Managing decades-old evidence for 500 elderly plaintiffs was complex—Delium made it seamless.
A government legal agency was prosecuting related child abuse cases on behalf of 500 elderly plaintiffs.
The evidence consisted of over 25,000 aged paper documents sourced from National Archives, many containing handwritten content. Each of the 500 cases had unique but often overlapping document sets, requiring an efficient approach to evidence management and presentation.
Two key challenges needed to be addressed:
- Managing 500 individual case databases without creating an administrative burden.
- Supporting elderly witnesses, some with significant visual impairments, in reviewing and presenting evidence in court.
The legal team, experienced Delium users, implemented its Common Evidence Framework to streamline evidence handling, improve accuracy, and enhance accessibility in court.
To manage the vast volume of evidence, the legal team established a Common Case, serving as a shared evidence library that included:
- Government policy files
- Institutional records
- Individual case files
Each of the 500 cases had its own Satellite Case, which was automatically updated whenever documents were tagged in the Common Case. This eliminated the need for manual data imports and ensured consistency across all cases.
This strategy provided:
- Efficient first-pass review, where coding errors corrected in the Common Case automatically updated all linked Satellite Cases.
- Cost savings, reducing duplication in document review and hosting fees.
- Seamless trial preparation, allowing legal teams to focus on individual claims without reprocessing evidence.
- Simplified case management – Automatic updates across all cases eliminated manual duplication and administrative burden.
- Improved accuracy and efficiency – A shared evidence library ensured consistent coding and review processes.
- Better accessibility for elderly witnesses – Large, portrait-mode monitors and zoomed-in document display supported those with visual impairments.
- More efficient courtroom processes – Controlled evidence display enabled Counsel and the Court to manage document sharing without exposing information prematurely.
- Faster trial preparation – Integrated transcript hyperlinking and powerful search capabilities streamlined nightly reviews.
Participants highlighted the significant impact Delium had in streamlining evidence presentation in court:
- “Delium was comfortably used by all concerned.”
- “The witnesses were quite elderly and had little familiarity with computers. Delium displayed the material to them quite passively, and they could read the material without having to do anything.”
- “The hyperlinking in transcript was very effective, making nightly review very easy.”
- “Delium’s security meant we could share documents with our team, opposing Counsel, and the Court, without exposing them to the witness.”
- “Searching in Delium was faster than working with paper in the Courtroom.”
