Resource Center
It was 1998. Catalyst was still a division of the law firm Holland and Hart and one of our clients had been sued. Indeed, it wasn't just our client that had been sued. Rather, the suits involved just about every big name player in the Oil and Gas industry and the damages claims were for over a trillion dollars. The case was really dozens of cases spread across the oil patch. It was our clients' worst nightmare.
Coordinating the Defense
It didn't take long for the parties involved to realize that managing these cases would be a key priority. Pleadings were already beginning to pile up and the work had just begun. There would be motions to file, affidavits to write, supporting briefs to submit and so on, and so on. The question became how to coordinate everyone on the defense team, which soon grew to more than 340 law firms and clients.
Our client asked us how much it would cost to have a secretary dedicated "full time, if need be," to making copies of all the pleadings and other documents that had already started clogging the mailbox. We suggested another way of tackling the information glut: "What if we created a secure extranet, a private Web site accessible only to members of the defense team? We could upload the pleadings and other documents, using Adobe's Acrobat format. That way, everyone could view and download the documents instantly, eliminating the need for faxes and overnight couriers."
One of the First Litigation Extranets
The idea was pretty radical back in 1998, but it didn't take our clients long to see the practical benefits. If we could manage all of the files through an extranet, everyone would benefit-and not just by reducing expenses, but by improved efficiency, as well. Suddenly, key documents would be at everyone's fingertips whether they were at their desk or in a far away hotel room. What's more, it would be possible to search quickly through warehouses of paper to find one critical document and print it right there to read on the train ride home.
The site quickly proved successful, not just for managing documents between companies and law firms, but also for managing calendars, tasks and contact information. It quickly evolved into a three-tiered site, with information grouped and available only to those users with authorization to access those particular matters. Because the site was accessible via a browser, everyone could participate and nobody needed much training. With a centrally-hosted system, everything could be backed up carefully and the site could be updated to reflect advances in technology. Most important, we could offer industrial-grade security, since we controlled the servers and the method of information distribution.
Lasting Over Ten Years
The site proved extremely valuable to all the members and became the prototype for Catalyst's later products. While the interface keeps on improving, the fundamental benefits were in place from the very beginning. Hundreds of users from vastly different organizations can work together as a team, without the cost of enterprise software, special networks or overnight couriers. As the volume of data stored on the site grows, the benefits to users grows, too. That's the Catalyst advantage.
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