Preserve “Big Picture” Focus with Primafact’s Binder View

The most notable feature of Primafact, in my view, is unquestionably the most basic – the binder. I love Primafact’s binder view. It’s great to be able to lay out your documents in an order that captures the “flow” of your matter, with items laid out in a progressive sequence rather than being forced into standard “sort” listings (by date, alphabetical name etc.).

In this post, I will walk you through basic binder navigation. I’ll follow up with some tips on managing binders (setting up new binders, making copies etc.) in a future post.

Primafact’s binder view is very aptly named – it is simply an electronic replication of the way you would set up a tabbed binder, such Affidavits of Documents and pleadings. While this presentation format has long been a standard feature of legal practice, in document management, it’s quite unusual – and immensely helpful when establishing the “big picture” of a case.

When working on a matter, I find it useful to find my materials conceptually organized without having to make an effort to find and order them as needed for review. Of course, when retrieving a document in isolation, it’s just as easy to search, and this capability is now an expected feature in any DMS. While Primafact is built for super-fast searches, for regular review and markup, having a tabbed document set on hand (without continually re-sorting file directories) saves time and preserves focus. There is a reason that trial records are laid out like this – the human brain expects to follow a narrative.

Litigation files will eventually have to be organized into Affidavits of Documents and pleadings anyway, so why not get the benefit of organizing all your documentation and evidence in this format from the outset. By managing matters as they develop, you can assemble your pleadings without difficulty, and gain a better picture of your files anytime you review.

How Binders Work in Primafact

Binders in Primafact are designated by the blue binder icon:

Primafact binder icon

You can set up your files under a single file, or for more complex matters, multiple binders can be set up in more distinct categories to make navigation easier. Here is a basic Primafact binder view:

Primafact litigation software binders

Binders are set up like a table of contents which groups and lists the documents underneath tabs, sections, and subsections. Primafact binders will support up to six levels of numbered tabs, sections, and subsections. Binders may contain many different types of documents, including scanned documents, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, video, image, PDF and HTML files.

To open any document simply click on the title, and it will appear. You can make multiple copies of the same document for “special purpose” binders, such as review files (for yourself or an expert), or for proceedings like motions and mediations, so that you, or others in your firm can access the document from its principal location as well as anywhere else it’s needed.

You can re-purpose the table of contents to set up tables of contents for any printed materials you produce, and of course you can export your binders to CD for easy electronic document exchange.

Stay tuned for future posts on making great use of your Primafact binder.

Janice Zima LLB is an Ontario lawyer and marketing consultant. She has provided Primafact training and implementation consulting to law firms, and has worked extensively with Primafact in litigation practice.


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