A “load file” is a special kind of file that you may encounter in sets of case related materials.  While there are many different flavors of load files they all serve the same general purpose: they can be used by litigation support software to import (i.e. “load”) information about case related documents. 

Document information may include:

• Name and locations of image files (typically scanned paper files).
• Document unitization information (i.e. document breaks).
• OCR (searchable text) file names and locations.
• Electronic document (ESI) file names and locations.
• Extracted metadata information.
• Other fielded document information.

Load files can play an import role in assisting with the setup of a case document database.  When properly used, they can make the process of importing documents into litigation support applications faster and more efficient.  Some programs that support the importing of load files include evidence review programs (like Summation, Concordance and IPRO) and trial presentation programs (like TrialDirector and Sanction).