Networking 101

Networking 101
by Alan R. Nye, Esq.

The Supplement -- The newsletter of the Maine State Bar Association. Volume Two, Number One, January 1999

You've heard about the benefits setting up a network might give your legal practice but you say you're not quite sure what a network is and how it can help you? This article gives you the answers in plain English -- no computerese.

What is a network? Simply put, a network is a group of PCs connected together by cables so that they can "talk" to each other. These linked computers can share programs, files and devices like printers, CD-ROM drives and modems that are used to communicate with other computers over the Internet.

The benefits of access to the Internet (the world's largest network) are enormous. In addition to the vast wealth of legal resources available to attorneys on the World Wide Web, the ability to exchange information with other lawyers, courts and clients by e-mail is becoming essential. You can also perform legal research with WESTLAW and Lexis on the Internet without installing any additional software on your computers.

Let's say that you're a sole practitioner or you work in a small firm -- do you need a network? The answer is a resounding yes. A strong argument exists that the smaller you are the more you need to have a network. Why? Recent studies indicate that a network can make even small businesses as much as 40% more productive. Having a network with Internet access allows the smallest firm to compete against larger firms on a more equal footing.

The first payback you'll see after setting up a network is an increase in productivity. When you and your staff are connected everyone has faster and more convenient access to the resources they need to practice law efficiently. You're able to share word processing documents with your staff and other attorneys in your office without running around trading floppy disks. You can share printers instead of waiting to print a document at a designated printer. You won't have to use someone else's computer to access the database that contains all the "form" documents you use in your everyday practice. You can electronically view calendars with everyone in your firm and your billing and accounting programs can be shared with those who need access to this information.

This increase in productivity is not limited to just you as a lawyer. Your staff can also do more in a networked environment. In our small firm, for example, each secretary use to have a printer attached to their computer. My secretary had an older dot-matrix printer that would take forever to print a document. Whenever anything lengthy was required, she'd ask another secretary (the one with the fast laser printer) to print the document for her. Once the network was installed, everyone had access to all the printers -- even the "good" one!

In addition, before our firm became networked, secretaries would routinely print documents in draft form and give them to the lawyers for editing. The attorney would mark up the drafts (often in red ink) and give them back to the secretary. The document would often again be printed as a draft and the same revision process would occur -- sometimes again and again -- until the document was acceptable.

Now that our firm is networked, when my secretary types a document she electronically puts it in a file folder on my computer and sends me an e-mail message when it's complete. I review it from my desktop computer, make whatever changes are necessary and send the document directly to the printer. If it's a letter, with a few clicks of the mouse I print the envelope at the same time. The former time spent reviewing, printing and reprinting the draft document until it was in final form is eliminated.

A network can also shrink your communication budget. Exchanging information electronically reduces paper, postage, hand delivery fees and overnight mail charges. If you're linked to the Internet, you can send documents by attaching them to your e-mail messages. You can also lower phone bills by faxing documents through a shared phone line or automatically faxing documents during off-peak hours at lower rates.

Finally, networks save you money by allowing you to defer expensive equipment purchases. Each attorney and staff person won't need their own printer when you're able to share them so easily. In addition, money that would be spent on individual desktop printers can be used to buy a fewer number of fast, high-quality printers that can be used by everyone.

What technology do you need to set up a network? What type of operating system should you use? How powerful should your computers be? What will it cost? What word processor is most appropriate for a law firm? What case management system should you use and how do you find out more about this technology? Keep reading this monthly newsletter for answers.

Alan R. Nye, Esq. | 225 Commercial Street | Portland, Maine 04101
(207) 828-4400 phone | (207) 828-4300 fax | anye@alannye.com

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