Working the Net to your advantage.

About two years ago, Netscape Navigator -- the popular "browser" software that helps computer users find their way around the Internet -- changed everything in the online world. With Netscape, the hard-to-use Internet became so easy to navigate that even we lawyers could figure out how to visit Web sites anywhere -- from the law library to the courthouse -- from the Louvre in Paris to ATLN's online service, ATLA NET (http://www.atlanet.org).

Many of us have discovered exciting uses of basic Internet technology, including electronic mail to stay in touch with clients, colleagues, ATLA staff, friends, and family and electronic calendars so we can schedule important court appearances, client meetings, and the like. We upload and download computer files by attaching them to our e-mail, and we discuss topics of interest with fellow members in chat groups and forums, such as the ones on ATLA NET.

Some of us even shop on the Internet. ATLA NET, like many Web sites, has a virtual shopping mall -- called ATLAmart -- where we can view law-related vendors' areas and go to their home pages by clicking on hyperlinks embedded in the text.

The fact is, Internet technology is the most significant resource that has come to the legal profession in years. However, many of us have been holdouts when it comes to using computers and, therefore, Internet technology at the office. I won't go into all the reasons why it is vital that you incorporate computers into your law practice, but I will say this: Learning to use the networking aspects of computers will open your law office door to one of the lowest priced mass media publishing resources ever invented -- the Internet.

This mass access is most easily accomplished by putting your law firm's home page on the Net. Like it or not, marketing is something most of us have to do. And what better way to market your services than via your own Internet "Publishing house"?

Whether you try to create a home page Yourself (the available software tools get more powerful, easier to use, and less expensive as the months roll by) or hire someone to do it for you, you can have your page up and running in a matter of weeks.

Then, you mill have the opportunity to tell an unprecedented number of people what areas of practice you are involved with and what important cases you have won or settled. You can also show them law-related articles you have written.

Contact increase

You will reach a growing market of consumers and, perhaps just as important, other lawyers who are looking for someone with your expertise in your geographic area.

Networking technology -- mostly in the form of e-mial -- allows you to keep in touch with People that you may not otherwise have time to contact. You and I know that when we're at trial, the world comes to a screeching halt But our clients and other lawyers do not always see things that way -- and rightly so. How do you stay in touch and focus on the that without losing your mind?

Zap out a few electronic messages toward the end of your workday. Send a few sentences to clients to let them know you are at by and when they can expect a call from you. E-mail is not the be-all and end-all to effective communication, but you might be surprised how these brief messages comfort the recipients.

Perceptions count

Some benefits of computer technology are subtle, even psychological. In an adversarial system, your clients want to win or settle on the best terms available, right? The case facts and law and your commitment and experience certainly play vital roles in helping your clients, but don't underestimate the importance of technological expertise.

Whether you think it's important or not, computer-literate clients want to feel confident that you are harnessing the best that technology offers while working on their cases. Can you do the online research required for a client's case? Communicate easily and inexpensively with fellow attorneys and experts? Craft thorough and timely discovery documents?

Most clients perceive your being on top of technological advances as a competitive edge in their cases. The same perception is often held by judges and jurors when you use computer-generated graphics and other technology in the courtroom.

On a purely practical note, it is imperative that you turn out error-free, sophisticated, and on-the-mark legal documents. This surely is true in any civil proceeding but especially in seemingly routine estate planning matters, real estate closings, or divorce settlement agreements. Computerizing your documents makes it easier for your office to maximize output and to give clients fixed fees for services.

Internet technology also acts as an educational tool for lawyers. Online forums, or conferences, take place on the internet all the time. To get a feel for what this teleconferencing is all about, check out the forums on ATLA NET and at the exciting technology conferences and discussion groups on the Wisconsin State Bar Association's home page (http://www.wisbar.org). Here, lawyers share experiences, give guidance, trade practice pointers, and school each other in computer technology.

Another reason it is crucial that you learn to use these resources is to become expert in new practice areas. Lawyers are good information gatherers and sharers. Educating ourselves and others is part of our job.

If your practice is in Dallas and you have a landlord/tenant question that deals with Illinois law, you may run across a lawyer -- or ask one to come forward -- on the Internet who can share substantive information.

Reference works, legal forms, suppliers of computer-based document assembly, and substantive law manuals may be brought to your attention via your own online investigations and chats with fellow attorneys.

Taking a first step toward becoming a computer-savvy lawyer will put you on a journey that all of us must make -- and soon. Write me on the Internet and tell me all about what I didn't mention in this column! See you in the wires.