Janet+Stearns

Homework #1

5 Good Things about the Virtual Law Office: 1. Clients can access services with great flexibility 2. Lawyer can provide services with great flexibility 3. Services can be more affordable/ efficient 4. Services can reach broader segment of society (geographic/ socioeconomic) 5. Marketing/ service all wrapped into website
 * THE VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE**
 * PART 1**

5 Challenging Things about the Virtual Law Office: 1. Large start up time to get website going 2. Questions of unauthorized practice of law when going outside jurisdiction of admission 3. Security issues/ handling confidential information 4. Technical issues 5. How to handle more challenging legal problems through the virtual office?

Search the web and find at least three definitions for “Virtual Law Practice”, “Digital Law Practice” and/or “eLawyering”. Copy/paste the definitions into your homework wiki with a link back to the place you found.
 * PART 2**

1. Building a Virtual Law Firm Changes and Opportunities

[|by Joe Kashi] January 2004 Let’s start with this question: what is a “virtual law firm?” I believe that it is a law firm that:
 * 1) Has a stable core group of attorneys;
 * 2) Has established collaborative relationships with other, specialized law firms that possess expertise that’s occasionally needed;
 * 3) Is glued together with appropriate computer and telecommunications technology; and,
 * 4) Expands and reduces personnel as needed.

[] _

__ 2. = **What is a Digital Lawyer?** = The phrase, "The Digital Lawyer" was first coined by Professor M. Ethan Katsh in a series of articles and his book, "Law in a Digital World." Katsh has written: > "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, and that while automation often means that "time is money" in law practice, the more important insight is that "information is money." [] > ___ > 3. > > ==[|The Misunderstood Virtual Law Office]== > Oct 3, 2011 by [|Susan Cartier Liebel] > Lawyers growing their practices today and into the future will very much need this technological tool – an online office – as part of their practice or, in some cases, functioning completely on line in order to compete.

__**HOMEWORK 3:**__

Visit the three court websites – (1) county court, (2) highest state court (e.g. state supreme court) and (3) federal district court in your jurisdiction (or pick a jurisdiction) and find anything you can about their support for e-filing. Also look to see if the court websites provide an online docket/calendar or if they provide forms that can be used online or downloaded and printed. Answer the following questions in your homework wiki… 1. Does the court support efiling? If yes, what is the best URL? 2. Does the court support efiling for self-representing litigants? 3. Does the court website have an online docket or calendar? (if yes, include a link) 4. Does the court website have any forms that can be used online or downloaded? (if yes, provide a link)
 * TECHNOLOGY AND THE COURTS**

Miami-Dade County Courts: 1. Efiling--Yes []

2. It appears that self-represented litigants can file.

3. You can do a case search online.

4. There are forms sorted by civil and criminal.

Florida Supreme Court:

1. EFiling-No []

The court does not accept faxed or emailed submissions without permission.

2. No

3. Yes, docket can be searched. []

4. n/a

Southern District of Florida

1. This district uses CM/ECF.... []

2. YOu need a password to access, but it seems so.

3. Docket is available.

4. Forms are available.