Better advocacy through technology: handle cases more efficiently by integrating technology into your law practice. Take a look at application service providers, Intranets, and offsite electronic information storage.

Lawyers handle clients' cases. It's what we do. How you do it is up to you, but using technology plays an important role. You should have your client and case information accessible via computer so that you can find it quickly and use it efficiently.

The costs of computer hardware and software have fallen so low that expense should not be a barrier to automation efforts. Most lawyers have a desktop computer and know how to use it. Lawyers regularly use computer technology to generate demonstrative evidence and present it to judges and jurors. And lawyers recognize that regular training sessions for themselves and staff are necessary to use advancing technology effectively. Most firms have linked all their computers in a local area network (LAN) that runs case-management and document-management software.

Case management, document management, and online research are three needs of the modern lawyer. But how do you meet them? Start by assessing your "infostructure" needs.

How you manage information depends on many factors, including how you plan to use computers in the future. First, analyze your work style and that of your partners and staff. There is no sense planning for the ultimate computerized law office if your staff and partners are wary of using technology.

The late Harry Fins, a lawyer and scholar, did only appellate work and consulting with other lawyers in his later years. When I asked him once why he didn't use computers to keep his time records, he showed me his pages from a standard yellow legal pad.

Harry explained, "I only work on one or two appeals each day. For each file I am working on, I have a legal pad. Before I go home, I write down what I did and how much time it took on each pad. When it comes time to bill, I just have the office type up my notes. No need for me to learn new things at my stage of the game."

This worked for Harry, and if he were still alive today, I am sure he'd still work the same way. However, most trial attorneys have more sophisticated needs.

You may not need state-of-the-art computers, but those you do use should have a graphical-user-interface environment, such as Windows or Macintosh. If your software serves your needs, don't race out and upgrade to Windows XP, at least not yet. If you buy new computers, they will probably come with XP installed but will still run older software.

Case management

Here are some of the many ways to handle this aspect of your law practice.

Use descriptive file names and a simple calendar. One tried-and-true method of managing information is to use long file names to identify information on your computer. For example, you might have a folder in your computer's root directory called "Clients." If you have hundreds of clients, you might want to have a series of subfolders in the "Clients" folder marked, for example, "A to C," "D to G," and so on. For a specific case, you might have a sub-subfolder called "John Smith v. ABCD Cartage Company." Then, you might create sub-sub-subfolders for various parts of the case file just as you have with a physical file. Your file structure might look like this:

  C:
  -->Clients
  --->R to T
  ---->Smith v ABCD
  ----->Smith Correspondence
  ------>Smith Discovery
  ------->Smith Pleadings
  -------->Smith Specials
  --------->Smith Trial Strategy Summary
  ---------->Initial notes by Tom Jones on
  01.01.01 with case facts

This approach provides a standard, organized file structure that is easy for everyone to understand. Storing files this way--and using a simple calendaring system such as the one included with Microsoft's Outlook, Lotus, or Time & Chaos (www. isbister.com)--may be all the case management you need.

Rely on case-management software. Many other trial lawyers will find that full-featured case-management software is essential to run their firms. These programs generally have the following features:

* Storage for names, street addresses, and phone numbers; e-mail and Web site addresses

* Databases for pleadings, correspondence, saved e-mails, and research files

* The ability to generate settlement statements, including information about costs advanced and liens

* Document-assembly functions

* Image storage

* Calendars and to-do lists

* Interoffice e-mail and reminders

There are many systems on the market, including Abacus Data, Amicus Attorney, CaseMaster, De Novo Systems, LegalFiles, Needles, ProLaw, TimeMatters, TrialWorks, and others. You must decide which one is right for your firm, based on your needs, goals, and budget.

The software packages are sophisticated and require ongoing training and support, but they have advantages. For instance, the software is essentially an interoffice application, meaning it is not stored on a remote server, so your data are located on a computer in your office. [For a detailed description of how to use one such product, see Howard S. Richman, Store It with Software, on page xx of this issue.]

Contract with an application service provider (ASP). These companies manage and host software applications through remote servers in a lease arrangement. Many popular programs, including the Microsoft Suite and PowerPoint, are available on the Internet for a monthly fee. You need a speedy Internet connection, preferably cable or a digital subscriber line (DSL), to make these online systems work best, but using a program online rather than buying software may save you money.

For lawyers who are new to this option, Personable.com (www.personable.com) is an excellent ASP to experiment with.

Use an Intranet. Intranets extend your firm's LAN and allow partners and staff to access it via the Internet. Besides having information accessible any time, anywhere via an Internet-connected computer, an Intranet affords these benefits:

* The ability to have your law firm's network on an Intranet, which means that if you need a network in your office, it does not have to be expensive. This alone could be a huge boost to the ASP-hosted option, as finding computer-networking expertise can be daunting.

* The host backs up data. This includes redundant, off-site backups and identical copies of stored information.

* No need to upgrade software as new versions are released. All upgrading and integration of software with hardware is done by the Intranet host.

* You do not need a current, state-of-the-art computer. Older models can get the job done as long as they have enough memory (at least 128 MB of RAM), a graphical interface, and access to the Internet.

* The host provides technical support. Many lawyers have yet to jump on the Intranet bandwagon. But given the work of major vendors and some newer vendors, Intranets are likely to catch on in the future, particularly as disaster recovery and back-up receive more attention.

The success of Intranets will depend in part on the vendors overcoming lawyers' concern about security when information is not right under our noses in our offices. Pertinent considerations include security, reliability, response time, pricing, assurances of the system's future existence, and exit strategies (whereby a law firm can get its materials returned or transferred to another resource at reasonable cost).

Of the Intranets I have worked with, I like eGroups (www.egroups.com), Intranets (www.intranets.com), WestWorks (www.westgroup.com), and LexisNexis (www.lexis.com).

Among potentially useful resources is ProLaw (www.prolaw.com), recently acquired by West Group. ProLaw's vision of Intranet-based access and WestWorks' potential to work with ProLaw and WorkSpace has great promise for lawyers. WestWorks provides case management via the Internet, while WorkSpace provides the online resources for case management, billing, and document management. LexisNexis's TimeMatters--another case management program--offers a similar focus on the Internet.

Document management

You can turn your law firm into a paperless, fully automated office incorporating one or more of the following techniques.

Store data on Yahoo! and eGroups. One of the most successful Internet resources is Yahoo!, which recently acquired eGroups. Together, they provide free resources that are essentially the same as those of case-management software. An attorney who stores information on Yahoo! and eGroups could avoid spending money on case-management software. Although such case-management Web sites may be vulnerable to hacker attacks, data stored this way are becoming more secure, and these sites are the wave of the future.

Yahoo! and eGroups provide services similar to software, except that they are not integrated. That means if you have an address book on Yahoo!, you cannot merge its name and address into a client letter created with Word or WordPerfect. Yet by using an online address book, you can store e-mail and Web site locations and send and receive e-mail with a couple of mouse clicks.

You can store e-mail messages in online folders that you have created for each case. You can also upload pictures, graphics, and text files to store online. You can buy additional storage on Yahoo! for a modest annual fee. You can even create discussion forums among other attorneys you invite.

The "links" feature of eGroups allows you to organize, store, and access case law on the Internet. Many state and federal courts now provide current decisions online at no charge. Add a link to the court document you want to mark by giving the link a name, such as "Jones v. Smith Alabama Supreme Court," And typing the URL into your list of links. Then you can jump back to that document any time by simply clicking on the name in your list.

Scan documents. This process of converting paper documents into digitized documents stored on PCs is gaining popularity. Like PCs, scanners have increased significantly in power and speed over the years, while prices have fallen. Indeed, more and more law firms are scanning incoming correspondence, pleadings, and other documents into case-management software and combining them with files created in word-processing software. Information is a click away, not in a folder in some file cabinet.

Over the years, the accuracy of optical-character-recognition (OCR) software--which is used to make scanned files searchable--has improved, and the cost is reasonable. Every law firm should be using scanning and OCR technology.

Manage information well. Many firms have been using word-processing software for years and have huge resources in thousands of text files. There is a way to "mine" the data in those files.

Products like ISYS, dtSearch, and askSam read each text file (ISYS supports over 100 file formats) and index all the words in the file, enabling you to do full-text searches.

For example, imagine that you need a brief you wrote years ago for a case involving premises liability of landlords in residential homing, but you can't remember the client's name. You know that the file contained the words "security," "tenant," and "premises." Start a search, type in the keywords, hit the "enter" key, and in the blink of an eye the search results are listed on your screen. Click on one, and the document appears in its original format.

This approach to managing information may be ideal for some firms, particularly those that do appellate or research work.

Assemble documents efficiently. This may be the holy grail of law office automation. Document-assembly software lets lawyers merge clients' names, addresses, and case-specific information into form letters, saving attorneys and their staff valuable time. HotDocs seems to be the leader among a series of products designed to help lawyers assemble documents.

After you accept a case, you can create a series of documents in just a couple of minutes by merging client-specific information with documents contained in one text file, such as a thank-you letter, a retainer agreement, a letter to referring counsel, a notice of lien to the defendant, standard interrogatories, a notice to produce, a deposition notice, and a request to admit.

The difficulty with using HotDocs is that someone must add codes to the documents before merging--a time-consuming task.

Create winning courtroom presentations. Quality graphics, PowerPoint presentations, anatomy visuals, animations, time-line charts, real-time video testimony, video depositions, and the like strengthen a trial presentation.

Online research

Advances in technology have made legal research less cumbersome.

Tap online databases. Internet research can be done in several ways, including via Westlaw and LexisNexis. The Internet and Web browsers have made these online resources easy to use. In addition, more and more valuable information has become available for free on the Internet, including current case law from federal and state courts. This has enabled attorneys to download decisions to a database and index them.

Full-text searchable resources on SmartBooks (www.iicle.com), provided by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, are invaluable. For less then $600 a year, you can access at least 60 excellent substantive-law and forms books via the Internet. Hard-copy manuals on each topic alone would cost about $100 each. Sources like SmartBooks may prove stiff competition for services like Westlaw and Lexis.

Participate in list servers and threaded discussion groups. Many lawyers use list servers such as those available on atla.org to exchange information, ask questions, and get answers. The technology allows lawyers throughout the country to share resources efficiently.

Good business practices

Attorneys must be good business managers as well as good lawyers. We must learn about technology and how to use it to our benefit. This means we need to educate ourselves. Establish a lawyers' computer-users group in your local area, and invite vendors to present products to the group each month. Talk to staff and others about the technology. Visit exhibit halls at ATLA conventions. Read tech magazines.

Information is out there. Make the technology work for you.

Paul Bernstein is an attorney and law-office automation consultant in Chicago. He can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail]. The views expressed in this article are the authors and do not constitute an endorsement of any product by TRIAL or ATLA.