Basha Systems has building document assembly solutions for its clients for over decade
and worked with and reviewed dozens of document assembly solutions. In this period, by the far the strongest and most
consistent performer has been HotDocs. HotDocs has done more than just win awards for popularity. It has consistently
supported its user community and improved the feature set of HotDocs Professional and HotDocs Automator.
HotDocs 2005
With the release of HotDocs 2005, LexisNexis did more than just rebrand HotDocs.
It changed the entire look and feel of the product, making it possible to produce robust applications,
like Wealth Transfer Planning and the New York Grand Jury System designed by Basha Systems. HotDocs 2005 included
automation and scripting features which allowed, for the first time, the simulation of object oriented programming.
We encourage you to browse our document assembly tours to see illustrations of what can be done with this product.
Is HotDocs the Solution for You?
In reviewing HotDocs, and considering whether HotDocs software is appropriate for you particular project and law firm,
you should consider both (1) ease of use and (2) interconnectivity and (3) power. Many purchasers of HotDocs choose to "do it themselves"
or build it "in-house". They send out support and technical staff for training and then release them on the lawyers. This approach, as our
president, Seth Rowland, has written in his blog and in articles on Technolawyer, will have mixed results. It will most likely reduce the
ROI on the HotDocs product that could have been obtained by a more structured and systematic approach.
Basha Systems will give you the best Return on Investment
The real benefit that we see of a HotDocs solution, and the one that gives you the best return on investment, comes
where you work with a consultant to build the initial application, and then apply your internal resources to maintaining and
modifying the system, with backup from a consultant. On one level, HotDocs is a document automation software environment
that has a very simple metaphor - Template and Component file. But in a well implemented system, there can be a myriad of
templates, subtemplates, databases and component files. In such a "web" changes to scripts and codes can have unintended side
effects in not properly managed
Whether creating simple forms or complex transactional documents, Basha Systems can build the right system
for you. We offer bother HotDocs Developer and HotDocs End User training.On these pages, you will find information
on the HotDocs feature set,so that you may better understand the product and what it can do for you and your documents.
HotDocs Innovations by Basha
Basha Systems is one of the leading HotDocs developers. Systems developed by Basha Systems have garnered its clients
millions of dollars in "found revenue" - whether in new money transactions, or in economies from automation. In bringing
this ROI to its clients with HotDocs, Basha Systems has introduced a number of innovations which have showcased the hidden
power of HotDocs document automation software, as well as driven the developer to innovate and improve the product. Some of the
innovations are listed below.
- Integration of a master parties list to centralize all "persons" data, with populators to
import complete contact data throughout the system, for trustees, executors, beneficiaries, witnesses etc.
- Interactive on-dialog, dynamic drafting tips, and fully integrated HTML help text for every field on
every dialog which can be printed out as a drafting aid.
- Standard and custom inserts that can be revised on an otherwise "locked" application to handle
customization of letterhead, title pages, signature blocks, notary and self-proving affidavits.
- Dynamic styling toolbars in both Word and WordPerfect that can with a single click change font, spacing, and numbering sequences to match user preferences.
- Widespread use of functions and data objects for more efficient and readable HotDocs code.
- Replacement of the HotDocs library with a single integrated template that runs a consolidated interview and launches the designated templates.
- Use of indexed repeats to allocate one or many defendants to prosecutorial documents, including details about
each defendant, as well as the particular charges against them, and any specific priors.
- Use of programmable dialogs to allow "previews" of selected charges as they would appear in the indictment.
- Use of pseudo-code in the database that is interpreted by HotDocs at runtime, to both determine
the relevant variables and to replace the pseudo-code with values derived from those HotDocs variables.
- Post-assembly macros that name and save documents based on HotDocs variables.
- Support for combined Mortgage and Credit line transactions with constraints to ensure consistency between the
optional provisions for each transaction when such documents form part of a single larger transaction.
- Use of a custom interface, launched from a single HotDocs interview, that allows the user to assemble a single
master document (for draft purposes) and then to produce individual documents by merely changing an option in the interview.
- Reusable multipurpose insert templates for signatures, cover pages, ancillary documents using
indexed variables whose values are set by scripts prior to their insertion.
For more information visit our video tours.
Other HotDocs Resources
If you are looking for "general" document asembly assistance and
information, you may wish to visit our Document
Assembly portal which contains a wealth of information regarding common terms, approaches to document assembly, helpful
articles and more. Alternatively, you may wish to visit our HotDocs
Resources page, or our document assembly videos
section.
