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Not only is the law itself continually evolving, but so are the methods and techniques that lawyers use in their daily practices.

In the past twenty years, for example, law offices have adopted new technological advances that, for better or worse, have become a ubiquitous and essential part of practicing law. During this period plain paper copiers, facsimile machines, computerized word processing and legal research, cellular telephones and voice mail systems all have made the transition from rarely used devices to tools now taken for granted by most lawyers.

The latest technology to follow this path is the Internet.

Already, some estimates indicate that as many as one-half of all attorneys have access to the Internet, although the percentage that have begun actively using the Internet on a regular basis is undoubtedly much lower. All projections, however, see both those percentages as growing--and growing very rapidly. This article provides a beginners introduction to how and why that growth is occurring.

The popularity of the Internet is based on a simple, but powerful, principle: it is a very fast and very inexpensive, yet powerful, communication and information retrieval system. Because lawyers, as Abraham Lincoln observed, depend entirely upon their time and expertise to make a living, these benefits from Internet use should provide a strong economic incentive to rapid lawyer adoption.

This theoretical argument aside, however, just what is the Internet, and what practical use can lawyers make of it? Here is a summary answer to those questions, while a more detailed explanation and practical guide may be found in a couple of recent books that describe the available Internet-based legal resources.

What we call the "Internet" is simply a set of protocols for communicating electronically across an interconnected set of networks that includes a "backbone" of high-speed lines designed to carry vast amounts of Internet traffic, as well as national service providers such as America OnLine, regional providers of dedicated lines and access service, the public telephone system, private corporate networks; all connected, directly or indirectly to the main backbone.

The classic analogy for this system of networks is the national highway system, with its interconnected matrix of Interstates, primary and secondary highways, county roads and city streets. Both systems provide speed-segregated and redundant paths for getting from point A to point B. If one link in the path is damaged or if traffic is unusually heavy, additional traffic is routed through alternative paths that lead eventually to the desired destination.

No one owns, or even controls, the entire Internet. Interconnection is by agreement, and as long as standard protocols are used, the data simply is moved in small packets from origin to destination without regard to content or ownership. These standard protocols not only manage the data in transit, but also they identify how it is to be used at its destination; that is, whether it is part of an electronic mail (e-mail) message or is intended for viewing by a Web browser, for example.

By far, the two most important Internet services for lawyers are e-mail and the World Wide Web. E-mail provides communication, and the World Wide Web, usually "the Web" or "WWW," provides the ability for a lawyer to search out and review a tremendous quantity and variety of information. Although other information retrieval services still exist (e.g., Gopher and FTP), their capabilities have become eclipsed or incorporated into Web browsers--the software that displays the content offered by the Web.

Access to these services is obtained through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), who normally charges a flat monthly rate in the neighborhood of $20-30 for an unlimited amount of Internet use. The ISP will assign an Internet address, which permits transmission and receipt of e-mail messages, and, typically, the ISP will provide the software necessary to review and compose e-mail and to browse the Web. Of course, a computer and modem also are needed to make the connection to the ISP.

For the most part, that is the total cost of Internet access. The vast majority of Web sites are open and free to the general public, supported either by non-profit entities or by advertising revenue. Some sites are available only by subscription, but the cost is generally a flat fee rather than the amount of time spent or quantity of data reviewed. Westlaw and Lexis offer Web access to their libraries, but the pricing structure is the same as for any other access method.

Clients are beginning to expect lawyers to be able to communicate by e-mail. Not only is it rapid, with delivery typically within five minutes, but it also is extremely efficient. When specific information needs to be exchanged (undoubtedly, other purposes are better served by telephone or face-to-face interaction), e-mail's absence of live interaction means little effort is spent on introductory pleasantries or irrelevant digressions. The message is composed and read when convenient, and not as someone else's schedule may dictate.

In addition, a written e-mail, although often informal, at least provides some opportunity for reflection and revision, as opposed to the immediacy of the spoken word. When working on drafts of legal documents, e-mail allows the transmission of editable text, rather than a static image. In sum, e-mail offers the combined benefits of fax and voice-mail, without many of the limitations.

Carried across the Internet e-mail typically arrives directly at the desktop of the recipient, with the likelihood of interception far less than that of a facsimile or cellular transmission and likely less than that of a message sent by U.S. mail or overnight courier.

But communication with clients or other lawyers is only one benefit of e-mail. Another use is to keep up with recent developments and trends in particular practice areas. Mailing lists, also known as Listservs, provide an almost real-time discussion of topical issues. These list are organized around particular topics or areas of interest, and legal-related lists exist for virtually every practice speciality, legal issue and interest group.

Individuals become members of, and receive the e-mail messages from, a particular list by subscribing to the list. Each message by any member of a particular list is automatically sent to each other member. Typically, a moderator, or list owner, attempts to keep discussion moving along and messages on-topic. He or she also mediates more heated discussions and exchanges among participants.

The process of exchanging messages, with responses and rebuttals by several participants results in a series of connected messages, called threads, spanning several days or even weeks, and which often offers a fairly thorough exploration of a topic, including many different perspectives, hypotheticals, suggestions, predictions and references to further resources. The experience is the equivalent to listening to, or participating in a panel discussion at a continuing legal education seminar (albeit without the CLE credit).

The other essential Internet services for lawyers--in fact, the most widely used service in terms of quantity of data traffic--is the World Wide Web. The Web is organized into Sites, often consisting of many pages of information, with each page within a site having a unique address that is accessed by means of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Information from a web site is accessed by typing a URL into a Web browser. The browser software then downloads the information from the site and displays it on the computer screen.

The great genius underlying the WWW, and what makes the Web so valuable as a research tool, is the ability to embed other URLs, or links, directly into a web page. These links are highlighted and usually underlined when a page is displayed. Using Microsoft Windows or a Macintosh, by simply pointing the cursor to the link and clicking a mouse button, the user goes directly to the web page address identified by the link. This address may be the same site or a separate site located anywhere in the world.

The browser software automatically keeps an ordered list of the previous pages displayed, so a user may backtrack at any time. Using these capabilities, a user may follow various threads of promising research without loosing track of the original page reference, much like flipping between the main text, the endnotes and the index of a traditional legal treatise.

The value of this capability is enhanced by the ability to search the entire WWW for specific words and text strings. Some Web sites simply catalogue and index the contents of every other available site (the automated software that performs this indexing is commonly referred to as a "spider"). A search using one of these indexes will return a page containing a list of links to all the indexed pages containing the search terms. Clicking on each link will then display that page for a more detailed relevancy examination.

Most recent caselaw, both federal and state, is available the WWW. The Web is by far the quickest and least expensive method to obtain the text of a new opinion that has not yet become available in advance sheets. For example, North Carolina appellate decisions are available at the Web site maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts, the URL of which is http://www.aoc.state.nc.us, as well as administrative information and the docket status of all matters pending before the North Carolina Supreme Court.

In most instances, caselaw is available on the Web for only the most recent two or three years, so Internet research cannot yet entirely substitute for more traditional methods. Efforts are underway to improve this situation, however, and it is expected that within a few years more comprehensive resources will be available to reduce reliance on proprietary databases.

Governmental resources of all kinds are widely accessible through the Internet. Most governmental agencies have made their regulations and other publications available, including the Library of Congress, Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS, the FTC, Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce, Justice Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. Both Congress and the Executive branch have established Web sites. Searchable versions of the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations are available, as are copies of pending legislation on both the federal and state level.

The Web is also useful for conducting factual research related to pending legal matters. Most public companies have established web sites that typically include a variety of information about the particular company, its management and its products or services. Other sites may offer information about a specific industry, including historical background, perspectives on current issues the industry may be facing, economic and other statistics, relevant publications and links to related sites and to experts in the field. All of this information is easily accessible to any lawyer needing to become familiar quickly with an issue, a company or a product related to a legal dispute or some other client need.

This discussion omits several other services available on the Internet, and it includes precious little about the mechanics of getting access or finding helpful information. Two recent publications, however, offer a much more comprehensive description of available Internet services, legal-related materials available on the Internet and the process of accessing them.

The Lawyer's Guide to the Internet by G. Burgess Allison is published by the American Bar Association's Section of Law Practice Management (LPM). Allison writes a delightfully witty column, "Technology Update," in the LPM monthly magazine, and this book provides a comparably irreverent, nuts-and-bolts account of the legal resources available through the Internet and the mechanics of getting access to them.

The first half of Allison's text is the how-to portion, written in a very informal and breezy style. This may be the only law-related publication in which the footnotes are the most entertaining part of the text. The second half of the book is a comprehensive list of legal resources, generally including both a general description of the content and the specific location at which it may be found.

At least, Allison's resource references were comprehensive as of about mid-1995. The net is evolving so rapidly that the list now is undoubtedly incomplete and outdated in some details, although most of his citations will remain accurate. Perhaps a new edition will be available soon.

Allison gives his reader the practical tools to get work accomplished using the Internet, but his tourguide methodology sometimes sacrifices additional context and explanation that would give a better foundation for more sophisticated applications. Nevertheless, as an introduction and initial resource, this book is a valuable reference tool. Allison's no-nonsense, nuts-and-bolts approach provides a non-technical lawyer with guidance that neither condescends to the reader nor distracts with unnecessary jargon.

Just published earlier this year is Net Law: How Lawyers Use the Internet by Paul Jacobsen. Co-published by Songline Studios and O'Reilly & Associates, this book also includes a CD-ROM containing software to access the Internet through America OnLine (AOL). In light of well-publicized recent problems of AOL access, however, the reader would probably be better served never even to remove this CD-ROM from its protective envelop.

Jacobsen's prose also is very readable, although lacking Allison's sly wit. The strength of Jacobsen's book is that he goes much further to place the usefulness of the Internet in context. He tends to spend time explaining why and how a particular resource may be helpful in a lawyer's practice. Also, he quotes liberally from attorneys across the country, who talk about particular examples of their own Internet use or provide Internet usage techniques and tips. Jacobsen also discusses some of the relative merits of using a law firm web site for client marketing purposes.

Although Net Law includes many addresses for various legal resources throughout the text, the book does not attempt to organize or categorize them in any systematic way. The resources are less comprehensive, and it is much more difficult to locate a particular Internet address that one recalls is "somewhere" in the text. These problems render the work far less valuable as a continuing resource.

In any case, Jacobsen provides the basic tools to allow a lawyer to become familiar with the resources available through the Internet. In learning to use the Internet for research, each lawyer will discover his or her own favorite sites, containing those links and access points that from experience are most helpful to his or her own practice.

Each lawyer will have to determine what benefit the Internet holds for his or her own practice, an evaluation that can be made only after learning what resources are available and how to find them. Either of these books provides a helpful beginning, but to the question "How do I best use the Internet?"--like the question "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"--the answer must be: practice, practice, practice.

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Ordering Information:

by G. Burgess Allison

published by the ABA Section of Law Practice Management

ISBN 1-57073-149-7 Suggested Retail Price $29.95

Available from

ABA

Publication Orders

P.O. Box 10892

Chicago, IL 60610-0892

Phone: (312)988-5522

http://www.abanet.org

by Paul Jacobsen

Co-published by Songline Surdios, Inc. and O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.

ISBN 1-56592-258-1 Suggested Retail Price $29.95

Available from

O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.

101 Morris Street

Sebastopol, CA 95472-9902

Phone: (800)998-9938

http://www.ora.com