Review

Sanction v2.8

By Kim Plonsky

May/June 2006 Table of Contents

As more and more courts throughout the nation go paperless — some already enforce mandatory electronic filing — it never has been more critical for a legal professional to have all client case materials in electronic format. And when a software solution that sells for less than $600 efficiently can corral all case documents, exhibits, images, transcripts and videos into a complete multi­media presentation package, and integrates with some of the most popular third-party applications, going paperless can be a reality — even for the solo practitioner.

Sanction v2.8 by Verdict Systems is much more than an extremely powerful and flexible document management and multimedia presentation system. With Sanction, you are in complete control of your cases and able to access all manner of trial materials within seconds. Gone are the days of fumbling through boxes at trial, trying to locate documents or exhibits while attempting to stay focused, confident and organized. Furthermore, by implementing Sanction’s dual-monitor capability at trial, you can use one PC monitor for trial presentations and the other for private functions.

The program’s user interface is clear, logical and instantly familiar. It’s designed with common Microsoft Windows attributes (e.g., right-click context-sensitive menus and drag-and-drop functionality). Adding to the ease of use is the Windows Explorer-style directory tree format of core case components, which include “Documents,” “Images,” “Transcripts,” “Videos” and “Other Exhibits.” The components also can be in formats such as HTML files, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, Portable Document Format files and CaseSoft’s TimeMap timelines.

One of the most powerful features of Sanction v2.8 is the customizable coding of case items that facilitates running search queries. Encoding of case materials in Sanction allows you to quickly locate and access select documents and case items based on common search criteria. In addition to Sanction’s default coding fields, such as “Description” or “Exhibit Number,” you can add a variety of new code fields. Also, Sanction comes with several default coding templates, each of which can be modified and saved for reuse as a new template.

Another particularly insightful feature in Sanction is its “Temp Items Folder.” Dragging and dropping any case item into this special folder creates a shortcut to that item, while leaving it intact in its original location. Items can be stored in the “Temp Items Folder” for viewing, printing or exporting, and then simply deleted later. This feature drastically reduces the amount of jumping around from folder to folder — which can be confusing, especially in cases with thousands of items.

Perhaps the greatest tool in Sanction is its transcript-handling feature, which can synchronize a video clip or exhibit with a transcript directly from the transcript view. Another unique feature is the ability to create a new transcript from a plain text file for those times when a transcript in court reporter format is unavailable, or for making transcripts out of witness interviews or voice mail messages.

Overall, I enthusiastically recommend Sanction v2.8. It’s a versatile and flexible document management and trial presentation solution. Sanction’s ability to integrate with third-party applications, such as CT Summation iBlaze, LiveNote and RealLegal Binder, seals the deal, making it a must-have program for litigators.