A Futuristic Law Firm?
Volume I, Issue 1 - June 2003
A Futuristic Law Firm?
Imagine working in a firm and a client calls. Before anyone
picks up the phone, the system uses caller id to determine who is calling and
routes the call to the appropriate attorney. As the phone rings in the attorney's
office, he glances at the computer screen which is now displaying the client's
information. When the attorney answers the phone, a timer starts tracking the
length of the conversation.
After the conversation is completed, the attorney instructs
the system to bill or not to bill the client and verbally enters a description
of the conversation into the system. Now he returns to dictating a letter for
another case. But the dictation does not go to the traditional word processing
pool but appears directly in WordPerfect as he speaks. As soon as he has completed
the letter, he faxes or E-mails the letter directly from his computer.
As
he sends the letter, the system notifies him he has an incoming E-Mail. The
attorney tells the system he would like to review the new message.
It is from a co-counsel working on a case. But the E-Mail not
only has text, but graphics, video, and sound. The co-counsel recorded some
verbal notes discussing a picture enclosed in the E-Mail which will be used
as evidence.
Does this sound like a futuristic law firm only to be found
in a science fiction book? Your answer is probably yes. The correct answer is
no, this is not the future but is actually the present. It is difficult to believe
but all this technology is now available.
The one profession which can benefit the most from technology
is the legal profession. A law firm generates more paper documents than any
other profession and often needs immediate access to it. With the aid of computers,
they can have all the information at their fingertips in seconds.
The only reason not to use this technology is because
your firm likes high overhead through unnecessary personnel. A law firm which
boast it has 30 attorneys and 60 paralegals and secretaries will not be practicing
law at the turn of the century. More lean, mean legal machines will be taking
away your clients through better service and better rates.
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