We were proud to see Jaclyn Dunham, the acting Trial Division Manager at the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP), named as a finalist in the ‘Hitting the Big Time’ category of the recent ALTA Awards – which looked to identify the best example of collaboration between an enterprise stakeholder and technology provider to implement a legal tech solution in Australia.
The OPP is Victoria’s largest criminal legal practice. Made up of solicitors, social workers, legal support staff, and corporate and executive services staff who work in different specialist areas, the OPP prepares and conducts indictable (serious) criminal matters on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The OPP worked with TA Law to build a better way to distribute briefs to barristers. The eBrief Ready software addresses a number of important issues present in the legal industry – all of which have been magnified since the Covid-19 pandemic.
- How to work effectively and securely from home
- How to move trials online to reduce overcrowding and improve access to justice
- How to reduce the levels of waste in the process (time and environment) and improve productivity
- How to improve collaboration between all parties involved in a matter
- How to run a paperless trial (no more trolleys full of folders)
eBrief Ready’s vision for an industry-standard approach to electronic briefing for the legal profession has certainly been reinforced by the impact of the pandemic. The platform, more secure than old methods (email, couriers) and more accessible from anywhere at any time, complements and supports every step along the judicial path.
The OPP handles a high volume of cases – and they regularly brief outside counsel on those matters. Prior to eBrief Ready, when working with the OPP, barristers would receive one large document bundle which would be downloaded from a secure site. Video and audio files would be distributed via USB sticks. The document bundle was not very user friendly – often too big to work with.
The introduction of eBrief Ready meant that all individual documents contained within a barristers’ brief can be easily searched and annotated. The system also allows the uploading of video and audio, which removes the need to send USB sticks. The introduction of eBrief Ready has meant that barristers can now prepare and run paperless trials.
Via regular workshops and close collaboration with Jaclyn and her team at the OPP, three new features were added to the product concerning folder structures, subfolders and notifications. These were critical in terms of shaping the platform to the very specific needs of the organisation.
Below is a video where Jaclyn discusses the collaboration process with eBrief Ready, as well as the key outcomes from her perspective of working closely together.