BarTalk August 2003
Volume 15, Number 4

Finding the one you can’t be without!

by David J Bilinsky

Can’t wait to live my life with you,
can’t wait to start
You and I will never be apart
My dreams came true because of you...

Words and Music by Shania Twain and Mutt Lange
Recorded by Shania Twain

Strange thing about software packages – they generate a whole range of emotions with lawyers – everything from: ‘Get this out of my sight – now!’ to: ‘I wouldn’t know how to run my practice without it.” Fortunately, legal software has settled in to the point where lawyers openly discuss their favourite applications, their new applications, and a handful of utilities that they would not be without. This is not to say that any one package is for everyone – but trends are becoming clearer. Accordingly, in a very unscientific manner, here are my impressions after talking to many lawyers over the last four-plus years regarding their favourite legal software applications:

Word Processing: MS Word is the most installed word processing system in larger firms and corporate departments. WordPerfect is generally used in smaller firms. Alternatives to these two powerhouses are the Star Office System (Linux and Unix based) and Mac/OS X based systems.

Spreadsheets: MS Excel and Corel’s Quattro Pro are the two major applications.

E-mail: MS Outlook is the favourite, followed by GroupWise.

Practice Management Software: Amicus Attorney is the favourite, followed by ESI-LAW and PCLAW (accounting systems with practice management components) and Legal Files. LawStream (formerly Integra Office System) and ProLaw are two systems making inroads.

Accounting Systems: Here it depends on the size of firm. Larger firms are using CMS and Elite. Smaller firms are using PCLaw and ESI-LAW. Up and coming accounting systems are LawStream (formerly Integra Office System) and Legal Vision. Quickbooks has a following in the solo area (but note that it currently lacks a trust accounting component).

Time & Billing Software: The big three are ESI-LAW, PCLaw and Timeslips. Practice Management software is increasingly being integrated with accounting packages to give a user-friendlier interface to accomplish billable time tracking (e.g., Amicus Attorney and PCLaw or ESI-LAW). Most accounting packages are starting to integrate time and billing into their systems (for example, Quickbooks Pro, Legal Vision, etc.)

Litigation Preparation and Evidence analysis: Summation, Livenote, Searchlight and MS Access are the favourites.

Litigation Strategy: CaseMap, NoteMap and TimeMap are the new litigation strategy applications. Others are using Summation and Searchlight for these purposes.

Voice Recognition: Dragon’s Naturally Speaking and IBM’s Via Voice are the two front-runners.

Document Assembly: Here it depends on which practice area you are in. For general-purpose document assembly running across all practice areas, lawyers are using custom applications, Hot Docs or merge/macro features in Word or WordPerfect. Amicus Assembly (GhostFill) is the up and coming document assembly package.

Document Management: Applications in common use are: GroupWise, Hummingbird’s DOCS OPEN, iManage for larger firms and Worldox for smaller firms.

Specific Practice Area Software: When it comes to specific practice areas, CarsWARE’s different packages (Real Estate, Corporate, Liens) are still widely used, notwithstanding that they have not been sold for several years and are no longer supported by Carswell. For family law files, DIVORCEmate and SupportMate appear to be the favourites along with Childview. For real estate, ConveyMaster and custom-built systems are the favourites. For corporate records, ALF is the overall favourite (www.alfcentral.com) along with custom applications.

Anti-Virus: Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee are the leaders – closely followed by the increasingly popular Trend Micro solutions.

Anti-Spyware: Ad-Aware (www.lavasoftusa.com), and Spybot S&D (http://security.kolla.de) are the up and comers.

Best upcoming application: Adobe Acrobat is the most promising new technology of late (www.adobe.com). Adobe’s strengths are its ability to distribute documents regardless of the recipient’s platform, printer, or system - it has become the de facto standard for transmission of electronic documents. Many pioneering e-filing systems have adopted Adobe as their required filing format. The ability to build in hypertext links to authorities, statutes, evidence and the like also have made Adobe the choice for e-briefs.

How do you find out more? The best way to see how lawyers are actually achieving practical results by the application of technology to their practice is to come to the Pacific Legal Technology Conference. There are many components to the conference; first and foremost are the educational sessions divided among six tracks. These educational sessions feature 18 hours of practical educational courses, on how lawyers, legal administrators, legal assistants, researchers and legal IT staff are using legal technology. These educational sessions have been designed to meet the major technology issues of lawyers throughout B.C. that were identified in a survey done by the Law Society of B.C. earlier this year. Sessions include: Software that Actually Helps you Make Money, Small Firm Makeover – Cost-Effective Solutions and Security Issues: Hackers, Crackers, Viruses, Malware and More.

Exhibitors will present their services in the Exhibit Hall. Furthermore, certain exhibitors such as Searchlight, CaseSoft (CaseMap, TimeMap, NoteMap), Summation, FDR Forensic Data Recovery Services, Speakeasy Solutions (Dragon Dictate), CTEC Security Solutions and others will be providing presentations on their software and services during the Software Track. If you are interested in a particular application, you can book a private time with an exhibitor in a separate room set aside for exhibitor private sessions.

Keynote presentations will be held at the opening of the conference and during the sit-down lunch. The opening Keynote will be by Darcy Hammett, Director of Operations and Systems, Land Title Branch on E-Filing in the Land Registry in B.C. There will be world-class presenters including: Jeff Flax, National Technology and Litigation Support Administrator, Office of the U.S. Federal Public Defender, Denver, CO; Simon Chester, McMillan Binch, KNOWlaw Group, Toronto; Mary Williamson, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, Seattle; and the Honourable Chief Justice Donald I. Brenner. Find out more at www.pacificlegaltech.com.

The Pacific Legal Technology Conference will be held Friday, November 7, 2003 at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. Sponsors of the Conference are the Law Society of B.C., the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C., the Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch and the American Bar Association – Law Practice Management Section. I hope to see you there finding the application of your dreams.

David J Bilinsky is the Practice Management Advisor at the Law Society of British Columbia. He can be reached on the Internet at dbilinsky@lsbc.org. The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author and may not be shared by the Law Society of British Columbia.

This article originally appeared in the August 2003 issue of BarTalk and is reproduced here with permission of both the author and the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch.