MEMORANDUM

 
Dear Colleagues in the Legal Community,

On behalf of the Judicial Branch, we are excited to partner with you in the continued modernization of our state court system by launching eCourts Track 5 on July 22, 2024, in 11 counties: Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Polk, Swain, and Transylvania.

This memo provides statewide information and training resources that all legal practitioners in North Carolina should access in navigating this digital transformation.

Attorneys and other stakeholders may register in advance for Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) applications and elevated access tools, review on-demand training materials, and sign up for an introduction to eFiling and Portal search through resources provided below.

We encourage you to visit the updated eCourts hub at NCcourts.gov/eCourts for training and other resources. Questions regarding eCourts applications may be sent to eCourts@nccourts.org.

• Training Registration and Opportunities
• Register with eCourts Applications
• Transition Process Begins the Week Prior to Go-Live

Training Registration and Opportunities

NCAOC is committed to equipping attorneys, paralegals, judicial partners, hospital filers, and others in the public who interact with the courts with information and training for the shift to eCourts, through online resources at NCcourts.gov/eCourts and live, online, and in-person training sessions. Learn more about these resources and specialized trainings at the following:

• Review on-demand training and resources for getting started with eCourts applications. Find user guides, tutorials, FAQs, and more.
• Register for live, in-person and online File & Serve trainings (eFiling) - dates available through August, and CLE credit approved.
• Register for online Portal trainings (search) - dates available through August, and CLE credit approved.
• Review changes to the General Rules of Practice related to digital case management.

Please note that trainings are open to all individuals regardless of whether your home county has gone live on eCourts.

Register with eCourts Applications

eCourts comprises several enterprise-level software systems that work together to provide integrated case management for courthouse officials and employees as well as electronic access for the public. Some functionality requires users to register for accounts on these systems. For example:

• File & Serve is the system that the public (including attorneys) uses to electronically file documents with the courts. Electronic filing is mandatory for attorneys in Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) counties under Rule 5(b)(2) of the General Rules of Practice, and all attorneys will be required to eFile in Track 5 counties beginning July 22, 2024. However, anyone seeking to file a document through File & Serve must have an account in that system.
• Portal is the system that the public (including attorneys) uses to access filed court records. Although Portal can be used anonymously, confidential case types and certain types of legally protected personal identifying information are not available to the public on Portal. However, individuals with legal authority to access these types of confidential information (such as an attorney of record in a confidential case) can access restricted case types and unredacted versions of public records through an “Elevated Access” Portal account. Users can also save and track cases of interest after creating an account.

To help streamline each user’s transition to eCourts, attorneys and the public are encouraged to ensure that their electronic accounts and registrations are set up and configured before go-live (Track 5 is July 22, 2024). Early registration will also allow users to begin exploring these applications before they are required to use them on the go-live date. Registration and further information about these resources can be found at the following links:

• Register for File & Serve to explore the eFiling platform in advance.
• Law Firms & Solo Practitioners: A firm administrator (one for each firm) should set up the firm account and invite the individual users (attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, etc.) to set up their own accounts. From the landing page, the firm administrator can register for their firm account by creating their individual user account credentials and then adding the firm information. Solo Practitioners can serve as their own firm administrator.
• Other Users: Other File & Serve users (self-represented litigants, process servers, pro hac vice attorneys, etc.) can register for an individual account.
• Register for elevated access on Portal to view certain non-public information in cases where you are the attorney of record.
• Confirm an “Address of Record” with the State Bar for service under Rule 5 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. See 1A-1, Rule 5, G.S. 84-39, and G.S. 84-4.1, as amended by S.L. 2023-103. The eCourts system has certain notification features that rely on the Address of Record information imported from the North Carolina State Bar’s “Court Service Information” registry.

Transition Process Begins the Week Prior to Go-Live

Significant adjustments to courthouse operations will begin in Track 5 counties the week prior to July 22, 2024, to support the transition from paper records to electronic filing and case management.

Due to data integration processes from legacy systems (e.g., VCAP, ACIS, CIPRS) to Enterprise Justice (Odyssey), attorneys in Track 5 counties should prepare for the following:

• For cases filed in Track 5 counties, legacy systems will go into “inquiry only” mode on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. while data is migrated from the legacy mainframe databases to Enterprise Justice (Odyssey). During this time, all users will be able to access information in Track 5 counties’ cases using legacy systems, but the information will only be current through July 17, 2024.
• Once Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) is released on July 22, 2024, legacy systems will be decommissioned for both inquiry and update to Track 5 counties’ cases. From that point forward, the public will use Portal instead of legacy systems to access indexes, abstracted case information, and case documents for cases in Track 5 counties. Court documents existing in paper on the date of go-live will still be available in paper form in the Clerk’s office. For counties that have not implemented Enterprise Justice (Odyssey), legacy systems will remain available and updated, with one exception: for a judgment transcribed from an Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) county to a non-Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) county, both VCAP (in the receiving, non-Enterprise Justice county) and Portal (in the originating, Enterprise Justice county) will need to be used to search information and updates related to the original judgment.
• Paper filings received by Track 5 counties Clerks’ offices during the migration period will be manually file-stamped (as they are currently) upon receipt and available in the Clerk’s office, but not yet indexed in Enterprise Justice (Odyssey).
• Clerks will enter into Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) paper filings received by the Track 5 counties’ Clerks of Superior Court during the migration period starting on July 22, 2024. Paper filings will be file-stamped as of the date actually filed, but they will be indexed on the Index to Judgments as of the date they are entered into Enterprise Justice (Odyssey). Thus, in Track 5 counties, nothing will be indexed during the migration period. For this reason, there will be a delay in indexing and the availability of these filings on the public Portal. Attorneys and paralegals may not want to schedule real estate closings in Track 5 counties on July 18-19, 2024.
• Track 5 Clerks’ offices will announce publicly when all filings received during the transition period of data migration have been indexed in Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) and are available in Portal. Until that announcement is made, you should contact the Clerk’s office to determine how to access documents filed during the migration period.
• Upon the release of Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) on July 22, 2024, Track 5 Clerks of Superior Court will begin to scan and enter into Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) paper filings received from non-attorneys on and after the Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) release.

Again, the Judicial Branch is excited for eCourts to launch in Track 5, and we remain committed to making this monumental transition as seamless as possible for all involved. For any eCourts application questions, please visit the eCourts hub at NCcourts.gov/eCourts or email eCourts@nccourts.org.

On behalf of the Judicial Branch, thank you for your support of the eCourts initiative and for your service to North Carolina’s legal community.

Sincerely,

Ryan S. Boyce
Director
N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts