Second Opinions

Our Big Firm Wants to Go Paper-less

By Ed Siebel

PAPER FILE Structure? Try Macintosh! Replication of the traditional paper filing system is precisely how the Macintosh filing system works. Two attributes of the Mac operating system permit both the easy organization of a "digital fileroom" and near instant access to virtually any document, image or transcript on any hard disk on the network.

Macintosh File Structure

It is common for lawyers and law firms using the MacOS to mimic a paper file system on a central file server. Nested folders are simple to create and labels may have up to 32 characters. Labels may be changed or adjusted quickly and as necessary.

All of fictional Harold Jones' files are grouped together. The numbering system in this fictional office has assigned the client number "M134" to all of his cases. (See the case numbering system, under the "Comments" button).

The first sub-folder is a litigation matter, Jones v. Peterson. Within the litigation folder, can be sub-folders for correspondence, discovery, pleadings, motions, research, exhibits and whatever else fulfills the office requirements.

The case number can be entered as shown under "Comments" in the file information window at the time that the folder is opened, just like a paper file. For example, Jones v. Peterson has been assigned the matter number M134.3. In addition, other search criteria may also be entered as comments.

Each folder can contain an unlimited variety of files: word processing, spreadsheet, images (JPEG, GIF, PICT, TIFF, Photoshop, etc.), ASCII transcripts, translated transcripts. The file type does not need to be associated with its application. Double clicking on the file will open it in the correct application. If the e-mail client can save individual e-mails in a form other than a mailbox database, individual e-mails can also be stored in the appropriate folder.

In this way, the MacOS filing structure is more flexible than paper filing, and it neither gets too thick to handle nor become frayed with heavy use.

Sherlock

The MacOS includes a built-in search engine - Sherlock - which is fast and comprehensive. Sherlock can search a local hard disk, or any disk on the network, and it can also do a search of the Internet, although discussion of that capability is beyond the limits of this article. Sherlock will perform a search based on any number of variables, chief among them being file/folder names and a full indexed search of all textual material.

An index is a file which lists every unique text word on the disk and its location(s). When a contents search is requested, Sherlock searches the index rather than the hard disk or other media to locate all the occurrences of the word or string. In addition, Sherlock can search based on a number of other variables such as creation or modification date, version or type of file.

With some advance planning, a small to medium law office can combine the MacOS file structure with Sherlock, to provide an excellent document management system.

Upgrades

Of course, depending on the office requirements, there may be a need for a more sophisticated system. Annotations of images or other documents are limited in the MacOS file structure. Scanning and OCR operations are not handled by Sherlock. Presentation of the material for review requires that the application such as Word or a graphics program be started.

Two programs provide these kinds of flexibility without disturbing the MacOS file structure which has been created: Working Papers and the Sonar line of products. Both work directly from a scanned image, as well as file documents, and will, if desired, perform an OCR operation on the scanned image. Both permit annotations. Working Papers was created especially for law offices and is surprisingly complete for its relatively low price. Sonar automatically indexes all the documents in a selected file structure. Its index is unique because the index is a series of smaller files, rather than a monolithic document, which are stored in or near the relevant folder.

The MacOS solution is unlikely to "fit" Arthur Smith's requirements, given the size of his office and his investment in an existing system. However, for a law office which is smaller and either has not yet made a commitment to hardware or will be replacing legacy equipment, Macintosh offers a number of strong incentives. Sherlock and the MacOS file structure are just a sample.

Ed Siebel practices appellate law and advises small businesses. Based in Balboa Island, Calif., he is a member of the LTN Editorial Advisory Board. Apple Computer Inc. is one of his consulting clients.