Concordance 7.2 and Opticon 2.0

Concordance 7.2 and Opticon 2.0

Concordance, produced by Dataflight Software Inc., is a popular database program used by the legal industry, and with Version 7.2, the program has risen to a new level in managing data and information for litigation.

I am familiar with an older version of Concordance that was used by my firm for years, but it was limited to a basic database structure. I was impressed with Concordance 7.2 and its evolution of the database structure to that of a competent litigation management program. Concordance 7.2 is bundled and fully integrated with Opticon, a sophisticated imaging package that allows users to enlarge, enhance, print and redact images, including those in PDF (Portable Document Format) and TIFF formats.

This latest release of Concordance includes a full suite of new features for deposition digests, notes, issue codes and hyperlinks. Transcripts are displayed and printed in traditional formats with page and line numbering. The enhanced report writer produces Q&A, manuscript, line-radius and digest reports. Images, audio, Web links and video can be hyperlinked to any record.

The updated software works with LiveNote, loading the package’s popular transcript format while preserving all annotations. Concordance also is compatible with trial presentation packages such as Visionary, Sanction, TrialPro and others.

The database is the keystone of Concordance with its ability to manage the largest databases. In my firm’s litigation practice, it’s not unusual to have several million pages of production documents. Many database programs I have worked with tend to degrade quickly when they are taxed with this amount of data.

Because Concordance was developed specifically for large database management, I am confident the data will retain its integrity through discovery and into trial.

Gone are the days when I would have to “clean” the database of typographical errors made by the staff hastily entering data. Concordance’s more sophisticated searching mercifully takes typos into account. “Wildcard” searching helps you find records even if they have been misspelled or have other data entry discrepancies.

It’s more important than ever to know your database will be compatible with the programs you rely on at depositions, hearings and trials. After all, what good is the data if it can’t be used for anything more than a document index? Concordance comes with a built-in report writer and step-by-step wizard that helps you create perfectly formatted multiple-column reports for witness kits, case chronologies, document productions and more. With Concordance you can manage attachments by linking database records directly to corresponding images, document files (Word, WordPerfect, Excel and others), Web pages, and movie and sound files.

Managing documents using Concordance has become simpler. Concordance makes loading, managing and printing depositions uncomplicated. It even imports popular deposition software formats, such as LiveNote. Once imported you can simply “Go To” any document, page number or line number with a single mouse click.

Because I routinely receive and create a lot of documents that have been saved as PDF files, I was always annoyed I couldn’t load these images into Concordance. Luckily, that has changed. The new version allows you to import text from a PDF file into Concordance.

Coded data stored in the PDF file is copied to corresponding fields in Concordance and becomes fully searchable. The original PDF file is saved, and can be launched to view the exact page with highlighted text.

Opticon provides an integrated solution for image retrieval, editing and document production. It displays the exact images that correspond to records retrieved through Concordance. Images can be enlarged, enhanced, annotated, edited and printed — all on demand. Opticon also gives you the ability to add redactions, redlines, highlighted marks, image keys, bar codes and custom messages into a document. There is also a new bar code mode for use in court.

All of these new features make Concordance an excellent tool for a single office firm. But any law firm that is required to share data over its network or intranet to manage its complex litigation needs a program that can plug-in to its Web-based network. Concordance will allow Web-based access using a partner solution called iConect. Although I have not tried iConect, Concordance advertises it as giving users the ability to access case information via your intranet, extranet or the Internet.

Overall, I was impressed with Concordance 7.2 and its evolution into a sophisticated litigation management program. I recommend it highly to firms looking for a solid program to manage documents, images and transcripts.

For firms heavily invested in Web-based programs, I would think twice before purchasing Concordance or any other database program that isn’t specifically made for the Web.

Dataflight Software Inc.
(800) 421-8398
www.dataflight.com

Concordance price: $995, single-user license; discount for 10 or more licenses (starting at $4,000)
Opticon price: $595, single-user license; discount for 10 or more licenses (starting at $2,400)

Windows 95/98/2000/NT

Reviewed by Paul D. Pollard, director of
litigation support for Fish & Richardson in
San Diego.

Jun/Jul '02 Issue

PROS
Reliable, heavy-duty database for managing document indexes and images.

CONS
Concordance requires third-party assistance to work with intranets, extranets and the Internet.

VERDICT
I highly recommend it to firms that are looking for a solid program to manage documents, images and transcripts. For firms that have invested heavily in Web-based programs, I would think twice before purchasing Concordance or any other database program that isn’t specifically made for the Web.