Ramsey County District Court Moves to Electronic Filing With LexisNexis File & Serve; Selection Makes Ramsey County the First Minnesota Court to Incorporate Electronic Filing for Civil Cases

The effort to bring electronic filing to Minnesota was led byJudge Michael DeCourcy of the Second Judicial District, along withCivil Court Administrator Lynae Olson. "LexisNexis File & Serve helpsus meet our objective to continually improve the litigation process,"said Judge DeCourcy. "We expect to increase our ability to manage whatis the largest caseload of complex litigation in the state. Not onlywill there be better access to case information, but we will spendless time pushing paper and more time making decisions and resolvingcases."

Ms. Olson cited experience as a key factor in choosing File &Serve. "We selected LexisNexis File & Serve because of our experiencewith the service area of the system, implemented two years ago underthe direction of Judge DeCourcy. Attorneys who had been using thesystem for electronic service also expressed a high level ofsatisfaction with it," she said.

With its selection of the File & Serve system, the Ramsey CountyDistrict Court becomes the first court in Minnesota to incorporateelectronic filing for civil cases. Ramsey County covers the city ofSt. Paul and surrounding area. The File & Serve system will initiallybe used with the court's civil asbestos litigation cases.

File & Serve addresses the issue of managing the overwhelmingamount of paper generated in litigation by providing the court with astreamlined process for automated docketing and real-time onlineaccess to filed documents. The system also provides links toLexisNexis legal citations directly from the documents submittedthrough the application.

Attorneys benefit from the File & Serve system by gaining easieraccess to court documents and by enabling them to deliver documents tothe court online instead of using couriers or runners. The courtclerks review the submitted documents online and forward those to thejudge. The judge in turn reviews the documents and is able to issuecourt orders back out to the attorneys through the File & Servesystem. Automated email alerts keep the court and attorneys up-to-dateon new activity in the cases, and an online case file is created foreasy access to documents.

"We continue to see strong demand for File & Serve as an onlineservice for courts," said Michele Vivona, vice president and generalmanager, LexisNexis Litigation Services. "Because we develop theapplication and host the system, there is little to no financial costto the court or the county. The benefits of electronic filing extendthroughout the legal system. Judges have better access to information,clerks get a more efficient process, and attorneys improve thedelivery of documents," she added.

File & Serve has electronic filing and/or service projects injurisdictions in 26 states and has well over one million cases online.Today, there are nearly 70,000 judges, clerks, attorneys and otherlegal professionals nationwide who have been registered to use theservice. File & Serve is offered to law firms through the newLexisNexis(R) Litigation Services, which provides strategic insightand greater control throughout the litigation process.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis(R) (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading provider ofinformation and services solutions, including its flagship Web-basedLexis(R) and Nexis(R) research services, to a wide range ofprofessionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government,law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. A member of ReedElsevier Group plc (NYSE:ENL)(NYSE:RUK) (www.reedelsevier.com), thecompany does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employeesworldwide.

In the United States, LexisNexis(R) offers its customers totalpractice solutions comprised of an extensive range of online and printlegal, regulatory, news and business information products, tools,customized Web applications and critical filing services that helplegal professionals achieve excellence in the business and practice oflaw.