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LAWYERS ONLINE

Lawyers have been using computer systems equipped with modems to obtain access to research information for well over a decade. Access to Lexis and Westlaw case research tools is found in more firms than not, and most attorneys in firms which do not have these services internally obtain periodic access through agreement with another firm, through a county bar or bar library, or some similar mechanism.

Online systems can provide much quicker, up to date information, often at dramatically lower cost, in comparison with traditional, paper-based methods. The information the practicing attorney can obtain, and the functions which can be performed, are not dramatically different than those traditionally performed by the practitioner, though the method differs greatly. These include:

Why Now?

The dramatic rise in availability of on-line services results from the convergence of factors, including:

The Internet

The Internet is far and away the largest factor in the explosion of online services, and its importance is growing. The publicity surrounding the Internet, whether as 'the information super-highway', 'cyberspace' or any of its other incarnations is almost unprecedented.

While there is undeniable hype, access to the Internet will very shortly become a requirement for the practice of law and the conduct of business. Unlike commercial online services, which are managed by a specific organization and contain a series of services, akin to specialized malls, Internet access is obtained through a service which links the PC to a worldwide 'network of networks', with little control or influence over your use of the navigational privilege which that service provides. Internet access is similar to obtaining a drivers license; there is both the freedom to navigate to the locations you find useful, and an accompanying lack of structure, ability to get 'lost' and other facets accompanying the less structured, more multi-purpose Internet.

Why the Internet? Access to the full text of the US Code, fully cross-referenced for navigation to any citation with a mouse click. Access to huge libraries of legal specialty reference areas. Access to virtual law libraries maintained by leading US law schools, with mouse click cross-reference to vast additional legal research facilities. The ability to check on relevant legislation and/or regulation at both the state and federal levels? Access to vast libraries of free or inexpensive software. Ongoing legal topic based legal 'discussion groups'. A virtually instant and universal e-mail system accessible throughout the world. The ability to download Internet materials to your PC for later reuse in memos or other practice support. These represent a fraction of the ever-growing Internet resources, most of which are either free or remarkably inexpensive.

Increasingly, lawyers are making their presence known on the Internet through a device known as a 'home page'. The typical law firm uses the home page to present the firm, its services and specialties through graphics and downloadable textual information, often providing a point-and-click method for on the spot directly e-mail to the firm. Attorneys ranging from solo practitioners to large firms utilize such devices, the presence of which has grown dramatically in the last six months.

How easy it to use Internet services? Recent innovations have changed to the answer to this question dramatically. The 'World Wide Web', and 'web navigators' such as Netscape, turn the previously arcane Internet into a point and click tool on the popular PC Windows and Macintosh platforms. As with any computer-based skill, proper setup and training are critical. There are a number of means of searching Internet resources with which the skilled user must be familiar. There are also mechanisms which permit imposition of your own structure on the relatively unstructured Internet through a series of guideposts known as bookmarks; intelligent establishment of a set of bookmarks is a key method of insuring that your online time is used wisely.

Increasingly, public records, research information and any other information which needs to be made widely accessible on an economical basis is being made available through Internet home pages. There is a virtual landrush to provide additional information, and it is guaranteed that the availability of information will expand at a dramatic rate. The information currently available free, or essentially free, combined with the e-mail function, more than justifies Internet access for your practice. By mid-1996, an attorney will be more likely to be without a fax machine than an Internet address.

The Services

Lawyers have available a wide variety of commercially supported services, including broad-scale legal-specific services. Though similar to commercial giants such as America OnLine or Compuserve, Lexis Counsel Connect and National Law Journal Extra! attempt to provide a number of lawyer-specific research tools, discussion groups and the like. Both services encourage on-line discussion between lawyers; Counsel Connect is particularly candid in its view of its role as a meeting ground between law firms and potential corporate counsel clients. Both services also offer Internet 'home pages' and double as Internet access providers.

The Choices

Every practicing attorney will need Internet access, at a minimum to obtain Internet e-mail services, and, sooner rather than later, full access to the World Wide Web for research, shared case resources and the vast and growing array of additional Internet resources. For the time being and the foreseeable future, however, the Internet will not be sufficiently comprehensive in case law research, nor sufficiently structured in other respects to replace Lexis, Westlaw, or the legal - specific commercial resources. Law firms and corporate legal departments will need to carefully match of their needs with available resources to determine which of the online resources, in addition the Internet, are right for their practice.

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