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Use of the Internet by Legal Professionals
by: William H. Skeels, IV, Esq.

Overview

The Internet is a topic of enormous current interest, as reflected both in the news generally, and in discussions in the legal profession. The Internet is an agreement or set of standards which provides connection between computers which 'subscribe', allowing search and access to information from computers all over the world which are similarly connected. For most legal professionals, gaining access will come in the form of subscribing to the services of an Internet 'provider', who will take care of the behind the scenes aspects of bringing the service to the user much as an electric utility provides power for various purposes.

The Tools

The World Wide Web. While the Internet carries many services (such as e-mail and file shipment functions), most of the press and attention concerning the Internet has focused on the particular service called the World Wide Web. The 'Web' allows information providers to offer information to the public in the graphic, mouse-oriented, 'point and click' format familiar to users of the Apple Macintosh, Windows and similar systems. Web 'sites' are collections of computer information, usually made up of individual 'web pages' and dedicated to a particular theme or function, ranging from substantive information (e.g., Supreme Court cases) to compiled lists of other web sites on a similar theme (e.g., legal resources) to more general utilities such as 'search engines' which assist with locating Internet resources. .

The Web Browser. The computer software used to review information on the web is called a 'web browser'. Its job is to make navigation, review and manipulation of information on the web easy and visual. The most common web browsers are from Netscape, Microsoft and America Online. The web sites are based on a unique address (similar in concept to a postal address) called a 'uniform resource locator' or URL, which typically appear at the top of web sites as they first appear to the user.

Hypertext: Point and Click. One of the most important aspects of the easy, point and click method presented by a web browser is called 'hypertext'. Simply put, a hypertext 'link' lets the user click on a word or picture found in one location on a web site and 'jump' directly to another. A hyperlink is typically underlined, alerting the user that the phrase may be used to jump directly to the resource it describes. To add to the visual cue, the arrow controlled by the mouse becomes a pointing finger, further emphasizing the message: 'click here and the computer will take you to the location these words describe'.

How does one become aware of these starting locations? This question reflects the most difficult aspect of web usage; there is no one starting point, and it is usually necessary for beginning web users to obtain help from outside sources for that purpose. One of the best ways to start is to use the 'low tech' method of learning of favorite resources from articles, fellow legal Internet users, or other similar sources. The good news is that this introductory confusion is usually very short lived. The lists at www.lawsight.com and other legal lists permit you to navigate to most of the important and well known legal sites. LawSight is typical of many Internet law sites in that they reference each other, insuring that once you are 'inside the group', you will have little difficulty in locating further sites. Add to the lists one or two general purpose Internet 'search engines' (such as Hotbot or Webcrawler:, and you are ready to use the web to assist with factual and legal preparation of your case straight from the desktop.

E-mail is almost as significant as the web to the legal professional. Clients are beginning to expect legal professionals to communicate by e-mail. Fundamentally, e-mail permits you to send messages to anyone who is similarly linked to the Internet on an essentially instant basis. This can include not only text messages, but computer files as well. E-mail is managed through special programs which, for those who are linked to the Internet through a provider, sends, receives and organizes messages for the user.

Discussion groups. The Internet is home to many flavors of discussion groups on every imaginable topic. These discussions come in the form of 'chat groups', 'newsgroups' and 'list servers', among others. The list servers utilized in the case study utilize e-mail to distribute the discussion material. There are well over 1,000 legal list servers on virtually every topic of legal interest; the number grows substantially every month.

Major Web Resource Categories

Review of text, such as the text of a court opinion, through a browser permits printing the text of the opinion, or downloading the opinion to the local PC hard drive. As a user notes text which will be quoted in a brief, the download option is selected. On disk, the opinion can be pulled into the word processor, cut and paste selections from the case to briefs, etc.

Similar searches can be performed through sites referencing the various Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and the like; more decisions are made available online as time proceeds.

Legal professionals must become aware of both the benefits and limitations of these facilities. While the access to cases and statutes on a public, free basis is extremely valuable, even very high quality public sites may have limits in how far back they go historically, and how often they are updated. Many of the public sites do not cover the depth and breadth in case research of the 'pay' services such as Westlaw and/or Lexis, for example, though their coverage continues to expand dramatically. Many Internet savvy legal professionals have adopted the habit of doing research on the Internet services then using the information and knowledge learned on those systems to determine what and how much research he needs to do on the 'pay' services. This can lend substantial efficiency and economy to use of these services, both cutting down on charges and increasing effectiveness of usage.

Summary

Legal professionals will continue to use research and e-mail resources of the Internet for a wide and increasing range of professional activities. Effective use of the Internet is based on usage and a knowledge of both the power and limitations of the medium; the user should, for example, always assume that the Internet may be used to find relevant information on any given topic, but is cautious about assuming that what is found is the last word in a given subject. By so doing, legal professionals will continue to take full advantage of the growing resources on the Internet in a reasonable and professionally responsible manner.

Copyright 1999, LawSight, Inc.