January 2005

The World of Intranet, Extranet and Portal Technologies

Perry Mason, who started his practice in 1933, would be painfully lost in today’s legal world, especially when it comes to communications. Poor Perry had only a black rotary telephone, not even a cell, much less a PDA. Today, we are more fortunate, although the array of technological possibilities can sometimes be daunting. The Internet is at our constant disposal for research, and intranets, extranets and portals provide the means to collaborate with colleagues, exchange documents, manage business processes, market services and much more. The articles that follow will undoubtedly expand your thinking about what is possible with intranets, extranets and portals, as well as provide a few caveats. Bill Gratsch of Dykema Gossett shares his firm’s extranet experiences and challenges us to continue to push forward the technology. Rob Saccone and Jeff Wolf of xmLaw, Inc. help us understand the pros and cons of MS SharePoint 2003. Justin Bickler and Sarah Loveland of Advanced Legal Systems identify eight areas where the concept of the intranet can be extended. We’re sure these authors, as well as the others who generously contributed to this white paper, will give you lots to ponder.