Savory green bean casserole. Cranberry sauce. Gravy boats. And who could forget that freshly basted turkey? Remember to save room for pie – there’s bound to be pumpkin, apple and maybe even pecan.   

Whether you’re wondering how all this food will fit on your countertops or just on your plate, we’re all wondering how to divide up and enjoy our favorite dishes from this one meal. Hallmarked by a medley of comfort foods, Thanksgiving dinner looks different not only from family to family, but even from plate to plate. Cousin Eddy is all about the turkey, while Audrey’s plate is piled high with side dishes.  

Unknowingly, courtrooms across the nation are starting to apply this same Component Model approach to serving the justice community as we do while plating our Thanksgiving dinner – cherry-picking the functionality (dishes) we want to make up the solution (the overall meal) that serves our needs.  

Food for Thought  

Much like building your court’s ideal case management system, garnishing Thanksgiving Day plates with a spoonful of this and a taste of that seems like a haphazard mission to fit all your favorites onto one dish. The turkey is layered over the mac for a space-saving savory combination. Salad is separate, and gravy is poured over everything, of course.  

While we’ve been mixing and matching our Thanksgiving dinner for years, the pilgrimage to snap-on courtroom technology just recently got some wind in its sail.  

For years, courtrooms have been spending more money and time on ripping-and-replacing their entire case management systems than most people spend on Black Friday shopping. Aside from a costly investment of time and money, that new system will lack key features in another few years just as its predecessor. By following a Component Model recipe, court IT administrators, admins, clerks and Judges decide which functionality pieces best serve their needs before simply “snapping on” that piece.  

Going back to our plate example, you can spoon a heaping serving of sweet potatoes to serve your sweet tooth and not worry about the looming tuna casserole. Sorry Auntie – there’s no room! 

A Courtroom Indulgence: The Component Model Approach 

Much like your colorful dinner plate, a Component Model courtroom is made up of configurable capabilities that, in the grand scheme of things, work together for more seamless and safeguarded courtroom operations. With workings like eBench, eFiling, automated workflows and case-sharing tools, stakeholders will be able to address and adjust areas of need for a more transparent, collaborative and time-efficient court. The resources that used to be spent on clogged processes, snail-mail communications and legacy systems are now freed up, so staff and stakeholders can prioritize time and money around bigger-picture items.  

In other words, why fill up on rolls and butter when you can indulge abundantly in the dishes you truly want?  

What We Can Bring to the Table 

Since the component model is a fairly new buzzword in the court community, we understand this is similar to bringing the exotic, non-traditional dish to the family dinner – people are a little unsure. So start with some of our sample-sized resources and, if you like what you hear, we’re happy to dish more.  

We Want to Hear From You! 

What does your court’s ideal Component Model dish look like? What components are filling your plate? 

Answer in the “comments” section below or on LinkedIn. We read and respond – promise! 

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