Defense Digest

In my previous messages, I have devoted a fair amount of time introducing you to the people who make up our firm. Today, I am going to go in a different direction. I am going to introduce you to the technology of our firm. It is one thing to promise a certain level of service but, if we do not have the technology to pull it off, then it becomes a hollow promise.

Many years ago, we made the decision to become relatively self-sufficient in the context of technology. While there will always be pros and cons concerning in-house capacity versus outsourcing, we have concluded that we can do a better, more reliable job in the provision of technology services to our clients, as well as our employees, by maintaining control over our technology through a competent in-house staff. As a consequence, we presently have a 27-person IT Department. Our department is staffed with a support center that operates on a 24/7 basis to make certain that our attorneys are operational at all times. We also have qualified personnel who enable us to develop tools such as an intranet to easily communicate all important information throughout the firm to make us conversant with and compliant to our clients' needs.

As you might expect, the large number of clients that we service generates a diverse array of technology requirements. Our IT staff includes engineers, technicians, programmers and other resources to enable us to respond to the needs of our clients with ingenuity. We are successful partners in numerous extranets that our clients have developed to maximize the speed and security of web-based communications.

We are constantly attempting to improve our attorneys' ability to be interactive with our clients. For example, we are about to initiate a pilot program for an electronic matter management system. Assuming the pilot program is successful, this fall we will be installing this electronic matter management system on everyone's computer. This system will give us the ability to integrate electronically all documents generated on a file along with all e-mails, photos, etc. Essentially, our attorneys will have the ability to create electronic files which will enable them to collaborate more successfully with not only their colleagues but also their clients.

We are also taking steps to make our legal assistants more efficient. We are in the process of evaluating the benefits of a digital dictation system to replace our tape system. The early returns suggest that our transcription services may be accomplished quicker through digital dictation so that our clients will be able to receive our transcribed communications faster.

We are about to undertake a pilot program in video conferencing. If this is successful, we intend to install video conferencing equipment in Philadelphia as well as four of our regional offices. Such equipment will further increase the lines of communications within our firm, thus, benefiting our clients.

Our firm has made significant commitments to technology in the courtroom. For example, we have installed software programs, such as Summation and Trial Director, which enable us to take hundreds of thousands of documents produced during litigation, such as corporate documents, medical records, transcripts of testimony, etc., and place them into a database. Through the use of software applications, we are then able to sort and search and project this information in any manner necessary during the course of litigation and at the time of trial.

Long story made short, while some firms may view technology as a painfully expensive requirement of doing business, we embrace technology as a valuable tool to make our attorneys better communicators. We welcome the opportunity to work closely with our clients to insure that we are capable of partnering with them in all ways.