RealLegal Binder 5.53

RealLegal Binder 5.53

RealLegal Binder 5.53 bills itself as “the ultimate evidence management software.” While RealLegal’s competitors might disagree with the breadth of its claim, I can at least confirm Binder 5.53 is a powerful software program for transcript management.

Binder 5.53 allows the litigator to aggregate the transcripts and exhibits of a case in one central application.

Once the transcripts and exhibits are imported into Binder 5.53, the program allows you to search, annotate, identify issues, view and create custom reports from the deposition transcripts. Not only can written transcripts be viewed, but exhibits and video transcripts also can be viewed from within Binder 5.53.

While Binder 5.53 has many features of a program like CaseSoft’s CaseMap, it supplements rather than replaces the features of litigation management software. Binder 5.53 integrates with CaseMap, Verdict System’s Sanction II, inData’s TrialDirector, JFS Litigator’s Notebook and others.

Transcripts are imported into Binder in one of three ways — real time, import transcript and import bundle (exhibits).

Binder has the ability to import transcripts in “real time” during deposition or trial. Of course, the court reporter must have the ability to electronically transmit the transcript to Binder in real time. The good news is most court reporting services (in my neck of the woods) have had this capability for years.

The most common method of importing a transcript into Binder is from disk. Virtually all court reporters will provide litigators with a disk containing the text of a transcript. Binder 5.53 can import ASCII text files (.txt, .asc), E-Transcript (.exe, .ptx), Portable Transcript Format (.ptf) or Extensible Markup Language Transcripts (.xml).

Similar to importing the transcript alone, the “Import Bundle” feature goes a step further and brings in both the transcript and exhibits, provided the court reporter has used the RealLegal Publisher program. The advantage of using a court reporter who has created a Publisher project is obvious. The litigator and staff are able to avoid the time-consuming task of scanning and importing exhibits into Binder 5.53.

Annotations
Once transcripts are imported into Binder 5.53, the real fun begins. The first step for most litigators is to review or annotate the transcript. However, Binder 5.53 takes simple annotations a step further and allows the user to mark testimony with “issues.” For example, in a negligence action, an issue can be created for each element of the cause of action (i.e., duty, breach, causation, damages, etc.). As the transcript is reviewed, relevant portions of the transcript can be marked with the issues the testimony relates to. Each annotation also can be commented on to add further definition and flexibility.

Searching
Not only does Binder 5.53 include a searchable index, which links directly to the relevant portion of the transcripts, but it includes an easy-to-use Boolean logic search operation that allows a litigator to use wildcards and proximity searches. Using Binder’s “Search Group” function, searches can be limited to specific groups of transcripts. For example, a litigator can create a search group for expert witnesses only, or just the opposing party’s witnesses. By limiting searches to a distinct group, searches are more productive, eliminating “hits” from other transcripts.

Reports
Once the transcripts have been annotated, Binder 5.53 can create a variety of reports, which then can be printed or e-mailed.

For example, excerpts from seven different transcripts, the text of which has been previously identified as relevant for a particular issue (i.e., damages), can be printed to a report, allowing for easy review.

Because Binder allows you to attach multiple issues to a particular excerpt, the reporting capability is extremely flexible. For example, text within a transcript might be relevant to the issues of “damages” and “impeachment.” By annotating that testimony with both issues, a report can be printed later, showing all testimony related to damages and impeachment — very handy at the time of trial.

Other Considerations
Binder seemed relatively stable, however, it did crash on me twice during my evaluation — once at the office and once at trial. I don’t know whether the stability problem was due solely to Binder or a combination of Binder and another utility on my Windows 2000 and XP systems. Despite this glitch, what I like best about Binder is it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not and delivers what it promises.

*At press time, RealLegal released Binder 6.0 with new features, including optical character recognition, improved real time and faster performance. Please contact RealLegal for more information on Binder 6.0.

RealLegal
(888) 584-9988, ext. 4

www.reallegal.com

Price: $695 per license for single licensing; contact RealLegal for other pricing models.

Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP

Reviewed by Michael W. Newcomb, Esq., Mayfield & Associates, Solana Beach, Calif.

Jun/Jul '03 Issue

PROS
Excellent search and reporting capabilities.

CONS
The licensing model and price make it difficult to justify for the occasional litigator.

VERDICT
I recommend it. It’s definitely worth exploring as a method to harness and tame deposition transcripts.