TimeMap 2 - Apr/May '02

TimeMap 2

The larger litigation firms are using expensive programs to create timelines to win their cases. These tools can be quite costly to purchase. So how can a smaller law firm or solo attorney on a limited budget keep up with the “big guys?” After reviewing TimeMap 2, I think I found the solution.

TimeMap 2 is available for download as a 4.63MB file from the CaseSoft Web site (www.casesoft.com), which I easily downloaded after completing an online request form. I was impressed that the download was a 30-day, fully functional program instead of a nonworking demo or crippled version.

I was quickly up and running and found the program easy to use. One helpful feature is TimeMap 101, an overview available for training purposes. One of the best improvements over the previous version is the added ability to import data from other applications, such as Summation and Concordance.

Also included in Version 2.0 is the ability to create charts up to 20 pages wide instead of the previous five-page limit. Now, information also can be sent between TimeMap and CaseMap (another product from CaseSoft), so you can create key events in CaseMap and send the information to TimeMap to automatically create a timeline.

Using the program is simple. I quickly entered several dates and facts and let the program auto-arrange the information into a proportional timeline that showed the fact boxes over a dateline. I inserted new data, and it was entered exactly where it should be. I then decided to get fancy and change the colors of the boxes and text. Once my timeline was complete, with the touch of the print-screen button I had a document ready to be entered in as an exhibit. You can save the files in a variety of graphic formats, such as JPEG, bitmap or metafile format, which will allow you to e-mail or use the chart in a number of programs, such as a word processor or a presentation program.

This program is an asset in any trial lawyer’s arsenal. However, you don’t have to be a litigator to find uses for the program. I see many situations in which a timeline would be beneficial to a case.

Definitely download a copy and see for yourself what you can do with this program. With a one-year refund policy, there isn’t much to lose.

CaseSoft, a division of DecisionQuest
(888) 227-3763
www.casesoft.com

Price: $199 per user license license, discount for two or more licenses; upgrade is $79 per license

Windows 95/98/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP

Reviewed by Sheryl Cramer, a legal technology consultant and legal office manager at Cramer Law Firm in Lawton, Okla.

Apr/May '02 Issue

PROS
Easy and intuitive.

CONS
None.

VERDICT
Definitely worth downloading the free trial and checking out. You don’t have to be a trial lawyer to find a use for this program.