Document Templates and Merge Codes
Creating document templates in SmartAdvocate from forms already used by your firm is simple and makes it easy for paralegals and attorneys to utilize this time-saving method to create documents. Templates that are regularly used by the firm can be easily created in SmartAdvocate.
Document templates are designed to allow the use of necessary data from the case in documents by inserting the proper merge codes in the desired template. Each of these templates can be case-specific or universal to suit your firm’s needs. In doing so, you will save the firm both time and money. SmartAdvocate’s merge codes are advantageous and straightforward to use.
What are merge codes? Merge codes are fields that you insert into your templates in locations where you want the information from SmartAdvocate to appear.
Specialized merge codes can make your templates even more sophisticated.
- Custom Merge Codes (CMCs) are used for those times when there isn’t a single field in SmartAdvocate where the required data is needed in the section of the document you are creating. These Custom Merge Codes can be created to suit the needs of the firm.
- Builder Merge Codes (BMCs) are created after the Custom Merge Codes are created, and you will need to have Admin rights in SmartAdvocate to be able to build them. They combine the CMCs, and thus allow the user to select which of multiple CMCs to insert in the document. This works for specific paragraphs in pleadings, which can be used for all the cases in the firm.
- Merge Codes (formula) – Merge codes can also be used to perform a formula function to make calculations in a document template, such as the Settlement Memo used by most law firms. Entering merge code formulas onto the Settlement Memo will facilitate the creation of document without having to perform the calculations manually. For example, provided that all the pertinent information is entered in the Negotiation/Settlement screen, the final calculations (where formulas are used) will be shown automatically.
SmartAdvocate® is the most powerful, fully integrated case and document management system available. Firms like yours have chosen SmartAdvocate as the top case management system to manage their caseloads more productively and profitably. No other Case Management Systems have the features that SmartAdvocate does. The creation and management of documents is one of the many areas where SmartAdvocate shines!
