract at issue.

Such a project could easily take a week or more and will limit the amount of time available...