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THE INTRANET - WHY IT WILL MATTER TO LAWYERS

'Intranet' is not a misprint, but it is, as one might guess, closely related to the Internet. The Intranet is, simply, a means of utilizing the growing capability of the technologies underlying the Internet to manage processes internal to a firm, organization, or series of entities which work together.

These capabilities can tie together existing information wholly within an organization, through a traditional LAN, for example, but can also link and provide access to remote users, taking advantage of Internet security technology such as 'firewalls' and encryption to preserve the 'intra' so critical to the sharing of confidential working information. The Intranet essentially provides Web-like access to business and practice information, with the sole (but critical) distinction that the information is only available to personnel within the practice, clients, or others with whom internal information may be usefully shared..

The Intranet is, obviously, not the first set of technologies to be used by attorneys to work together or to work remotely. Dial-in technologies including remote access programs (ReachOut, PCAnywhere and the like), or communication servers (Cytrix, Commvision and similar devices) have long permitted dial-in to firm or department networks. Wide area networks permit persons in various office locations to treat multiple network servers as if they were a single entity. 'Workgroup' software such as programs based on Lotus (now -IBM) Notes offer capabilities designed to assist project-related interaction within a firm or department, between client and firm, or between other cooperating entities.

The Potential Importance of the Intranet to Law Firms

Why, with the availability of the other technologies discussed, is the Intranet of interest? What does the Intranet promise to bring to the table that is not found in existing technologies? Of primary interest, the Intranet, as with the Internet, promises a simplification of form and function, supporting a wide range of data exchange, search and research and other similar electronically based data exchange through a single, more or less integrated, set of technologies. The Intranet takes advantage of much of the programs, facilities, infrastructure, and, most critical, learned technique in place in the Internet. The infrastructure includes the proliferation, expansion of capability and plummeting prices of 'Web servers', as well as physical facilities consisting of Internet providers, the national fiber-optics backbone, etc. [Note: the picture with respect to the foundation infrastructure is not entirely rosy. The success of the Internet has led to an explosive growth in traffic which has ramifications for both Inter- and Intra-net which are beyond the scope of this article]. Of more direct internal significance, the Intranet uses the same 'Web browsers' (such as Netscape's Navigator or Microsoft's Explorer), taking advantage of the growing population of persons who are familiar with the Web. Anyone familiar with the Internet will, by definition, know how to use a browser, and will automatically understand most aspects of operating and exploring Intranet based information.

An additional advantage from a management policy standpoint is that the Intranet permits the organization to take advantage of consistent data formats and user interfaces in a manner which is not dictated by any single commercial entity, and which is also available from any Web-compliant platform. This permits, e.g., access from networks, standalone PC's, IBM-compatible and Macintosh platforms, as well as from client systems ranging from mainframes to Unix-based mini-computers. Perhaps more important in the long run is the proposed 'Internet PC', a slimmed down PC capable of accessing the Internet / Intranet which will be small, light and inexpensive, should it overcome the hurdles to becoming a market standard.

While Intranet-based systems may provide controlled access through standard telephone lines in order to publish information to outside offices, or travel locations, much of the traffic may in fact be internal on a given network, or transported through the fast ISDN, T1 or T3 telephone lines which are increasingly typical of corporate and firm networking. This will provide Internet-like support for internal information at speeds greatly exceeding those typical on the wider Internet. This might, for example, include support for practical full motion video at a time far in advance of that which may be experienced on the Internet as a whole.

Security is, as always, a concern. Because much of the structure of an Intranet resides in secure organizational networks, some (though far from all) security concerns are lowered. Additionally, the Intranet, as a subset of the Internet, is able to take advantage of current and continuing advances in Internet security technologies such as 'firewalls'. It is critical that any firm planning to take advantage of Intranet technology put into place consistent policies as to security, a practice which should be followed with respect to any technology involving electronic data access and exchange.

What functions are law firms and corporate legal departments likely to perform using 'Intranet' applications and technologies? In many ways, the answer is that Intranets will support the same types of activities for which lawyers currently use computer systems, communication devices and application programs, that is, to communicate with fellow attorneys and clients, to access firm and case information from local and remote locations through a common interface, and to research and share work product from geographically diverse locations. As well, the capability to exchange information, instructions, work product and the like relatively easily from the Intranet-based system to and through the Internet lowers the barriers between the internal and external workings of the firm. A firm World Wide Web site, available to any Internet user, can, with appropriate security consideration, feed information received from current and potential clients to a more secure Intranet based system for discussion, shared work can flow from Internet e-mail through a controlled gateway into an Intranet-based workflow system, etc. Remote attorneys may shortly sign onto their subsite of the firm's Intranet site from remote locations and enter time, visually browse bulletin-board like structures limited to the firm (presumably scrambled and decoded for security purposes), drop in on partnership discussions of various issues, and perform various other day to day functions, all through the easy and well-understood medium of Netscape or other Web browser. The breadth of possible interaction based on this set of technologies is limited only by the practice and desires of attorneys and clients.

Is a firm or department behind the times if it is not taking advantage of Intranet technologies? At this point, the question must be answered in the negative; while there is much interest in the phenomena, and a fairly high absolute number of corporations making use of Intranet technology, it is early in the game for law firms and corporate legal departments, most of whom are still coming to terms with the practice implications of the Internet itself. The adoption of Intranet technology will move quickly, however, particularly as it is represents a refinement of existing and increasingly well understood technology represented by the Internet and the World Wide Web. It is, for that reason, incumbent on firms and legal departments, to remain aware of the Intranet and its potential effect on, and use in, the practice.

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