Managing Dockets and Caseload the New Electronic World Managing Dockets and Caseload the New Electronic World American Bar Association republished with permission By James E. McMillan , Director, Court Technology Laboratory , National Center for State Courts Williamsburg, Virginia E-commerce is everywhere today. In the legal world we call it electronic filing or E-filing. This electronic world hit the private sector over a decade ago. As we know, that decade has produced the greatest increase in productivity and profitability in history.
Documents are the raw material of the legal system.
If the documents are in electronic format then, the judiciary will have a great many more tools to work with the information than is currently available for paper. With paper we have tools such as file folders, fasteners, highlighters, and the ubiquitous yellow Post-It tm 3M Corporation Notes. Today s truth is that the information should not be committed to paper unless there is a good reason. Here s more. A research study of the Maricopa County Superior Court starting in 1990 found that the average number of documents contained in court files has doubled every fifteen years.