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Internet savvy?

Jonathan Smith, Divisional Sales Director with Siemens Financial Services, investigates how Barristers are taking advantage of the Internet

 

According to the Office of National Statistics, in 2002, 96% of businesses had Internet access. The Internet phenomenon is now around 10 years old and already it is embedded into our working practices - many of us can’t imagine a working day without email or a quick search around news and resource sites.

For the most part, barristers have embraced the change - they may have stepped up to the plate later than other industries, but the lost ground has now been made up. In general, the legal profession is neither a forerunner nor a laggard in the technology race, however, there are always technology evangelists preaching the benefits of the Internet as a tool to make our lives a little easier and our working practices more efficient. . The question is, are they right – are Barristers missing a trick: could they be doing more?

Shifting The Paper Mountain
In the average chambers, in addition to the traditional ‘shop front’ website explaining Chamber’s experience, the Internet is currently used for two main reasons: communication and research. Let’s investigate the latter first. The legal profession could be characterised as one that produces and stores paper. When speaking recently to the son of two solicitors, he mentioned that one of his abiding childhood memories was the smell of ageing paper in his parents’ offices. It’s no different in chambers: copious records of cases are generated, thousands of letters are drafted, copies are retained for the obligatory seven years. Using this information for research is vital – however the difficulty comes in accessing the traditionally paper-based data quickly and efficiently. This is where the Internet has perhaps most benefited the legal profession – it has cut both research time, and reduced storage costs!

The task of researching information is now so quick that the common complaint is of information overload. This is where specialist online resources, such as tailored finance sites, specific legal news sites such as Lawlinks, Butterworths or Sweet and Maxwells and portals such as www.BarCoservices.co.uk, are invaluable. Without this precise targeting, the task of researching is no longer investigation, but selection – which means it’s now easy to find the right information, quickly.

 

It’s a question of security
Communication has also been revolutionised – the arrival of the email has broken down geographical boundaries and made contact instant. However this too is not without drawbacks: using email for legal purposes is a minefield. Security is a primary issue for most businesses, with cybercrime hitting the headlines daily, but the legal profession has to be a benchmark for excellence. Whilst solicitors are the forerunners in their use of secure email, it can only

be a matter of time before emails are accepted as an accountable means of communication throughout the legal profession, as a matter of course.

The adoption of email as a secure, legally valid medium of communication may be nearing - but this is not to say that the paperless office is a realistic proposition for the future. The reams of paper produced in day-to-day case administration have to some extent been lessened in many solicitors’ offices by complex case management systems. These systems have not yet been widely adopted in Chambers – but in many cases, where Barristers work as a team, or when a Barrister is working remotely, this kind of online information sharing could be invaluable. Case management systems provide a prime example of how to use the Internet not simply for research, but as the backbone of working practices so that information can be shared and accessed quickly and easily. For busy Barristers, whose time is at a premium, this kind of collaborative working should bring real benefits.

 

A step ahead
There are other examples, too, where the Internet could revolutionise the way many Barristers work. The ‘Clerksroom’, a Barristers’ service providing online diary control, case information, billing and research access is one example. The resource is an innovative one, offering Barristers key services online through an ASP, or Application Service Provider model. Whilst these ideas may be ahead of their time, they will no doubt have their place – and will, most likely, be extremely successful.

The simple truth is that for innovation without adoption leads to failure. It’s this latter part of the equation – adoption - that has all too often been lacking in the technology arena. Whilst logically there are considerable benefits to using the Internet for more than just research and communication, in practical terms, a service such as ‘Clerksroom’ may not suit all Barristers. Technology must – and should – be viewed as an enabler, not a constrictor. For this to happen, we need to catch up, acclimatising to the advances that technology offers and finding ways of adapting our working practices to allow IT to help make working lives a little bit easier.

With a profession in which the primary factors for competition are expertise and reputation, rather than price, productivity, service or speed, Barristers have the luxury of choosing the pace of their technology adoption. It’s natural that this adoption will depend on specialisations - those who specialise in commercial cases are likely to be further ahead in the technology curve than those who focus on criminal law. To answer the question of whether they should be moving faster – it’s simple: not if they don’t want to. But if they don’t take up the mantle, will they be missing out? Well, that’s another question…

   
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