Pivotal Technology Moments in Legal Calendaring History

Over the years, the parent company of JuraLaw, Law Bulletin Media, has spent considerable time and resources

designing innovative products and technical services for the legal industry. In the 1970s and 80s their focus on enhancing the speed of data communication and improving lawyers' access to courthouse records took a historic step forward.

For more than a century the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin newspaper had supplied the Chicago legal community with the information they needed to interact with the courts. In 1978, law firms were beginning to adapt computer technology into their legal operations and the Illinois Supreme Court authorized the chief judge of the Circuit Court to determine how to provide access to, and disseminate, automated court information. The bar association campaigned for a direct access system through electronic links to law firms. This was when personal computers were just evolving and the courthouses were unable to comply. Courthouses simply lacked the resources to address the issue. At this point, Law Bulletin Media stepped in, embraced the technical challenge and changed the legal calendar management process.

After much customer research and program design, Law Bulletin Media introduced Chicago to Docket Management 2000 (DM2000) in 1982 when it was officially in the testing phase. DM2000 was the first legal calendar management program designed to not only transmit court information but to also match dockets against court calls. In addition, it generated case histories, daily calendars and a variety of reports. Eight law firms signed up for the product before it was even completed and, within three years of its release, there were more than 200 subscribing firms.

DM2000 was a mainstay in docket management for 30 years. In March of 2012, Law Bulletin Media introduced the successor to DM2000, JuraLaw, the first completely web-based case legal calendar management product. JuraLaw was developed by docketing professionals for docketing professionals so every function and feature has a meaningful purpose. As a 100% web-based product, JuraLaw allows users to log into the system 24/7 from wherever they have access to a browser not just their office desktop. Enhancements can be made and delivered on a regular basis without requiring firm IT resources since there is no time-consuming software installation process. Traditional server systems, as well as those utilizing thin client technology, don’t offer these benefits.

In addition to Illinois court calls, JuraLaw includes court rules from across the nation and New York court data.. The most recent JuraLaw innovation is the capability of automatically loading dockets and diary events from PACER federal electronic court filing notifications into JuraLaw. (While other companies say they do this, only JuraLaw does it correctly, first time…every time.)

Law Bulletin Media is committed to developing technology driven products for the legal industry. Today, JuraLaw continues to lead the industry in ease-of-use, accuracy and accessibility.