BRISBANE, 2nd September, 2009 - LexisNexis Australia, a leading global provider of practice management solutions, today announced that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in Queensland has deployed Lexis Visualfiles as its case management solution (CMS) to streamline the daily tasks performed by the division. The solution is set to improve the ODPP’s efficiency, quality assurance and compliance through structured, automated and configured business process workflow tools.
Following a thorough review of CMS providers, the Queensland ODPP selected Lexis Visualfiles for its capacity to be adapted to the organisation’s needs as well as the positive working relationship established when Lexis Visualfiles was implemented in the civil division – Crown Law QLD.
A key factor in the ODPP’s decision to select Lexis Visualfiles was its ability to customise a case management system using leading-edge technology combined with the innovative integration of research. The working relationship with LexisNexis was another vital part of the project’s success. The responsiveness, maintenance of contract price, and the cooperative working relationship ensured the implementation of the solution was smooth and transparent.
The Queensland ODPP deals with a large and varied number of files for criminal matters. The Office’s criminal caseload, for example, can be in excess of 12,000 files per year. With no prior CMS in place, the ODPP needed a solution that would reduce the workload of staff by automating the administrative tasks performed across the division. The groundbreaking Lexis Visualfiles system ensured the division’s timeliness by allowing lawyers to concentrate on the legal process, rather than the management of paper files.
Lexis Visualfiles enhanced staff productivity by providing seamless integration between multiple systems. The innovative integration with LexisNexis research solutions has allowed users to conduct research from within an individual matter, with the ability to then save the research back to that same matter for later reference.
TJ Viljoen, CEO of LexisNexis Australia added, "In today’s financial climate, automation is vital to ensure agility in a fast paced, and constantly evolving business environment. Lexis Visualfiles is designed to streamline working practices by providing access to all of your file management tools within an easy-to-use interface.”
Additionally, the ODPP faced the challenge of being based in the decentralised state of Queensland, with its 250 system users spread across the state in multiple city and regional centres, and in 17 separate prosecution chambers. It required a single system that could manage iconic activity across the state. As lawyers tend to have a number of files allocated at any one time with files at various stages of the prosecutorial life cycle, managing these files had been difficult and time consuming in the past. Lexis Visualfiles allows the ODPP to transfer the responsibility of a matter between individuals and chambers locally and regionally. The system also quickly links criminal offenders to co-offenders, as well as prior offences contained in the database. This historically laborious task is now fast and effective, due to the automated search technology and ease of access to information.
Lexis Visualfiles has taken the ODPP one step further by integrating with The Department of Justice and Attorney-General’s whole-of-Government Integrated Justice Information Strategy (IJIS) program. The IJIS program aims to streamline the Queensland criminal justice system through improved business processes, improved technology and improved policy and legislation. This unique integration assists the sharing of accurate and timely information to aid the investigation and prevention of crime. The CMS enables electronic data transfer from the courts, saving manual entry time, and easily maintains all documentation pertaining to a case in a single system.
Company Information
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) acts on the community’s behalf to prosecute people charged with serious criminal offences in Queensland. The ODPP is an independent statutory officer, which means the position is created under law to be separate from the government. The independence of the director and their office ensures that criminal prosecutions are free from any improper influence or interference.
The director is responsible for providing the state with expert legal representation so that the evidence against someone accused of a serious crime can be properly presented to the court. There are three aspects to the work of the ODPP:
- Legal preparation
- Court appearances
- Victim liaison work.
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis® (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions designed specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. LexisNexis originally pioneered online information with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. A member of Reed Elsevier [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), LexisNexis serves customers in more than 100 countries with 18,000 employees worldwide.
LexisNexis® Australia (www.lexisnexis.com.au) is the leading provider of Australian and international news, business, tax and legal information, using leading-edge technology, tools, and online solutions.
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Lisa Macdonald
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Marc K. Peter
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