Leveraging Filenames to Automate Exhibit Prep

Every litigator and paralegal knows that exhibit preparation can be very time consuming. The process tends to be manual, repetitive, and prone to error. You have hundreds of documents that need exhibit stickers, slipsheets to add to motion exhibits, and so on.

Usually, this involves opening a file, adding the sticker or slipsheet, and doing this over and over and over again., But what if you could easil automate the exhibit assembly line? They key is your filename.

Filenames as Data

A filename shouldn't just be a label. A file named scan_2023_05_12_final_v3.pdf is useless for automation and it doesn'ttell the court or your colleagues much about the document either.

However, a standardized filename like Ex. 1 2023 Sales Contract.pdf works much better. It contains distinct pieces of data that software can parse: the exhibit prefix, the exhibit number (or letter), and the descriptive part of the title.

Software that can "read" that filename makes exhibit prep easier and more accurate.

Step One: Getting Your Docs Ready

Renaming hundreds of files manually to match a standard convention is a pain. This is where Exhibit Flow’s file renamer comes in.

When stamping or doing your slipsheets, use Exhibit Flow to standardize your filenames. Our app lets you rename your files by easily organzing and batch-renaming documents according to a set schema (e.g., [Exhibit Prefix] [Number]_[Description]).

Further, Exhibit Flow can parse a wide array of filenames, giving you plenty of options. Finally, courts are increasingly requiring descriptive filenames for docket entries, meaning you should be renaming them to a set pattern regardless.

The Benefits of Automation

Once Exhibit Flow has standardized your filenames, the rest of the exhibit production process is quick and easy:

1. Automated Exhibit Stickers: Exhibit Flow's state of the art exhibit sticker tool can pull the exhibit number directly from the beginning of the filename. The software reads Ex. 001 Letter.pdf, generates a digital sticker reflecting that exhibit number, and places it on the document without you typing a single character (and then processes the rest of your files via a one-click workflow).

2. Easy Slip Sheets: If you need cover pages for a motion or a binder, our slipsheet automation tool can read the your filenames well to generate numbered/lettered slipsheets for each of your files automatically.

3. Perfect PDF Bookmarks: When combining documents into an appellate appendix , creating bookmarks is key to facilitating appellate review. Instead of manually creating bookmarks for dozens of files, our software reviews your filenames and creates bookmarks for each entry in the appendix as well as a a Table of Contents showing the name of each appendix entry and its page range. It can, of course, add pagination too. Further, if you wish to merge your exhibit stickered or slipsheeted exhibits, our app can add PDF bookmarks to them as well.

   
   

Stop wasting hours on work that Exhibit Flow lets you do in minutes. Exhibit Flow makes deadline day a breeze.