The evolution of computer users groups. (Law Office Technology).

In a session at the ATLA Annual Convention in July, I polled the audience to see how many lawyers and paralegals were using case management software. In the past, similar polls determined that 15 percent to 20 percent of the audience used case management software, some form of personal information manager, or a product with simple calendaring and to-do list functions.

This time, more than half the audience members raised their hands, indicating that lawyers are getting the message: Technology can make them more efficient, productive, and powerful client representatives, while reducing the stress of practicing law.

But once the decision to automate is made, where do lawyers turn for help?

Early users groups

Dedicated word processors were the productivity machines of the 1970s. Companies such as Wang, Lanier, Vydec, IBM, Dec, NBI, Micon, Xerox, and Sony dominated the industry. Their machines cost $12,000-$20,000 apiece, and users got free consulting and some training from the vendor. When IBM introduced the personal computer in 1981, the idea of replacing IBM typewriters with microcomputers in business offices was born.

The 1980s were an exciting time for people interested in computers. I discovered telecommunications around 1982, and I marveled at 300-bps communication: Typing words into a computer and having them flow across telephone lines to someone else was nothing short of a miracle.

More and more products came to the market: spreadsheets, word-processing software from a group in Utah called Word-Perfect, databases, bulletin board systems, mail-merge products, and outlining software--it was hard to keep up with the torrent. Many computer vendors sprang up, most offering machines for about $4,000. These had only one floppy disk, no hard drive, and a modest amount of RAM. A daisy-wheel printer, required for office use, was also priced in the $4,000 range.

By 1983, lawyers needed to get together and talk about all this burgeoning technology, so I formed the Lawyers Microcomputer Users Group (LAWMUG). The group hosted monthly meetings for lawyers and law office staff for about 12 years. Its focus was on motivating law firms to use technology, showing and telling them about hardware options and the growing number of software programs. The group met live, face to face. I decided on a topic for each of our meetings and arranged for speakers and demonstrations, and the meetings always generated ideas for new subjects to cover. Notices of upcoming meetings became a full-fledged newsletter that included synopses of past meetings.

I set up what I believe was the first lawyer-run bulletin board system (BBS), which provided LAWMUG members with another means of communication via threaded discussions. Soon, not only those who attended LAWMUG meetings, but attorneys from all over the country were logging on to read about new technology.

A decade ago, I wrote an article on the value of computer users groups. (Paul Bernstein, Computer Users Groups: Essential for Your PC Education, TRIAL, June 1991, at 90.) If you would like a copy, please drop me a line--electronically, of course--and I will send you one.

Gone are the days when lawyers claimed that their persuasive skills in trial were all they required to win cases--they did not need computers. Today, they know that computer technology is essential to their productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. Clients demand a higher level of service, and jurors brought up with television expect graphics and high-tech presentation of witness testimony.

Lawyers now ask more than the single question "Should I automate?" They want to know

* What types of products and services should I adopt?

* How do I choose among them?

* How do I install these products?

* How do I motivate myself and my staff to use technology?

* How do we learn to use these products better?

* How do we maintain our skills in the future, once our initial goals are achieved?

LAWMUG was open to anyone, lawyer or not, and there were usually some vendors and consultants participating. It didn't matter what type of practice you had; technology was so new that we all learned from each other. That won't work in the 21st century. What lawyers need and want is information focused on their specific areas of practice.

Users groups today

The users group of today and tomorrow should focus on one area--for example, plaintiff personal-injury law. It should provide periodic presentations of useful software by chosen vendors. The group should maintain a list of credentialed, reliable, reasonably priced support services and vendors for law offices. Specific types of non-lawyers should be invited to participate at certain times. For example, if the discussion topic is case management software options for plaintiff trial lawyers, the group should invite demonstrators from selected vendors and trainers who are "fluent" in such software to talk about the products.

The group should plan programs to focus on the needs of participants. Sample topics might include

* Selecting case management software

* Filing and locating information on a hard drive

* Managing documents inexpensively

* Creating a firm newsletter

* Applying Microsoft Outlook in a law practice

* Using graphics in and out of the courtroom

* Networking office computers and using intranets and extranets

* Locating online resources for lawyers

* Collaborating via atla.org and similar resources

* Reaping the benefits of intranets and extranets

* Taking depositions over the Internet

* Using wireless technology

* Protecting law firm information using encryption and firewalls

* Storing and retrieving "copies" of users group meetings.

To form a computer users group, discuss it with friends and colleagues, call an organizational meeting, and have attendees tell their friends and colleagues--word of mouth is the best advertisement. Ask your state-based trial lawyer association (TLA) to support the monthly meetings by putting a notice on its Web site, sending e-mail to members, placing an ad in its print publications, or sending a flier with other mailings. If the TLA is not willing, an organizer of the users group who has a Web site could do these things. With or without state TLA support, core members should also call and send e-mails to lawyers they think might want to join.

The first few presentations should be carefully chosen. If vendors are invited, make it clear that their role is to educate, not to sell the product outright--their presence is an implied endorsement. A lawyer who uses the product must lead the presentation; the vendor is there to answer the technical questions.

In addition to live meetings, you might consider sending a monthly newsletter or even videotaping the programs and streaming the sessions over the Internet for members. You choose your level of technology.

A computer users group can help lawyers learn about available technologies and the resources that can help them implement and use those tools efficiently. If there isn't one in your area, who better to start it than 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 column are the author's and do not constitute an endorsement of any product by TRIAL or ATLA.