Document Assembly & Case Management Blog

Office13, aka Office 2006, now in final beta, introduces a new format WordML, a Microsoft variant of XML that includes XML objects and proprietary Word formatting extensions.  XML has the potential to revolutionize document assembly, allowing for the creation of dynamic editable templates.  D3 and Perfectus make extensive use of XML encoding in Office 2003.  They present a case study in diametrically opposite approaches to the design of document automation software.

We have been busy restructuring all our website in the Basha Systems family: Bashasys.net, our client new client portal, Bashasys.com, our main consulting site, Bashasys.org our Fogbugz project tracking site, store.bashasys.com, our store.  There are two other sites almost ready to go live to support our Nebraska Probate System V and a new system for Building Inspectors. With these items out of the way, I am ready to return to commenting on developments in Document Assembly.  In particular, HotDocs 2006 is about to go into Full Beta. I have gathered posted by chief architect of HotDocs Marshall Morrise to the public HotDocs list.  When the product comes out of beta and is released, come back for a discussion of these innovative new features.

At Basha Systems we have recently launched a new and improved client portal.  The system is built in SubDreamer and phpBB2.  We provide a private space for client announcement and downloads. On the client home page we give an overview of recent postings in a private threaded discussion forum.

Basha Systems continues it exploration of finding the most efficient technology to provide information on document assembly and its potential as a “disruptive technology” that created “profits” for the practice of law. Part of this exploration has been the porting of the this blog to Expression Engine. Other examples can be seen on the main Bashasys.com web site with the introduction of Video Tours of our system. See Document Assembly Video Tours. Another element is the use of integrated web publishing and threaded discussion technology which will soon be available as a private Client Portal on Bashasys.Net

SATISFACTION ... 40 YEARS LATER

Superbowl XL was a tour de force, with the largest audience of any show all year.  It is the one football game I watch each year ... “I watch for the commercials” and the “half-time” show.  This year, Mick Jagger of ther Rolling Stones performed the half-time show ... without a “wardrobe malfunction”.  At the age of 62, Mick Jagger opened with the remark, that it took 40 years from when he burst onto the Rock ‘n Roll scene to make it to the mainstream of the Superbowl XL ("40").  Dancing around a giant tongue (stuck out at full length, as in a “Brooklyn cheer") he launched into a rousing rendition of “I can’t get no Satisfication ...” and I tried, and I tried, and I tried.

A DECADE LATER

It has now been over a decade since I left my comfortable “New York” litigation practice to enter the area of document assembly consulting.  In the ten years, document assembly has gone from “fringe and novel” to “mainstream.  For many attorneys it is a central part of their process, whether it be for generating high-volume pleadings, prepare probate applications, or drafting wills and complex tax-sheltering trusts.  This article is a reminsce on the past decade in document assembly.

Another year has come and gone ... LegalTech New York ... The largest annual technology show.  Despite the emphasis on Litigation support systems, there were some notable participants at the conference presenting document assembly solutions.  HotDocs was there as part of LexisNexis’ Total Practice Management initiative; DealBuilder with it online document assembly system powered by a unique “relevance engine”; Perfectus Solutions with its browser-based IPManager document creation and delivery system; iXIO with its innovate online document modelling solution (Q-Shift); and Microsystems with its Word-ML basis document creation system (D3).

It has been over a year of hard work, but the new Wealth Transfer Planning, SmartContent Practice System(tm) has been released.  Basha Systems has ported the SmartWord’s based estate planning templates over to HotDocs.  The system features a unique custom interface to HotDocs that supports Firm Preferences, a separate Client and Matter Interview, Profile settings, customizable Templates and customizable Stylesheets.  It represents a “revolution” in the way to handle document assembly.  The efforts of myself, Ian Burrows and Rose Rowland are to thanks.  Basha Systems will be providing ongoing support for the templates as well as extensive customization services.

Some thoughts you might consider in providing QC for your templates.

Just for fun, I have included some interesting off-label uses of HotDocs.

In the past week I have been approach twice by people seeking to buy or build on online commercial lending document assembly system and asked for the appropriate platform.  As a consultant, I patiently explained the options and why merely purchasing a system would expose the company to unacceptable risks; that while I was a lawyer turned programmer, this went beyond the risks I was willing to assume as an automator. In so doing, the issue arose, what warranty does an automator make as to the legal viability of the forms produced.