Computerizing the Small Law
Firm: Tales of a Survivor
By William R. Purcell II

Computerizing a small firm practice requires significant attitude adjustments, a leap of faith, money, and a significant investment of time. Like it or not, computerization is the future and will become more and more a necessity to remain competitive. Properly used it can save on personnel costs and will help you be more responsive to your clients. Computers will also give you access to all of the research resources that the larger firms have always enjoyed. But it is not easy and it is not painless.

This article chronicles our firm's experience in going from typewriters to computers on every lawyer's desk. When we began our journey, no one in our office (attorneys nor staff) had any real knowledge about computers. I hope through our experience you will see some of the real benefits of computerization, discover some mistakes to avoid, and take solace. If we can do it surely you can too.

Some years ago I was practicing law in a large firm in Charlotte that had just installed a mainframe system with terminals on all of the attorney's desks. With some effort, late at night when no secretaries were around, I could generate a pleading or letter, although I found Word Perfect in DOS format to be more of a mystery than an aide. Some attorneys took to it as ducks do to water, but I also remember attorneys who used their computers by having their secretaries sit at their desk. (Of course there were also attorneys who had not yet discovered the Dictaphone either). E-mail was extremely helpful in communicating with lawyers in the multiple offices of the firm and also in keeping up with other lawyers when I or they were often traveling. It was a neat toy. Everyone wanted one. I knew that it was the future, but the real value was not apparent to me. Six and one-half years ago I moved to my hometown and a six-lawyer firm. When the "big city" lawyer arrived in Laurinburg we had two 8086 AT&T "word processing" computers using an unknown word processing software, one IBM Personal Typing System word processing computer, one Selectric typewriter, and we printed on IBM wheelwriter printers (typewriters). These were new purchases and were "very" up-to-date. I continued to work, in association with my old firm, on a large multi-party case and suddenly realized, as did my secretaries, how valuable a laser printer could be. IBM wheelwriters took minutes to print a page, not bad for a letter but a nightmare for long briefs and extensive pleadings, particularly coupled with the fact that when the printer was running, the computer was locked up and your secretary had to twiddle her thumbs while she waited. Slowly the advantages of more sophisticated computer equipment became apparent.

Partly because this large case also inconvenienced my partners, shortly after my arrival we modernized and purchased 286 computers for all of the secretaries, laser printers, and one "big" 386 computer for our accounting software. We were also advised that it would be more than we needed for a "network server" if and when we decided to network our system. (For the novice, a network is a system where all of the computers are connected so that they can share files and documents.) Before purchasing this equipment from a local business machine company, we had received quotes and proposals from various "turnkey" providers, none of whom seemed able to directly answer our concerns. Since none of us had any computer knowledge or experience, much less expertise, we were at the mercy of the vendors. We knew we wanted something better than what we had, but we could not articulate it. Everyone we talked to proposed a different system. Cost and trust drove us to choose the vendor we knew. That may have been a mistake. The system worked very well for a while, but essentially all we accomplished was automating our word-processing. The laser printers were received with enthusiastic support by our secretaries, and the work processing was the familiar old IBM personal typing system. The accounting system that we purchased, a highly expensive product, was highly useless for our small-town practice and our mix of fixed-fee, contingency, and hourly billing. We struggled by with it, and it did keep up with who had paid what and when, but it was impossible to operate without significant experience and all the manuals around you.

A couple of years later another Charlotte lawyer joined our firm, law books started coming out on CD-ROM, I started remembering the joy of being able to communicate among the lawyers with E-mail, and lawyers who wanted to correct or prepare a document after-hours discovered that they could not because of the diabolical directory system of our word processor. We decided to go whole hog and put a computer on every lawyer's desk.

With ever the eye on overhead, we first sought quotes

on upgrading our existing computers and supplementing them with some new equipment. There were no takers. The best recommendation we received for using our existing computers was to stage a contest in the parking lot to see who could throw them the farthest. We learned the hard way two maxims of computerization: (1) the easier a system is to use, the more memory and speed it requires; (2) technology is evolving so fast that it is cheaper, in the long run, and more expedient, to buy a new machine than to try to rehab the old. In other words, whatever you have now, no matter how recently purchased, is out-of-date. We knew that the new system would have to be easy if everyone was to use it, so we looked at buying a lot of memory.

We again looked to the turnkey vendors. They provided quotes on apples and oranges that we could never compare adequately. We also had the feeling that they were trying to sell us their "product" rather that what was really best for us. All of them recommended different types of networks, different software, and different sizes and speeds of machines as the "ideal" package for our law firm. No one broke out all of the costs, so we were unable to compare the proposals. We learned another maxim of computers: the number of solutions for your computer problem is equal to the number of people you ask.

It was about this time that the North Carolina Bar Association endorsed a computer consultant and we liked his style. The Bar Association consultant charged for his time and did not make his profit by marking up the sale of any computer hardware or software, and his people were supposed to be "experts" in serving law firms. They were very nice guys, they helped us purchase a good system, but they were far from the legal experts that we thought they would be.

Our consultants designed a peer-to-peer system and set up the orders so we could purchase directly from mail-order vendors with no retail markup. Basically, there are two types of small networks, although they come in various configurations. A server-based network stores all the data on a single powerful computer and the other computers (terminals) connect to it to use it. Server networks use a high-powered network software like Novell. In a peer-to-peer network like ours, each computer can be operated independently; documents and data are stored on each computer, but you can connect to the other computers to share documents or data and for communications. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system, but the size of the network seems to be a determining factor. In a peer-to-peer network, if one computer goes down, you can still use the others, whereas if the server goes down in a server-based network, the whole system goes down. On the other hand, with a server-based network you only have to back up one machine and you have only one place to look to find that letter you want to revise.

Our consultants set up the network and spent a day or so training us on how to turn it on and off and told us that we needed more training in word processing. A local consulting firm provided training in word processing with full-day classes for the staff and attorneys. That went well, but our new version of Word for Windows was more up-to-date than our instructors so something was lost in the translation. Another maxim of computers: there are so many operating systems in use, make sure your trainers and consultants are using the same system you are.

The new Windows environment is much more friendly, at least on the surface, and after a year an a half, we are very pleased with our system, although there are a few things that we wish we knew more about and had done differently. And from time to time we do have some problems with our network that become very difficult to resolve.

We use the computer in many ways that we thought we would and in many ways that we never contemplated. We have been surprised with how much we use E-mail and other built in features that come with the "off-the-shelf" Microsoft Office product. We have already saved a few trees by eliminating pink slips for phone messages and probably a few clients as well since the slips no longer get stuck in a pocket and go through the laundry. Even simple programs such as WinPopUp have been incredibly convenient. This messaging system allows you to communicate with your secretary or another attorney in the office while you are using the phone and also allows the secretary or receptionist to subtly alert you to an important call or the arrival of a client while you are engaged in some other matter without the interruption intercom. With no more than a beep on the computer screen, the message is delivered to you undetected by the person with whom you are talking. You can then gracefully end a conversation and not miss another one. A very useful tool in this day of phone tag.

The switch to CD-ROMs for our computer research allowed us to expand our library and keep our costs down somewhat, although we continue to wait for the hammer to fall and the "introductory prices" to end. We use CD-ROMs by utilizing every computer in the firm which has a CD-ROM drive. We still don't know or understand how it works, but it is fascinating. I can pull up a statute or a case law data base on another computer, being used by someone else, and, research for hours without interfering with the use of the other computer. The search engines (programs) are improving and are much more user friendly. However, attorneys in our office who have had no prior experience with West law or Lexis have found it difficult at times. The initial training from our vendor (who will be everybody's vendor soon) was less than satisfactory as we had the Windows-based versions of the product before the trainer did. He saw it for the first time on our computer. However, their telephone support has been good.

A downside of our system of research is that you have to make sure the computer with the database you want to use is turned on. Some vendors provide a CD tower which is just a stack of CD drives that allow all the datadisks to be in one place. This makes it a little easier to make sure the database you want to use is on. If you like paper, you can print any case or statute you need. We find the ability to look up something while you are on the phone with a client to be very convenient. The CD research format is also very convenient since all the materials are linked together. If you are reading a case that cites another case or statute, you just click on the cite and there it is. No more searching around the office for volume 323, etc.

One of the biggest savings to us has been personnel. With the attorneys having the ability to correct and even draft their own pleadings and documents, we have been able to avoid hiring an additional secretary, although our workload has gone up tremendously over recent years. The lawyers in our office use computers to different degrees but everybody uses them. Our estate planning and corporate lawyers drafts many of his own documents from existing forms. Our criminal and family law specialist came from the public defender's office where she had to type all of her own documents anyway and has not yet figured out how to use a Dictaphone, so she does most of her own work. The rest of us rely heavily on the research capabilities, the messaging and scheduling, and to a lesser degree the work processing. Personally, I still like to dictate documents and have someone who knows what they are doing set them up and format them, but I frequently make minor changes and corrections which is very helpful in getting things out in a timely fashion and after-hours. In the olden days, "a year and a half ago," a frequent problem for our small-town practice was scheduling. Invariably there were conflicts. It was not uncommon to have scheduled depositions out of the office for several days and have to spend an afternoon or evening to cancel appointments that had been made by the receptionist because I forgot to tell her that I was going to be gone. The built-in Schedule Plus program in the Mircosoft Office package has been a godsend in this respect. That package allows the creation of an appointment book for each attorney and secretary, and it can also schedule the conference room and anything else that you would like to add. It looks very much like the daytimer or planner. The beauty of the system is that everyone in the office, so long as you allow, has access to your schedule. When the receptionist schedules an appointment for you, she puts it on your calendar which is sitting on your desk on your computer screen. Thus, if you scheduled your depositions on your calendar and she pulls it up to schedule an appointment, she avoids that sometimes inconvenient mistake.

We know we are just tapping the surface, but for us the ability to communicate through

E-mail, the scheduling capacities, and the ability to create and modify our own documents has made the investments in our network a tremendous success. We are now exploring the creation of data bases to track client and cases and maybe by the time we need to replace the system with something more up-to-date (in a year or so), we will be using some of these exciting features.

Laurinburg attorney William R. Purcell II practices in the law firm of Williamson, Dean, Williamson, Purcell, and Sojka, LLP.

Some Things to Think About:

1. "In House" Computer Expert: When you decide to computerize your office, and you must decide to do so, the first thing that you need to do is have one person in your firm commit to becoming your "computer expert." Ideally that would be someone who knows something about computers, but for many lawyers and for many small firms that is not practical. The computer person needs to be an attorney. That person needs to learn the basics of the system, how to turn it on and off, how to back it up, and most importantly, who to call when bad things happen.

2. Turnkey vs. Consultant or Self-Purchased: If you know enough about computers to design the system yourself, then you are probably not still reading this article. That leaves two options: (1) buying a turnkey system or (2) using a consultant to help you buy a system like we did. We have often wished we had used a turnkey outfit simply for the benefit of having one contact when problems occur. There are some very good turnkey outfits; however, I still believe that we have been able to obtain much more for our money and realized some real savings by using the Bar Association consultant and by purchasing directly. The frustration of this approach comes when you have a conflict between software and hardware on a network. Who do you call an who gives you help?

3. Find a Convenient Computer Company: After your system is in place, you need to find a consultant who can provide immediate assistance to you. Beware from the start that there are as many solutions as there are consultants and equally as many opinions about how you need to fix a problem. Find someone you trust and who doesn't charge you so much that you are afraid to call them. As you use your system, it grows into almost a living organism. Familiarity with your system is an asset.

4. Do Not Think of Your Computer as a Long-Term Investment: The computer industry, both software and hardware, is evolving so rapidly that I am beginning to think you need to consider computer expenses as an operating rather than a capital expenditure. You can, however, purchase a good system that will serve you well for many years in performing the functions of a law firm: word processing, scheduling, and legal research. But, as we discovered a year and a half ago, your state-of-the-art computer will no longer be made by the time you need another one. As problems develop, the vendor's solution will not be to fix the problem but to update to a newer version. That makes a good hometown consultant or a good computer nerd in your office a valuable asset. Vendors are going to make their money by selling the newest and latest products, and that is where their attention will be focused.

5. Beware of People Claiming to Be Legal Experts: Maybe there are some consultants who used to be practicing lawyers, but our experience, looking at both turnkey vendors as well as the Bar Association consultants, was that although they thought they had some understanding of what lawyers needed, very few of them understood the organization and operation of our small-town practice. Fewer still seemed interested in putting in the time to do so. Despite how much you may pay to others, you are still going to have to be the ultimate designer or developer of your system. This has been particularly true with respect to choosing a legal accounting system. Most of the products are designed for people who do almost exclusively hourly billing. We do some, but not enough to justify the big-ticket cost of these products. We have not discovered any product that neatly fits our blend of fixed-free, hourly, and contingency billing. We've settled on a program that costs less than $500.00, but it is still cumbersome because it includes a lot of stuff we simply do not need. Maybe someone reading this article will suggest a good solution.

6. Buy the Best Computer You Can: Any computer you buy will become instantly out-of- date and cheaper in a week. Do not use that as an excuse to postpone your purchase. Just accept that as fact and buy the best available. Buy as much memory and as much speed as you can. That will greatly extend the life of your system. To get lawyers to use computers, you need to make it as easy as possible, and that means using the latest software.

7. Newer is Not Necessarily Better: Once you buy your system, do not feel like you need to buy every new release and upgrade. Some are helpful because they correct errors, but why learn a new system when you have not mastered your old one. Again, for the basic functions you need, better the devil you know than the one you don't.

8. Backup, Backup, Backup: Computers do fail. In the year and a half that we have had our system, we have had to replace two of our monitors, and we have a hard drive about to fail, or so they say. We also had a bunch of people, particularly in the beginning, who had no idea how to operate the computers. Unfortunately, computers are not idiot proof. Ninety-percent, so they say, of the errors and problems that occur on your system are human errors and we believe them. It is amazing how an errant mouse click here or there can create such a tremendous problem. A regular program for backing up your whole system will let your computer consultant undo your biggest mistakes.

9. Use Your Common Sense: The experts do not always know what the problems are. Our computers are Gateway 2000s and we have found the Gateway Company to be very helpful on technical and warranty support. However, we have encountered a few problems that they could not resolve but that we were able to solve with a little common sense and investigation. I'll bet that they are still scratching their heads out in South Dakota trying to figure out one of our problems. Early in the operation of our system, one lawyer had a problem with his screen flickering and not being able to enter data. We called Gateway on numerous occasions and asked them about this. They had us reboot, reinstall, un-install, download, upload, close out, shut down, restart, and type in a million commands. The problem would go away but return in a day or so. An observant secretary discovered the cause of this so-called nightmare. The keyboard was on the lawyer's desk! I know there are some lawyers who can keep clean desks but most cannot. This lawyer liked to work in piles, and one of the piles had slid over and was pressing down continuously on a button on the keyboard causing the flickering and the inoperability of his system that not even the upper level nerds at Gateway could resolve.

10. Play With It: Explore the programs you have (and not just the games that come on the computer). Try to do things, use your intuition, pull down files and menus, click on new commands and see what happens. The best way to learn is by doing and there is much to do on your computer. If you are backing up the computer, you can't really screw it up too much.

11. Use the Little Things: If you are having trouble convincing everyone in your firm the value of computerizing and networking, introduce them to the simple functions like E-mail and Schedule Plus. Show them the shelf space you will save by converting to CD-ROMs, and it will slowly but surely become an integrated part of their lives, and they will wonder how they ever lived without it.