Instructor: Richard S. Granat, J.D.
This course is for third year law students who plan to enter
private practice and want to understand the issues involved in
managing the modern law firm in a period of rapid change caused
in large part by the impact of information technology on the
practice of law.
This course is not about the technical work of law; it is
about learning how to think about managing legal work and
law firms and the delivery of legal services in the age of the
Internet. The impact of information technology on law will result
in reorganizing the legal profession into two communities: those
that know how to managet the delivery of legal services using
information technology ; and those who continue to practice as if
the world were still dominated by print technology. Ethan Katsh
has labeled the former: "Digital Lawyers."
According to Katsh: " The essential difference between
the digital lawyer of the future, which may turn out to be the
only kind of lawyer to thrive in the future, and today's
attorney, lies only partly in access to technology and in skill
in using technology. Rather, the core change in the digital
lawyer is an understanding of the value of information in an
environment where new tools for processing and communicating
information make adding value to information and using
information to develop new relationships the central concern of
the economic system. The digital lawyer knows that although the
new media present opportunities to save time, the most novel
characteristic of these technologies may be in how they operate
on space and distance. The successful digital lawyer is one who
knows that he or she is in the information business as much as in
the legal business..."
This seminar, while about management and technology, will also
deal with legal issues and the problems of professional
responsibility that pervade every aspect of law practice
management. For example, the course will deal with issues such as
ethical issues in marketing legal services, ethical issues in
delivering legal services on the Internet; legal issues involved
in law firm organization; and ethical issues involved in law firm
personnel management, supervision, and the unauthorized practice
of law. Unlike the course in Professional Responsiblity, this
course will discuss these issues in the context of law firm
management practices.
Required Texts:
Gary Munneke, Law Practice Management, West Publishing Co. (1996)
Ethan Katsh, Law in a Digital World, Oxford University Press, 1995.
Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Everything the Solo Practitioner Needs to Know About Computers, (Practicing Law Institute, 1994).
Burgess Allison, The Lawyer's Guide to the Internet, Section of Law Practice Management, American Bar Association, 1995.
Katsh, Ethan, Digital Lawyers: Orienting the Legal Profession to Cyberspace
Martin, Peter W., Five Reasons for Lawyers and Law Firms to Be on the Internet
Netscape Navigator (Download for Free from Netscape Web Site).
Other materials will be distributed to you and certain
materials will be placed on reserve in the law library for
reference. I also urge you to join the American Bar Association
Section on Law Practice Management which will get you access to a
host of law practice management publications, including the
monthly journal, Law Practice Management.
Using the Internet
On-line presence and usage of the Internet is a major aspect
of this course. We will not only be discussing the impact of the
network on the practice of law- we will be using it actively
throughout the semester. You will need to be comfortable using
Email. You should also become familiar with accessing material on
the World-Wide Web, using a web client such as Netscape or
Mosaic.
I have placed on reserve several HTML authoring guides
including: Laura Lemay, Teach Yourself WEB Publishing with HTML
in a Week (1995). I have asked the bookstore to order several
copies of the Lemay book as well. You should feel free to
substitute any comparable introductory guide to writing an HTML
document (also known as a World Wide Web page), including those
found on the Internet.
Much of the material for this course will be accessible via
the World-Wide Web on the course home page/web site. The web site
contains course information, including pointers to assigned
readings and source materials. This page is also the place to
look for current announcements and assignments. You should check
here at least once every few days during the semester.
Please do three things before the first class:
1.Acquire from the Book Store.
2.Send me a private e-mail to richard@granat.com. Tell me what you hope to learn from this course.
3.Join the Seminar Mailing List. To subscribe to the mailing list send an email message to listserv@law.ab.umd.edu.
Leave the subject line of the e-mail blank.
The first line of your message should read:
SUBSCRIBE COMPAPP
You should get a message back confirming your subscription.
Once you are subscribed, to send e-mail to the list, address
the e-mail to: COMPAPP@law.ab.umd.edu
Anything you send to the list will be distributed to the entire class.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Class Policies
Attendance. I will take formal attendance in this class. Since
we only meet once a week, you ought to be able to make it. Any
student who skips often enough for it to become noticeable will
suffer a deduction from class participation credit.
Taping. No classes may be taped without my specific
permission, which will not be given for reasons other than
verified medical emergencies, or to students with particular
disabilities.
Grading.
No Exam. Grades will be based on your production of an
individual World Wide Web (WWW) page as part of your team law
firm planning project, your team report as described below, and
your Indepenent Study Project. Your grade will also include a
substantial class participation component. I expect everyone to
do the reading and to be prepared for class. Class participation
includes taking part in assignments to do something and report to
the class mailing list in a timely way.
Seminar Format: The seminar will have two, complementary
formats:
(a) During certain periods of the course, the class will
function in the normal seminar format consisting of part lecture
and part discussion. This format will be used during the first 6
sessions of the course. This should give everyone the opportunity
to feel comfortable with the course materials and the subject
matter. During this part of the course we will cover material on
how to create a web site for the World Wide Web.
(b) At times during the first portion of the course, as well
as during the last part of the semester, the entire class will
function as the Executive Committee of a law firm during its
initial start-up phase. I will function as the "Managing
Partner" of the law firm, and sometimes in the role of a
"law firm management consultant" who will provide
feedback to the work of the Executive Committee. The objective of
this part of the seminar is to develop a workable design for a
new law firm. The findings of the class will be presented in the
last class session to a panel, consisting of myself, and two
guests who have experience in law firm management and technology.
Team Assignments: During the early part of the semester
you will be assigned responsibility for developing a report to
the Executive Committee on a specific law firm management topic.
During class sessions #6 to #13, students will make oral and
written reports on their specific projects to the class sitting
as the decision-making body of a law firm. The final version of
the written report is not due until the last class and you have
an opportunity to revise your recommendations based on class
discussion during the semester. These reports will provide the
class an opportunity to discuss different topics in depth and to
participate in a decision-making process which simulates the
actual law firm decision-making process. As Law Firm Committee
Chairpersons and participating Committee members you will have
the opportunity to prepare a recommendation to the law firm in
the format that you would use before an actual law firm executive
committee or other law firm planning body.
Each assignment will involve the evaluation of a particular
subsystem of a hypothetical law firm. You must do these reports
in teams of two, rather than individually. The assignments are
varied, which will allow students without a great deal of
computer experience to undertake a project which requires no
background in computers.
Each team will receive a grade for their work for these
assignments and for developing a law firm web site. This grade
will constitute forty percent (40%) of the grade for the seminar.
Final Project: The final project will be a paper or
software system completed on an individual basis. For this Final
Project you can elect one of the following options:
a. You can design a computer-based substantive mini-system
such as a document assembly system or mini-expert system.
b. You can choose to investigate an aspect of management and
technology in a law firm environment and prepare a written paper
on the subject. You can use traditional research methods as well
as "field research" methods. Field research might
consist of interviewing law firm managers, lawyers, vendors,
publishing companies, etc. Topics for individual papers can
extend work already done for class in the individual assignments,
or constitute new subjects, Typical topics might be:
Artificial Intelligence and the Law
Expert Legal Systems
Evaluation of Attorney Performance
Total Quality Management in the Law Firm
Types of Decision-Making Systems in Law Firms
Law Firm Training Programs for Associates
Marketing Legal Services on the Internet
Confidentiality Issues in Delivering Legal Services in Cyberspace
An Evaluation of Document Assembly Software Programs
An Evaluation of Automated Litigation Support Programs
Methods of Increasing Law Firm Productivity
The Law Firm Library of Tomorrow
What is the Competent Attorney?
Organizing Tomorrow's Law Firm
The Impact of Ethical Rules on Law Practice
Unauthorized Practice of Law and Non-Lawyer Practice
New Patterns of Law Practice
Organizing a Tele-Lawyer Service: Legal, Ethical and Management Issues
Increasing Lawyer Satisfaction
Computer Literacy Training for Attorneys
A Computer Literacy Curriculum for a Law School
Law Firm Financial Models
Law Firm Marketing Strategies
Legal Issues Affecting Law Firm Marketing
Law Firm Practice Development Strategies
New Approaches to Continuing Legal Education
The Implications of a Changing Work Force
Law Firm Affirmative Action Programs
Pre-Paid Legal Service Programs: Legal and Ethical Issues
You are free to choose other topics that interest you. The
seminar topic must be approved by me and must be submitted by
Class #5.
This seminar paper will count as seventy-five percent (75%) of
your total grade.
Syllabus
Class #1 - Trends in the Practice of Law
Assignment: Read Chapter 1 & 2, Law Practice Management, Chapter 1, Law In A Digital World, plus distributed Materials. Please make sure you read the distributed articles. Also read: Katsh, Ethan, Digital Lawyers: Orienting the Legal Profession to Cyberspace
Martin, Peter W., Five Reasons for Lawyers and Law Firms to
Be on the Internet
Topics: Evolution of the practice of law; the law firm as a
software factory; images of future law practice; emerging
organizational forms; changes in the structure of society which
have an impact on the legal profession.
Class#2 - Developing a Web Site: Technqiues and Technologies.
Read Distributed Materials and Chapter 1-2, Burgess Allison, The
Lawyer's Guide to the Internet, Section of Law Practice
Management, American Bar Association, 1995; Also Katsh, Chapter
2-5.
Class #3 - Governing, Managing and Ownership of the Law
Practice: Law Firm Planning Process; Strategic Planning Process
Assignment: Read Pages 612-621, Law Practice Management,
plus distributed article by Ward Bower on Strategies for
Profitability.
Assignment of Individual Law Firm Projects: Assignment of
Roles and Assumptions Underlying the Law Firm Planning Process.
Class #4 People - Legal and Non-Legal
Reading Assignment: Read Chapter 3 and 4, Law Practice
Management
Class #5. Marketing of Legal Services: Practial and Ethical
Issues
This unit will cover ethical issues in marketing legal services
in the traditional manner, as well as on the Internet.
Reading Assignment: Read Chapter 14, Pages 516-543, Law
Practice Management.
Class #6. Practicing Law With Computers.
Reading Assignment: Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Everything
the Solo Practitioner Needs to Know About Computers,
(Practicing Law Institute, 1994). Chapter 8, Law Practice
Management, plus distributed articles.
Class # 7 Law Firm Finance
Reading Assignment: Read Chapter 11 and 13, Law
Practice Management plus distributed articles.
Final Paper Topic Selection is Due
Class #8 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #1
Report #1: Prepare a market analysis and marketing plan
for the proposed firm. Include identification of market segments;
potential clients; assignment of responsibilities; and statement
of marketing objectives.
Reading Assignment: Distributed Materials.
Class #9 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #2
Report #2: Prepare a personnel plan and organizational
chart for the firm. Include both lawyers, paralegals, and support
staff. For the lawyers, describe the substantive work
assignments, management responsibilities, including supervision
and evaluation. Include a plan for utilization of non-lawyer
personnel, including legal assistants and other support staff.
Include recommendations concerns recruiting, training, and staff
development. Estimate training costs.
Reading Assignment: Distributed Materials
Class #10 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #3
Report #3: Utilizing the planning assumptions provided to
you in Class #2, the marketing analysis provided in Report #1;
and the human resource analysis provided in Report #2, create a
partnership agreement which reflects the realities of the people,
resources, and strategic objectives of the proposed firm. First
develop a law firm mission statement; then draft a partnership
agreement which reflects the values in the mission statement.
Reading Assignment: Review Chapters 1 & 2. Please
distributed materials.
Class #11 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #4
Report #4: Recommend a computer system for the firm,
including specific recommendations concerning the hardware
platform, software capabilities, including identification of a
document processing system, and pricing alternatives.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 8, Law Practice Management.
Class #12 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #5
Report #5: Recommend specialized legal software
applications that support the marketing and strategic objectives
of the firm. Examples would be automated litigation support
software, document assembly software, and other specialized
programs. Discuss use of networks such as ABA/NET and the
American Lawyer Counsel network. Implications of technology for
firm strategy and client recruitment and retention.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 9, Law Practice Management, and
Distributed Materials.
Report #6: Recommend support administrative support
software programs such as tickler and docket control; document
management; timekeeping and billing.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10, Law Practice
Management, and Distributed Materials.
Class #13 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #6
Report #7: Develop a plan for the library and the physical
facility. Estimate costs. Analyze alternative facility costs and
options. Develop a concept of how the physical facility will
support the strategic objectives of the firm.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 5,6,and 7, Law Practice
Management.
Class #14 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #7
The financial planning process. Integrating the various
subsystems into a viable financial model.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 12: Law Practice
Management
Other topics covered: Managing change; responding to the new
workforce; what technological, financial and organizational
missions can support internal strategies for professional growth?
What makes a proposed change a reasonable risk? what strategies
encourage innovators? How can a law firm change to become more
innovative? to survive in the 1990's. Comments on total quality
management methods..
Reading Assignment: Chapter 14 and Chapter 15, Law
Practice Management
Class #15 Law Firm Executive Committee Meeting #8
Presentation of model firm strategic plan to a law firm
management consultant. Each team presents a 5 minute summary of
their recommendations, which may have been revised based upon the
materials presented by other class members during the seminar.
The class elects a Managing Partner who presides over the
presentation, introducing each team, and summarizing the basic
strategy assumptions at the end of the session.
Final Report is due plus Web Site Project.
Independent Study Project is Due on: May 17, 1997.