Preparing litigation bundles is more work than it should be

Preparing an electronic bundle is not a single task. It is a sequence of tasks that have to be repeated, in the right order, every time something changes. And something always changes.

A solicitor might spend an afternoon assembling a bundle, only to receive a revised expert report the following morning. The report is longer than the version it replaces. Every page number from that point onwards is now wrong. The index references the old numbers. The hyperlinks point to the wrong places. The bookmarks are out of step. None of it is difficult to fix, but all of it takes time, and all of it has to be checked before the bundle goes anywhere.

CaseFolio is a Windows desktop application that handles the mechanical parts of that process automatically.

Existing software is expensive

Dedicated bundle software exists, but most of it is priced for large law firms: annual subscriptions, per-user fees, contracts. For a smaller practice, a sole practitioner or a litigant in person, the cost does not match the need.

CaseFolio is free. No subscription, no per-user fee, no limit on the number of bundles or projects.

What manual bundle preparation costs a business

For a practice manager or director who has never prepared a bundle, the time involved is not obvious. It is not a task that takes twenty minutes. A straightforward bundle assembled using standard PDF tools takes several hours: collating documents, numbering pages, building the index by hand, generating bookmarks, cross-checking everything before it goes out.

Amendments are where the time really accumulates. A document arrives the day before a hearing. Pages shift across the whole bundle. The index has to be corrected entry by entry. A bundle that was finished has to be finished again. For a complex matter that has been through several rounds of disclosure, this can happen multiple times.

That time belongs to a fee earner. It is time not spent on the work that generates revenue. In a practice handling several contested matters at once, the hours spent on mechanical bundle administration add up to a significant and recurring overhead.

CaseFolio reduces the mechanical part of bundle preparation by around ninety per cent compared to working manually. A bundle that previously took an afternoon takes under an hour. An amendment that previously meant an hour of corrective work takes minutes. That time goes back to the fee earner.

What the output looks like

The finished bundle is a single PDF: a hyperlinked index, consistent page numbers across the full document set, and optional additions such as a cover page, tab numbers, Bates numbers or a watermark. Ready to file, serve or share.

Working with mixed file types

Bundles are assembled from whatever exists on the matter. Court documents arrive as PDFs. Counsel sends Word files. The client produces scanned images or photographs. Converting everything to PDF before you can start is its own piece of work.

Import files in whatever format they arrive. CaseFolio converts them as part of the import process.

Setting up the bundle structure

Every new bundle starts with the same skeleton: pleadings, witness statements, expert evidence, medical records, correspondence. Creating those headings from scratch on every matter, then assigning each document to its section, takes time that adds nothing to the case.

CaseFolio pre-populates the heading structure for common bundle types: Trial Bundle, JSM and CMC Bundle, Application Bundle, Inquest Bundle. Documents can also be assigned to sections automatically from their filenames.

Seeing the index before you build

Building a large bundle takes time. Starting a build, waiting for it to finish, and then finding that a document is in the wrong section or an exhibit is out of order means doing it again from the beginning.

The Build tab shows the bundle index live, updating as documents are added, moved and labelled. Before you build anything, you can see exactly how the index will read, in order, with page references. If something is wrong, fix it first.

Rebuilding after amendments

Add a document to the middle of a large bundle and everything after it shifts. Page numbers change. Every index entry from that point onwards is wrong. The bookmarks fall out of step. Correcting each of these separately is careful, repetitive work on a deadline.

CaseFolio recalculates all three in one step. Make whatever changes are needed, then rebuild. The page numbers, index and bookmarks update together.

Knowing when a rebuild is needed

A bundle can go out of date without looking like it. A document is swapped, case details updated, a heading changed. The built PDF still exists, unchanged. Without a clear flag, it is easy to serve a version that no longer reflects the matter.

CaseFolio marks the bundle stale after any change and shows a warning on the Build tab. It clears when you rebuild.

Documents not yet agreed for inclusion

During a matter, documents are sometimes disclosed but not yet agreed for inclusion: a report under discussion, a statement still being finalised. Removing them from the project means losing their position and having to re-add them later.

Any document can be excluded from the current build without removing it from the project. It stays in the list, holds its position, and is skipped at build time. When inclusion is agreed, reinstate it and rebuild.

Exhibit labelling

Labelling exhibits by hand means assigning a reference to each document, stamping it onto the pages, ensuring the index shows it correctly, and keeping the sequence consistent across witnesses with different prefixes. Each step has to be right.

CaseFolio applies exhibit labels in one operation. Set the prefix and sequence style, apply, and the labels are stamped on the pages and shown in the index automatically.

Reusing case details

Every new bundle for the same matter means entering the same party names, court details and claim number again. For a firm acting for the same claimant across multiple matters, or appearing regularly in the same court, this happens constantly.

Case details can be saved and loaded onto any new project in a single step. For an ongoing matter, a project can be saved as a template with all details already in place. Open the template, import documents, build. Nothing needs re-entering.

Returning to a bundle

A bundle for a contested matter is rarely built in one session. Disclosure arrives in stages. Reports are finalised late. Statements are exchanged close to a deadline. A bundle that was ready in March may need updating in May.

Save the project at any point and return to it later. The document set, ordering and structure are exactly as they were left. Several matters can be kept as separate active projects at the same time.

Losing work

A crash during a long build, or a corrupted project file, can mean losing hours of work on a matter with a hearing listed.

CaseFolio keeps the last three saved versions of every project automatically. If something goes wrong, the previous version is available immediately from File, then Restore from Backup. A build interrupted mid-way resumes from where it stopped.

Confidential documents

Most document processing tools require files to be uploaded to work. For legal practitioners handling confidential client material, that raises data protection questions and may conflict with firm policy or client confidentiality obligations.

CaseFolio runs entirely on the user's machine. Documents do not leave the computer.

Who it is for

Legal professionals and organisations preparing bundles for court, mediation or internal use: solicitors, barristers, legal executives, litigation support teams, in-house counsel, charities, insurers, trade unions, housing associations, local authorities and NHS trusts. Also suitable for litigants in person.