Document assembly is a process of divorcing a document from the data that makes that document unique. In fact, it is much like an MS Word mail merge, where you merge a table of data into a document, taken to a much higher level of sophistication.  Nearly every re-used document contains text that doesn't change, text that may sometimes change and text that will always change. Document assembly is identifying those types of text and building a system that ensures the text that shouldn't change, doesn't...the text that may change does if it needs to and the text that always changes does in fact, always change.

So How Does it Work?

Instead of having "precedent documents" that are opened up and the blanks filled in (or the names and details typed over!), you have a template that contains a marker for each piece of information that needs to be inserted. Document assembly provides a way to fill in those blanks faster and more accurately every time a document is to be produced.  It also allows you to automatically calculate the values of many of those blanks, such as dollar amounts, interest, plural references, gender references and much more.

Document assembly is the process of allowing a user to enter data related to a specific matter and to save that data separately to saving the document. When the user merges the template and the data, a document is produced. At the end of this process, you have a precedent template that has not changed (and is therefore consistent for all), a data file which contains all the data used to produce the document (which is re-usable), and the final document itself.  All the separate parts that make the document are actually kept separate.

Why is Document Assembly so Helpful?

The benefit of this approach is that because the data entered by the user is separate and distinct from the document, that data can be re-used later with other templates to create more documents for that matter. With well designed document assembly systems, you enter data ONCE for an entire matter. So no more typing out a purchaser's name and address for every document (or copying address blocks...) No more double checking the amount you are claiming, it is entered once and stored, then re-used as often as required. Get it right once, then forget about it.

In addition to being able to enter data once, and re-use it across all documents for a given matter, there is one other major benefit over "regular" data merge approaches. Most document assembly programs permit a developer to create rules, conditions and comparisons based upon a user's entered data. Not only can you enter data, but you can deal with that data intelligently and have templates make "decisions" based on what the user has entered.  Once you've entered all plaintiffs in a matter, it is simple to have your data calculate and remember all plural references - "the Plaintiff claims" or "the Plaintiffs claim".  The system gets it right and your professionals dont have to proofread every word anymore.

This is the core of document assembly, but it is not "the limit" of document assembly capabilities. Due to the various levels of document assembly, it is difficult to definitively say what it is and what it isn't. It is simple, but complex, fast and efficient yet time consuming and detail driven. The key to understanding the capabilities of document assembly is simple: it is largely what you want it to be. At the core, document assembly is programming that permits faster drafting times, while increasing the accuracy and consistency of the end product: your documents.

Document Assembly Costs

Whenever I am asked "How much will this cost?" or "How long will this take?" or even "How much faster can we produce our documents?" The answer is nearly always the same: "How long is a piece of string?" The level of programming in a system will dictate its capabilities. If you spend (for example) $600.00 on an uncontested winding up system (most likely "off the shelf" and not your own intellectual property), you will most likely get a system that will produce basic documents which require post assembly editing - you produce the shell with the right headers, signing clauses, boiler plate language and so forth, but not much of anything else. If you spend a little over $2,000.00 on my fees for a custom winding up system, you will likely have a system that contains all your correspondence, lists of possible pleadings in various documents, "point & click" liquidator details and date checking on advertising.  You will post-assembly edit very few things indeed.

So what is document assembly? It is a product you purchase with a view to produce your documents more efficiently and accurately. It is a means to stop re-drafting clauses, phrases, pleadings and entire documents every time you need them. It is a means to avoid re-typing the same data over and over for each matter. It is a means of quality control by ensuring that every time a document is drafted, an option selected will produce the same wording (because that is what your professional staff has decided is best for that option) and that it looks the same, with the same layout, fonts, font sizes and alignments.