eReports - Kraft Kennedy & Lesser, Inc.

Accessing Summation Remotely

This article looks at a recent example of a remote access challenge and a solution that worked.

The first challenge: The litigation included several lawsuits involving multiple parties in multiple jurisdictions but arising out of a common transaction. Document discovery, motions, and trial preparation would be conducted by a team of attorneys located in several cities. These litigators wanted to be able to access a common Summation database, to search for documents, view and annotate summaries, and to print these to their local printers. Summation was already installed on the firm’s network, but using it over its wide area network (WAN) would have an unacceptably slow response time because the WAN links did not have enough capacity or bandwidth.

The second challenge: In addition, some of the parties on the same side of the litigation were represented by separate counsel from other firms. The parties and all attorneys representing counsel and co-counsel wanted to collaborate in document discovery and build and use a common litigation database for trial preparation. Primary counsel wanted to allow co-counsel attorneys access to the Summation database, but did not want to give them access to other documents or resources on the firm’s network.

The solution: KKL consultants analyzed these challenges and developed a solution that satisfied the need to provide remote access to the scattered counsel and co-counsel, without giving co-counsel access to the firm’s network. Summation was installed on a dedicated server, and Windows Terminal Server/Citrix (“WTS/Citrix”) was used to allow all attorneys access to Summation from web browsers (such as Internet Explorer) on their office workstations or from any computer with Internet access. With this approach, none of the attorneys needed Summation installed on their workstations. Performance was not an issue since all attorneys had high-speed Internet access, and because WTS/Citrix, when properly configured, transmits information differently and much faster than could be accomplished by running Summation over the WAN. It also provided the network security required by the firm.

The caveat: The solution described here is not the only way to remotely access Summation. Recent versions of Summation (iBlaze) provide some remote access capabilities, such as the Summation Web Server Console (SWSC), with more remote features planned for future releases. Which solution is best for the litigation teams in your firm depends on your specific requirements. Which features and functions of Summation are most critical for your litigation team? Do you need remote access? What are the capabilities of your firm’s local and WAN infrastructure? How would the additional costs of software licensing fees, installation, and any hardware compare to costs you are already paying? How much do the users need to learn and how will they acquire that knowledge? These and other considerations should be discussed with your firm’s network administrator to find the right solution for your litigation teams.

By Timothy Slattery, Esq. in San Francisco.