Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Vermont Bar Journal, Summer 2019

New selves have filed; and, where rules allow, may also electronically serve documents on other registered users who have elected to receive service that way. Documents filed electroni- cally will be subject to a clerk review and ac- ceptance process before officially becoming a part of the case record. Once accepted, the electronically filed document will be con- sidered the original and there will generally be no obligation for the filer or the court to submit or retain a hard copy of any case doc- uments. Under the new proposed Rules for Elec- tronic Filing, attorneys will be mandated to file documents electronically, while self-rep- resented litigants may elect to file documents either electronically or on paper. Electronic filings will be accepted not only for new cas- es, but also for subsequent filings on exist- ing and closed cases, which will all be load- ed through a data conversion process and will be searchable in the new system. Case documents that now exist only in paper form will remain that way initially; existing paper files for pending cases may still be viewed at courthouses, though all ongoing activity, fil- ing and docketing will take place in the new system. The benefits of going paperless will be felt not only in the law office and the clerk’s of- fice, but also on the bench. Judges will be utilizing Odyssey Judge Edition, another in- tegrated Tyler product that offers an elec- 28 tronic judicial workbench for easy review of all case documents and events and for orga- nizing and managing daily hearing calendars. Judicial officers will have instant access to a statewide database of case and party records and may coordinate actions taken on multiple cases at once. The first Vermont court to go live with the Odyssey system will be the Judicial Bureau, which is a court of statewide jurisdiction that primarily handles civil violations such as traffic and municipal complaints. The Judicial Bu- reau is scheduled to begin using Odyssey fol- lowing final testing and training in late Spring 2019. Like other courts, it will be adopting largely paperless business processes, 24/7 online payment options, and will also feature a range of data integrations with other jus- tice partners improving interagency commu- nication. For the units of the Superior Court, there will be a phased regional rollout in four stag- es over the next two years. First will be the Southeast Region of Windham, Windsor and Orange Units in Fall 2019, followed by the Southwest Region of Bennington, Addi- son and Rutland Units in Spring 2020. The third rollout will include Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Lamoille Units as well as the Environmental Division in Fall 2020, and the fourth and final phase will include the North- east Region of Orleans, Essex, Caledonia and Washington Units, as well as the Vermont Su- THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2019 preme Court, in Spring 2021. These timelines are subject to ongoing review and revision as the project progresses; the State Court Ad- ministrator will provide the final approval of exact rollout dates for each region. Although efforts are focused on provid- ing as smooth a transition as possible for all stakeholders, members of the Vermont legal community should, nonetheless, be prepared for some inevitable transitional challenges during the next two years while the Judiciary operates on two separate and largely uncon- nected case management systems. Checking for attorney scheduling conflicts, for instance, presents a new level of complexity when scheduling is being done in two separate sys- tems, and a variety of complications are like- ly during this period while cases are being transferred back and forth between Odyssey (electronic) and non-Odyssey (paper) courts. Those are just several examples, and there are sure to be some other challenges that are not so clearly foreseen. It will be a period of adjustment while the Judiciary redefines and refines its internal processes, and while all us- ers of the court system re-orient themselves toward new ways of interacting with it. It will be a collective effort that will involve the en- tire Vermont legal community, and the Judi- ciary is asking all members of that community to join with it in a large-scale collaborative ef- fort to help make the system really work. 360-degree communication with all stake- holders throughout the process is a funda- mental part of the plan. In coming months, the Judiciary will be ramping up its commu- nications with the bar and initiating a variety of other outreach efforts designed to actively engage with stakeholders across the board. There will also be expanded FAQ sections on the court’s website, as well as opportuni- ties for online training and orientation to the new system. Odyssey project leaders are also more than happy to field questions any time from interested parties. Contact information is on the Judiciary’s website. Feedback and suggestions for process improvements will be not only welcomed but will be actively sought out throughout the entire transition. Get ready and get excited Vermont. The next two years are going to bring some big chang- es. It will be uncharted territory for all of us, but there is great confidence that in the end the project will have achieved its most essen- tial purpose: to deliver a transformed mod- ern justice system that is more efficient, fair, responsive and accessible for all Vermonters. Stay tuned… ____________________ Andy Stone is a Project Team Leader for the Vermont Judiciary’s Next Generation Case Management System Project and a for- mer Court Operation Manager from Windsor County.‑ www.vtbar.org

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