Dear
Sid,
I am
happy to report on the quality and usefulness of DOCUdavit
Solutions so far. As you know, I contacted your company
in the early Fall of 2005 to advise that I was preparing a
first degree murder trial scheduled to begin in January
2006 at the courthouse in Newmarket. My office and home
are in Toronto. My junior lawyer on the trial also works
and lives in Toronto. Neither one of us was thrilled with
the prospect of transporting the disclosure back and forth
as it comprised six bankers' boxes of material. I also
advised you that Legal Aid Ontario was funding the case
and that there was a co-accused who had two defence
lawyers as well.. You told me that you could prepare the
material in such a way as to benefit all four lawyers.
We
were successful in obtaining the funding from LAO (Legal
Aid Ontario) and you took the six boxes from my office in
November 2005. Within a few weeks you returned the boxes
in tact along with the program for my computer. I have
the material scanned into my desktop at the office as well
as my laptop. My co-counsel on this trial has it scanned
on her laptop which is the only computer she uses. We
have the use of an office at the courthouse in Newmarket
where we keep the boxes and hard copies of all the
material. I bring my lap top home every night without
worrying about which files I need to review. Until now, I
have never gone through a trial without having to drive to
the courthouse at night to pick up some disclosure I had
forgotten to bring home. This is a wonderful service!
After
receiving the program I was able to work from any location
using my lap top. I began to review the material and set
up categories of evidence based on issues or witness
names. Instead of photocopying a witness' statement or
police officers notes 5-6 times to include them in other
related witnesses' files, I simply pressed a button and
created an index. In seconds I had created a sub file
based on a issue containing all the disclosure of the
related witnesses. This is a remarkable tool for saving
hours of preparation time. LAO can save thousands of
dollars by providing this service to lawyers handling
large cases.
When I
prepare examinations of witnesses, I use the search
function to locate their names or issues within the body
of all the evidence so that I can compare their evidence
to others on the same issue. In moments I find the
evidence of all witnesses whose evidence is related to the
same issue. I can cut and paste from the documents
scanned to prepare my examinations and application
records. I can email documents to lawyers representing
the various witnesses in the trial. They love that
function! When we are in court, I bring only the one file
for the particular witness. If something comes up and I
need to review the notes of another witness that is
related to this witness, I simply use the search function
and voila! No need to recess court, while I go searching
through six boxes in my office.
I
think DOCUdavit is an excellent service for criminal
lawyers preparing for trials with large amounts of
disclosure. I have requested LAO fund it for another
murder trial for which I am currently preparing and
reading through six boxes.
Finally, I wish to add that you and your associates have
provided immediate support assistance. I had a crisis
over the Christmas holiday shortly before trial was set to
begin. Your support technician somewhere worked me
through it on the phone on a statutory holiday. I have
been completely satisfied with your service and product.
Yours
truly,
Cindy R. Wasser, Barrister
WASSER MCARTHUR LLP, Barristers
Contact DOCUdavit today. |
