Your 'anytime-anywhere' law office.

You need to convert your law firm to a "virtual law firm"--a firm that is independent of time and place. Here's what I mean.

Let's suppose you have one office, but, like most of us, you also work from home. Further, you'd like to take more weekends away with your spouse and children, but you can't afford to be that far from your of rice. Also, more and more, you see the benefit of having a computer with you at depositions and in court. Can you have your law office with you wherever you go? The answer is "yes."

What do you need to do to convert your office? I recommend you start using Windows 95 and a World Wide Web browser, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape's Communicator. You must also buy a Windows-based computer.

That may raise two questions: one concerns your present DOS word-processing program and another concerns cost.

* First, the DOS question. You may find that your secretaries (with or without your knowledge) have created all kinds of merge-documents and macros that work with your DOS-based word-processing programs, like WordPerfect 5.1. A merge document allows you to almost instantly create a draft of a document if the template (or form document) has word-processing merge codes in it and your staff has already created a "data" file to hold the information that is to go into the draft document. These merge-coded documents and macros will probably not work with a Windows-based word-processing program.

Macros are recorded keystrokes that can be recalled and placed into a document with the touch of two keys on the keyboard. For example, the complimentary "close" to your letter could be placed into a document with a preselected keystroke combination, such as depressing the "Alt" key and then the "C" key.

Switching to Windows 95 does not mean your staff has to abandon those DOS macros and mergers. Windows 95 is a wonderful environment for task switching. You can have a window open that is operating WordPerfect 5.1 (along with those wonderful merge-documents and macros your firm has created) and perhaps another window open that is operating your DOS-based case-management program. You can easily switch from one program to the next (while keeping all programs open and active in your computer).

* Now to the cost question. The newer computers on the market today are less expensive and have more power than computers that are just a year old. They also have much larger hard disk drives and more random access memory (RAM). New computers generally come with Windows 95 preloaded.

To access the Internet and use the valuable information available there, you are best off using a Windows-based Pentium computer.

Cyberspace office

The virtual law firm exists in cyberspace and is accessed over regular telephone lines by dialing from your home-based computer or notebook computer. Referring attorneys can initiate communication with your virtual law firm in a similar fashion.

Communication may take place with a product that lets the remote party accessing your office computer actually take over the operation of that computer. A software product that does that is CoSession from Artisoft, Inc.(1) The product works only with Windows 95 and Windows NT. When the remote party is accessing, via modem, the office's computer system, he or she can operate and use the office system just as if he or she were using a computer in the office itself.

Uses for such a product might include accessing files on your office computer that you forgot to take home, entering information into your case-management program from home or a vacation place, or allowing referring attorneys to enter data into parts of your computer system. (Co-Session has the ability to limit what parts of your system may be used during remote access.)

However, I doubt lawyers will learn to use the more sophisticated case-management programs on the market today as well as their staffs will. Accordingly, I believe a better method of implementing a virtual law office today is to use Internet and Intranet technology and some of the new products on the market that can create the virtual office.

Products like Netscape's Communicator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer are critical to the successful implementation of the virtual law office. Not only do these products get you on the Internet, but they are simple to understand, learn, and use. To access your virtual office, you will need a graphical user interface system (a GUI, such as Windows 95), a newer computer with lots of memory and a large hard disk drive (I recommend a minimum of 32 to 64 megabytes of RAM, a hard disk drive of at least 2 gigabytes, and a CD-ROM drive), a modem, an Internet service provider (ISP), a Web browser, and the software necessary to host the virtual law office.(2)

You may choose to have the software for your virtual law firm reside either on computers in your office or "hosted" by third parties, particularly companies that market these types of products and offer Internet hosting. Subject to security considerations, having the data on a hosted site seems to be the best initial way for sole practitioners and lawyers in small firms to create virtual law firms.

Virtual law office software offers several useful features, including calendars and dockets, e-mail, real-time electronic conferences, forums (or non-real-time conferences), and file upload and download.

Here's an example. Let's say you are working on a case as cocounsel with another law firm. Even though you may be the lead attorney, there is a need for constant communication in regard to the client's matter. If you have a virtual law firm, you can upload to your virtual law office server (VLOS) the proposed complaint you have prepared and intend to file. Co-counsel can read it online or download the file.

Assuming the other attorney has some changes or suggestions to make, he or she can upload the new version to the VLOS. Both your first version and the new version of the proposed complaint can be labeled and posted on the VLOS.

Having agreed on the form of complaint, you now upload copies of the summons, demand letter to the defendant, notice of attorney's lien, a copy of the contract with the client, and your proposed discovery. All of this is available for cocounsel to see and comment on, and all become a part of the files area and the document-management software system.

Of course, this is easy to do, as you are using a Web browser.

More and more of our clients are on the Internet, too. And communicating with clients is important. You could even let the client into parts of your virtual law office so that he or she can be kept up to date on matters.

The calendar of events for a case is also important. What are the discovery cutoff dates, pre-trial dates, and jury instruction conference dates? When did interrogatories go out to the opposing attorney, and when are they due back? When did you receive opposing counsel's discovery, and when are your responses due? Clearly, both sets of lawyers need to know these facts.

Security

Once you are convinced that these technologies are ideal for your needs and you are excited about the ease of using Web browsers, your thoughts will turn to security. You may ask: Can the electronic mail and file uploads and downloads be intercepted and read by hackers or others with evil intent? Won't using these technologies breach lawyer-client confidentiality? And if the VLOS is not in our firm, how can we be certain that our commercial host won't be compromised by hackers? Or suppose the commercial host goes bankrupt and its computer system is grabbed by creditors--what happens to our property stored on that system?

These are valid concerns. However, there are solutions.

All transmissions between computers can be and should be encrypted so that it is virtually impossible to break the encryption. Data on commercial servers is also encrypted, and passwords or technology to decrypt the content of the customer's part of the server is solely in the hands of the customer. Thus, if the worst happened, your files and data are secure. In addition, data on the host should be backed up and the backups downloaded by your firm periodically or the backup tapes sent to you by the hosting system.

Recommendations

While you are vacationing, taking a day off at home, or playing telephone tag with your clients and cocounsel, you could instead be managing your office via your virtual law office. In addition, if you and members of your staff are entering information about each case into your computer system, you can, when you are not at trial, afford to take time off and still manage your law firm from your vacation site by using this technology.

Terms like "Internet," "virtual law of rice," and "virtual law office server" should not only be a part of your present vocabulary, but to one degree or another, they should become an integral part of your law firm.

Notes

(1.) For more information, call Artisoft, Inc., at [phone], or visit its Web site at http://www.artisoft.com.

(2.) For more information on teamware, groupware, and virtual office products, see Greg Alwang, Instant Groupware, PC MAG., Feb. 10, 1998, at 175. The article notes that comparisons of the products mentioned in the article can be found at http://www. pcmag.com. The vendors of these products have different resources and, given the nature of competition, each is likely to enhance its offerings for the virtual office regularly. This, however, is not a complete list of vendors who provide these services.