Does ConnectMyDocket upload documents into SmartAdvocate today?

Not yet. Placing court documents in a SmartAdvocate case is in development for our first SmartAdvocate firms. Today the service runs on Los Angeles Court Connect with Dropbox filing and a morning email, and New York NYSCEF is being set up with a first group of firms.

We already have eLaw synced to SmartAdvocate. What would this add?

eLaw keeps appearance dates and docket events current in SmartAdvocate. ConnectMyDocket works on the documents: downloading each newly filed PDF, renaming it to your convention and getting it to the case. Reading Preliminary Conference and Compliance Conference Orders for the discovery dates inside them, and proposing those dates for your team to confirm, is being added for first firms now.

Do we need to replace eLaw?

No. The two do different jobs and are meant to run side by side.

How do we take part as a New York SmartAdvocate firm?

Request a walkthrough and tell us your index number list, your naming rules and how your SmartAdvocate case documents are organised. We are scoping NYSCEF and SmartAdvocate delivery with a first group of firms and will give you a timeline for yours.

In development for first firms

Your calendar tool tracks the appearance. Someone still has to fetch the order.

Short answer: ConnectMyDocket does not write into SmartAdvocate yet. It is built to handle the court documents themselves: download each newly filed PDF, rename it to firm standard and get it to the case. That runs today on Los Angeles Court Connect with Dropbox. New York NYSCEF is being set up with a first group of firms, and delivery into SmartAdvocate case documents is in development with them.

The document gap in a SmartAdvocate firm

Many New York personal injury firms run SmartAdvocate with eLaw feeding appearance dates and docket events into it. That covers the calendar. The filed documents are a separate job, and on most mornings a paralegal does it by hand:

Open each NYSCEF notification and download the PDF.
Rename it from the court's file name to the firm's.
Upload it to the right SmartAdvocate case and document category.
Read the Preliminary Conference Order or Compliance Conference Order for the dates inside it: depositions, medical exams, discovery responses, the Note of Issue.

An appearance tracker reports that the conference happened. The discovery schedule is in the order, and someone has to open it to find out.

What runs today, and what is being built

Running every weekday

Los Angeles Superior Court (Court Connect), filing to Dropbox.

Each active case is checked on the court portal with the firm's own login.
New orders, notices and filings are downloaded once.
Each PDF is renamed to the firm's convention.
Files go to the matching case folder. An uncertain match is held and asked about.
One morning email lists upcoming hearings and every new document.

Being set up and built with first firms

New York NYSCEF and SmartAdvocate delivery. Not available yet.

The same morning run against NYSCEF, by index number.
Placing each renamed PDF in the documents of the matching SmartAdvocate case.
Reading conference orders for the dates inside them and proposing each one with the sentence it came from. Nothing is calendared until someone on your team confirms it.

Alongside eLaw, not in place of it

eLaw already syncs with SmartAdvocate and offers document retrieval to order. ConnectMyDocket is aimed at the standing daily chore: every new filing on every active index number, named and placed without anyone asking for it. Firms keep their calendar setup as it is.

See the step-by-step comparison with eLaw, or read how the New York NYSCEF setup is going.

SmartAdvocate questions

Does ConnectMyDocket upload documents into SmartAdvocate today?: Not yet. Placing court documents in a SmartAdvocate case is in development for our first SmartAdvocate firms. Today the service runs on Los Angeles Court Connect with Dropbox filing and a morning email, and New York NYSCEF is being set up with a first group of firms.
We already have eLaw synced to SmartAdvocate. What would this add?: eLaw keeps appearance dates and docket events current in SmartAdvocate. ConnectMyDocket works on the documents: downloading each newly filed PDF, renaming it to your convention and getting it to the case. Reading Preliminary Conference and Compliance Conference Orders for the discovery dates inside them, and proposing those dates for your team to confirm, is being added for first firms now.
Do we need to replace eLaw?: No. The two do different jobs and are meant to run side by side.
How do we take part as a New York SmartAdvocate firm?: Request a walkthrough and tell us your index number list, your naming rules and how your SmartAdvocate case documents are organised. We are scoping NYSCEF and SmartAdvocate delivery with a first group of firms and will give you a timeline for yours.

See it on a morning like yours.

Tell us which court portal you check and where your case folders live. We will walk through a real morning run and show how your firm's naming rules and folder structure map over.

Bring the person who downloads and files documents today.

Prefer email? Write to frank@connectmydocket.com.