Technological Invasion of the Legal Profession

Law is a paper-intensive business. Improvements in paper handling and production have always impacted the practice of law. The writer of this article was not around when the quill gave way to the pen, nor when typewriters were introduced. But he did observe the rapidity with which lawyers acquired photocopiers when Xerox Corporation came along with the 914 decades ago, as well as the conversion to modern word processing technology in the recent past.

The legal profession has been in the vanguard of office technology with the use of data bases, the genesis of which was a cooperative project between Mead Corporation and The Ohio Bar. The legal profession is expected to continue to lead the office into a more automated world.


Most students entering law school now are computer literate. Those students entering law school directly from college may have encountered an Apple computer in school, a Commodore computer at home, or an IBM PC or compatible ("clone") in a part-time job or at college. And, of course, for years computer games have been everywhere --shopping mall arcades, pizza parlors, barbershops, and dentists' offices.

New lawyers must understand, however, that older lawyers did not grow up with computers. A 50-year-old partner who passed the bar at the age of 25 fulfilled his entire formal educational process 15 years before the personal computer was introduced. Even word processing, generally the first application to be automated in law offices, was not feasible before the mid to late Seventies. That is not to say that many middle-aged lawyers will not be computer literate or even sophisticated users of electronic technology. The new lawyer may smugly assume personal technological superiority only to find surprising computer sophistication among many older colleagues.

Computer literacy per se is not the focus of this article, nor is the article intended as a complete treatise on the subject of law office automation. Rather, it deals with the basics of the various technologies which have invaded the legal profession in recent decades and the functions which can be automated successfully. It also touches briefly on technological development which may be of value in a law practice.

Computers

In general, installed computers which the young lawyer will encounter in his chosen law firm or law department will consist of word processors, personal computers and minicomputers. Word processors are dedicated primarily to correspondence and document production. They are sometimes referred to as "dedicated word processors" to distinguish them from personal computers which happen to be used primarily for word processing. Personal computers are extremely flexible individual workstations that can be used successfully for much more than word processing. Personal computers can be independent "standalones," linked through a local area network (LAN), or clustered as workstations on a shared dedicated word processor or minicomputer. Minicomputers are larger, more costly computers offering multiple applications for multiple users.

Components of a Computer System

Computer systems generally consist of one or more of the following components:

[a]-Central Processing Units (CPUs). CPUs are the heart of any computer system and usually contain the computer's working memory, storage and most, or all, of its processing power. The software (or computer instructions) for both the overall operating system and individual applications usually reside at the CPU. The CPU is attached to all workstations, printers, back-up devices, etc., by direct cable or a communications link. Multiple CPUs can be linked together to provide additional power, storage or workstation connections. Sometimes a second identical CPU is linked to the first to provide back-up capacity in case of CPU malfunction.

[b]-Workstations. Workstations can be either "Intelligent" or "dumb." "Intelligent" workstations have some computer processing power of their own and do not have to depend solely upon the CPU. Some intelligent workstations also have independent floppy or hard disk storage. Sometimes this intelligence simply takes some of the processing burden off the CPU. Overtaxing the CPU causes processing to slow down, and frustrates the user. Intelligent workstations can therefore
help to prevent this slowing, or degradation, of performance.

If the workstation has its own disk storage as well, this will enable it to work completely on its own as a "standalone," even if the main CPU is malfunctioning. A personal computer connected to a CPU is a perfect example of a standalone intelligent workstation which can also share the CPU's central processing power, hard disk storage and attached system peripherals, such as various printers.

"Dumb" terminals have neither processing power nor disk storage of their own and are completely dependent upon the CPU. If the CPU is "down," or inoperable, dumb terminals cannot operate either.

[c]-Printers. Impact printers such as letter-quality daisy wheel and dot matrix printers are no longer considered state-of-the-art. They are being replaced by quiet, more efficient laser printers. Laser printers allow the user to print much faster and more quietly than impact printers. Letter-quality impact printers produce approximately one page per minute while laser printers print between eight and twenty pages per minute.

Laser printers are modeled on photocopier technology and come in low-, medium- and high-volume models. The recommended number of printed pages per month determines the volume. Small, low-volume desktop laser printers can be placed close to lawyer, paralegal or secretarial workstations. Depending upon required volumes, desktop laser printers can be used by individuals, or shared by two or three users with proper linking facilities.

[d]-Other Computer-Related Equipment. The new lawyer may encounter other computer-related equipment. For example, optical character readers (OCRs), or scanners, permit typed or printed information not already resident on a particular computer to be scanned and read into the computer for revision. "Black boxes," or equipment that translates documents or data in editable form from one computer to another, can be found in larger law offices. Back-up devices, such as disk drives with removable disks or magnetic tape drives, will be found on larger computer systems. Devices for automatically recording noncash disbursements from photocopiers and telephones are prevalent in well-managed law offices.

Computerized telephone switches designed for both voice and data alone will help to connect workstations to CPUs without extensive additional direct cabling. LANs consist of both hardware and software which can link multiple personal computers and printers.

Applications of Computer Technology

The primary applications of computer technology for law-related endeavors fall into the following categories:

[a]-Word Processing. Word processing is the creation and revision of correspondence and documents either on a dedicated word processor or a computer. Word processing used to be performed by operators dedicated to that function alone, often grouped in word processing centers. Many law firms still maintain word processing centers of significant size. However, by 1990, most word processing operations will be distributed to secretaries or to lawyers themselves. When lawyers have personal computers in their own offices, they use them mostly for word processing, especially for the revision of "library" documents, such as agreements, trusts, deeds, etc. Small word processing centers will be retained in most law offices for overflow work and as training and support centers.

[b]-Timekeeping and Billing. Except for cases taken on a contingent fee basis, most private law firms charge for lawyers' time by the hour and bill clients accordingly. Time entries are easily tracked by computers and sorted by client and matter, individual lawyers who worked on the file, and so forth. Both preliminary bills for review by the lawyer and final bills to be sent to the client can be prepared by computers with the appropriate software. Computers can track cash disbursements, or moneys paid on behalf of individual clients, as well as noncash disbursements incurred on their behalf such as photocopying, long distance calls, and the like. These expenses or disbursements are recouped by billing them to the client together with the legal fees.

Most sophisticated systems are capable of producing letter-quality final bills, in a variety of formats, on firm letterhead. Final bill preparation can reduce expensive attorney and secretarial time spent in dictating, drafting and revising client bills.

[c]-Bookkeeping and Accounting. Computers are often used in a law firm to automate general ledger and accounts receivable. These applications are most valuable when they are integrated with the timekeeping and billing software.

Integration implies that double entry of information for client billing and firm bookkeeping will be eliminated. For example, a payment made by a client will be entered once in the client's account and will automatically be entered by the computer into the appropriate firm account. When a check is written by the computer for a filing fee, the amount is automatically deducted from the appropriate firm account and charged against the appropriate client account.

[d]-Management Reporting/Executive Information Systems. If a computer has tracked attorney and paralegal timekeeping entries, posted disbursements and billed the client, it has in its memory all the information required to produce management reports. With the appropriate software, these reports can show the value of work that has been performed, but not yet billed, which areas of law have been most profitable for a given period, and how much money an individual lawyer has collected to date. It can show that a particular lawyer is realizing only SX per hour on work performed, billed and collected even though his billing rate is $X + $25. Computer-generated information can help to guide both administrative and practice management decisions. Specific management reports which are valuable in a well-managed law office include:

Billing reports and information
 

• time and time-value by specific matter, description of service
• time and time-value for all matters, by client
• bills for fees and disbursements
• amounts previously billed and paid
• data of last time entry and unbilled time value, by file or client
• amounts previously billed and unpaid Accounting information
• a monthly financial statement
• weekly or monthly trial balances
• general ledger
• aging of accounts receivable
• check writing
• accounts payable Managerial and analytical
• time-use analysis for each attorney
• departmental composites of time analysis
• profitability analysis for each lawyer, department and field of law, or type of activity
• case lists by attorney and department
• analysis of aged unbilled time and disbursements
• compensation information such as credits for work obtained, work performed and other factors

[e]-Calendaring, Scheduling and Docket Control. Keeping track of what needs to be done when, and in what order of priority, is one of the most difficult organizational challenges a young lawyer faces. While good legal secretaries can help lawyers keep track of appointments, court dates and filing deadlines, a computer can often help to do these things more efficiently. Most malpractice insurance carriers require a good docket control system before granting coverage. Of course, any automated system is only as reliable as the information which human beings have entered into its memory.

[f]-Conflicts of Interest Checking. Lawyers must be very careful of conflicts of interest. They can occur very easily and innocently but, if not caught immediately, they can be the basis for a malpractice suit. For example, one lawyer in the firm may be representing a doctor in his divorce from his wife while another lawyer in the firm may be involved in medical malpractice litigation involving the professional organization of which that doctor is a member. If properly programmed, computers can spot such conflicts quickly, as long as the names of all the individuals are entered both when the file is opened and when new defendants are added as a case progresses.

[g]-Litigation Support and Case Management. Lawyers trying or defending cases which involve a massive number of documents or in particularly complex litigation find that automated indexing of these documents can be very valuable. It can enable a lawyer to retrieve all the documents, for example, mentioning the night of the fire, which were sent to a certain person, either directly or as a carbon copy, from a certain person within a specific range of dates. Particular depositions or other evidentiary material can also be located easily when key items describing them are indexed electronically. Sometimes the full text of the documents is stored in the computer.

Case management goes beyond management of litigation documents and evidence. It includes elements of docketing and scheduling, litigation support and information retrieval. However, true case management software programs also track what has already been done in the case, by whom and when; they also project what steps remain to be accomplished and how much time need be allotted.

[h]-Legal Research and Outside Data Bases. Automated legal research includes access from a terminal or personal computer to texts of statutes, either those already enacted or under consideration, and retrieval of any statute, article or paragraph on request. It includes access to case law and decisions of the Courts, either in full text or keyword form (LEXIS and Westlaw). Lawyers and paralegals may also wish to access information stored in specialized public data bases such as EDGAR and MedLine for recent SEC rulings and other regulatory information, medical information, etc.

[i]-Information Retrieval and In-house Data Bases. Well-organized, auto-mated law offices have a system for indexing prior work product. Such a system prevents redundancy of effort on the part of both lawyers and staff and permits increased productivity through reference to formerly created, stored documents. For example, briefs could be indexed in this way to provide the basis for writing briefs on similar cases. Such a system is valuable only when there is cooperation on the part of lawyers for input, and willingness to use the index.

Prior work product should not be confused with the firm's library of standard forms and boilerplate materials. Prior work product can be useful even if it is not reduced to "boilerplate." It is possible that certain paragraphs could become standard even if the entire document is not standardized. However, lawyers must resist the temptation to maintain every document on the system for an unlimited period of time. If a thorough library of standard materials is maintained, and there is an adequately archived library of former work product, there is no need to maintain multiple documents of the same type whose variations are not significant enough to warrant keeping them. To that end, careful procedures for systematically deleting materials should be designed to eliminate a vast library of archived materials which are rarely, if ever, used.
Many lawyers who use personal computers also find the ability to access personal data bases such as an automated rolodex, telephone list, client list, etc., to be valuable and time-saving.

[j]-Practice Support Applications and Expert Systems. Many software pro-grams are now available to assist a lawyer in the actual practice of law. Some substantive practice applications include tax planning, estate planning and administration, real estate closing and collections. These programs allow tax planners to change figures at will and experiment with "what if strategies. The computer recalculates the spreadsheets in an instant. Attorneys involved in estate administration can use personal computer packages for fiduciary accounting, check writing and ticklers. Real estate software packages can handle volumes of RESPA and HUD forms, loan closings, etc., in a fraction of the time it would take a paralegal or lawyer to do them.

[k]-Library and File Management. In larger firms, personal computers are often used to track library holdings, subscriptions and distributions lists. In effect, computers take the place of the manual card catalogue. Extensive file management, including cross referencing, sub-files, location and status (open or closed), is handled more easily via computer.

[3]-Integration Issues

Integration of these applications is desirable. A smooth integrated environment requires consistent user interface across applications. Consistent user interface means that deleting a sentence of text in the billing mode is done with the same sequence of keystrokes as deleting a sentence in the pure word processing mode. It means that all files can be accessed, edited, printed, copied, merged, etc., with the same keystrokes or series of keystrokes, whether they are documents or data files. Online access should be available from anywhere in the world (with the proper security clearances, of course) with a very limited number of keystrokes.

Full integration of all software modules is expected at the application level, even if the applications are operating under different operating systems. If, for example, billing and accounting software is operating under Data General's AOS operating system, word processing is operating under NBI's proprietary operating system, and the estate and tax planning is running under the MS-DOS operating system, one would not want to back out of one operating system completely and re-boot (re-start) the personal computer (workstation) to a different operating system. Access should be possible from all types of workstations, including dedicated "intelligent" terminals and personal computers. Dumb terminals should be able to access all software resident on the firm's primary computers, but not personal computer software unless a multi-user version is resident on the primary computer(s).

Full integration also means that the user should not be required to back out of a particular function or go back to a main menu to access another function. Instead, he should be able to "interrupt" the application he is working in, "suspend" it at exactly that spot, bring up the new application in a window on the screen or as a new screen face, and return with the touch of one key to the original application. There should be multiple levels of interrupt and suspension.

Here is an example of multiple interrupt and suspension: You are creating (keying) a brief at your workstation. You get a message in the lower corner of your screen that you have an electronic mail message. You suspend your document in the middle of page three and touch a key to read new mail. As you are reading the message, the phone rings. You suspend electronic mail and touch a key to bring up your phone message screen which is designed like a paper telephone message slip. The caller, a client, inquired about some details of last month's bill. You suspend the phone message screen and touch the required keys to bring up the appropriate time and billing information to obtain an answer to the client's question. With the touch of one key, you are back to your original mail message, which you read and delete. By touching another key, you are back on page three of your brief, exactly where you left off.

It is not enough for various software modules or packages to reside on the same computer or on various computers which are physically linked by cabling. It is not enough to access all software modules from one workstation. Perfect integration will permit information to be entered once from any workstation (with the appropriate security clearance) and automatically dispersed to any data bases where it is required, even if those data bases reside on separate CPUs or file servers. All duplicate entry of data regarding a client must be eliminated. For example, when a file is opened, the client name is immediately entered automatically for billing, accounts receivable, conflicts of interest, docketing and marketing data base. When a check is written on behalf of that client, the amount should be entered once by the operator in preparing the check.

This information should automatically be recorded to the client account, and to the general ledger, as well as being available for extraction for management reports.

Other Automated Equipment

[a]-Telephones. The young law graduate is not likely to be participating in the decision to purchase or rent equipment in the employer's office, but it is important to be aware that there are options in the telecommunications marketplace.

There are over 100 different choices of telephone systems available now, thanks to the effects of deregulation. Telephone systems for small- and medium-sized law offices are usually termed either Key or Hybrid. In a Key system, the phone sets reflect all lines coming to a suite. They have a number on the button and one picks up on the same line. Key systems are typically appropriate for smaller firms which do not forecast heavy growth. They are less expensive initially than Hybrid systems.

Hybrid systems provide more intelligence than Key systems. They can therefore provide certain sophisticated features that cannot be accommodated on a Key system.

Telephone systems are getting smaller, just like computer systems. A central processing unit, or a computer upon which the telephone is based, can usually be housed in a regular coat closet. Telephone systems are available either directly from the manufacturer or from distributors. However, the world of telephone equipment and services is made up of a completely foreign jargon which few lawyers understand. The services of a completely independent telephone consultant, one who has nothing to sell except services, is most helpful in making any decision to change telephone equipment.

Any prospective purchaser should investigate the financial stability of the manufacturers and the vendor under consideration. Most manufacturers are large companies like Northern Telecom and Rolm (IBM), but many local vendors of telephone equipment are small, recently formed operations. Great care should be taken to assure that the vendor will be around to take care of the equipment for a few years, at least.

Since the vendors usually provide service for the equipment they sell, it is equally important to check user references as to promptness and quality installation and repair services.

[b]-Telephone Cost Capture Devices. There are numerous sources for peripheral systems which can monitor the cost of long distance calls and prepare consolidated information for billing to clients. Some provide in-house equipment for this purpose while others process the information at their own facilities.

In-house systems capture the information in different ways. Most require that a client/matter number be keyed with the phone number. The information including matter number, telephone number, date, length of call and cost of call is then printed out on a central printer. This information is then posted directly into a computerized time and billing system under noncash disbursements. Some systems capture the information keyed into the telephone handset directly onto a floppy disk on a personal computer. The information can then be downloaded, or dumped, directly into the central billing and accounting computer and posted automatically. These devices usually pay for themselves if these costs are conscientiously billed through to the client.

[c]-Photocopiers. Photocopy equipment is as standard in a law office as a telephone. Copiers come in various sizes and volume capacities. Volume capacity is measured by the number of prints made per month, and can generally be categorized as low-volume, mid-volume, or high-volume. Copiers can have many sophisticated features such as the ability to print on both sides of the paper at once, the ability to enlarge or reduce the copy, and the ability to copy in color. Peripheral equipment which greatly increases efficient copying includes automatic feeders and collators.

Law firms generally charge clients for copies made on their behalf. Some offices continue to capture these costs by requiring the copy clerk or secretary to record the date, client matter and number of copies on a log or on small pads of forms. This information is then keyed into the firm's billing system. Many offices prefer to automate this procedure by placing a device on each copier which requires the user to punch in the client /matter number before copies are made. This information is then processed directly through the billing system, either by direct posting or through a floppy disk.
[d]-Dictation Equipment. Despite the increased use of personal computers for original drafting, attorneys will continue to use dictation equipment through the end of this century. Hand-held recorders are convenient for lawyers who travel and do not have access to a personal computer. Machine dictation is certainly faster and more efficient than face-to-face shorthand dictation, which many lawyers insisted upon for years. It is much faster than writing in longhand. Tapes are transcribed by secretaries or word processing operators and saved on disks for further revision. However, dictating, instead of drafting directly on a keyboard, lengthens the turnaround time for the finished document and does not offer the immediate visual feedback that a computer screen offers. Some lawyers have taken one more step and are working directly on their own keyboards and terminals.

Some larger, progressive law firms in the 1980s experimented with computerized dictation equipment. With this system, a lawyer could dictate from his office on one or more channels. His secretary, or any secretary, could access that channel from her own workstation and transcribe without leaving her desk. No media ever changed hands until the document was printed. This kind of system is extremely expensive, but can be very efficient if most lawyers in the firm continue to dictate. However, with the increasing distribution of personal computers to lawyers, such systems will become less and less attractive.

[e]-Telex, Facsimile and other Telecommunications. Telex is a method for sending messages or documents over telephone wires to a printer in a distant location, usually internationally. Messages can originate on special Telex or teletype terminals, or on most personal computers and word processors equipped with communications capability. Messages are communicated electronically and printed on a receiving printer.

Facsimile transmission is the process of electronically transmitting a digitized image of a hard (paper) copy of a document over long distances by telephone lines. Transmission used to be accomplished in three different modes: AM, FM and digital. Digital transmission is now the method for all data communications, including facsimile transmission.
An original or clear photocopy of a document is fed into the transceiver at one end of the telephone connection and the unit at the other end produces a paper copy. All facsimile units can transmit and receive documents; hence, the term transceiver (short for transmitter and receiver) is used to describe these units.

Law offices should take into consideration several characteristics when evaluating facsimile equipment. The first consideration should be speed of transmission, as there are several speeds available, sometimes called baud rates. Typical transmission speeds range from 300 baud to 9600 baud. Transmission speeds for a one-page letter have decreased over the years, and usually take between ten seconds and two minutes. Obviously, as the length of the document increases, so does the time required for transmission. It is impossible to electronically send and receive documents unless the facsimile transceivers are set at the same speed and mode of transmission.

Compatibility between sender and receiver is required. Compatibility refers to the facsimile transceiver's ability to communicate with a different model of the same manufacturer or with a unit made by a different manufacturer. Each must operate at the same baud rate.

[f]-Video Equipment. The use of video equipment is gradually increasing in connection with legal proceedings. Applications include recording of depositions, preservation of evidence, presentation of expert witness testimony or demonstrative evidence, and making of time and motion studies in personal injury cases. However, despite advances in the use of videotape technology, there is still little uniformity in the use of videotape systems from court to court. Preferences of the local courts are therefore an important consideration in purchasing and using videotape equipment.

[g]-Microforms. The most common use of microfilm is in the storage of closed case files. A lawyer just opening an office cannot possibly imagine the bulk storage problems which closed files will create in twenty years. Many law offices keep all closed files because the lawyers are convinced that something important may be lost if closed files are destroyed. These firms store boxes of files in basements, attics, old lofts, abandoned stores and warehouses. Microfilming of closed files is receiving consideration today as basements fill up, attics collapse under the weight of files, and warehouse space becomes more and more expensive. However, because of the time and cost involved in preparation for microfilming and the process itself, and the relatively low cost of warehouse storage, most lawyers have preferred to put the necessity for dealing with closed files "out of sight and out of mind." However, ease of retrieval sometimes provides sufficient justification for microfilming.

In any case, dealing with files in a systematic way is essential. Thorough purging of files at the point of closing and a systematized schedule for destroying very old files is good management practice.

Another application for microforms in the law office has been document retrieval, particularly for legal research files and evidentiary files for litigation support. However, in the late 1980s, massive hard disk storage and computer optical disk storage eclipsed microforms for full-text storage.

Computer Personnel

The need for specialized staff to support computer applications will continue to grow. Word processing managers and supervisors can be found in most medium and large law offices. Most bookkeeping or accounting personnel in law firms with automated timekeeping and billing are computer literate. However, as the complexity and sophistication of computer installations in law offices increases, specialized technical personnel will rapidly take their place among the support staff. Minicomputer systems require a knowledgeable systems administrator, often with good financial and accounting background as well as computer expertise. LANs require technologically sophisticated network managers for successful installation and continued successful implementation. Specialists in information retrieval and automated legal research and bibliography will be required. As large multi-user applications such as automated litigation support are brought in-house, experts in using computers for those applications must be hired. Progressive law offices will require data base specialists and personal computer applications specialists to develop applications and train users. Full-fledged programmers will probably not be needed, but persons whose backgrounds combine knowledge of legal applications and computer technology will be in demand.