Producing briefcases

In this article we cover native, PDF and mixed production, how to resolve production errors, and how to erase production history or production sets.

Overview

You can produce documents in PDF or native formats.

Produced and unproduced documents can be quickly perused in these two briefcase views:

  • [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > by Production History : Bates] and 
  • [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > Briefcase's unproduced docs]

Since your law firm can run multiple productions related to the same case database simultaneously on different workstations there are some workflow steps to note. We explain this later in this article. Otherwise, although no data will be lost, production history and therefore produced documents will probably show replication conflicts. Their meta data will need fix-up; please call our professional services for a quote to resolve this.

In general, always replicate the case before you lock a briefcase to finalize production. 

Production types

try it - Native production

Native production is straightforward. Each native file is numbered using the Bates format you specify; a load file accompanies the files when disseminated.

  • Click [R+ Evidence Cruncher > Document Services].

Set production options on the screen below.

  1. Add a description and the production date, and set Native.
  2. Set your starting document number, and the Bates prefix and starting page number.
  3. Set this field to 'No'.
  • Click and hold any question mark for context sensitive help.
  • Click OK and answer Yes on the next screen.

Processing completes.

Files awaiting production remain in the 'Briefcase's unproduced docs' view,

and completed files are shown in the 'by Production History' view.

Since this is a native production, the natives files will be numbered using the Bates numbers shown above when the natives are disseminated. No pages are actually stamped in native productions.

try it - PDF production
  • Click [R+ Evidence Cruncher/Document Services].

Set production options on the screen below.

  1. Add a description and the production date, and set PDF. PDF specific options will be displayed. 
  2. Set your starting document number, the Bates prefix and starting page number.
  3. Set stamping options.
  4. Set PDF as your output format.
  • Click OK and answer Yes on the next screen.

Processing completes.

Since one file was selected, it is processed, numbered and moved to the [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > by Production History : Bates #] view.

  • You can view the document to see the numbering.

Files awaiting production remain in the 'Briefcase's unproduced docs' view,

try it - Mixed production

In mixed production, natives files are produced as natives (an Excel spreadsheet, audio, etc.) within a normal PDF production. A PDF 'stub' file is automatically created as a placeholder for each native file and used to rename the native file with its Bates number in the mixed production's second pass.

  • Select and add files to produce to the briefcase. Here, we've four files to produce. The first is an Excel spreadsheet; the rest are PDFs or have PDF versions of the natives.
  1. Click [R+ Evidence Cruncher/Document Services].

Set production options on the screen below.

  1. Add a description and the production date, and set PDF.  PDF specific options will be displayed. 
  2. Set 'Create PDF stubs for native files'.
  3. Set your starting document number, and the Bates prefix and starting page number.
  4. Set stamping options.
  5. Set PDF as your output format.
  • Click OK and answer Yes on the next screen.

Processing completes.

Note a stub file has been automatically created for the XLSX native file and numbering and stamping of the next file being produced, a PDF, continued in sequence.

  • Finalize the production (two documents were left) and lock the briefcase.

Here is our final production. It's complete except for native files (one in this example) which have not yet been produced; only stubs have been created and numbered.

try it - Producing natives in the mix

Step 1 - Tagging natives for a new briefcase

Since native files were already assigned Bates numbers, all we need do is tag them in the case from the completed briefcase, and run a native production, using those assigned Bates numbers.

  • Sort the briefcase and select all the 'Stubs'.
  • Click [R+ Evidence Cruncher > Tag selected > Source].
  • Enter a topic with which to tag them in the source database.
  • Click [L+ Documents > by Issue/Topic] in the case database and locate the topic.

Step 2 - Producing the new briefcase

  • Create a new briefcase for the remaining native files in the mix. This will be a native production.
  • Select all the documents in the category (there's only one native file in this example).
  • Add them to the new briefcase.

This native production differs from a normal one as you will be re-using the natives' already assigned Bates numbers from their related PDFs in the prior [mixed] PDF production.

Set production options on the screen below.

  1. Add a description and the production date, and set Native.
  2. Set any starting document number, Bates prefix and starting page number. Although required, the values are ignored as we are re-using existing Bates numbers from earlier steps.

Note that if you add other files to this production, they would actually take on the values you enter; in that case enter valid numbers, or select 'Continue existing production' to continue a prior briefcase's numbering as we have done.

  1. Set 'Re-use existing Exhibit/Bates numbers'. Since a document may have been produced several times, you must select the production history from which to continue numbering. In this example, our one document has only been part of one prior production.
  • Click OK to select the appropriate production history.
  • Click OK again to start producing the natives.

The complete single native file with assigned Bates numbers from its PDF stub.

Completing production

Each time a document selection is successfully produced, the selection is moved from [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > Briefcase's unproduced docs] to [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > by Production History : Bates].

Until a briefcase is locked, which finalizes the production and prevents changes, you can add documents as needed, delete or defer production of any remaining documents to a later date, and so forth.

The production description, its date, the next exhibit number and Bates page number, and the PDF security password (if used), may  not be altered once a production has begun.

Whenever you return to an unlocked briefcase, you'll see this reminder.