Great Litigation Software

I am a Michigan licensed attorney and have been practicing since 2001. Most of my practice is focused on business and employment litigation supplemented with employment law compliance and Internet related transactional work. In the middle of 2014, after years of using Lexis Case Map and TimeStream by Ntrepid, as well as other options (Word documents to create outlines, Excel to track data, etc.) I tried Factbox on a trial basis and shortly thereafter became a full-time, paying customer. It has become an integral part of my legal practice for myself and paralegal. There is a very short learning curve. Both my paralegal and I were able to use it with minimal time trying to figure out its features or setting it up for our cases. The software is extremely flexible in terms of using it for a diverse range of cases. Yet, it is very easy to set up case templates to efficiently recycle legal work product for the next case. Also, FactBox does not require any advanced server configurations or other technology specific integrations for my paralegal and me to use the product in the office or remotely. In contrast, other products required setting up onsite hosting solution and/or hosted options with additional fees/licensing in order to have real-time, remote access. Also, the report features have created a number of efficiencies relative to depositions and other court proceedings. For example, tagging facts with certain keywords allow me to generate reports (word documents or spreadsheets) with information specific to a deponent. Also, it allows for a centralized database where information about witnesses is collected. We also use the witness information to generate witness list. Additionally, the customer service has been top-shelf; Very responsive and knowledgeable about the product.

The facts about Factbox

Helps with organizing the elements of a cause of action / criminal elements. Link the elements to facts that support the elements. Also encourages you to think in the IRAC thinking process

Pros

It allows you to create your case / fact organizational paradigm for each type of case handled. Excellent for thought organization

Cons

I would hope that some of the reports generated could be formatted for how I would prefer to use them.

Organizing issues and facts

I was pleased with the ability to find important information quickly. I appreciated the ability to add detailed information to each link. The ability to organize facts and issues into a "tree" of the main issue with sub-issues was invaluable. However, the difficulty in keeping track of what documents were added to the program was significant.

Pros

FactBox allowed me to organize issues and facts to later come back to find important information quickly.

Cons

FactBox does not allow the organization of the imported sources or documents so I can quickly determine whether I've added the source/document to the FactBox database.

Great Organizational Tool

FactBox has been a tremendous resource to help me organize my case, including the key documents and testimony, as well as my own thoughts and ideas.

Pros

Easy to set up, lots of customizable functionality, quick loading and easily accessible outside the office, multiple options for viewing and organizing the same content (e.g., by date, by custodian/source, by issue, etc.), fantastic customer service.

Cons

The print options are less customizable, so font size, spacing, margins, etc. have to be adjusted manually each time. The navigation panel is also a little small and autoscrolls to the top.

Generates good-looking reports, easy to use

Simple, straightforward interface converts into a good-looking MS Word report, especially in "memo mode,"- making it a serious time-saver for report drafting (especially with its collaborative capabilities). Organization fields allow for sorting alphabetically, chronologically, by user-generated tags and by source, and can be done ad infinitum, and being able to reorganize like that allows for a much-needed "second perspective" when presenting findings. Like I said it's a simple interface, so there learning curve is quick. Easy to set up and get started on, otherwise haven't had too much customer service contact. Excited to see what kinds of updates they put out.