Boosting Productivity in a Public Defender’s Office

The Cowlitz County Office of Public Defense (CCOPD) provides zealous advocacy and protection for adults and juveniles accused of crimes in the courts of Cowlitz County, Washington.

CCOPDs’ twelve attorneys share the mission to defend the liberty, honor, and constitutional rights of the individuals, of all ages, whose cases are entrusted to them. Until recently, an antiquated software suite was making that quest harder.

“The prior system was very difficult for attorneys to use,” says CCOPD Office Manager, Tina Rider. “Conflict checks and storing discovery on cases was a huge issue,” she notes, and the system was only accessible from inside the office.

But that all changed when CCOPD adopted LegalServer as its new case management system, Rider explains. “With LegalServer’s web-based access, attorneys now have all of the necessary information needed to manage their cases, and they can access LegalServer from the office or from home.”

LegalServer's focus towards public defenders provided a lot of useful features.

Accuracy is another key benefit of the new system, Rider says, because “With LegalServer we’re seeing less mistakes happening. We also have a lot more information we are able to add to a client file now.”

Since every public defender’s office does things a bit differently, just about everything in LegalServer can be configured. Custom forms with branch logic and flexible workflows have transformed the way CCOPD handles cases. “The LegalServer onboarding process helped us a lot with being able to customize certain aspects of the software to our liking,” Rider concludes.

Freed from the stresses and limitations of their legacy case management system, CCOPD is working more efficiently and effectively in their defense of clients.

Book a demo today to see how LegalServer can empower your public defender’s office.