Stretching your tech dollars lawyers circa 1994

Your Technology Dollar Your Technology Dollar

Presented by

Chaim Yudkowsky, CPAGrabush, Newman & Co., P.A.

November 29, 1994

Maryland State Bar AssociationCaroline County Bar AssociationTalbot County Bar Association

515 Fairmount Avenue Suite 400 Baltimore, MD 21286 (410) 296-6300

Objectives

To provide you with a framework for maximizing your technology dollar for your law firm.

To give you at least two new ideas, concepts, or ways to look at issues effecting your technology investment.

Trend

Fundamental societal shift to being “Knowledge based.”

The Post Capitalist Society by Peter Drucker

Why (continue to) automate? Improve productivity Increase accessibility Improve accuracy Improve efficiency Improve clarity and neatness Increase timeliness Reduce costs

“In the 1980s, a trillion dollars were expended on software technology, but white-collar productivity declined. There is a lot more [to it] than just automating your production.” Jim Manzi,

President & CEO Lotus Development Corp.

Reality

“An Anderson Consulting survey... found surprisingly low satisfaction with returns on corporate investments... Overall a staggering 81% of those polled ranked their organization’s payback on technology spending as ‘minimal’ or ‘average’.”

Joseph MaglittaComputerworld October 18,1993

What can I do to maximize my investment?

Questions to answer today

Efficiency Productivity

Defining productivity

Should the work be done? Who should do it? How should it be done? When should it be done? How do you measure improvements?

Goal: Response to increased competitive pressures in legal profession.

Productivity statistics

Improved productivity– Yes: 71%– No: 2%– Unclear: 23%

Reduced cost– Yes: 50%– No: 6%– Unclear: 35%

Source: Economic Analysis Group, 1994 study For firms with 1 to 9 attorneys

Statistics

Number of PCs shipped worldwide in 1994: 45 million Number of PCs retired in 1994: 20 million Percentage of law firms that are solo practitioners: 59% Number of attorneys using PCs in their practice: 83% Number of attorneys using LANs: 55% Percentage using computers away from office: 77% DOS vs. Windows: 52% to 40% Novell for LANs in small law offices:

in 1994 - 55% in 1990 - 25%

Source: ABA 1994 Survey Report of Automation in Smaller Law Firms and Business Week

Spending statistics Past 12 months

– None: 7%– Less than $5,000: 45%– Between $5,000 and 10,000: 22%– Between $10,000 and 25,000: 19%– Over $25,000: 8%

Next 12 months– None: 14%– Less than $5,000: 49%– Between $5,000 and 10,000: 24%– Between $10,000 and 25,000: 10%– Over $25,000: 4%

10 commandments of automation (Part I)

Ignore the media hype Never be first to buy a technology

– Remember you are running a business Let needs determine innovations to adopt

– Automation is a means not an ends

– Management issues take precedence Software dictates hardware

– Talk to the vendor Know your organizational culture

– Talk to support staff

10 commandments of automation (Part II)

Spend time on automation strategy Establish rules for equipment and software

usage Invest in training! Training is not discretionary! Invest in training!

Technology - Issues

Confusion / choices Standardization Promises, promises Speed Frequency of

innovation Support Obsolescence User fear

Indirect costs Complexity Paperless Commodity vs. tool

Purchase cycle

Feasibility study Requirements definition Vendor selection / negotiation Installation and training Testing Implementation / Procedures Post-implementation

Common user experience

Satisfaction

Time

%

What to look for

Ease of use Quality user interface Ability to customize Networkability Quality printer support Quality documentation Availability of training Availability of technical support Other user experiences

Technology plan

Define needs and goals– Reduce cost– Improve quality of product or information– Increase marketshare

Define requirements to meet objectives Quantify the value of meeting the goal Create a plan budget & implementation plan Perform cost-benefit analysis of project Ratify plan Monitor progress

Technology - Existing technologies

Personal computers CD-ROM services (only 35% of responding firms) Laser printers Cellular phones Color printing E-mail Fax Voice messaging Graphical User Interface Wireless Scanning - OCR

Technology - Emerging technologies

Scanning- Imaging Groupware Animation (P.I.) Direct access to court / governmental records Virtual reality Video conferencing Personal digital assistants Voice synthesis & recognition Chips -- Pentium and beyond

Functions to automate

Document preparation Financial recordkeeping / practice management Research Case management Docket control Conflict checking Litigation support Electronic mail Database management Contact management Calendaring Other

Document preparation

Word processing Document management Desktop publishing Electronic forms processing Document comparison Document assembly Automated citation checking software

Financial recordkeeping (Part

I)

General ledger– Double entry bookkeeping

Time & billing– Expense recapture– Management reporting

Trust accounting Accounts payable Cash receipts and disbursements Trust accounting Payroll

Financial recordkeeping (Part

II)

Cash flow projections Tax return preparation and planning Tax forms on CD Specialized reporting Spreadsheet Other

“The practicing lawyer who is not on-line may soon be out of business.”

Research - On-line

Dialog Lexis/Nexis Westlaw CompuServe- Lawsig Dow Jones Internet Law Journal Extra (212) 545-6199

LRP Publications ABA/Net PTO/BBS The Federal Bulletin

Research - CD-ROM

U.S. and state Code CCH Services: Federal Tax, Blue Sky Laws & Regs, etc. Matthew Bender Libraries West Publishing services Specialized law on CD-ROM

– Disability– NAFTA– Insurance– Tax– Patent– Bankruptcy– U.S. Supreme Court decisions

Electronic mail

Accessibility to local colleagues Accessibility to remote colleagues Accessibility to colleagues already on the phone Documentation of messages and conversations No more trips to their desks Attaching or routing files Available for future reference Vs. voice mail

Hardware

What kind of computer?– Capacity– Reliability– Compatibility

What type of printer? Which operating system / environment?

The Marketplace

Source: PC Week, October 3, 1994

PC System Price Q4 '94 Q4 '95

$3,000 100 MHz Pentium120 MHZ Pentium

$2,500 90 MHz Pentium100 MHZ Pentium

$2,000 60 MHz Pentium 90 MHz Pentium

$1,500 66 MHz 486DX2 75 MHz Pentium

$1,200 33 MHz 486SX 100 MHz DX4

Hardware maintenance

Self maintain Time and materials Fixed fee Combination

Why a LAN?

Coordinating resources Data exchange Sharing resources Centralizing backup Sharing of workload Data and equipment security Better communication

LAN costs

Installation Support Operating system and hardware Network administrator Training Other

System administrator

Requirements– knowledge of system– able to organize time and prioritize projects– excellent communication and training skills– teamworker

Responsibilities– write and maintain system-related procedures– perform regular backups and maintain log– answer user questions– help resolve user questions– perform system file maintenance– help decide on hardware maintenance strategy

LAN vendors

Novell - Netware– One on staff CNE or CNI– Gold or Platinum level certification

Artisoft - Lantastic– Five Star Gold Certified or– Five Star Connectivity Certified

Microsoft Windows for Workgroups

Resources

MD and local Bar Associations MICPEL A CPA and/or consultant PC-related User Groups Periodicals

– Law Office Computing Library / books

Why a Consultant?

Knowledge Experience Objectivity Short term employment

What consultant?

Experience References Objectivity Team-worker Similar values as yours

Unanswered question

How do you bill for services made quicker by automation?

“Expecting a consultant to come in and apply preset solutions is asking for trouble. A good consultant should teach an organization how to fish, not provide fish for it.”

Lester a. Picker,Columnist in The Sun

Remember...

Good news

An MIT study found a 64% return on investment in information technology over four years among 380 large companies. That was measured in terms of real benefits

Quality Customer service Time to produce

Point 1

“The solution to improved productivity is not better software but rather a better understanding of business and its objectives.”

Milt BryceA reader writing in Business Week

“There is a huge difference between ‘the best money can buy’ and ‘the best for the dollar.’”

Anonymous

Point 2

Point 3

“There is a tendency in schools to look at technology for technology’s sake... Technology is a tool not an end objective. It lets you do something --once you have set out what you want to accomplish. Information technology makes it possible for people to become true knowledge workers, to increase their output and change the nature of their job...”Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM

The future of technology in education

Business Week Insert - November 15, 1993

Point 4

“Senior managers (attorneys) who do not make information technology an integral part of their business strategy will find their future seriously threatened by competitors who do.”

Jack Juison, Asst. Professor of IS

Fordham University

Reader of Business Week

Questions

?

Drawing

The highest % in the survey used Timeslips: 27%

THE END