The Year 2000 Computing Bug and Your Legal Organization: Defining the Problem and Planning for a Solution
By: William H. Skeels, IV, Esq.

The Problem

By now, the origins of the problem are familiar. The Year 2000 bug problem, results from the fact that early computer programs adopted a six digit date (01/12/97) rather than a full eight digits (01/01/1997 or 05/12/2000), leading to the inability to correctly store dates past the Year 2000. Under non-compliant systems which have not taken account of the Year 2000, such dates would be stored as, for example, 05/12/00, which the computer system reads as May 12, 1900, with predictably absurd and potentially dangerous results with respect to any function which uses dates and date comparisons.

Date and date comparison calculations are fundamental to many programs key to the operation of legal organizations, including such core functions as 'how long did X take' (a client bill payment, mortgage amortization or statute of limitations), 'how long do I have until X' (a calendar or scheduling system), and other common computerized functions with a time or date component Output from one part of a system is also typically utilized by other parts of a system, and if any piece is inaccurate or corrupt, all other affected pieces are potentially inaccurate or corrupt.

The problem, and potential solutions, are made more difficult by the fact that the Year 2000 problem is not limited to standard desktop and network programs. Two additional areas of concern may prove more problematic than standard computing, that is, potential problems in 'embedded systems' such as copiers, building admission systems, bar code scanners and elevators and problems with critical external services such as banking and insurance.

What can law firms and legal organizations lawyers do to address their Year 2000 problem? The first thing to realize is that lawyers will not be able to solve the whole problem; the best use of resources is to address those items under your own control, while preparing to address the inevitable problems relating to outside factors and services in the most effective, flexible and

economical manner possible.

Planning for a Solution: The Year 2000 Audit

By this point in time (the second quarter of 1998), all legal organizations should, at a minimum, have in place plans for a Year 2000 audit. That process will have the following steps and components:

Year 2000 Committee

The audit should be managed by a carefully selected core group whose mission is to address Year 2000 and related issues. While the group will need technical expertise, the issues which will be dealt with will relate to aspects of firm or department management at a high level. The committee must, therefore, contain and be tightly integrated with firm / department management.

Year 2000 Audit Overview

The committee, on behalf of the firm or department, must ascertain the nature of potential problems, including those relating to internal software, interactions between internal and external data, and other related questions. The problem list must be committed to written form, along with plans to address each item and specific assignments to internal and external personnel.

Address Identified Internal Problems

A number of the problems identified by the Year 2000 audit will be internal; the need to make the transition to a Year 2000-compliant time and billing program is a prime example. As these problems are, by definition, mostly internal, their solution is more or less under your own control. The process of addressing these items, which may be daunting in its own right, should begin immediately. This may involve, for example:

• Converting your time and billing system to a compliant system, or obtaining and implementing a new system. Note that, as with any transition, you should be aware of conversion and transition issues.

• Converting substantive systems to compliant systems, or making a transition to new systems.

• Insuring that all computer networks are Year 2000 compliant.

Begin to Address Identified Externally Driven Problems

You should next establish and begin to implement a plan to manage potential Year 2000 problems which involve outside parties, outside data and data interactions. This will involve a number of areas, which will include, for example:

• Banking

• Accounting

• Client data exchange (EDI billing and beyond).

It is important to be aware that, especially with respect to outside factors, your firm or department may not be in control of the process. Your ability to accurately assess potential negative impact on firm or department functions, and to intelligently react to developments as they occur, will be key to the success of the project. Be aware that your interaction with outside service (and therefore data) providers such as banking providers will be the beginning of a dialog, and not a one-stop visit.

As an initial proposition, you should expect any service provider such as a bank or accounting firm to have a Year 2000 plan in place, and to share with your firm or department both the substance and schedule of that plan. Generic assurances that 'everything is OK, our experts are on it' are inadequate, and should not be accepted.

At worst, you should consider the prospect of switching away from relationships with financial and other service organizations which cannot provide a clear and coherent Year 2000 compliance plan. While this may seem extreme, consider the undeniable fact that, if a provider cannot become Year 2000 compliant in relatively short order, your relationship will be over in the near future in any event.

Key Principles

While there is no magic bullet solution to successful transition through and beyond the Year 2000 crisis, there are principles which will give your organization a better chance of surviving the process relatively unscathed. These include the following:

• Data conversion will be critical, and can be difficult and time-consuming.

• The relevant time frame is short, and does not extend to December 31, 1999. Numerous dates and date interactions reach into the future, and implementation times must also be accounted for. Numerous other entities are in the same boat as your firm or organization, and demand for such services may narrow the range of available competent personnel to perform necessary services.

• Your systems can be perfectly compliant internally and still be negatively impacted by non-compliant external systems or data which interact.

• Continued diligence and the capability of reacting knowledgeably and quickly will be key; the firm or department will almost certainly be surprised by a Year 2000-related development at some point.

• PC's are included; while a very high percentage of mini-computer and mainframe programs are affected, a very substantial percentage of PC substantive and network software is affected as well. Even some of the newest PC software is not fully compliant.

• Software vendors cannot be depended on to handle all such problems. Numerous software vendors have already announced that they will not enhance, and not support, mission-critical software built on non-Year 2000 platforms.

Summary

While the Year 2000 crisis presents a serious challenge to the law firm or legal department, it need not cause fundamental problems. A serious Year 2000 audit can be the foundation for an approach which helps the organization properly identify and address this series of problems over the critical remaining time frame.