Some of the critical considerations in database design for litigation include the following:

• How large is the case? How many documents are to be coded?
• What are the important document types?
• Are certain individuals or groups key in this case?
• Are attachments important?
• Will there be many depositions?
• Will full text documents be incorporated into the system?
• Are there specific issues or keywords to be captured?
• Sample Coding at No Cost

To facilitate the planning process, Esquire is happy to code a few hundred pages of documents free of charge. We will design a database and code the documents supplied. This initial coding provides the basis for subsequent design discussions between the client and Esquire.

Coding Options
Using the client's specifications, we create coded databases with any number of fields. Each field can contain unlimited data. Because of our experience in creating and using hundreds of databases for litigation support, we can design highly accurate and informational databases.

Typical fields in document databases include the following:

• Beginning Page Identifier - may have one or more parts
• Ending Page Identifier - may have one or more parts
• Document Date - can be partial, e.g., month/year, or year only
• Author(s), Signee(s) - may include titles, organizational affiliations, etc.
• Recipient(s) - may include titles, organizational affiliations, etc.
• Carbon Copies -- may include blind CCs and CCs indicated by marginalia
• Verbatim Title or "Re" - title line if it exists; otherwise a brief, objective statement in brackets describing the document
• Document Type(s) - e.g., memo, letter, agreement, financial document, and so forth
• Names Mentioned in Text - may include titles, organizational affiliations, etc.
• Key Words or Issue Codes - as specified by the client
• Duplicate Status - semi-automatically detected
• Attachment Range Indicator
• Production Status
• Exhibit Use
• Attorneys' Comments
• Litigation Support Software

Esquire Litigation Solutions exports coded databases using a variety of excellent litigation support software packages and other database management systems. They include Concordance, Summation, JFS Litigator's Notebook, and MSAccess among others.

Esquire is a reseller for Concordance, produced by Dataflight Software, Inc. Concordance is a high-speed database management package that allows users to retrieve records with English-like queries. It can search up to 16 databases at once, each of which can hold more than two million records. Concordance also includes a report writer that enables users to produce reports, from simple to complex, with relative ease.

Dataflight Software also produces Opticon, a sophisticated imaging package that allows users to enlarge, enhance, print, and redact images. Concordance and Opticon are fully integrated.

Esquire's software, Case Information System - FullText (CIS-FT), is specialized for litigation support needs, providing for both coded and full text retrieval. It has many special features, including the Author/Recipient table: CIS-FT ties names in all contexts into a single table with the capacity for additional data such as title, organizational affiliation, department, address, and the like. The use of this table, coupled with highly disciplined coding rules, results in capturing names accurately while preventing multiple versions of individuals, companies, and government agencies.

The integration of the coded database with the actual images requires the proper matching of document identifiers in the coded database with the images. By generating document boundaries for the imaging project from the coded database, we ensure perfect matching of both coded and imaged document boundaries.

Esquire is a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) for IPRO image retrieval software and installs IPRO software as well as CIS-FT. IPRO Inc. of Phoenix is a major provider of document imaging software.

To see what we can do for you, contact your local Esquire representative, or email us at litigation@esquirecom.com.