Initiative # 5:  Automated Docket Clearance – my proposition

My vision for automated docket clearance would go something like the following. Please note, all current “next-gen” IP Management systems (the thin-client, web-based collaborative models) are built to manage the following process; they’re just not deployed with any imagination:

1.       Lawyers would log in to their “My Matters” screen in the morning and review their due dates for the day (or week or month – we should all be clearing dates well in advance, right?)

2.       For each due date, the lawyer would review the matter, complete the due work, and then annotate the docket item directly with three pieces of information: 

a.       A Clearance Instruction (this should be pre-defined dropdown list in the system)

b.      Clearance notes

c.       An attached electronic copy of the original work product or scanned physical document (in the integrated document management system)

3.       An instructed due date would automatically fall of the lawyer’s To-Do list.  An empty To-Do list for the given period indicates that the Attorney has completed his work responsibilities.

4.       An instructed due date would automatically be routed to the Docket Department for review.  Since the firm has placed policies on the routing criteria, the docket department can be assured that the information requirements to clear a date have been completed.

5.       The docket department logs in to their “Outstanding Due Dates” screen in the morning. This is the list of all completed To Do Items from the Attorneys.  Reviewing and completing the date clearance removes the dates from the Docket Department’s To-Do list.

6.       The process is completed in real time, and with no paper being routed. All actions, triggers, and documents are tracked and audited in the system for future reference.