Introduction to Legal Technology

Dennis J. Kehm, Jr.

Introduction

Technology

….of the Law

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.

UNIT 7: Using Excel in the Law Office

Using Excel to Organize

• Spreadsheets can be used to calculate and present financial information

• This financial information can be a part of the case, such as with divorce or estate matters, or can be for purposes of presenting a bill to a client.

Online and Program Resources

•Just like with the word processing programs, there are resources available within the program and online as well to help you troubleshoot and learn how to use the software.

•Your text offers the websites where you can access the online resources

Using Excel to Streamline

• Many courts will accept spreadsheets to document information, thereby helping to avoid the need to duplicate information

• Templates are also used for standard matters• Electronic spreadsheets help to reduce errors because

things are calculated automatically instead of manually

Using Excel Day-to-Day

• So, where do you start?• If you are told to create a document in Excel, would you

know where to begin?

Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet• Standard terms of a spreadsheet are rows, columns, cells, formula bar, and

workbooks.• Rows are horizontal sets of cells• Columns are vertical sets of cells• Cells are those boxes where horizontal and vertical meet• Formula bar is the area at the top of the spreadsheet where you enter text• Workbook refers to a collection of worksheets• Property bar is similar to the formula bar but appears in Corel’s Quattro Pro

Creating an Electronic Spreadsheet

• The checklist provided in your book is a good way to approach organizing or setting up the spreadsheet.

• Ask yourself what you want to do, what you input, what you want to get out of the spreadsheet, what formulas you will use to get there, and how many columns and rows will be needed.

• The labels you use can be in any rows; whenever you place your arrow in a cell and begin typing, that information will appear in the formula bar.

Mathematical Computations

• Basic mathematical computations can be done on the spreadsheet

• Multiply = *• Divide = /• Add = +• Subtract = -• For each of these you use a formula: @sum(A1+B1*C1) OR

you can just click on the AutoSum button (∑)

Spreadsheet Security• Password controlling the spreadsheets is an important way

to protect the information contained in them.• Tutorials are available to educate you on all of the security

features that you can use.• Just like in Word, you can click on the Office button, then

Prepare and see all of the different things you can enable.• Give it a try!

Give It a Try!

• Try opening a spreadsheet right now, entering some text or figures to see what the columns, rows, and formula bar look like! Try adding a column of figures.

• Signal when you are done and if it made sense to you.

What do you think?

• Now that you know what electronic spreadsheets are and the basics of them, what are your thoughts?

• What do you think these would be useful for in a law office?

• What are the ethical considerations associated with using these?

This Week’s Assignment

You should be working on your three-part assignmentPart 1 deals with the things you learned in Unit 6 about using

Microsoft Word and implementing the security features on the motion as well as utilizing the template.

Part 2 deals with creating an Excel spreadsheet, which we are learning this week.

Part 3 asks you to record the time spent in creating these documents.

Questions?Don’t forget to also make your Discussion Posts