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description
Your Technology Dollar Your Technology Dollar
Presented by
Chaim Yudkowsky, CPAGrabush, Newman & Co., P.A.
November 29, 1994
Maryland State Bar AssociationCaroline County Bar AssociationTalbot County Bar Association
515 Fairmount Avenue Suite 400 Baltimore, MD 21286 (410) 296-6300
Objectives
To provide you with a framework for maximizing your technology dollar for your law firm.
To give you at least two new ideas, concepts, or ways to look at issues effecting your technology investment.
Trend
Fundamental societal shift to being “Knowledge based.”
The Post Capitalist Society by Peter Drucker
Why (continue to) automate? Improve productivity Increase accessibility Improve accuracy Improve efficiency Improve clarity and neatness Increase timeliness Reduce costs
“In the 1980s, a trillion dollars were expended on software technology, but white-collar productivity declined. There is a lot more [to it] than just automating your production.” Jim Manzi,
President & CEO Lotus Development Corp.
Reality
“An Anderson Consulting survey... found surprisingly low satisfaction with returns on corporate investments... Overall a staggering 81% of those polled ranked their organization’s payback on technology spending as ‘minimal’ or ‘average’.”
Joseph MaglittaComputerworld October 18,1993
What can I do to maximize my investment?
Questions to answer today
Efficiency Productivity
Defining productivity
Should the work be done? Who should do it? How should it be done? When should it be done? How do you measure improvements?
Goal: Response to increased competitive pressures in legal profession.
Productivity statistics
Improved productivity– Yes: 71%– No: 2%– Unclear: 23%
Reduced cost– Yes: 50%– No: 6%– Unclear: 35%
Source: Economic Analysis Group, 1994 study For firms with 1 to 9 attorneys
Statistics
Number of PCs shipped worldwide in 1994: 45 million Number of PCs retired in 1994: 20 million Percentage of law firms that are solo practitioners: 59% Number of attorneys using PCs in their practice: 83% Number of attorneys using LANs: 55% Percentage using computers away from office: 77% DOS vs. Windows: 52% to 40% Novell for LANs in small law offices:
in 1994 - 55% in 1990 - 25%
Source: ABA 1994 Survey Report of Automation in Smaller Law Firms and Business Week
Spending statistics Past 12 months
– None: 7%– Less than $5,000: 45%– Between $5,000 and 10,000: 22%– Between $10,000 and 25,000: 19%– Over $25,000: 8%
Next 12 months– None: 14%– Less than $5,000: 49%– Between $5,000 and 10,000: 24%– Between $10,000 and 25,000: 10%– Over $25,000: 4%
10 commandments of automation (Part I)
Ignore the media hype Never be first to buy a technology
– Remember you are running a business Let needs determine innovations to adopt
– Automation is a means not an ends
– Management issues take precedence Software dictates hardware
– Talk to the vendor Know your organizational culture
– Talk to support staff
10 commandments of automation (Part II)
Spend time on automation strategy Establish rules for equipment and software
usage Invest in training! Training is not discretionary! Invest in training!
Technology - Issues
Confusion / choices Standardization Promises, promises Speed Frequency of
innovation Support Obsolescence User fear
Indirect costs Complexity Paperless Commodity vs. tool
Purchase cycle
Feasibility study Requirements definition Vendor selection / negotiation Installation and training Testing Implementation / Procedures Post-implementation
Common user experience
Satisfaction
Time
%
What to look for
Ease of use Quality user interface Ability to customize Networkability Quality printer support Quality documentation Availability of training Availability of technical support Other user experiences
Technology plan
Define needs and goals– Reduce cost– Improve quality of product or information– Increase marketshare
Define requirements to meet objectives Quantify the value of meeting the goal Create a plan budget & implementation plan Perform cost-benefit analysis of project Ratify plan Monitor progress
Technology - Existing technologies
Personal computers CD-ROM services (only 35% of responding firms) Laser printers Cellular phones Color printing E-mail Fax Voice messaging Graphical User Interface Wireless Scanning - OCR
Technology - Emerging technologies
Scanning- Imaging Groupware Animation (P.I.) Direct access to court / governmental records Virtual reality Video conferencing Personal digital assistants Voice synthesis & recognition Chips -- Pentium and beyond
Functions to automate
Document preparation Financial recordkeeping / practice management Research Case management Docket control Conflict checking Litigation support Electronic mail Database management Contact management Calendaring Other
Document preparation
Word processing Document management Desktop publishing Electronic forms processing Document comparison Document assembly Automated citation checking software
Financial recordkeeping (Part
I)
General ledger– Double entry bookkeeping
Time & billing– Expense recapture– Management reporting
Trust accounting Accounts payable Cash receipts and disbursements Trust accounting Payroll
Financial recordkeeping (Part
II)
Cash flow projections Tax return preparation and planning Tax forms on CD Specialized reporting Spreadsheet Other
“The practicing lawyer who is not on-line may soon be out of business.”
Research - On-line
Dialog Lexis/Nexis Westlaw CompuServe- Lawsig Dow Jones Internet Law Journal Extra (212) 545-6199
LRP Publications ABA/Net PTO/BBS The Federal Bulletin
Research - CD-ROM
U.S. and state Code CCH Services: Federal Tax, Blue Sky Laws & Regs, etc. Matthew Bender Libraries West Publishing services Specialized law on CD-ROM
– Disability– NAFTA– Insurance– Tax– Patent– Bankruptcy– U.S. Supreme Court decisions
Electronic mail
Accessibility to local colleagues Accessibility to remote colleagues Accessibility to colleagues already on the phone Documentation of messages and conversations No more trips to their desks Attaching or routing files Available for future reference Vs. voice mail
Hardware
What kind of computer?– Capacity– Reliability– Compatibility
What type of printer? Which operating system / environment?
The Marketplace
Source: PC Week, October 3, 1994
PC System Price Q4 '94 Q4 '95
$3,000 100 MHz Pentium120 MHZ Pentium
$2,500 90 MHz Pentium100 MHZ Pentium
$2,000 60 MHz Pentium 90 MHz Pentium
$1,500 66 MHz 486DX2 75 MHz Pentium
$1,200 33 MHz 486SX 100 MHz DX4
Hardware maintenance
Self maintain Time and materials Fixed fee Combination
Why a LAN?
Coordinating resources Data exchange Sharing resources Centralizing backup Sharing of workload Data and equipment security Better communication
LAN costs
Installation Support Operating system and hardware Network administrator Training Other
System administrator
Requirements– knowledge of system– able to organize time and prioritize projects– excellent communication and training skills– teamworker
Responsibilities– write and maintain system-related procedures– perform regular backups and maintain log– answer user questions– help resolve user questions– perform system file maintenance– help decide on hardware maintenance strategy
LAN vendors
Novell - Netware– One on staff CNE or CNI– Gold or Platinum level certification
Artisoft - Lantastic– Five Star Gold Certified or– Five Star Connectivity Certified
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups
Resources
MD and local Bar Associations MICPEL A CPA and/or consultant PC-related User Groups Periodicals
– Law Office Computing Library / books
Why a Consultant?
Knowledge Experience Objectivity Short term employment
What consultant?
Experience References Objectivity Team-worker Similar values as yours
Unanswered question
How do you bill for services made quicker by automation?
“Expecting a consultant to come in and apply preset solutions is asking for trouble. A good consultant should teach an organization how to fish, not provide fish for it.”
Lester a. Picker,Columnist in The Sun
Remember...
Good news
An MIT study found a 64% return on investment in information technology over four years among 380 large companies. That was measured in terms of real benefits
Quality Customer service Time to produce
Point 1
“The solution to improved productivity is not better software but rather a better understanding of business and its objectives.”
Milt BryceA reader writing in Business Week
“There is a huge difference between ‘the best money can buy’ and ‘the best for the dollar.’”
Anonymous
Point 2
Point 3
“There is a tendency in schools to look at technology for technology’s sake... Technology is a tool not an end objective. It lets you do something --once you have set out what you want to accomplish. Information technology makes it possible for people to become true knowledge workers, to increase their output and change the nature of their job...”Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM
The future of technology in education
Business Week Insert - November 15, 1993
Point 4
“Senior managers (attorneys) who do not make information technology an integral part of their business strategy will find their future seriously threatened by competitors who do.”
Jack Juison, Asst. Professor of IS
Fordham University
Reader of Business Week
Questions
?
Drawing
The highest % in the survey used Timeslips: 27%
THE END