Summary

We will need to be provided with the Documents in the correct format to ensure they can be efficiently uploaded and are fully functional on the platform. 

Generally, documents are stored on the legal team's internal drives or in a disclosure platform such as Relativity. The formatting requirements are the same for each and whilst the preparation process is largely the same, there may be some elements that a disclosure company can assist with.  

We've set out the document formatting requirements and the preparation process below. 

Opus has worked closely with several disclosure providers and would be happy to liaise with them, alongside the legal team, to streamline the upload process where possible.

Formatting Requirements 

  1. Unitised - All documents should be provided as individual files to allow their own metadata to be assigned, ensuring there is one file per row of metadata on the load file. 
    1. For example, a bundle of ten documents should be sent as ten individual files, as opposed to one combined PDF file. 
  2. Text Searchable (OCR'd) - PDFs should be OCR'd, ensuring they are text searchable to allow full functionality across the platform.
  3. Optimised - Where possible, files should be optimised to ensure the PDF size is reduced for the page count, allowing for efficient use. 
  4. PDF Files - Documents should be provided as PDF files where possible (i.e. Email, Word, PowerPoint files etc), allowing them to be be read and used within the platform. 
    1. Page Count - PDFs exceeding 1,000 pages would need to be split into 500 page parts for optimum performance.
    2. Data Size - PDFs over 1GB would need to be reduced or split into parts.
    3. PDF Features - Interactive features available in PDF Software (such as comment boxes or sticky notes) are specific to offline software and will not be accessible on the platform (some may be lost upon upload).
  5. Native Files - Any file that cannot be sensibly converted to a PDF (i.e. Excel, Video, Audio files etc) should provided in the native file format and would appear as a hyperlinked slipsheet upon upload.
    1. Hyperlinked Slipsheets - Native documents will appear as a hyperlinked slipsheets, allowing the user to select the hyperlink to download the underlying file for use offline in the native software. As a result, users cannot view or collaborate across the contents of the natives within the platform. 
    2. Display at the Hearing - All natives will be pre-downloaded by the operator and they will be able to display files accessible via Microsoft Office applications or Adobe Reader, as well as videos (Access and video files may need to be tested). Any files requiring bespoke software will need to be discussed with you Case Manager in advance of the hearing. 
More information on:
- Unitisation can be found here.
- OCR services can be found here.

Preparation Process

  1. Format the Documents - Ensure the documents have been prepared inline with the Document Formatting Requirements. If downloading from an disclosure platform, ensure the OCR data is embedded in the PDFs.
  2. Document Filenames - Provided the filenames are unique within a folder and they match the value included in the Filename column of the load file, they don't need renaming however if it is easily to do in bulk, or if you were amending the filenames to assist with internal preparations, we would suggest formatting them as Bundle_Tab to ensure simple and unique filenames.  
    1. Disclosure ID - If exporting the documents from a disclosure platform, the files should be named after their Disclosure ID / any other unique ID, ensuring they match the Filename values in the load file.
    2. Folder Paths - If filenames are not unique across folders, we will need the Folder Path metadata to be included in the load file as this can be used with the filename, to ensure there is a unique mapping value. 
  3. Documents in Folders - Within File Explorer, create a folder structure, titling the folders inline with the intended bundles and sub-bundles, i.e. Bundle A, Bundle B etc. Collate the documents and place them in the corresponding folders. 
    1. Not Provided in Folders - If the documents are sent not in the intended folders, a Folder Path column would need to be included in the load file. Opus can then construct the structure, with the upload taking longer and costing more as a result. 
  4. Zip File - Create a .zip file of the documents ready for sending to Opus. 
More information on how to extract filenames and folder paths from File Explorer can be found here.