The Information Technology Division (IT) works in four major areas.

Knowledge Management and User Applications: Two major initiatives undertaken in the last year include the rollout of our document management system (WorkSite) and the conclusion of the design phase of our new case and matter management system (LawManager). WorkSite has been deployed to almost 800 users in the majority of our legal divisions and now provides a knowledge repository and collaborative environment for the production and reuse of attorney work-product. The conclusion of the design and preliminary build phases of the LawManager configuration means that by the end of FY'06, the entire Law Department (exclusive of Workers' Compensation) will be using a single state-of-the-art matter management system to track and update the Law Department's work. Knowledge Management and User Applications continues to advance our end-users' education through the use of contract and in-house training sessions, help desk and technical support visits, and the production of documentation to explain features and answer frequently asked questions.

Litigation Support: Litigation Support assisted in the defense and prosecution of many cases, primarily using Summation. Litigation Support's goal is to make case-related documents and other information more manageable and more easily accessible. To realize this goal, Litigation Support scanned discovery documents (both files produced by opposing counsel as well the client), and loaded those images for later online review. It also created database records to enhance document retrieval and production. The challenges presented by the proliferation of electronic-based information (e.g., e-mails) have also been growing exponentially. Where cases were previously measured in thousands of pages, electronically produced documents may be comprised of more than a million pages.

Infrastructure: Infrastructure's monthly reports of attorneys' time records advise the Law Department's client agencies case-by-case of the economic cost of their representation, and aid agencies' risk management. The reports also help the Law Department's legal divisions ensure that workload is appropriately allocated within the divisions and that the right lawyers with the right seniority are assigned to the right cases. Infrastructure also is rolling out Symantec's Enterprise Vault (KVS), which helps control the Law Department's email databases and gives users powerful ways to search their email.

Library: The Library's Reference team continued to provide in-depth research services to all legal divisions on a wide range of topics, such as: same-sex marriage; police searches in the City's subways; the City's water supply system; and gun trafficking nationwide as it affects the City. The Library also continued to work with the borough offices to update their research collections and coordinate print resources with those available online. The import of records and briefs into Worksite continued, adding material to the growing historical database of Law Department appellate documents. The Library also continued a major renovation project, consolidating and reorganizing its print collection for adjustment to a reduction of Library physical space.