The commercialization of the Internet in the early nineties provided a conduit for information sharing never before possible. The variety of ideas that entrepreneurs applied to this ubiquitous network are as numerous as the failures found on the stock market.

The delivery of legal services is about the transfer of expertise from the supplier to the consumer. The life cycle of this expertise can occur completely electronically. From inception to direction, preparation and review all the way through to the final payment. Collaboration is an idea that has the capability to transform the way the supplier and consumer relate and interact.

Collaboration has the ability to create the virtual law office, while providing the same expertise and quality of service expected of firms today. This is true from partnerships to multinationals.

What is Collaboration?
Collaboration means to work jointly with others or to cooperate. It typically infers an intellectual endeavor, highly representative of a legal transaction. When applied to collaborative software, it is available in a number of forms, and many solutions exist today. The products can be internally deployed or hosted, and some products are also targeted directly at the legal sector. The commercial products, matched with the solutions developed internally by law firms point to Chapter I of the story. The external forces, clients, are demanding more. The forward-looking individuals in the industry can see the potential.

Chapter II is being defined. An announcement by LawCommerce and a number of high profile international firms identifies the desire to deliver a published standard for "deal room" technology. The deal room is a collaborative site that provides access to all parties involved in a transaction: clients, counsel and opposition. Déjà vu if compared to the document management industry five years ago.

The Use of Extranets within the Law Firm
Deal rooms are just one example of collaboration. The term "extranet" has been used to denote sharing of information from an intranet to an external address. Within the legal industry an extranet has been the publishing of information for use by external parties. It has been highly controlled and generally driven by the client. Even among large firms, there are those which have not delivered client extranet functionality.

Within firms where it has been delivered, the functionality has encompassed primarily deal room, industry publications and access to intellectual assets (knowledge management).

Intranet, Internet and Extranet: One Entity
What of the virtual office? Chapter II in the evolution of collaboration leads us to a standard, much as ODMA (Open Document Management API) in the document management world. As standards emerge, the scope of the solution will also expand, as multiple vendors are able to link into compliant systems. For collaboration to deliver the virtual office, we must stop discussing the intranet, Internet and extranet as separate entities. They must combine again to become the system; deal rooms will evolve to become client access areas.

Client access areas limit the client to information defined as being within an area, but do not restrict access within that area. As far as the system is concerned, the client has the same rights within their client area as a senior partner may have across the firm. Firms will begin to consider clients as an extension of their own organization. By de-fault, the client will have access to the document management system, the financial system, the workflow processes and the knowledge library of the firm. The client will be able to approve invoices and provide digital signatures for acceptance and payment. Funds will move electronically. All these actions will be available via the collaboration tool.

The Existence of the Virtual Law Office
Does this deliver the virtual office? No, but it is providing the features required to arrive at the virtual office, the ability to conduct business with access to the same information and resources one would have if working at a desk.

Does it signify the finish line for collaboration? No. Collaboration will extend to encompass the variety of systems used within the firm, and it must provide the features used by the firm to the outside world.

Collaboration becomes the center of eBusiness for service delivery by the professional firm. If it can also provide the virtual office, this is nothing but a win-win situation. The client gets the service and access to the information that is currently being demanded. The law firm can expand significantly without having to increase the amount of square footage required to support the growth. And, the professional has access to all of the required information and resources regardless of their locale.

About our author...

Andrew Dawson is Vice President, Product Management for CMS OPEN, a member of the Solution 6 Group. He can be reached at (416) 491-2770 or by e-mail at andrew.dawson@ca.solution6.com.