For many attorneys, the steps required to file a court document go something like this:

1. Type the document.
2. Save the document.
3. Print multiple copies of the document.
4. Deliver some of the copies to the appropriate parties and obtain proof that they actually received those copies.
5. File the proof of service plus more copies of the document with the court.

That's a lot of steps, a lot of time, and a lot of paper for a relatively simple task.

Now, multiply that by a hundred and you can see why simplifying this process would help you by giving you more time to actually practice law. Multiply it by a thousand, or ten thousand, and you can see the benefits that court systems would realize by processing all those documents electronically instead of by hand.

Saving time, space, and wear-and-tear

Today, many court systems are introducing online systems for electronic filing, storing, and viewing of court documents, and the potential benefits are easy to see. Electronic filing saves time. Storing documents in an electronic format saves valuable space and also prevents document pages from being damaged, torn, or lost. Having the ability to view documents in an electronic format means that these documents can be viewed by more than one person at the same time (no more waiting for someone to check the file back in so you can check it out), and having the ability to view these documents online means you won't have to go to the clerk's office to see them.

Adopting a standard file format

In order to ensure that that all documents will be accessible by all court systems, an effort is underway to adopt a standard format for those documents. That standard is called Extensible Markup Language (XML).

More information

• For a short article outlining the new features in Microsoft Office Word 2003, including its support for XML documents, see Introducing Microsoft Office Word 2003.
• For an introduction to XML and how it is used in Word 2003, see About XML documents in Word.
• For information about how to show, hide, or print XML tags, see Show or hide XML tags.

 Note   XML features, except for saving documents as XML with the Word XML Schema, are available only in Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 and stand-alone Microsoft Office Word 2003.