1/25 -Thurs Integrating Technology into the Law Office.
Course Project Introduced.
Baldwin-LeClair, Jack; ,"Solving Training Issues with Individual Software", Legal Assistant Today, Vol.12 No.3 January/February, 1995.
Baldwin-LeClair, Jack; "The Six Million Dollar Paralegal: Issues in Training, Technology and Management in the Law Office." Legal Assistant Today, Creative Computing, Vol. 8
No. 3, January/February, 1991.
Baldwin-LeClair, Jack; "Implementing New Technology in your Law Office While
Developing Computer Fluency", Creative Computing, Legal Assistant Today, Vol. 6, No. 5, May/June, 1989.
von Klan, Tatiana and Jack Baldwin-LeClair, Legal Assistant Today, "The Rollout the Software Polka: Eight Rules for Successful Software Rollout. Creative Computing, Vol. 10 No. 5, May/June, 1993.
Baldwin-Clair, Jack, "Back to Basics: The Basic Components of an Efficient Law Office". Legal Assistant Today, Creative Computing, Vol. 9 No. 6, July/August, 1992.
Baldwin-LeClair, Jack; ,"Solving Training Issues with Individual Software", Legal Assistant Today, Vol.12 No.3 January/February, 1995.
Jack Baldwin-LeClair M.A., Ed.S., J.D.
Training in law firms is a tricky business. Law firms are not usually well organized work environments. Their production is anything but routinized. The production chaos found at many law offices is mostly a product of the nature of the practice of law because law is by its very nature unpredictable. In fact, an effective tactic in practice is to throw your adversary off guard. A well placed and onerous set of interrogatories delivered on the eve of a holiday has done more to dampen Christmas spirits than the grinch who stole Christmas. An unexpected summary judgment motion can cause havoc in even the most stable of law office environments. Fortunately, Individual Software Inc. has come to the rescue with a variety of programs which use Windows and with a series of training programs which instruct in the use of Windows. Individual Software Incorporated has created a series of training programs for Microsoft Office Training Suite for Windows, Training Office for Windows, and Training Suite for Windows. Training for Windows 3.1 has yielded some impressive results. Novices show a 43% improvement, Intermediate users a 24% improvement, and advanced users a 5% improvement after using the training program. Individual Software can be reached by phone at (510) 734-6767 and by E-Mail at "76366.3213@compserve.com".
Individual Software Inc. supports Windows, MS-DOS, and Macintosh platforms. The company boasts customers such as NASA, Chevron, IBM, the IRS, the U.S. Airforce, Price Waterhouse, Purdue University, MCI, Delta Airlines, and the Los Angeles Times to name but a few.
A few words are in order about training and related issues before launching into a discussion of some products which really do make a difference in the efficiency of law office production.
Training is a task that most of us leave on the back burner for as long as possible only regretting the oversight when performance deficits in law office staff become too obvious to
ignore. A solution is illusive because the problem is multi-faceted. Law office fortunes rise and fall in mercurial fashion sometimes hinging upon the outcome of a single case. Law office
turnover is often frequent because firms are forced to layoff
employees only to rehire quickly to meet the demands of a
specific case. In more stable firms working on an hourly basis
instead of on contingency, employee turnover may be the product
of general dissatisfaction at low salaries and minimal benefits,
limited prospects for advancement caused by highly stratified
organizational structure, and insensitivity to employee
complaints.
Incorporation of a few solid principles from the
organizational behavior and industrial relations experts in the
application of a training program can help law firms achieve a
more stable environment. Factors crucial to a stable environment
are employee retention, employee redundancy (ability of
individual employees to assume a variety of roles and perform
many tasks), and adaptability.
Retention is a bane of law office managers and a boon to
headhunters. Law firms are often in a paroxysm of production
careening from one project or case to the next. Employees, often
paralegals, who have higher expectations than merely to collect a
paycheck at the end of a pay period want to feel as if their work
is appreciated and that they are enhancing their careers.
Redundancy is the need of an organizations to have employees
who can perform a variety of tasks, who can be moved from one job
to another, who can replace missing employees and perform the
same tasks at nearly the same level of efficiency. You may have
thought cross-training only applied to sneaker advertising but
just as redundancy in hardware platforms, the availability of
backup computers if one fails, is important, a pool of cross-trained employees who can replace others is crucial to a smooth workflow.
Adaptability is more complex an issue but primarily means
that cross-trained employees are trainable in other applications
programs and tasks. Employees must be selected from pools of
available job applicants, trained and retrained, and retained.
Training in law offices was a more complex issue than it is
today but infinitely more achievable because the quality of job
applicants has changed over the years. Ten years ago, finding
anyone trained in the use of computers to practice law was more a
matter of luck than routine. Most paralegal and secretarial
schools train their students in the use of computers. Even a
cursory glance at the curricula of the nation's paralegal
programs shows that almost everyone of them has at least one
course in the use of computers.
The standardization and consolidation of software and
especially Graphic User Interfaces (GUI's) has altered training
issues forever. The industry is standardizing on a handful of
products. Wordperfect and Word in wordprocessing, Lotus 123,
Excel, and Quattro Pro in spreadsheets, Dbase IV and Paradox in
database management, WESTLAW and LEXIS in Computer Assisted Legal
Research (CALR) are industry standards in law.
The advent of Windows, a GUI which makes DOS based machines
friendly desktop environments, has had an even greater effect
than even the consolidation of various software functions.
Windows is a GUI which operates between computer users and the
operating system. In large measure, Windows disciplines
programmers to make their software compatible with Windows
functions, utilities, and screens. Applications programs which
were evolving in their own way must follow a strict set of rules
to function in the Windows environment. Even the newer operating
systems such as Windows NT, Chicago, and OS2 (IBM's operating
system which will run Windows as a utility) are compatible with
the Windows look and feel. In fact, every major application
program is compatible with Windows.
Staff, who could be trained in one or two programs, must now
know how to use Windows to fully avail themselves of new
applications programs. The advantages are at once obvious.
Cross-training is easier and redundancy is assured if workers
know how to use Windows. The disadvantage is that all employees
must be trained to use Windows versions of major software.
So, how should a law firm train employees. The answer is
somewhat dependent on the nature of the law firm, area of
practice, size of the firm, and beginning level of computer
literacy of employees. However, a few rules of thumb are
evident. Training should be regular, planned, and should not be
on an employee's free time. Training should use individual
computer instruction but work groups should be trained at the
same pace if possible. Individual achievement should be subtly
recognized but not at the expense of group members. Group
leaders should be designated to track group progress while
helping and encouraging slower learners. Educational programs
certifying paralegals in the use of computers, like the classes
at Montclair State University, apply many of these principles.
These principles did not appear magically but are the result of
years of research and clinical experience in computer aided
instruction. Fortunately, recent advances in computer training
have made the application of these principles easier.
Individual Software cannot solve all law office problems but
use of their programs will make a significant dent in them. Well
trained employees are adaptable and more confident. Cross-trained employees are an asset and more satisfied that they are receiving more than just a paycheck from their employers.
Individual Software packages can help achieve these goals if used
as part of a regular training process.
I received both Wordperfect for Windows and the Wordperfect
for DOS training programs. Both programs are among the easiest
to install that I have ever tested. The programs load from
Windows and the DOS command line respectively with almost no
effort.
Both programs have excellent user interfaces. The Windows
version is a feast for the eyes. Laid out in the form of
familiar file folders the individual units are accessible with
the click of a mouse button or a key stroke. Units range from
the novice level explaining the Windows/Wordperfect desktop to
advanced merge features used in document generation.
The programs are intelligently structured. Wordperfect can
be a daunting program at first use because of the many features
available. Rather than inundate new users with dozens of
functions, these training packages focus on the basic building
blocks and progress at an even pace to more advanced features.
The instructional packages are geared to the busy work
environment. Bookmarks are available to keep track of a user's
position in the tutorials. A user could easily practice
individual units, return to work to apply the knowledge gained
and return to the tutorial later with confidence gained from
using the program under fire.
The programs are interactive. Information is presented
clearly and visually first with complete explanations. A help
menu is a mouse click away for the truly phobic. Acquisition of
knowledge is tested by mini-tests within each unit. Students are
rewarded for correct answers by positive reinforcement in plain
english. Mistakes are gently corrected and true to the mastery
learning or "practice until you get it right" approach more
chances to succeed are offered until a user succeeds in answering
the questions or correctly using a function.
Individual Training has created state of the art training
programs which are as much a credit to the company as they are
valuable in the law office environment. My student paralegals
found the programs very helpful and a few commented that my
classroom approach could take a few cues from the methods used by
the computer software. I have not tendered my resignation yet,
but clearly computer aided instruction has proven once again that
in the hands of competent educators and programmers computers can
teach in the work environment as well as some human instructors.
Individual Training's Wordperfect for Windows and
Wordperfect for DOS programs have my unreserved endorsement.
Their use in an integrated training programs will bring positive
results especially in firms which are concerned about retention,
redundancy, and adaptability.
The Six Million Dollar Paralegal: Issues in Training, Technology and Management in the Law Office.
Jack Baldwin-LeClair M.A., Ed.S., J.D.
The author is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Academic Computing for the Department of Legal Studies at Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, New
Jersey. He practices law in New Jersey. His consulting firm, Millennium Juris,
Inc., provides training, analysis, and evaluation of hardware and software for small to medium-sized law firms.
In keeping with this issue's theme, training and management of staff in the context of technological innovation is the topic. I do not intend to invoke an image of a "Six Million Dollar Paralegal" lightly nor do I envision rows of legal assistants sitting at consoles with wires running to connectors embedded in neural pathways. Although alloy of worker and machine is largely metaphorical, they are interdependent. Technical training of staff cannot occur in isolation from a master plan which begins with an analysis of the particular needs of a law firm, considering a firm's: areas of practice, staffing patterns, staff retention, technical expertise of staff, future technical needs of the firm across four dimensions of human resource acquisition and
development. These five planning areas will be treated in this article as equally important codependant factors.
Regular readers are probably thinking, what is a lawyer-educator able to tell us about training or management. Let me reassure you that my first graduate degree was a masters degree
in Industrial and Labor Relations and Human Resource Development from Rutgers University in
1978. Computers were not in abundance then but technology was increasingly finding its way
into all industries. In the late '70's, most of us in the field would not have brought the word "personal" any closer to the word "computer" than we would bring a magnet near a computer disk today. Although times have changed and computers are a necessity rather than a novelty, the
most important principles of training and management involved in the integration of technology
are still general management and industrial principles. Whether factory work flow is the object of routinization or production of legal memoranda, the problem issues and points of intervention are similar. The focus of efficiency is the productivity of the individual as amplified by technology. Obviously, the integration of human work habits, motivation, and over all profit loom large as issues in a law office as they do on a warehouse floor.
Unfortunately, compared with other industries law offices have been unusually resistant to innovations in human resource management and in integration of technology. There are several principles which explain this phenomenon. First, law offices have a narrow span of control, that is, power and responsibility are extremely centralized in most law firms. Unlike industry, administrators in a traditional law office both manage and produce. The combination interferes
with the ability to manage because decision making is firmly established at the top of the organizational pyramid in the hands of those who may not be technologically savvy.
Second, law offices are managed by people who by and large are very narrowly trained themselves. What most lawyers know about modern management techniques and technology can
be characterized by a list of commands such as "do it", "get it done", and "get it out by Friday". Because they are unfamiliar with technology and management, law firm managers are often not sensitive to the problems which staff has in fulfilling production requirements. This is not to disparage the highly competent lawyer-managers who lurk in medium to large size firms or the
firms which have adapted to change. The rise of the managing partner, the law office
administrator, and the managing legal assistant is ample proof that the profession has realized its limitations and is responding.
Third, the practice of law is not an easily routinized process. That is, no one knows how litigious individuals in a legal market are likely to be. Lawyers cannot predict when business will
come through the door. Financial planning is difficult as a result. Of course, once initiated legal action can be rationalized, but a law firm manager cannot know: the requirements of each case in
areas of complex practice, how a case will progress, whether a case will be the object of summary judgement motions, whether collateral issues will determine the tactics of a case, or whether an adversary will follow a predetermined order of practice. As a result, investment decisions, especially those which involve amortization and depreciation over long periods of time during
which the fortunes of a firm may change dramatically, are tentative at best. Consequently, caution has been the watchword of many a law firm manager and investment in hardware and software
has taken a backseat to partnership distributions, bonuses usually for equity partners or
rainmakers, and bolstering security portfolios.
Without further digression, let's begin to look at the five dimensions by dissecting the most crucial one as far as staff training is concerned into sub-categories. Human resource can be conceptualized as having five factors: level of specific technical competence, ability to be trained, adaptability, and staff redundancy, and retention. Each factor is an employee quality which can be measured, improved, or sought.
Specific technical competence means carefully screening prospective employees to
guarantee at least computer literacy in the programs which a prospective employee will be using
in a firm. Resumes cannot be trusted to give an accurate picture of an interviewees computer
prowess. If an employee claims literacy in a particular program, a simple test should be
administered as the last step in an interview process. Promising employees who are not familiar
with your law firm's programs should be given a more simple test or be graded more generously.
Ability to be trained refers both an interviewee's performance on tests of prowess using
programs with which he or she is not familiar and general knowledge of computers. A high score
in using Wordperfect or Word by someone who is familiar with Multimate or Wordstar indicates
general computer literacy and the ability to be cross trained to use other software programs to perform other tasks should the need arise. Willingness to be trained means that an in
Adaptability refers to someone who has aspirations to learn new applications and to learn
new jobs. An interviewer can determine whether this factor is present by looking at the amount
and depth of education in technology. Someone who has consistently acquired new skills will be willing to adapt to changing technology and will make retraining easy or unnecessary.
Staff redundancy means that a firm must have interchangeable personnel. Cross training
of adaptable staff who are computer literate will help achieve redundancy. Redundancy is
important especially in law firms because retention of employees is often low and the
unpredictable demands of practice often require shifting personnel from one job to another temporarily. Shifting of jobs often requires that personnel temporarily use an application program with which they are unfamiliar. Anyone who has worked on production of an appellate brief
under a short deadline knows the importance of being able to increase speed of production by
splitting and reassigning portions of the job among many people and having the pieces of the
product finished simultaneously. Staff redundancy aids fragmentation of large projects which
must be completed on an emergent basis by storing human resource as multiple skills in any one individual. A firm which can assign any one of many employees to a task can respond quickly and efficiently to increase the speed of production or to relieve a bottleneck.
Retention is a chronic problem in most law firms. Staff "burns out", is stolen in raids by
head hunters, and becomes disgruntled by the lack of opportunity to advance. A tragic result of a unidimensional approach to human resource development is that a firm may become a training
ground from which other firms benefit when employees leave for one reason or another. A
retention program is necessary maintain a highly motivated, cross-trained, and creative work
force.
A retention program must create a law firm culture which is self-regulating. Many factors
are responsible for creating and maintaining a law firm culture. Paramount among these factors
are a sense of belonging to a team, a belief that advancement and reward are predictable and predicated upon a specific level of performance, that there is fairness of remuneration, and a belief that discipline is applied justly. A complete discussion of organizational effectiveness through sub-cultural enhancement is beyond the scope of a short article.
Unfortunately, the very structure of a traditional law firm militates against retention. The highly structured hierarchy of law firms causes employees to believe that advancement is limited
to salary and benefit increases alone. Law firms that are the victims of high attrition do not have a
self-regulating consistency of personnel. The result is a feeling that political intrigue is beneficial to individual success and that rewards and punishment are arbitrary. Obviously, in such an
environment, there is neither loyalty nor stability, a condition even the best technology cannot
change.
Here are some retention suggestions. Once a paralegal always a paralegal is written in
stone in the minds of most firm managers. The way to conquer this belief is two fold. A manager
must provide a variety of titles and duties by creating work groups that are fluid and which attack specific tasks. Second, a manager must create idea groups which consider and recommend
changes in the way work is performed. Employees whose work varies and who are involved in
the rationalization of work feel as if they participate in an organization in a meaningful way. In other words, involved employees feel important and want to solve problems rather than create
them. They identify with the firm and their feelings of self-worth become intertwined with their feelings about the firm.
A variety of different titles creates a sense that dedication and performance are appreciated
and rewarded. Separating job titles into steps or levels is another method of distinguishing
expertise and seniority. Employees who can rise to a job title such as litigation paralegal step one
or senior litigation paralegal have acquired status. If the path to advancement has clearly stated criteria and is fairly administered, an additional benefit is created. Those who succeed accept the validity and the fairness of the organization's rules and have an incentive to uphold the rules and protect the integrity of the firm. Assuming adequate salary and benefits, the result of promotion levels is a loyal group of employees who will be easily retained.
The second dimension of a well balanced firm is computer hardware which meets the
firm's needs. Inadequate technology will over burden staff and create resentment. Even the most
mature human resource plan will fall victim to disenchantment created by tools which hinder
performance rather than enhance it. Choosing correct hardware is the result of assessing the
needs of a firm now and in the future. Sudden expansion can leave key personnel without
computers, interfere with transfer of data among employees, and create a work environment in
which the best employees are continually burdened with the most work.
A well planned hardware platform distributes work evenly among those who are best
equipped to perform it. Hardware needs should be analyzed along at least four sub dimensions:
the need for communication among computers, the present and future demand on hardware, the
need and wisdom of integrating current computers with new computers in a network, and the
ability of a firm to absorb the cost of upgrading hardware over a period of expansion which is guaranteed not illusory.
Third, applications software is a cousin to hardware platforms. Applications as most
readers know means software which performs specific tasks. Hardware without software is like a
brain without education. No effective performance is produced. Software must be chosen even
more carefully than hardware because software defines the way in which work will be done and
the way in which employees will communicate. The most frequently cited principle guiding the
choice of software is, "choose software first and buy hardware to match".
Choosing software is not merely a matter of finding a package that works for the firm.
Care must be taken to assess whether a proposed software package is consistent with the stored
human resource training in a firm's warehouse. At least four questions must be answered about
any proposed applications package: Can existing staff use the program immediately; How much
time will be required to train staff to use a new program; Is the program widely enough used to
have developed a pool of users from which the firm can hire; Is the file format of the proposed
program compatible with the firm's existing hardware and software? If the answer to all three
questions is not favorable, perhaps choosing another program would be more advantageous.
Choosing software begins with operating systems, the main housekeeping programs which
computers use as a basis upon which to run applications programs. As regular readers of my
column know from an earlier article which I wrote on operating systems, the current dilemma
between choosing DOS, Disk Operating Systems, and UNIX, a powerful but more esoteric
operating system, can only be resolved by determining what applications programs are needed
now and in the future by a firm. If desired applications are available or will be available written
for UNIX in a firm which has five or more workstations, which plans to expand, which needs
inter-office communications, and which needs sophisticated transfer of data, UNIX may be a
compelling option.
The last dimension which must be addressed is production sensitivity. Production
sensitivity means volatility of the areas of law in which a firm practices. Obviously, the more unpredictable a firm's practice, the more sensitive to disruption it will be. Heavy litigation practices in which many law suits go into discovery or to trial at once is a prime example of
volatility. The less predictable events are in a practice, the greater a firm's need for a well-trained, cross-trained, experienced staff who are loyal enough to a firm to be relied upon to perform above
and beyond the call of their job descriptions. Job satisfaction and retention guarantee that
personnel will be ready, willing and able to meet a challenge.
Obviously, hardware and applications must be up to the challenge as well. Demands on
staff which are too great and too frequent will eventually cause employees to leave or cause them
to respond too slowly to successive crises. The result will be high attrition and a firm which is progressively less able to respond to each new crisis.
This article began by considering training. Training must be a continuing process. A plan
should be created to increase the competence of all staff on all programs which they could
possible be called upon to use. The free time which occurs even in the most busy firms should be utilized for training. A library of training software should be acquired over time to help staff
enhance their computer literacy. Software rather than human training is preferable because it is
most efficient. With the great variety of excellent training software available for most of the
standard applications programs, there is no excuse for not creating an inhouse training program.
The competition between human resource and technology raises an important issue: when
a firm becomes predominately computer run should the staff alter human work patterns or should
computers be pressed into the service of human eccentricities? A difficult question which has a difficult answer because the answer is essentially mixed. On one hand, if staff must work to
satisfy rigid applications program architecture, there is a danger that tasks will be performed to
the specifications of a program written by non-legal professionals. On the other hand, the
alternative danger is that computers will be used as if they were efficient memory typewriters. Obviously, the answer is a hybrid of the extremes. Both computers and humans must be trained
to be integrated. Human work patterns must meld with technology and technology must
complement human resource.
Teaching Computers to train your staff and your staff to train your computers may seem
like an overly technocentric approach to a topic which seems to require greater concern for the
human component than the technical. After all, humans use computers not the reverse. Silicon
based consciousness has not evolved to the point that it is challenging carbon based life, has it? Probably not, but computers are becoming dominant in law offices.
Staff training is only one of many interdependent dimensions which must be managed in a
law firm. A firm, which ignores the interdependence of dimensions, risks unbalancing its human
resource or its technology. The result is abject and chronic inefficiency no matter how well staff
are trained. Remember ten loyal cross-trained $30,000 paralegals are better than one six million
dollar paralegal.
In next issue's column, I hope to look at some state of the hardware and software and
some recommendations for the ideal computerized law office courtesy of my Advanced Computer
Concepts class. Fax your responses or your questions to 201-471-1424.
Baldwin-LeClair, Jack; "Implementing New Technology in your Law Office While Developing Computer Fluency", Creative Computing, Legal Assistant Today, Vol. 6, No. 5, May/June, 1989.
by: Jack Baldwin-LeClair
Those of you accustomed to seeing John Gurdak's name on the top of this column will no
doubt be surprised to see my name instead. I am continuing the column which John began.
John and I collaborated on the second edition of Computer Fundamentals for Legal
Professionals published by Pearson Publications as well as several other technically oriented publications. Our approach to the application of technology in the law office environment is
similar. I suspect that the transition from John's column to mine will not be too abrupt a transition for those of you who are fans of John.
This type of column should not be a one way street. I would like to apply one of the rules
of good conversation to writing this column. Intend to listen to what the readers have to say and
write articles based upon reader letters and answer questions and present clever insights of my
readers into the column from time to time. Questions or poison pen letters can be sent to: the Department of Legal Studies, Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043 or Legal
Assistant Today. I hope you will write to me with any computer related questions.
The topic of this issue's article will be some aspects of the process of choosing new
computer technology for your law office. We will explore the specifics of many of the topics
addressed today in future articles.
If you have looked at the trade journals and technical journals lately, you were probably overwhelmed with the amount and variety of computer products available to the law office
professional. But how, you may rightly ask, do I know what my particular office should buy. A
good question and one not easily answered. Without consulting the stars, let's take a look at a
method of deciding how and what we should buy. Here is how our process will work. Let's start
with some ground rules: we will assume that the analysis will be restricted to the private sector.
The public sector has its own rules and regulations involving committees, commissioning studies,
etc. Even though many of the conclusions which we may reach in this article are applicable to
public sector organizations, we will concentrate upon private sector law offices of all sizes to
avoid confusing our public sector counterparts.
We will take a cursory look at hardware and software applications and attempt to develop
some rules of thumb, guidelines, if you will, not rules set in stone. We will assume that you, the
legal assistant, have been charged with the life and death decision of developing recommendations
for hardware and software for your firm or department and that you are locked in mortal combat
with staff, venders, and your own fears. So what do you do?
First: Develop your personal resources. In order to make intelligent inquiry, you must
educate yourself. Computer literacy is not enough. You should strive for computer fluency.
Computer fluency and literacy have their analogs in foreign language education. Anyone can
memorize a few phrases, but when the chips are down if you can creatively use the language and
apply it to a new situation.
A few years ago when I was travelling in France I learned the difference between literacy
and fluency. My companion and I were in Paris on particularly dangerous vehicles, now called
mopeds, and were weaving in and out of traffic. At some point I noticed that my companion had
vanished. Retracing my steps I found that she had been forced off the street into a cobblestone
alley. She had tumbled and sustained minor but painful injuries. The police and an ambulance
arrived and began questioning me about her injuries and medical history. Ordering french bread
and wine, asking where the water closet is located, and finding your way to the library are
elementary compared to translating emotional and physical states to a busy public servant in the
midst of a crowd on a busy Paris street. No matter how grand your vocabulary, solving a
problem or making a process work demands a facility with tools whether french or technology,
which exceeds pleasantries and buzzwords.
Understanding computer technology and applications requires more than familiarity with a wordprocessing program or the ability to make user-friendly programs run. Fluency is required.
Although computer fluency is the underlying theme of this column, I am not suggesting
that you have to withdraw from the world and lock yourself in a library with books and articles on computer theory and applications. I am suggesting that probing beyond the buzzwords will help
you develop transferrable skills valuable to your firm and marketable should you decide to change
jobs.
Second: Assess the context into which you plan to introduce computers and applications.
Plan your technological assault on the firm's inefficiencies. Identify the bottlenecks in production
and the promising areas in support where technology can be of real use. Gather information
about your firm. Interview the partners, staff and associates. What do the partners expect? What
do they want? Do they want to have computers on their desks or do they want to interface with
computer savvy personnel? Will the staff need typing courses?
Distinguish between functional needs and structural barriers. Technology will not
necessarily change the way in which people work. You must realistically assess the limits of the technological imagination of the firm. Assumptions about how new technology will be used
without adequate reality testing can lead to disaster. An example of this principle is the story
about Horace, the ancient senior partner, who dictated all his work to his secretary. Not only did
he waste his time dictating and proofing the finished product, he wasted the secretary's time by
making her sit in his office and take shorthand. A new legal assistant who managed office support finally convinced several other partners that Horace was wasting much time and that finding
secretaries who took shorthand was becoming increasingly difficult. Overwhelmed by superior
numbers not to mention logic, Horace agreed to use a dictating machine, which the other partners
promised to secure at great expense, as a compromise. Horace flatly refused to touch a computer keyboard. Several days after purchasing the dictating machine, a flabbergasted new legal assistant walked into Horace's office to find him dictating into a microphone. Seated across his desk was
his secretary who was holding the dictating machine in her lap.
Third: Recognize the pitfalls of equipment and service purchase so you can avoid
plummeting into the abyss of having purchased inadequate products at great expense and
committed the firm to their use. Product reviews are sometimes faulty. Read product reviews
critically and skeptically. I have read reviews which I suspected, based upon my own experience,
were written without adequate testing or familiarity with the product. Before standardization of
the IBM clones, many computer manufacturers advertised that their machines were "IBM
compatible". Many unhappy purchasers of mail order equipment found themselves burdened with
a computer that was about as IBM compatible as a toaster- both have two slots.
Do not order a product based solely upon one magazine review. Magazine endorsed
panaceas often turn into plagues. Publications such as The Lawyer's PC, Legal Assistant Today,
and articles in your local law or professional support magazines are a good place to start for
product reviews and recommendations on software that is specifically written for a law office application. Magazines such as BYTE and PC WORLD are two well known hardware oriented
magazines. Reviews and advertisements will give you an idea of current technology, the direction
of hardware development, and current prices.
Fourth: Beware the latest technology and extreme claims. The computer industry has a
saying: "The leading edge is the bleeding edge". The initial enthusiasm over local area networks (LAN's), which are systems in which many computers are connected and share information, is an
example. Many venders claimed that they could patch together existing equipment with new
machines inexpensively. As may buyers discovered prior to litigation, running a floppy disk down
the hallway to another user (sometimes called the sneaker network) was often more efficient and,
even at the cost of today's designer sneakers, much cheaper.
Every town has snake oil venders passing through. Avoid acting on enthusiastic but
shallow advice especially from venders. More often than not the friendly computer vender who
promises the world doesn't have the vaguest understanding of the day to day not to mention the
subtlety of law practice. Generally, the extent of most venders' knowledge of a product is the
profit margin and his or her commission. That is not to say that there are not honest,
knowledgeable software venders in the world but the amount of litigation claiming
misrepresentation of computer hardware and software is ample evidence that caveat emptor
remains the wisest course. Generally, advice from your professional peers who have been using
the software and hardware you are considering is a safe source of information.
Avoid building a system around one piece of software without analyzing the future needs
of the firm and the compatibility of existing systems. Under no circumstances should you claim
that the system which you propose is the panacea for the firm's problems. A badly managed firm
will remain badly managed. Existing logistics and support problems should be resolved prior to introducing new technology.
Manage your firm's expectation. Your bosses and co-workers must understand that there
will be initial problems. Remember that you must create an implementation program not just
order equipment. Design forms which will be used to gather initial data from clients with input
from those who will be using the hardware. The finest hardware will not help you if the personnel
are not psychologically ready and excited about the change to a new system.
Fifth: For your own job protection, peace of mind, and professional enhancement clearly
negotiate and clarify your duties and release time to undertake the salvation of the firm through technological innovation. Those at the top of the organizational hierarchy who are benefiting
from your time and expertise may not be aware of the complexity and time consumption of the
task which you have undertaken. Educate them about the process of implementation as well as
train them in the use of the new tools. Schedule periodic meetings. Send memos which advise
staff and management of changes and solicit suggestions. Identify yourself and others as trouble shooters who can be consulted if problems arise. Make everyone aware of the time and energy
which you are directing to your task.
There are many other areas which we could have explored such as creating a staff training
program. We will look at staff training and other issues such as specific products in upcoming
articles.
von Klan, Tatiana and Jack Baldwin-LeClair, Legal Assistant Today, "The Rollout the Software Polka: Eight Rules for Successful Software Rollout. Creative Computing, Vol. 10 No. 5, May/June, 1993.
By: Tatiana von Klan and Jack Baldwin-LeClair
Tatiana von Klan is a Branch Manager at Mead Data Central. Based in Mead's
Philadelphia office, Tatiana is a specialist in LEXIS/NEXIS software implementation and
human resource management.
This issue we are lucky to have Tatiana von Klan as a guest columnist. She is a software resource specialist with the LEXIS/NEXIS group of Mead Data Central. Tatiana is my LEXIS/NEXIS Guru. Tatiana has givem me excellent advice for years about CALR and legal technology related problems. Having supervised and nursed the implementation of many a software package in major law firms throughout the country, Tatiana has developed eight
principles for "software rollout", a term of art in the software biz meaning successfully preparing the way for new software and making it work not only technically but because personnel in the organization understand it and use it effectively.
Successful rollout is an integral part of controlling the technology of your firm. Regular readers of this column may remember from an earlier column that applications are critical components of successful technology which must be managed and integrated into a firm's
production flow.
Without further meandering, here are Tatiana's suggestions for making new software at
home in your old production environment.
1. Introduce the software and what it can do before it is actually on your
system. This is the same as letting the kids know they are getting a dog and what it looks like before you actually bring Rover home. Everyone will be more comfortable. Use your firm
newsletter or e-mail system to introduce the name and the function of the new software. At the same time, provide a time frame and possible impact on day-to-day operations of the firm.
For example, "By the end of next week all attorneys on the fourth floor will have the
Jurisoft Tools: CheckCite, CiteRite, CompareRite and FullAuthority. This software will be
loaded on the network, and you will see another line item on your main menu screen. By
agreement with our management, the Jurisoft reps will be providing an orientation to the software at the firm meeting next week. Please attend." The test of your success here will be how many
people say to you, "I didn't know we had this. Since when?" In an ideal world, and all last minute depositions, court dates and personal emergencies aside, this will be a small number of people. If you do compare the announcement of software to bringing a puppy home, there are a couple of differences. There is a chance the dog will be better received and it is unlikely that anyone at the firm will hug you when they get the news.
2. Pick a "champion" for the project. In most organizations, there is one individual
known as "the computer guru". People around her are sure that she knows all there is to know
about computers, software and networks, and they may admire her. She can serve as a major "influencer" in creating a positive response to your new software, so it is easy as possible for her to be successful using it. Give her an advance copy, or some additional training to learn the more
advanced applications of the package. This person should also be included in some decision-making (even if on a minor scale). She should discuss this involvement with her peers in the firm through a memo detailing the benefits of the package, or in a presentation. If this is a younger
staff member or an associate, she will probably be glad to share her expertise in this way. If a
more senior member of the firm, she will probably be glad to demonstrate yet another level of
contribution to the firm's efficiency.
3. Be an advocate yourself. When it comes to software and enhancing the productivity
of the firm, you are an "agent of change". This means you will assume a "senior statesman"
position with regard to the software. While it may not be all things to all people, it is the package
of choice and you and the attorneys in the firm are committed to it. We have observed this most
effectively done by an Information Systems director of a large firm who knew the produce inside
out - and who could relate it to the rest of the firm's plans. When challenged he spoke with
confidence and took his time explaining the benefits of the software to the partner who had
objections.
4. Rely on the software vendor as much as you can. The software vendor is counting
on that. In more cases than we would like to remember, a consultant (who charges by the hour)
has been paid to evaluate and to install a package of software that could have been easily handled
by the software manufacturer or local distributor. In one case, we observed personally, a law firm
paid $1500 to have LEXIS/NEXIS software installed. Mead Data Central, meanwhile, maintains
a staff of several hundred to dp the same thing - at no charge. While it is true that not every
organization can afford to do this in a quality way, you should feel free to ask your vendor to
provide the support for which you may already be paying.
5. Consider using a test group within your organization, rather than one full- scale
launch. This has been done successfully by a number of firms, such as Pepper Hamilton and
Scheetz (with several hundred lawyers) in Philadelphia. When Wolf Block (using Wang in its
main Philadelphia location) introduced an IBM and WordPerfect setup to its suburban office, it
worked because, according to John Sroka, "As a practical matter, using a small controlled group
makes it possible for you to know your test participants and to evaluate the package on a micro
level. This can be MSBWA, Manage your Software By Walking Around". As a result of
working with a small group, you may also end up with user-created documentation and "tip
sheets" that will be more specific to your firm than anything the software rep can provide. On a
larger scale, you will be able to gauge the impact of this software on your network or mainframe
system.
6. Training is EVERYTHING. While we all eagerly await the day that software is "load and
go" for the new user, we are far from that time. For now, training and documentation has to be
developed and delivered by the firm so it will get the maximum benefit from its investment. These
are suggested key components of the model training plan:
Scheduling- plan for most people to attend -- but for many people to miss -- their
appointed training session. While training is important, it is less important than billable hours or
an attorney's individual professional reputation. At least for the first go-round, be understanding
when this happens, because it will. When John and his staff at Wolf Block implemented
CheckCite training, they worked closely with local LEXIS/NEXIS representatives. According to
John, "We knew this would require intensive one-on-one training with the firm's researchers, and
that we would not be able to meet with everyone in the first few scheduled sessions. My team
made sure working with the attorneys who wanted to use CheckCite was a priority as it was
loaded onto the network for general use. That was our committment from the outset. After that,
we relied on the local Jurisoft sales team for support and trouble shooting".
Acknowledge different levels of enthusiasm and familiarity - partners of a firm may need
to know about a new redlining package, but chances are that they will not use it as often as their
subordinates. They may require an orientation to the firm's software resources instead of hands-on training. If there is a chance that this group of partners is less than enthusiastic about the product - go back to step 2 and have someone help in the presentation.
Develop your staff (and yourself) to live by training's golden rule: No question is a bad
question. Encourage all forms of discussion. Expect that some of the most pressing questions
will not be asked, because of the risk of appearing "uninformed". While no one likes to feel less
knowledgeable about a subject than anyone else, this sentiment is particularly acute among those
employed in law firms, at all levels.
Follow up. Chances are that you will cover the basics in the first set of sessions. That's
good, but you will get more from your investment if you go further. Enlist the help of the
manufacturer or the firm in following up one-on-one if you can, with the people who have most
enthusiasm and use for the product or service. In the case of LEXIS/NEXIS, for example, we
expect everyone to have basic documentation and access to the 800 number for customer service.
As a follow-up we may focus on those people who do a lot of research and who regularly assist
others in electronic searching. This is the best use of attorney and researcher time.
Documentation is too often the last part of the creative process when it comes to rolling
out a software package. This is too bad, because when it actually comes time to use the software,
all the user may have is the documentation - and a high level of frustration. Documentation
provided by the software manufacturer will be somewhat helpful - especially if you are in a law
firm where people are sufficiently interested in automation so that they will consider
documentation of this kind bedtime reading. In years of experience, we cannot remember this. A
more reasonable expectation is that users will ignore the documentation until there is an
emergency, and then they will try to dig it out from among the other papers under the credenza.
7. Plan for the worst- it will happen. In our experience, a plan is not complete until it accounts
for the darkest moments - say, someone doing research at midnight on a Sunday on a "save the
farm" issue covered on that night's 11 o'clock news in the case of LEXIS/NEXIS, accompanying
word processing software and e-mail to communicate with the client, everything has to work.
Build this into your set-up. You can't assume you will be there to help - Murphy's law says this
will happen when you are away on your honeymoon or taking the bar exam.
8. Use your success with this rollout to build toward the future. Assess your success and
your problems, write them down, note problem areas that are structural, that are part of the
production process itself (hardware, management and other technical support issues), and those
that are human resource problems. Plan ways to fix problem areas and meet with your
implementation team and management to create new strategies. Take a week off -then back to
step one.
Again, my thanks to Tatiana for sharing her insight and suggestions with us. I will revisit
LEXIS/NEXIS and Jurisoft products in the near future.
The Legal Tech conference was held in New York City during the last week of January.
The new technology and improvements on old favorite software and hardware were evident. I
will have some exciting news on new products in upcoming issues. Until then, keep those cards,
letters, and faxes coming.
Baldwin-Clair, Jack, "Back to Basics: The Basic Components of an Efficient Law Office". Legal Assistant Today, Creative Computing, Vol. 9 No. 6, July/August, 1992.
Many readers have requested some suggestions about practical applications of technology.
I have received questions about: what kind of tape backup to use, how often data backups should
be made, what software a firm really needs, what kind of network should a firm purchase if one is
needed, how powerful a computer should be purchased as a workstation in a network, and what is
the best timebilling program. The topics are not treated in exact order in this column, but are
integrated into the various sections.
Many other questions concerning hardware arrived as well. Because many recent columns
dealt with more esoteric hardware issues, I will leave most of the hardware and technical software
questions for future columns.
Tape Backup
Protecting software is not a complicated issue. The dangers to software vary, but
the results of those dangers can be fundamentally the same. Software is instructions encoded on a
magnetically sensitive medium, such as a hard disk, which can be aligned by application of a
magnetic field. In state of the art technology on a laser disk, the instructions are encoded in
reflective and non-reflective points on a metallic surface which is read as binary data as a laser
beam bounces back from a reflective surface. Because software is generally encoded on
somewhat delicate hard disk magnetic media, it is vulnerable to shock, magnetics, heat and
contamination. For those of you a bit behind in laser technology, read/write laser disks are
available at a fraction of their original cost. Of course, Write Once Read Many time (WORM)
technology is still available.
The standard magnetic storage systems for microcomputers are floppy disks, hard disks,
laser disks, and streaming tape. Streaming tape is primarily used for backup because it is reliable
but access is too slow for normal read/write operations required by many applications programs.
All four storage systems use a mechanical system to place and maintain a read/write head a very
small distance above the moving magnetic media surface. Only laser disk provides nearly
complete security because it is relatively invulnerable to damage short of destruction of the disk.
There are two major classifications of software disaster, those caused by hardware failure
and those caused by scrambling of the date on the storage media. The former requires off-premises expertise. The latter may be fixed by the average user with one of a few excellent data recovery programs on the market today.
Hardware failures can occur when the read/write head touches and abrades the surface of
the storage medium. Sometimes called a "disk crash" on a hard disk, holes can be ripped in the
disk surface as well as the data. After a disk crash some of the data can be saved, but restoration
will be partial, time consuming, and expensive. There is no system which can recover information
from a crashed hard disk that can be simply, safely, and quickly used by the average computer
user. A crashed disk should be sent to a company which specializes in recovery. The average
user who attempts data recovery from a crashed disk risks losing the data forever and risks
causing the specific disk problem to expand to damage other hardware within the computer.
Data loss which is not the result of a cataclysmic hardware failure may occur because
information has been misfiled on the disk or corrupted. All disks have file allocation tables (FAT
files) which hold the disk locations of all files stored on the disk. Sometimes an electrical or
mechanical anomaly will cause a scrambling of the information containing file location. Much like
a misaddressed letter from which a postman cannot determine a correct address, the computer will
not have access to information which does not have its location listed in the file allocation table if
the FAT file is corrupted.
A much simpler and more frequent reason for losing data is accidental erasure of a file.
Microsoft's Disk Operating System (DOS) liberates disk space used by files by erasing the first
letter of the erased file's name. Once the file data is no longer listed in a directory on a disk, it is
no longer protected but is still present. Subsequent use of the disk will eventually write over the
data which has had its file name erased.
Several commercially available programs will rewrite the file name and thereby recover the
data. The recovery programs which vary in power and sophistication can rebuild the various disk
directories and protect data in danger of destruction.
I recommend a program called Norton Utilities in its latest version for emergency data
recovery and general disk maintenance. I have used Norton Utilities for several years. The
program has saved my data from oblivion on many occasions. The newest version, is an
inexpensive masterpiece of programming and forethought. Norton Utilities is really a variety of
programs which can save data, examine disk and computer performance, optimize disk use by
moving file data to more efficient locations on a disk, and change directory names. Perhaps the
most efficient application of Norton Utilities is computer wellness to regularly examine and
maintain your files and disk surface to predict and prevent data loss. The program is inexpensive
and can be ordered at a discount from many of the computer mail order houses listed in computer
journals. The user's manual is clearly written, instructive, and interesting. Norton Utilities may be
the most effective utility program for the general computer user on the market today. There are
several other competing programs which work just as well but Norton has my seal of approval for
general and easy use.
The redundancy principle is the principle behind data backup systems. The concept is
simple. By storing a duplicate and current copy of a hard disk, data can be reloaded if lost. Of
course, damaged hardware must be replaced prior to reloading, but once hardware is replaced and
data restored, the system is completely operational. Only time has been lost.
There are some data backup rules that are worth observing. Data backup should be
performed at regular intervals, daily in a really active office. A weekly copy should be made and
stored off premises. Ideally, at the end of each week, there should be a tape copy for each day
and one copy for each week. Copies should be stored on-site at the firm with a copy in an off-site
location in case of destruction of the office due to fire, theft, vandalism, or cataclysm.
Old files should be purged or saved on separate tapes, disks, or in the best of all possible
worlds, on laser disk. Since tape is the cheapest storage medium per megabyte, most firms will
choose tape backup. I recommend that firms use separate 3 1/2 inch disks to archive files by
category. The categories will vary by firm, but a rule of thumb should be to keep the
nomenclature simple and simply indexed. A simple index can be kept in a wordprocessing file for
later use. Wordperfect 5.1 provides an indexing system which is very helpful in this regard.
Some firms archive data by point of law, brief, client file, pleadings, interrogatories, request for
admissions, document demands and form letters. Your firm should use whatever system meets
the firm's needs.
Storage size of a tape system will vary according to the sizes of your firm's hard disks. An
individual set of tapes should be maintained for each disk which holds unique data.
So what is a good backup system to buy? There are many fine systems available. A
company named Everex makes streaming tape backup systems which are well respected have
proven to be reliable. Streaming tape is really a generic designation meaning that the tape races
across read/write heads at great speed. Specially certified tapes are required for safe storage, and
each tape costs about twenty dollars, but peace of mind is worth the price. Everex is known for
the quality and reliability of its products. Other companies provide inexpensive tape backup as
well. Mountain, Irwin, and others have improved over the years and are perfectly acceptable
alternatives to high end tape backup system.
Tape backup systems have plummeted in price over the past two years. A simple backup
system of 120 megabytes can be purchased today for under three hundred dollars. Larger storage
is available for larger hard disks and networks up to just short of a billion bytes for normal use.
Of course, the larger the storage capacity, the higher the price.
Whether each machine should have its own tape backup is largely a matter of work
process of each law firm. If your firm uses a Local Area Network (LAN) such as Novell, you will
need a large central backup system. If you are using a peer to peer network, such as LANtastic,
individual backups of machines which store crucial information such as financial information,
litigation, client files, and computer assisted legal research (CALR) may be accomplished on
individual machines using tape backups of sixty megabytes or more.
Laser disk is a better but more expensive alternative. Unfortunately, because laser disk
technology is newer and more complex, prices are higher than for tape backup. Also, laser disk
format is still varied. An individual format has not emerged as the preferred method. An obscure
format can cripple backup because a firm may find itself stuck with a format that is no longer
supported. The result of betting on an inexpensive format can leave a firm with several different
laser technologies. Fortunately, because laser disks store 500 megabytes or more, most firms only
need one backup system. Obviously, laser disks will not generally be purchased in large quantity.
A firm with one laser disk will probably backup centrally rather than moving the laser disk from
one machine to another. Either central LAN's or peer to peer LAN's can accommodate laser
disks.
So, disks, tape backup, and laser disks are all viable methods to backup data. Floppy
disks work well, but are vulnerable to magnet disturbance, heat, and physical destruction. Hard
disks work better but are magnetically vulnerable and sensitive to movement. Tape backup is an
effective alternative, but is slower. On the positive side, tape backup is mobile. Laser disk is by
the far the most impressive type of backup. Invulnerable to magnetic disturbance and virtually
indestructible, laser disk can backup up millions of megabytes. Laser disks are expensive and the
drivers which run them are not standardized nor are the formats interchangeable.
I will have more on laser disks in future columns. For now, tape backups have my
recommendation as inexpensive, relatively fast, and effective protection for important data. Ask
your dealer for a minimum of 120 megabyte systems in a standard format. Buy a dozen tapes.
Assume you need a tape backup system for each key machine or one large one for your fileserver.
Fileserver backup should be as large as your fileserver's main disk.
Basic Law Office Software
Law offices need a few basic software packages. Ironically, the smaller the firm, the
greater the need for software power because absent human resource must be replaced with
technology. Since there are many excellent software packages on the market, knowing what
software to buy is really a secondary question to what classes of software are necessary.
Wordprocessing, timebilling, a simple database program, and Computer Assisted Legal
Research - either LEXIS or WESTLAW (CALR), and an operating system are necessary to any
small to medium size firm trying to compete with the big guys. While true that the largest firms
may always be able to bury small to medium size firms in paper, computers and software are
necessary to successful competition at all levels and sizes of practice.
In the wordprocessing classification Wordperfect, Word, Multimate, or Wordstar are
excellent choices. I recommend Wordperfect because of the inherent law office features such as
indexing and the facility to build tables of authorities and tables of contents.
In the timebilling area, Timeslips is my choice. Timeslips III or Timeslips version V are
perfect for law offices providing decentralized data entry, good reports, and versatility in
designing screens and reports.
Databases are necessary because almost every firm today has some data which must be
stored and queried. Database III and Paradox and some less expensive alternatives are
acceptable. A simple database program can be used for everything from client file management to
litigation support. There is nothing more gratifying in the practice of law than controlling
litigation by managing data successfully in discovery.
Modern litigation requires access to vast amounts of legal research, often quickly, which
manual research and financial restrictions cannot guarantee. Since the cost of CALR can be
passed to the client, CALR is not the daunting expense it appears.
CALR also reduces the need for highly trained personal to do research. Although some expertise
is necessary, a basically well trained researcher can use CALR to great advantage, avoid travel
costs, reduce photocopy costs, and avoid the costs of maintaining a huge in-house library. Firms
which require general information databases, will rave about the NEXIS service within the LEXIS
family of databases. On the otherhand, firms which need electronic research which parallels
manual research by providing access to such traditional tools such as the West Key System, will
probably prefer WESTLAW.
Operating systems are the primary housekeeping programs which make hardware work. I
have written several articles of operating systems for this column. As you now DOS, either
MSDOS 5.0 or DRDOS 6.0 are my choice for law offices. UNIX is a viable alternative for a
financially oriented firm which does not need a plethora of esoteric legal software such as
Jurisoft's FullAuthority which compiles tables of authorities.
Earlier columns have explored the value of operating systems including OS/2. In future
columns, I plan to evaluate OS/2 version 2.0 against DOS and UNIX. For the present DOS is the
smart bet.
The Age of the New Machine
Years ago in one of my first columns, I suggested the 80286 computer was the best buy.
The expense of state of the art in technology eliminates the 80486 and the new 80486SX
computer from consideration as workstation machines. Readers may remember that I am not a
fan of the SX versions of newer and faster chips because they run a very fast processor on a
smaller motherboard. Data throughput (a measure of actual processing speed) is slowed
significantly because the new 32 bit processors which run on a 16 bit motherboard slow overall
processing speed much like a five lane highway reduced to two lanes of slow traffic.
The 80386 machine is the best buy. Slower but cheaper than the 80486, the 80386 is
available for about $1500 dollars through mail order houses. A fully configured system with
VGA color monitors often costs less than $2000 dollars.
A standard configuration which I recommend for small to medium size firms is a peer to
peer system using either LANtastic or Novell Lite. Each workstation can be either an 80386 or if
money is a problem, an 80286. Of course, if you are using a user interface such as Windows, you
will need an 80386 to manage your extra memory and save valuable standard Random Access
Memory (RAM) for data manipulation.
If your firm wants a centralized system and UNIX is not practical, Novell is, of course, the
obvious choice. In a Novell environment, 80286 workstations are acceptable. At today's prices
they are a steal. You might even be able to use 80286 laptop or lunchbox systems. Lunchbox
systems are named because they are shaped like lunchboxs. Again, beware if you are using
Windows or another memory hungry user interface. In a Novell environment, consider a high
speed 80386 machine or an 80486, if your firm has the money.
Well, time and space diminish. Next column, I plan to review what I consider the best
full-text data retrieval system for law offices. In the meantime, keep the cards, letters, and faxes
coming.