I T

Too few smaller firms seem to appreciate just how key this whole question is in the practice of law today. Have you ever suffered a power cut or a failure of your network? If you have you have seen how work simply stopped. To be blunt, your computers are as important to you as diesel is to a truck driver.

Computers have become so essential that you need to pay them a great deal of attention. Some firms have a partner who is enthusiastic about computers and are on the ball but many still use "someone-or-other's brother-in-law", who may be a barely competent amateur who simply happens to know more than any of the partners, as an "IT Manager". When coupled with a serious lack of investment many firms are completely failing to make the huge efficiency and productivity gains, and risk reduction steps, that good IT can bring. And these days the cost is surprisingly modest.

Decent equipment is fundamental. With prices down to around £300, a modern desktop PC comes with a flat panel monitor as standard and will run any office application with ease. Servers can similarly be had for modest cost and with wireless networking now commonplace, for a modestly-sized office there is no longer any need to have buildings cabled, which can save a significant bill.

Good software is freely available. Most of us use Microsoft products with some reluctance as we tend not to like their overbearing business practices but there is little else that comes close in terms of useability. With products such as Word in such universal use, documents can be freely exchanged by email between firms without the need for careful conversion and saving.

When the basic software (Windows, Word, Excel, for example) is in place we turn to specialist legal programs. Every firm will have a legal accounts package and most of these will enable all staff to access client's accounting information. All these will include client databases (see Marketing for some important thoughts on these). Some will have added case management and the huge leap forward in efficiency and in risk management that that can bring can pay dividends very quickly, alhough some time and efort will have to go into setting it up.

There are one or two fundamentally important things to have in mind.

1) IT Management

If you have ever had your system crash and seen all work come to a stop you will be only too aware of the need for support - someone you can call who can sort things out in the minimum amount of time. Having a dedicated IT manager on the staff used to be the preserve of the larger firm but it it becoming more and more logical for smaller firms. You only have to think what stopped work is causing you in lost revenue, quite apart from stress among partners and staff, to see that to have a well-managed, stable network is so important. It is worth considering, although you may not need someone five days a week. If you do go down this route make sure that you check applicants out thoroughly. I have known some odd characters doing this work, who's competence sometimes left a lot to be desired (I had to part company with one, someone who a predecessor had hired I hasten to add, and he promptly went back to pig farming, actually where he should have been all along!). And do resist the suggestion that you employ a relative or a friend of a partner. This never works for long. they have usually been selected for the wrong reasons and if anything goes wrong it all gets highly awkward.

Most smaller firms take on a maintenance contract with a local IT supplier. If you do this make sure that you have carefully defined response times in the contract and that they suit you. If you can build in penalties for failure so much the better.

If you do hire your own IT manager put them to work. Get them first of all ensuring that everything is really neat and tidy:

No frayed or straggling cables that could fail or get caught in a foot All hard drives properly partitioned/cleared of trash/defragmentedAll software discs carefully filed, labelled and backed up somewhere safe to cater for emergenciesAll hardware checked and secure - nothing that is going fall or hurt anyone, including a check on all workstations to ensure best possible health and safety for staffSound anti-virus, anti-pop-up and anti-spyware software on all machinesA complete inventory of all your hardware, including ongoing maintenance records so that you can see properly when any machine is getting unreliable and needs replacing. Again, keep a backup copy off site where you can find it if you have a burglary.Only your own software/screensavers etc. on machines

2) Replacement schedule

As soon as you have the schedule above, decide on when and how often you must replace machinery. The cost today is modest and it is far better to have a rolling programme, budgeted for, than to face a big bill every few years. Keep an eye on the maintenance records and on how often machinery is needing repair for guidance and also watch for slow performance. Machines more than about three to four years old may be beginning to struggle and programs such as Word and Windows improve steadily as time goes by. It is usually only when you replace hardware that you also update software and in any case software bought with new machines may be cheaper.

3) Backup

Routines must be bombproof with media taken off site or backed up over the internet. Your safe is NOT the place to keep backup tapes. It may be marked "fireproof" but have you seen the temperatures that are reached in house fire. One of the simplest solutions I came across was a two-office firm that simple DXed backup tapes between the offices every day. The likelihood of a fire AND a DX failure on the same day is slim indeed.

4) Training

Most firms skimp on this and it can be a huge source of stress among staff. People struggling to manage new software, when they have not been properly trained, can get hugely wound up. There is a rough formula - you should spend 50% of what you spend on software on training. This is not set in stone but few firms come close. Would you buy a car for your son or daughter for a seveteenth birthday present and then no arrange for driving lessons? It would be pretty pointless, wouldn't it?

5) Case Management

This can bring huge improvements in efficiency and is the subject of a separate article on the next page. Click here:  IT - Case Management

6) IT Policicies

Staff will not intentionally do anything damaging but may do so without realising. Make sure that the permissions set on all your machines make it impossible to install or remove any software and then set up and circulate a firms policy on the subject. A draft that might make a good starting point for you can be found by clicking here: IT - Suggested IT Policy

And please don't fall into the trap of one partner I came across, who believed that internet access should not be available to staff "because they'll spend all their time plannning their next holiday!" He completely failed to see that the internet is a hugely valuable tool for us all these days, that not having it is really restricting, and that his concerns were an issue to do with supervision issue, not IT. One result? Huge phone bills. Everyone was calling directory enquiries when numbers could have been found far more quickly online for nothing.

7) Websites

Please see the Marketing section. Click here: Marketing - Websites

8) Intranets, Extranets & VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)

An intranet is an internal website. It is terrrific for publishing information that everyone needs to see and be able to refer to again and again. Staff handbooks and Office Manuals are perfect examples of what goes really well on an intranet. Instead of loads of photocopying and constantly having to check that all copies in circulation have been updated, you simply put the whole thing on there. And whenever you change anything all you need to do is update the master and then send a circular email to alert everyone. And, of course, your intranet can include a search facility so that people can find things quickly.

I also favour putting such things as your registers on an intranet. Undertakings, complaints, and central diaries of all sorts can go on there, making them clearly visible to all and always the current version. And another perfect use? An in/out/expected time of return board for fee earners, so that reception can see at a glance.

An extranet is similar but contains material of interest to controlled outsiders, who have to log in to access it. It is ideal for feeding information to estate agents and other referrers, for example, who each would have their own dedicated area when they log in. Clients too can be given a log in to specific information and in this new climate, where we are all getting increasingly used to being able to access what we want to know, this is popular and a real marketing plus point.

Finally, if your fee earners are not equipped with laptops and remote access you really need to look at this. With wireless connections so easily and cheaply set up and with broadband it is perfectly possible to work at home as effectively as if you are at the office - I have spent many, many hours doing just this and you hardly see any difference. This facility gives everyone so many new and valuable options that you really cannot ignore it. Add digital dictation and it even makes it possible for support staff to work at home sometimes. Suppose a secretary has just had a baby. She would be happy to work a few hours a week from home and the firm needs the typing. With her own PC logged into your system she can do a lot.

10) Printers

Printers cause great debate in firms. Many secretaries like having a machine at their elbow but small printers are cheap to buy and expensive to run. Start by checking how much printing you are doing - dig out your paper suppliers' bills over a period and you will be surprised at the quantity. Then work out the likely cost using inkjets at around 3p per sheet or small laser printers at about 1.5p. Add something to this as the chances are you have quite a wide range of different machines around the office - they never "die" at the same time and models are updated and replaced reguarly - and there is bound to be some wastage in unused cartridges. You wil be amazed at what you find.

Now consider the alternative: a big printer/photocopier on the network. I know of firms that use these. They are fast, reliable, have ample bins for different types of paper and multiple trays on the output side so that each user has their own, and are maintained including toner for about 0.5 - 0.6 pence per sheet. No cartridges to buy and no printers to replace and generally excellent response times from engineers on the rare occasions that they break down. The result is a big saving in cost.

Worth thinking about?

11) Central Diaries

If diaries are all on the network it makes life so much easier; they are easily accessed by everyone and the information in them is always current. We all have central diaries for key dates and so on but this concept can be used much more widely. A practice management diary will mean that all your critical dates throughout the year are logged, such as PI renewals, appraisals, insurance renewal dates, accounting dates and so on. Even staff birthdays! A diary for the movement of staff when they leave the office, with expected return times, can at a stroke solve a regular problem for your receptionists.

And, of course, all this data is easily accessed by any authorised person at any time, ideally even when they are away from the office using your VPN, and is backed up comprehensively and automatically. Never again can your head of litigation leave his diary on the train.........

IMPORTANT NOTE

All the opinions expressed are those of the contributors, are based on personal experience and are given in good faith. The ideas and suggestions here have worked for us but every situation is different. As a result, we are sure you will understand that no liability can be accepted for anything that may arise from following advice on this site.