A thesis to be submitted in partial completion
of BSc (Library Technology) with Honours
at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia

 

Timeline | Background | Research Questions | Expected Outcomes | Former Similar Research

 

Abstract

 

The legal profession is generally conservative in nature and this has certainly applied to its uptake of computing and information technology.  The American Bar Association (ABA), through its Legal Technology Resource Center, has regularly conducted Law Office Technology surveys since 1988.  The intention of this research will be to conduct a survey of a very similar nature to the ABA survey.  The survey will be focussed on issues relevant to small to medium size law firms, duly adapted to the Western Australian situation and augmented to include –

v    Australian issues such as compliance with the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1998;

v    Reference to awareness of the international Records Management standard ISO 15489; and,

v    Adoption of the Quality Practice Standards of the Law Society of Western Australia and/or International Quality Management standard ISO 9000.

  

 

 

 

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	Prepare poster and proposal – Poster presentation of Proposal
	Proposal submission
	Ethics clearance
	Survey instrument ready
	Commence interviews
	Complete interviews
	Complete data analysis
	First draft of report
	Pre-final draft of report
	Poster presentation of Research report
	Project completion

 

  

 

The legal profession is generally conservative in nature and this has certainly applied to its uptake of computing and information technology (IT).  A variety of authors have written about the reticence of lawyers to adopt the use of IT in their practices.  While writers in the USA and the UK have described forward looking applications in some larger firms, the small to medium-sized firms seem not to have the expertise or finances to be able to use IT to its fullest potential.  In Australia the situation seems to be even more reserved in that, while the courts are installing intranets and judges are operating laptops, many a small firm is still using methods and practices that are similar to the ways of the latter years of the middle half of the last century.

Members of the general public are increasingly familiar with the information-based economy and IT applications such as the Internet and e‑commerce; they expect to see their legal advisors, who are really just selling another type of information, using the most current approaches to information retrieval and management.

There are basically two parts to the office operations of a law firm and they are known as the back-office and the front-office.  The back-office incorporates such functions as bookkeeping, secretarial assistance, records management and, sometimes, a library.  The front office is the work of the legal professionals and associates, the contact point with the clients.

Information technology has played a role in the back office for some time through the use of word processing and accounting software.  IT has only more recently entered the front office where a computer is actually present on the desk of the partner or associate and it is being actively used to interrogate, access and transfer legal information and documents, including communications with the courts and clients.

In Australia recent developments in regulation re privacy have added a new set of factors to how the legal profession might use IT.  Roughly in parallel to that change, developments in international standards with respect to records management and quality management have added yet more dimensions to best practice in commerce generally and, accordingly, to the practice of law.

 

  

  1.   What types of information technology are used within small to medium size law firms in Perth, Western Australia?

  2.   Who are the personnel using that information technology, and in what ways?

  3.   In broad terms, how has information technology changed any methods of operation of the practices, during the last ten years?

  4.   What actions have been taken to comply with provisions of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, and particularly amendments to that Act, which added coverage of the private sector to the Act's remit, that came into force on 21^st December 2001, in respect of –

a)    General Practice Management, Policies and Procedures; and,

b)    Information Technology Management, Policies and Procedures?

  5.   The records management profession has developed the following standards and guidelines during the last decade –

a)    International Records Management Standard ISO 15489;

b)    The Australian Common Position on Electronic Recordkeeping; and,

c)    The Pittsburgh Functional Requirements for Evidence in Recordkeeping?

What awareness do the practices have of these documents and, if aware, what steps have they taken to implement these principles, if any?

  6.   What actions, if any, have the practices taken to adopt the Quality Practice Standards of the Law Society of Western Australia and/or the International Quality Management standard ISO 9000 series.

  

1.     A few firms will stand out from the rest in terms of their use of information technology.

2.     Many firms will make some use of information technology but it will be disjointed and lack co‑ordination.

3.     Much use of information technology will still be confined to support staff and associates; legal professionals, particularly those of older age, will be lesser users of IT.

4.     Conformation to international and local standards in respect of quality practice management and records management will differ widely across the profession.

  

Lawyers and technology – survey by National Law Library Ltd., U.K. in 1983

 

ABA Law Office Technology surveys of 1988 through 2001

 

ABA Survey of Automation in Smaller Law Firms - 1988, 1990, 1994 and 1995 – date? (there certainly seems to have been one in 1997)

 

National Law Journal (Computer) Technology Survey – 1994? - ?

 

American Lawyer AM Law Tech Survey - 1996 to date? (certainly at least up to 2000)

 

Law Institute of Victoria – 1998 - "Information Technology and the Victorian Legal Profession"

 

 

It is quite clear that this issue of lawyer's use of information technology has been a concern both overseas and in other parts of Australia for some time.  This proposed research seeks to build on this previous work and obtain current data for a particular part of the law practice sector here in Perth, Western Australia.