Abstract:
The present inventors recognized a need for improving conventional informational retrieval systems, particularly those intended for retrieval of legal information. Accordingly, they devised systems, methods, and software that facilitate online access to documents, such as non-opinion legal documents, in context of a legal workflow. An exemplary method of operation includes determining that a user of a client access device is performing a litigation-related task using a word-processing application on the client-access device. And in response to an affirmative determination, providing trial court materials relevant to the litigation-related task to the client access device without the user leaving the word-processing application. In some embodiments, the word-processing application is launched from a case-management application that provides case, activity, and role information to the online legal research system.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application  60 / 648 , 048  which was filed on January  28 ,  2005 . Additionally, this application may be related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/028,465 which was filed on Jan. 3, 2005. Both of these applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE AND PERMISSION  
       [0002]     A portion of this patent document contains material subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever. The following notice applies to this document: Copyright © 2005, Thomson Global Resources.  
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0003]     Various embodiments of the present invention concerns information-retrieval systems, such as those that provide legal documents or other related content.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0004]     The American legal system, as well as some other legal systems around the world, relies heavily on written judicial opinions, the written pronouncements of judges, to articulate or interpret the laws governing resolution of disputes. Each judicial opinion is not only important to resolving a particular legal dispute, but also to resolving similar disputes, or cases, in the future. Because of this, judges and lawyers within our legal system are continually researching an ever-expanding body of past opinions, or case law, for the ones most relevant to resolution of new disputes.  
         [0005]     To facilitate these searches, companies, such as West Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minn. (doing business as Thomson West), collect and publish the judicial opinions of courts across the United States in both paper and electronic forms. Many of these opinions are published with bibliographic cites or hyperlinks to other opinions, that rely on or criticize various points of law in the opinions. The cites and hyperlinks enable researchers to readily access the related opinions electronically over a computer network, through the Westlaw™ online research system.  
         [0006]     Recently, the Westlaw system has been expanded to include appellate briefs and litigation documents. The appellate briefs and litigation documents are linked to related judicial opinions. Thus, researchers using this system can not only identify relevant judicial opinions, but also retrieve and leverage content underlying these opinions.  
         [0007]     Although this expansion of content represents an enhancement to the resources available to researchers, the present inventors have identified a functional gap between these resources and their usage in practice.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     To address this and/or other needs, the present inventors devised, among other things, systems, methods, and software that facilitate online access to documents, such as non-opinion legal documents, in context of a legal workflow. An exemplary method entails determining that a user of a client access device is performing a litigation-related task using a word-processing application on the client-access device. In response to an affirmative determination, the method further entails providing prior trial court materials, document templates, and/or document relevant to the litigation-related task to the client access device without the user leaving the word-processing application. In some embodiments, the word-processing application is launched from a case-management application that provides case, activity, and role information to the online legal research system. Additionally, some embodiments collect the provided trial court materials in a repository for access by other agents of a law firm that are associated with the case.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of an exemplary information-retrieval system  100  corresponding to one or more embodiments of the invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart corresponding to one or more exemplary methods of operating system  100  and one or more embodiments of the invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a facsimile of an exemplary user interface  300  corresponding to one or more embodiments of the invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a facsimile of an exemplary user interface  400  corresponding to one or more embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]     This description, which references and incorporates the above-identified Figures, describes one or more specific embodiments of an invention. These embodiments, offered not to limit but only to exemplify and teach the invention, are shown and described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to implement or practice the invention. Thus, where appropriate to avoid obscuring the invention, the description may omit certain information known to those of skill in the art.  
       Exemplary Information-Retrieval System  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplary online information-retrieval system  100 . System  100  includes one or more commercial databases  110 , one or more servers  120 , one or more access devices  130 , one or client-side databases  140 , and a case-management system  150 .  
         [0015]     Databases  110  include a set of one or more databases. In the exemplary embodiment, the set includes a caselaw database  111 , a court filings database  112 , a transcripts (XCRIPTS) database  113 , a verdict and settlement database  114 , and other databases  115 . Caselaw database  111  generally includes electronic text and image copies of judicial opinions for decided cases for one or more local, state, federal, or international jurisdiction.  
         [0016]     Court-filings database  112  includes electronic text and image copies of court filings related to one or more subsets of the judicial opinions caselaw database  111 . Exemplary court-filing documents include briefs, motions, complaints, pleadings, discovery matter, and trial exhibits. Verdict and settlement database  114  includes electronic text and image copies of documents related to the determined verdict, assessed damages, or negotiated settlement of legal disputes associated with cases within caselaw database  111 . Other databases  115  includes one or more other databases containing documents regarding news stories, business and finance, science and technology, medicine and bioinformatics, and intellectual property information. In some embodiments, the logical relationships across documents are determined manually or using automatic discovery processes that leverage information such as litigant identities, dates, jurisdictions, attorney identifies, court dockets, and so forth to determine the existence or likelihood of a relationship between any pair of documents.  
         [0017]     Also, in some embodiments, databases  115  may include user- or firm-specific data repositories (semantic containers) that are only accessible by subscribers or subsets of subscribers from a specific law firm. In some instances, these repositories or more generally databases are organized around specific litigation matters of a law firm, providing convenience of central storage for all documents, including case law and related trial court documents for a litigation.  
         [0018]     In some embodiments, databases  110  generally contain client intake content, such as jury verdicts, asset tracking records, criminal records, business news, lawyer profiles, and people data; practice insight content, such as jurisdictional proof-of-facts, case law, statutes, causes of action, and court rules; filings documents, such as court dockets, pleading and practice forms, and federal and local court forms; and drafting content, such as briefs, ALR, and jury instructions.  
         [0019]     Databases  110 , which take the exemplary form of one or more electronic, magnetic, or optical data-storage devices, include or are otherwise associated with respective indices (not shown). Each of the indices includes terms and/or phrases in association with corresponding document addresses, identifiers, and other information for facilitating the functionality described below. Databases  112 ,  114 , and  116  are coupled or couplable via a wireless or wireline communications network, such as a local-, wide-, private-, or virtual-private network, to server  120 .  
         [0020]     Server  120 , which is generally representative of one or more servers for serving data in the form of webpages or other markup language forms with associated applets, ActiveX controls, remote-invocation objects, or other related software and data structures to service clients of various “thicknesses.” More particularly, server  120  includes a processor  121 , a memory  122 , a subscriber database  123 , one or more search engines  124 , an interface module  125 , and a workflow integration module  126 .  
         [0021]     Processor  121  is generally representative of one or more local or distributed processors or virtual machines. In the exemplary embodiment, processor  121  takes any convenient or desirable form. Processor  121  is coupled to memory  122 .  
         [0022]     Memory  122 , which takes the exemplary form of one or more electronic, magnetic, or optical data-storage devices, stores subscription database  123 , search engines  124 , litigation module  125 , and workflow integration module  126 .  
         [0023]     Subscription database  123  includes subscriber-related data for controlling, administering, and managing pay-as-you-go- or subscription-based access of databases  110 . Subscriber database  123  includes subscriber-related data for controlling, administering, and managing pay-as-you-go or subscription-based access of databases  110 .  
         [0024]     In the exemplary embodiment, subscriber database  123  includes one or more data structures, of which data structure  1231  is representative. Data structure  1231  includes a customer or user identifier portion  1231 A, which is logically associated with data elements or fields, such as fields  1231 B, and  1231 C. Field  1231 B includes information identifying one or more user accounts, such as a law firm or corporate account. Field  1231 C includes one or more values governing whether litigation documents are charged on a transactional or per-access basis or whether access to these documents is included within a flat-rate or other type of subscription. In some embodiments, this field may also identify, indicate, or represent a specific pricing schedule to be used in assessing access fees for litigation (pre-decision) documents. In some embodiment, data structure  123  may also include information regarding a law-firm case-management system associated with the customer, which may be a law firm agent, such as an attorney, paralegal, expert, legal clerk, secretary, or scheduler.  
         [0025]     Search engines  124  provide search capabilities for databases  110 . In the exemplary embodiment, the search engines provide Boolean or natural-language search services; however, other embodiments may provide other types of searching.  
         [0026]     User interface module  125  includes machine or device executable instructions for performing various tasks, such as defining one or portion of a graphical user interface that helps users define searches for databases  110 . Software  125  includes one or more browser-compatible applets, webpage templates, user-interface elements, objects or control features or other programmatic objects or structures. More specifically, software  125  includes a caselaw search interface  1251  and a litigation search interface  1252 , which are described more fully below.  
         [0027]     Workflow integration module  126  includes machine or device executable instructions for performing various tasks, such as integrating search interfaces of user module  125  and/or content from databases  110  into workflows of law firm users. In the exemplary embodiment, these executable instructions includes add-on tools for providing interface features, such as launch points, wizards, and so forth that enable users to launch online searches or document retrievals from the context of client-side applications, such as word processing applications or case-management applications, without repeated entry of sign-on credentials. In some embodiments, workflow integration module  126  itself includes an online case-management system, document-management system, and/or word processing application. Other embodiments may also include instructions for storing documents retrieved or accessed by a particular law firm in a law-firm specific repository, which may be maintained within databases  115  or elsewhere within system  100 . (Workflow integration module  126  may also include other instructions or functionally that is implied or specifically expressed herein.)  
         [0028]     Server  120  is communicatively coupled or couplable via a wireless or wireline communications network, such as a local-, wide-, private-, or virtual-private network, to one or more accesses devices, such as access device  130 .  
         [0029]     Access device  130  is not only communicatively coupled or couplable to server  130 , but also generally representative of one or more access devices. In the exemplary embodiment, access device  130  takes the form of a personal computer, workstation, personal digital assistant, mobile telephone, or any other device capable of providing an effective user interface with a server or database.  
         [0030]     Specifically, access device  130  includes one or more processors (or processing circuits)  131 , a memory  132 , a display  133 , a keyboard  134 , and a graphical pointer or selector  135 . Memory  132  stores code (machine-readable or executable instructions) for an operating system  136 , a browser  137 , a graphical user interface (GUI)  138 , and a word processor application  139 . In the exemplary embodiment, operating system  136  takes the form of a version of the Microsoft Windows operating system, and browser  137  takes the form of a version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Operating system  136  and browser  137  not only receive inputs from keyboard  134  and selector (or mouse)  135 , but also support rendering of GUI  138  on display  133 . Upon rendering, GUI  138  presents data in association with one or more interactive control features (or user-interface elements). (The exemplary embodiment defines one or more portions of interface  138  using applets or other programmatic objects or structures from server  120 .)  
         [0031]     Graphical user interface  138  defines or provides one or more display control or application regions, such as a word processor window  1381 , a query region  1382 , a results region  1383 , a litigation resources region  1384 , and a specialized query region  1385 . Each region (or page in some embodiments) is respectively defined in memory to display data from databases  110  and/or server  120  in combination with one or more interactive control features (elements or widgets). In the exemplary embodiment, some of these control features takes the form of a hyperlink or other browser-compatible command input. Although shown as being concurrently displayed in  FIG. 1 , various embodiments present one or more portion of interface  138  at different times and within different windows or screens.  
         [0032]     More specifically, word processing region  1381  includes interactive control features, such as a legal-research launch point Launch Point, an edit window document DOC and a results region Results. (In some embodiments, the launch point is part of a toolbar of the word processor application.) Selection of launch point, which in the exemplary embodiment bears a Westlaw label, results in automatic performance of a search based specific text within document DOC, with the search operation performed using server  120 . (Selection in some embodiments is achieved by a single- or double-click pointer action.) In some embodiments, the specific text may be a user selected name, a case citation, or a legal issue. In some embodiments, document DOC is associated with case management data  141  from case management system and the search is conducted based on one or more portions of data  141 , which may identify one or more particular legal activities or document types. Results of the search are presented in context of the word processing application as results region  1382 , which shows document selection links DOC X and DOC Y, which in the exemplary embodiment are court-filing documents, such as briefs, pleadings, exhibits, expert reports, trial exhibits, or transcripts, of prior adjudicated cases that are deemed similar based on data  141  to a case associated with the document or portion thereof. For example, if document DOC is associated with a document type summary judgment motion and the case management data or text in the document itself indicates the jurisdiction, the judge, and legal issues, the search results may include summary judgment motions from prior cases in the jurisdiction that dealt with similar legal issues before that judge. In some embodiments, the case-management data may include a schedule of events or docket dates which when correlated against the current date indicate or suggest the type of document DOC.  
         [0033]     However, in some embodiments, selection of the launch point input presents the text and/or case management data to server  120 , which causes presentation of query region (or query wizard)  1383  based on the received input. Region  1383  presents one or more input regions, such as INPUT region, and one or more submit command regions, such as SUBMIT region, and a litigation selection region LITIGATION for receiving user input. The form of the wizard and specific screens based on one or more portions of case management data  141 , text in document DOC, and/or subsequent inputs to region  1383 . For example, if document DOC is associated with a document type summary judgment motion, then the wizard may in some embodiments present questions regarding the nature of the legal issue or other matters that may not be addressed by the case management data. In the exemplary embodiment, legal research launch point Launch Point s presented as part of a tool bar in an graphical user interface portion of word processing application  139 . Selection of control region LITIGATION results in presentation of litigation resources region  1384 .  
         [0034]     Litigation resources region  1384 , which serves as a “one-stop shop” online interface, includes an aggregate set of control features which result in display of a version of query region  1385  that helps legal professionals evaluate, investigate, negotiate, prepare, and present trial-case information. In the exemplary embodiment, region  1384  includes command features, such as hyperlinks, for accessing search interfaces for professional profile data (PERSON), case-valuation data (VALUATION), court-rules data (RULES), and other data (OTHER). Profiler data allows users to initiate a search of available professional directories and/or other sources for biographical and experiential data based on attorney, judge, or expert witness name and/or jurisdiction directly from region  1384 . Similarly, case-valuation data is data related to valuation of litigations based on jurisdiction and injury type directly from region  1384 . Other embodiments provide these and/or other features. In some embodiments, the specific items listed under litigation resources are based on the case management data. For example, if the case management data indicates that the case is in appeal, the valuation link may be omitted or de-emphasized by placement at a lower position in a list or table. Also, in some embodiments, query region  1385  may be populated with inputs based on text in document DOC and/or portions of the case management data. In some embodiments, where the text in document DOC or the case management data are sufficient, query region  1385  includes a listing of one or more documents from databases  110 . In the exemplary embodiment, one or documents selected by a user from any search results are added to a repository of data, which may for example function as a trial notebook. In some embodiments the repository is maintained as a private part of databases  110 , and in others it is maintained as a part of case management system  140 .  
         [0035]     Case management system  140  may take a variety of forms. In the exemplary embodiment, system  140  takes the form of a case management system from ProLaw.  
       Exemplary Methods of Operation  
       [0036]      FIG. 2  shows a flow chart  200  of one or more exemplary methods of operating an information-management system, such as system  100 . Flow chart  200  includes blocks  210 - 240 , which are arranged and described in a serial execution sequence in the exemplary embodiment. However, other embodiments execute two or more blocks in parallel using multiple processors or processor-like devices or a single processor organized as two or more virtual machines or sub processors. Other embodiments also alter the process sequence or provide different functional partitions to achieve analogous results. For example, some embodiments may alter the client-server allocation of functions, such that functions shown and described on the server side are implemented in whole or in part on the client side, and vice versa. Moreover, still other embodiments implement the blocks as two or more interconnected hardware modules with related control and data signals communicated between and through the modules. Thus, the exemplary process flow applies to software, hardware, and firmware implementations.  
         [0037]     In block  210 , the exemplary method begins with a user launching a word processing application. In the exemplary embodiment, this entails the user logging on to a firm intranet using specific login credentials and gaining access to a portion of a case management system related to a specific litigation matter. The user then invokes an activity icon within the litigation matter, such as draft a summary judgment motion, which via an application program interface, launches a word processing application, such as a Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect application. Successful launch results in opening an edit window having a launch point feature, such as shown in interface  138  in  FIG. 1 . Launching in this manner allows the case management system to preload an activity- or task-specific document template into the word processing application for use by the user. In some embodiments, the template is populated with specific text, such as party, court names, and case docket numbers that are associated with the matter number within the case management system. In other embodiments, one or more portions of the available case management data are associated with the template or new document as metadata. In other embodiments, the word processor is launched out of context of the case-management system, for example, within the context of a document management system, a browser, or an online research system that interfaces with the case management system. Execution then advances to block  220 .  
         [0038]     Block  220  entails determining that a user of a client access device is performing a litigation-related task. In the exemplary embodiment, this entails communicating information associated with the document within the editing window, for example one or more portion of the metadata and/or text within the document to a server, such as server  120 . Server can then analyze this information and determine that a particular task is being performed relative to a workflow model. For example, this determination may entail detecting presence of an activity field or code inserted into the metadata for the document or presence of particular text within the title of the template or document.  
         [0039]     Block  230  entails providing, in response to the determination, specific legal materials relevant to the litigation-related task without the user leaving the word-processing application. In the exemplary embodiment, this entails server  120  conducting a search of one or more of databases  110  for relevant trial-court materials based on metadata or text within the document and presenting results of the search, for example, a listing of pleadings, motions, or summary judgment motions on similar issues, to the user via interface  138 . Execution continues at block  240 .  
         [0040]     Block  240  entails automatically collecting the provided trial court materials for reuse by one or more other agents of the law firm without additional searching. In the exemplary embodiment, this entails a user selecting one or more of the documents for addition to a firm-specific repository or database. However, in other embodiments, all documents presented to the user are automatically selected for storage in repository. Some embodiments place the selected documents in a database associated with a case management system, such as system  140 .  
       Exemplary Litigation Resource Interfaces  
       [0041]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show respective litigation resource interfaces  300  and  400 , which some embodiments use as an alternative to the litigation-resource region  1384  in  FIG. 1 . Interface  300  includes control features for accessing content and tools related to evaluation, investigation, negotiation, trial preparation, and trial presentation.  
         [0042]     More specifically, interface  300  includes a profiler-query portion  302 ; a litigation-valuation-query region  304 ; a listing  306  of links to databases related to jury verdicts; a listing  308  of case-investigation databases; a listing  310  of links to jury-instruction database; a listing  312  of links to databases for briefs, depositions, or transcripts; a listing  314  of court-docket databases (or services); a listing  316  of links to court-rules databases; a listing  318  of links to databases of practice guides (or legal treatises); a listing  320  of databases containing forms and checklists; a listing  322  of databases related to procedures and evidence; and a listing  324  of professional directories and newspaper databases. Notably, selection of links within listings  306 - 322  invoke display of query input regions for their respective databases.  
         [0043]     Similarly, interface  400 , in  FIG. 4 , includes a shortcut portion  410  and a database (or resource) listing portion  420 . Shortcut portion  410  includes several query input regions, and listing portion  420  includes several clusters of database listings.  
       CONCLUSION  
       [0044]     The embodiments described above are intended only to illustrate and teach one or more ways of practicing or implementing the present invention, not to restrict its breadth or scope. The actual scope of the invention, which embraces all ways of practicing or implementing the teachings of the invention, is defined only by the following claims and their equivalents.