[blindlaw] questions about paper files

Sun Apr 11 19:45:37 UTC 2010

Hello Craig:
I'd say your question has two different answers to it. One for the office, 
and one for hearings and negotiations settings.
For my office , I work in an office with 9 other lawyers. I manage my 
documents in a disciplined and structured way out of necessity.
WE have only one secretary to handle all of us.
Of course, in practical terms that means we each do almost everything 
ourselves. So, when it comes to documents and dealing with other lawyers in 
my office, I make sure they all know how I do things.
I also make sure they know that, if they need a document out of one of my 
files, they need to either hand it back to me in person so that I can be the 
one to put it back, or that they can be trusted to return it to the right 
place. Failure to do so is, as you can guess, a tragedy in the making for 
me, and not them. For that reason, I am a very, very critical person when it 
comes to my fellow lawyers getting into one of my paper files.
 As you may guess, the paper file needs to be set up by me and in a way that 
is organized for me. I have only had to snarl at a fellow attorney twice in 
the past 7 years about "moving things around on me".

My case notes and telephone log, evidence notes and exhibits list all go 
onto my external hard drive and is backed up weekly to two other locations, 
one at home and one at work. Is this extra work? You bet.
Is it double coverage? You bet.
Am I covered if one or two machines of mine or the offices die? You bet.
That really isn't as much work as it sounds, I have found that the backups 
take about 15 to twenty minutes a week, so it really isn't so bad once you 
get used to doing it.
I had our office manager, who was wise enough to have all of our server 
information backed up to an off-site location daily, to move my local 
"MyDocuments" folders onto the server directly - so in point of fact, I have 
my stuff protected as much as I possibly can.
 You see, for me, the paper file is important, but my electronic file is 
more important for obvious reasons.
But everything in each of my paper files is referenced in my electronic 
file.
Paper documents and evidence that has come into the office for my files are 
either scanned and then converted to text using K-1000 or some other 
program, or is very strictly referenced in my electronic notes, such as, for 
example those god-awful doctor's and nurses notes that come in that 
handwriting that only a doctor or nurse can decode. (And they say blind 
people have bad handwriting. Sheesh)
  I then make certain that all documents are in one of two forms, depending 
upon what type of situation I am going into. By this I mean, if it is to be 
either a negotiation where I would want to show the other side specific 
documents one at a time, or in a full blown hearing in court where an 
evidence binder is a better idea.
If it is a settlement negotiation, and I want the other side to see only one 
documentt at a time, I make sure that each document is referenced 
individually, with a cover sheet of braille on it. This way the other side 
will see only a braille coversheet - this not only tells me what it is, but 
drives the other side nuts if they are trying to peek at things on my side 
of the table.
Not that a fellow attorney would try to read something on my side of the 
table deliberately, mind you.
IT simply gives me additional control over the documentation and how it can 
be seen, only when and where I wish it. We have all seen how contentious 
some settings can be. So strict control over what your opponent can chance a 
look at is important.
There are two ways that documents can be referenced  electronically, at 
least by me.
I am, as some on this list know, a bit of self-taught computer geek. I don't 
know all that much about programs, but what I do know is important enough to 
warrant direct knowledge by me.
I will, for example, have my exhibit list done up, and then drop my 
electronic exhibits in the same MS word document as the list. I then go in 
and hyperlink each item on the exhibit list to the document. In this way, no 
matter what document adverse counsel or a judge or hearings officer decides 
to look at or make reference to, I simply hit the link, or pull up the 
bookmark list and pop down to it. I happen to use JAWS, and a link list or 
bookmark list is very easy to pull up no matter where you are inside a 
document. That comes in real handy for me, especially in some of my Cases 
where I am advocating for adaptive technology.
IS this extra work? Yes it is.
  Do I bill the client for this? No, I don't.
You only need to do this sort of thing a few times and it is faster and 
easier to do than you think.
In some ways this will put you on a fairly even footing with your sighted 
adverse counsel. Well, as much as a blind attorney can be that is.
What about when I am in court - assuming I have submitted an evidence 
binder. Well, when sitting at counsel table it is easy to use either braille 
or a laptop. I personally prefer the laptop. I have never had a judge tell 
me to leave counsel table to stand at the podium. and place me at a 
disadvantage. Would I carry my laptop up to a podium? Well, yes, I could, 
but never have.
Oh yes, one other thing about using a computer - I am blind enough that I 
cannot see the screen at all. So I will use either a wired earpiece or my 
blue tooth earpiece to hear what is on my screen. Nobody else can hear it, 
so client confidentiality is as safeguarded as much as possible. It really 
is a different way to practice law, but works, does not comprimise anything 
for your client and gets the job done.
Although there was that one time when a new, young and sighted attorney in 
my office came with me to court to help, and spilled an entire pitcher of 
ice water on the paper file, my laptop and me.
Well, if you're going to have a mishap, do it in front of a superior court 
judge and a courtroom full of your colleagues, right?
 That was one time I did stand up and do it all from the podium. If you 
prepare enough, the foregoing type of mishap isn't as bad is it sounds. 
Although, to this day, certain lawyers will ask me before a hearing if I 
would like a drink of water.
There are as many war stories about the "unexpected" during hearings as 
there are lawyers on this list, and I think that some day we should all 
write them down and post them somewhere. People won't believe a lot of them, 
I promise you that. Like the time my spring-loaded umbrella erupted out of 
my briefcase during a hearing at counsel table...

I do some work in court, a lot of administrative hearings and do a lot of 
settlement work, so over the years I have developed what works for me at my 
level of training.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that you need to do what will work 
for you, as an attorney doing your type of work.
The way I have noted here about me is only one way, and it happens to work 
for me.
You will most certainly get a spectrum of different ideas from other lawyers 
on this list, and I promise you they will all be good ideas.
You should pick and choose, or modify until you hit on a method that makes 
you comfortable and works for you.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Craig Spencer" <craigspencer2.0 at gmail.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 1:02 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] questions about paper files

> For attorneys who work in offices with other attorneys, how do you address
> managing the paper file for a case?
>
> Do you set-up the file yourself?  What about when a document needs to be
> referenced or shown to the opposing side?
>
>
>
>
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