Superior Technology, Substantial Resources ... A Winning Argument

Law firm technology covers a great deal of territory, from the technology that assists attorneys and staff in pretrial and case preparation, such as electronic research and electronic document management, to trial-support technology and all that entails; to all the various technologies applied to client communication and conferencing, collaboration, and even billing. The firm supports all attorneys and staff with state-of-the-art computer and information systems, and we continue to invest in our long-term goal of enhancing our service to clients, further increasing our efficiency, and reducing our costs of service by taking advantage of emerging legal technologies.

• We have our own mock courtroom, complete with video cameras and an on-site video studio. These facilities allow our attorneys to fine-tune the subtleties that lead to successful presentations.
• We employ sophisticated technologies to ensure that all of our communications to clients and co-counsel are both secure and optimized for collaboration – including litigation support-based extranets and videoconferencing.
• Our attorneys and staff have 24/7 access to the most advanced and comprehensive electronic legal research available. Our law library is substantial, continually updated with the latest electronic legal research capabilities, and staffed with skilled researchers who are proficient in the most sophisticated techniques.
• Each attorney, paraprofessional, and secretary has secure access to our systems including Internet and email, document management, litigation support, and docketing applications. Our attorneys also have secure remote access to our systems.
• The confidentiality of our communications is of utmost concern, so we employ sophisticated technologies to ensure that all of our communications to clients and co-counsel are protected from inadvertent as well as intentional tampering.
• Our staff is experienced in the effective preparation and use of computer-generated demonstrative evidence, information databases, and other case management software. Each attorney travels, when appropriate, with a laptop computer capable of duplicating his/her office resources on the road at any time and any place.

Network Infrastructure

The firm maintains a modern network infrastructure utilizing Cisco and Dell equipment. Our offices are connected by secure VPN utilizing redundant fiber circuits. Our users are connected to our primary data center via fiber cable and gigabit-based CAT6 Ethernet cabling. We maintain an excess capacity of network ports and bandwidth to accommodate accelerated business intake. Our network allows us to utilize various litigation support tools that have high-bandwidth requirements such as full-motion video and digital imaging applications.

Electronic Communications

In an effort to constantly improve our ability to communicate with our clients, our attorneys and staff are provided with an array of electronic communications options, including our firm-wide email system. We maintain a Microsoft Exchange email system that employs a mail filtering service that blocks viruses and spam for inbound and outbound email. Our email system is accessible locally and remotely through several methods including wirelessly through our use of Blackberry devices and laptops. We utilize high-speed redundant Internet connections delivered across multiple fiber connections at each of our locations from different Internet Service Providers. In addition, our digital telephone system allows multi-point conferencing and remote access to voicemail.

Remote Trial Setup

The firm has developed a comprehensive solution for dealing with remote trials which require a fully staffed and functioning work facility. We call this “trial-in-a-box.” Shipping cases were developed to house separate sets of desktop computers, laptop computers, printers, fax machines, a complete wireless phone system, and all associated peripheral equipment. The firm employs a trial team which accompanies the equipment, and is responsible for setting up and maintaining the system. We have established relationships with communication vendors to facilitate prompt installation of high speed data circuits and phone lines at our designated trial location.

Task Based Billing

The firm uses Elite’s Enterprise system to support a variety of non-traditional billing methodologies. We are able today to provide task-based billing using the ABA/ACCA Uniform Task Based Management Litigation Code Set. Our state-of-the-art financial management system also permits use of a client-specified code set. We are capable of submitting bills electronically, upon request, depending upon the client’s specific systems and specifications.

Litigation Support

Our firm’s capabilities include an enterprise-networked, image-enabled litigation support system that currently has millions of imaged pages online with corresponding fielded database entries, and thousands of full-text, search-enabled documents (depositions, trial transcripts, pleadings, discovery responses). With our talented IT professionals, we combine turnkey litigation support solutions, such as Summation LG and Concordance, with other technologies, such as HTML, ASP, and Syngence, to create custom solutions for tracking, analyzing, and organizing complex, matter-specific information.

Case Management

We have implemented ProLaw’s Front Office solution. ProLaw allows us to seamlessly integrate case management with our existing email, document management, and billing systems. The Front Office product has allowed us to streamline our case management and docketing processes in addition to creating a central repository for client based information.

Real Time Transcript Access

The firm utilizes Summation and other real-time software applications to enable our attorneys to link to a court reporter’s transcript system during a trial, arbitration, or deposition that allows us to receive a live text feed. The transcript text is captured on the attorney’s laptop seconds after the testimony is given and can be searched, annotated, or issue coded either immediately or afterward. The full text of the transcript may be searched using proximity, Boolean, fuzzy logic, or customized thesaurus queries. Each captured transcript is then uploaded and made part of the larger network case database for simultaneous access by the case team.

Document Management

The firm employs the iManage/Interwoven document management system as its document and work product database management system. Based upon the Microsoft Windows and SQL Server architecture, it allows all documents developed by the firm to be codified, tracked, and retrieved based upon a variety of criteria, including full-text searching. The relational nature of the underlying database permits sophisticated queries to quickly hone in on documents relating to specific clients, matters, or legal issues. The system features advanced security that can create electronic walls such that highly sensitive documents are not even known to exist, except by those who have appropriate security clearance.

The firm also uses the latest version of Summation to manage litigation databases. Summation allows our attorneys to perform document review as well as document production in a much more time and cost efficient manner. Summation also allows document searching of both coded and full text data. This yields much faster and accurate results when identifying case-critical documents.

Web-based Collaboration

The firm uses iConnect and other software applications to provide clients with secure external web-based access to our litigation support databases.

Electronic Data Transfer Capability

The firm employs various methods of securely transferring electronic files to and from clients and/or other parties throughout the globe. With our systems, electronic files can be uploaded or transferred directly to a secure location where they can be reviewed and downloaded by our attorneys. These methods are much faster, more secure, and more cost-effective than traditional mail or delivery services.

Electronic Evidence Presentation

We regularly employ imaging systems and other evidence presentation systems at trials. Our capabilities include the following:

• Bar code-enabled publication of pertinent documents to the jury via oversized monitors.
• Video and animated representations of underlying factual information for trial use.
• In-house creation of digital slide shows, including the use of MacroMedia Flash to create animated exhibits. We often combine text, images, drawings, and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets into electronic slide shows using Microsoft PowerPoint.

Business Continuity

The firm recognizes the need to maintain high levels of availability and redundancy with our systems. Natural disasters, power outages, hardware failure, and other catastrophic events can occur with little or no notice. To protect our client’s interest, our firm has taken the following measures:

• We maintain redundant systems for all of our important applications at an off-site data center, which is located in a highly secure underground bunker. This bunker is one of the most unique disaster recovery properties in the United States. Originally developed as a corporate nuclear fallout shelter it is well suited for protecting the firm's critical data systems. The bunker facility is located 50 feet underground providing ample protection from hurricanes, tornados, electromagnetic interference, and most any conceivable incident. It is behind blast-proof doors and uses the latest in smart card and biometric technology for access control and access is monitored and recorded 24x7. The bunker facility also utilizes redundant fiber connections, has ample generator and fuel capacity to operate for up to 3 months in situations where supply of power from the electric grid is interrupted, and is located away from metropolitan areas.
• The firm’s important communications systems such as our Microsoft Exchange system and Blackberry Enterprise Server reside in this data center, and each has failover capabilities to an instantly available stand-by server.
• Systems controlling our documents and databases also have failover systems that reside at our off-site data center and are available to failover at a moment's notice.
• All of our firm’s data is either mirrored real-time or synchronized daily from our primary Storage Area Network (SAN) in our primary data center to our redundant SAN which is housed at our off-site data center.
• Tape backups are maintained at a different secure off-site facility.
• Multiple data connections between our offices and the Internet maintain connectivity between our offices and our off-site data center.

Beirne, Maynard & Parsons takes business continuity seriously and is continuously looking for ways to further increase the availability of our systems.