Judicial Tools–The Journey and the Future
Recap of CTC 2017 Special Presentation
Salt Lake City
Wednesday, Sept 13 2:00-3:15p
Presented by Dan Wallis, McHenry County, IL and Ben Martin, Mentis Technology
What’s involved in getting judges to “Go-Live” with Judicial Tools and what can judges expect to see in the future from their “best-of-breed” judicial tools?
Dan Wallis, Trial Court Administrator for the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of McHenry County, Illinois, begins this session by highlighting his takeaways from the journey to “Going-Live” with aiSmartBench. Ben Martin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mentis Technology Solutions will give previews into where “best-of-breed” judicial tools are headed into the future with their expanded range of features and benefits.
As Dan Wallis knows firsthand, implementing new technology can be a risky endeavor, especially with shrinking budgets and increased scrutiny by other branches of government. Successful implementation requires a strong implementation plan, with clear expectations, that is mutually agreed upon by both the customer and the vendor. Done well, with the right justice partners involved, a four-year implementation plan was reduced to 16 months and has saved nearly $50,000.00. The first-half of this session will provide a detailed account of the implementation of aiSmartBench solution for 19 judges and the steps that were taken to ensure the project’s success.
In the second-half of this session, Ben Martin journeys into the future of judicial tools by first demonstrating some of the newest features of aiSMARTBENCH, the only judicial tool designed by judges for judges, and then providing sneak previews into what is on the horizon for judicial tools. This session will reveal a judiciary-centric solution designed to unify disparate jurisdictions; provide powerful search and discovery tools across the judicial information warehouse; streamline the process for eFiled orders; and manage judicial caseloads by creating watchlists, supporting ad-hoc performance reporting, and by the processing of orders and notices in batch.
About the Speakers
James “Dan” Wallis, Court Administrator
James “Dan” Wallis became the trial court administrator for the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of McHenry County, Illinois in December, 2008. The Twenty Second Judicial Circuit is a 19 judge court which handles both limited and general jurisdiction matters. Prior to his work in McHenry County, Dan served as the court administrator for the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas in north central Ohio. As a court administrator Dan is was responsible for all aspects of the court’s operation including strategic planning, caseflow management, court performance, budget, personnel, technology, special projects, grant writing and public relations.
Prior to becoming court administrator in Illinois, Dan served the Morrow County Courts in Ohio and worked as an Adult Intensive Probation Officer, Coordinator for the Morrow County Substance Abuse Court, Director of Court Support Services and Court Administrator. Preceding his work in the court system, Dan worked for the Ontario Police Department c and the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
Dan has his undergraduate degree in business management and is a Certified Court Executive through the National Center for State Courts and a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management. Dan specializes in court performance measures and case management.
Ben Martin, Mentis Technology
Ben Martin was hired by Mentis in the 2010 and has served in a number of key roles in evangelizing and implementing aiSMARTBENCH. He currently serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Ben came to Mentis with over 25 years professional experience in the content management industry. His experience in the software business includes serving in such roles as: Director of Business Architecture for Flatirons Solutions, a consulting firm; as Senior Director of Content Management and Strategy for QAD, an ERP company; and as Vice President of Global Content Management for JD Edwards, an ERP company. Ben has pioneered many new innovations in managing and delivering multilingual content through a variety of methods: the web, online help, web-based training, and documentation. Mr. Martin co-authored with Dr. William Boast Masters of Change, 1995 – a book for business leaders managing change in their organizations.
