The U.S. Department of Justice started by using HotDocs in a few of its regional U.S. Attorneys offices, but in 2011, five HotDocs Developer licenses were provided to each of 94 offices throughout the country, in addition to a nationwide total of 15,000 HotDocs User licenses for staff members. The HotDocs software is used by the DOJ primarily for litigation paperwork.
Given the size of the DOJ, its central (executive) office has organized various HotDocs training efforts for each of the district offices, including video instruction. They also use a Microsoft SharePoint portal for the collaboration of data, including a standardized set of components that can be used in each of the districts, as well as additional training information.
The Department of Justice was established in 1870 and has become the world’s largest law office. It is also the central agency for enforcement of U.S. federal laws. The United States Attorneys serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. There are 94 United States Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. One United States Attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where a single United States Attorney serves in both districts. Each United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction.
The Department of Justice has thwarted multiple terrorist plots against the U.S., successfully executed groundbreaking counterintelligence operations, and prevented U.S. military and strategic technologies from falling into the wrong hands.