CaseLines: A Practical Overview – Law Department Performance

On July 29, 2020, Chief Justice Morawetz announced that the Ministry of the Attorney
General (“MAG”) will be piloting a new document sharing
and e-hearing platform for select civil matters located in Toronto
as of August 10, 2020, with the desire of having all Toronto
matters on the system by the end of August. By the end of 2020,
Ontario hopes to have all Superior Court proceedings using this
platform.

This platform, created by Thomson Reuters, is aptly named
“CaseLines”. Needless to say, this announcement has been
met with a healthy dose of excitement, skepticism and curiosity
from the bar.

On August 13, 2020, The Advocates’ Society held a session
entitled “Introduction to Thomson Reuters –
CaseLines” to discuss the new roll out. This session
provided a comprehensive overview of the software, its
functionality and a demonstration of CaseLines in action. Below is
a summary of how CaseLines functions, the benefits it provides
litigants and — most importantly — what it does not
purport to do.

Overview of the Platform

CaseLines is a document sharing and storage platform that allows
all parties, counsel, judges, masters, court staff and anyone of
their choosing to access all of the documents for a proceeding in
one electronic location. It is completely cloud-based and, in Chief
Justice Morawetz’s words, extremely
“user-friendly”.

It is highly important to keep in mind that CaseLines is not a
“virtual court counter”, but is rather your new
“virtual hearing binder”. 

The platform is accessible 24 hours a day via the internet. It
allows parties and/or counsel to share documents of any size and
any file format before and during a court hearing.

There is currently no charge for use of CaseLines by MAG. All
matters falling within the scope of the pilot will be able to use
the program. It is recommended that counsel register in advance for
the program at ontariocourts.caselines.com, or they will be
required to do so when added to their first CaseLines file.

Given we are in the early days of the project, MAG is currently
testing when the appropriate time is for a CaseLines file to be
created. At the moment, a file will likely be opened on CaseLines
by court staff when an “event” is scheduled — such
as a motion, case conference, or the return of a hearing. Counsel
do not open a file on CaseLines themselves. A file on the
CaseLines system is distinct from having a court file open.

When the court staff opens a CaseLines file, they will add the
existing style of cause and the emails of either counsel or the
self-represented parties to the system. These individuals will
receive an email notifying them that they have been added to a
case. Counsel will see, after having logged into CaseLines and
having accessed their case from the menu, that pre-created
categories of documents will exist (ie. factums, motion records,
exhibits, etc). These categories are created by the CaseLines
system and court staff depending on the specific matter.

Once added to a CaseLines file, counsel can add the emails of
other individuals who they wish to have access to the file so that
those individuals may view and upload material themselves.
Registered users are able to upload up to 100 documents at a time,
in any file format, into the pre-created document folders, which
allows CaseLines to stay completely organized. 

When material is uploaded, CaseLines will apply its own
pagination to a document and will also perform optical character
recognition (“OCR”), thus ensuring that all documents are
searchable.

In keeping with the best practices of document preservation,
CaseLines also allows all files to be uploaded in their native
format. So, for example, a video exhibit uploaded to CaseLines will
allow the judge to see the metadata indicating on what device the
video was taken and when it was recorded.

CaseLines is beneficial both for hearing preparation and during
the hearing itself. When preparing for a hearing, counsel and
judges have the ability to make private notes, highlights, sticky
notes and other annotations on documents that are only viewable to
that individual — or to any specific person with whom they
wish to share them. These notes, and the documents they are
contained within, can be downloaded for offline use if needed.

In the event a user needs to view multiple documents at once,
CaseLines has the ability to view documents side-by-side, thus
allowing for comparison or cross-referencing.

When a document is uploaded to the system, CaseLines can be set
by court staff to notify all persons who are registered to that
specific file of a new document upload. Court staff also have the
ability to lock a file to prevent further uploads if necessary.

During a hearing itself, counsel and judges are able to use, and
indeed are recommended to use, CaseLines when referring to
material. CaseLines has a functionality that allows a speaker to
direct all persons logged into that particular file to a specific
page in the record. For example, if counsel wanted to refer
the court to paragraph 20 of a particular decision, they can pull
that paragraph up on the screen of all other persons currently
using the program — without ever accessing the computers of
those other individuals or sharing their own screen.

Counsel are also able to bookmark portions of the evidence to
seamlessly move through the record during oral argument.

For those rightfully concerned about security, CaseLines is
fully encrypted end-to-end.  The data centre storing all of
the material is located in Canada.

It is important to note that, when uploading documents, counsel
must also keep in mind the appropriate naming conventions, which
have been outlined in a recent Supplementary Notice to the Profession
released by the Superior Court. While CaseLines does have its own
system of organization, it is imperative that counsel do their part
to maintain this system by complying with the various rules.
Further, each judicial region will set its own requirements for
when documents must be uploaded to CaseLines by, in advance of a
hearing.

What CaseLines Does Not Do

For all of the great benefits CaseLines provides, it is not a
comprehensive online justice system:

• CaseLines is not a replacement for the Justice Services Online
  portal that counsel use to either issue claims or file specified
  documents. The recent expansion of services provided through that
  portal is wholly distinct from CaseLines. Parties must still
  file their court documents at the court office or in the Justice
  Services Online portal in accordance with the applicable rules of
  procedure, Notices to the Profession and Practice Directions.
  MAG has indicated that they hope to create a single step process in
  the future. Remember, CaseLines is your virtual hearing binder, not
  your virtual court counter;




• Uploading on CaseLines does not constitute service;




• CaseLines is not a video hearing platform that will replace
  Zoom, CourtCall, Microsoft Teams or any other platform being
  currently used. As it stands, it is strictly for document
  management; and




• For all the benefits CaseLines has when it comes to OCR and
  pagination, CaseLines is not a document preparation system. Counsel
  must continue to create proper briefs of documents — but
  CaseLines may affect how you go about doing so.

Practical Tips

Thomson Reuters has indicated that there will not be the ability
for counsel to test the system prior to a hearing. As a result, it
is highly recommended that all counsel view the online
instructional videos posted by Thomson Reuters and/or
MAG. 

When using CaseLines, there are some practical tips to keep in
mind that will make the process smoother for all those
involved:

• CaseLines does not have the ability for you to use your Adobe
  bookmarks. When a document is uploaded, take the time to find the
  correct CaseLines pagination for each section of your document and
  put those in your speaking notes;




• During hearings, refer to pages by their CaseLines pagination.
  This allows all parties and the judges to search using the software
  for a specific page in an efficient manner;




• If using paper copies of records during oral argument, have the
  CaseLines pagination transposed onto them;




• It may be possible to discuss with your case management judge
  and opposing counsel whether a procedural order allowing service
  through CaseLines can be made. This will require counsel to be
  cognizant that update emails from CaseLines may be missed, and so
  regular logins to check for recently uploaded documents may be
  necessary;




• The more computer monitors you have, the easier it is to view
  electronic documents;




• Practice reading the material online in CaseLines. Chances are
  your judge will start to use the CaseLines version of documents,
  and so you too should be just as comfortable with electronic
  material and how to navigate the software; and




• Use the screen direct feature during both in-person and virtual
  hearings. There is no need to screenshare on Zoom anymore!

Conclusion

CaseLines truly is a remarkable breakthrough for the legal
profession. It is long overdue.  While the system is not
perfect and, at times, will result in duplication of effort for
different document management tasks, the overall efficiency and
cost-savings in the long run are immeasurable.

COVID-19 has forced the legal profession in Ontario to adapt to
a largely virtual world.  This is simply another example.
Counsel need to become familiar with this software, its benefits
and its detriments in order to continue being effective advocates
for their clients. While Ontario works towards an integrated online
platform that allows for document management, potential service,
and e-filing all in the same location — CaseLines is a
welcome first step. We are one step closer to the digital default
world.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.