Web 2.0 Comes to the Legal Profession

Members of the legal profession are rarely the first to embrace new generations of technology, but invariably that conversion happens eventually, and changes the way the business and practice of law are conducted. Paper discovery is steadily giving way to electronic discovery, intensive manual legal research in 'book stacks' has yielded to Web-based search platforms, and corresponding with clients by letter has been replaced with e-mail and other online communications.

Now we have what many technology experts call 'Web 2.0' and, once again, technology offers new opportunities for members of the legal profession to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their workflow. We believe it is in the interest of technology leads within law firms and corporate counsel groups to consider how they can better incorporate these innovations into their practices, given the benefits they can deliver.

Defining Web 2.0

Let's start with some definitions. As you might have already discovered, Web 2.0 has numerous definitions. The most prevalent, however, is to define Web 2.0 as the next generation in the use of the Web ' a generation that is striving to enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration among users. Tim O'Reilly is widely credited as the technology expert who coined the term when he explained in a 2004 speech that 'Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.'

If 'Web 1.0' was about organizations using the Web as a one-way communication channel to their audiences, then Web 2.0 is about using the Web to empower multi-directional communication and collaboration between peers around common interests or ideas. Within this, O'Reilly's concept was that Web 2.0 creates an architecture of participation where users can contribute content. And indeed, technologies such as Weblogs (blogs), podcasts, RSS feeds and various types of social networking software all provide enhancements over 'read-only' Web sites.

Technology gurus have taken the initial idea of Web 2.0 and begun to develop their own vernacular involving the programming language that underlies the new generation of technologies, the data formats that are used and the indexing that is evolving. However, despite slightly different vocabularies and technical conceptions, most observers agree on the fundamental characteristics that define the Web 2.0 era:

• An enriched user experience;
• More active user participation;
• Dynamic content; and
• The use of open Web standards.

Web 2.0 and the Legal Profession

Fortunately, the legal profession does not need to make a great investment in infrastructure in order to enjoy the fruits of Web 2.0. Indeed, there is a wide range of Web 2.0 applications that have already been deployed throughout the legal market.

Law Firm Marketing

Online social networks have quickly become an easy and hugely popular way for individuals to communicate, interact and share content. Prominent Web destinations, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, are continuing to experience astounding growth in the number of users who come to their sites to view content provided by other users.

As the popularity of these sites continues to skyrocket, law firms have begun to explore this medium for marketing purposes, as a way to attract new clients and recruit new talent. As The New York Times recently reported, law firms have tried using actors in YouTube-like videos to persuade law school students and graduates to apply for jobs as associates.

Online videos also provide attorneys and law firms with an opportunity to create and post videos showcasing their practice philosophy, lawyers and expertise. Videos can serve as a place for potential clients to 'visit' and assess law firms without leaving their offices. For example, online lawyer directory Lawyers.com recently announced a new capability that enables law firms to create and post videos that typically feature lawyers in the firm, talking about their services and areas of expertise.

Collaboration

Legal professionals have also begun to embrace other Web-based tools to enhance collaboration and communication. This includes sites like Wikis ' Web sites where users can add, remove and edit content, as well as online professional networking communities built specifically for attorneys.

One of the first legal Wikis to debut was a collaboratively built, freely available legal dictionary and encyclopedia called Wex, emanating from Cornell Law School. WikiLaw and JurisPedia are other popular Wikis that invite legal professionals to edit and provide comment about U.S. and worldwide legal issues from Alternative Dispute Resolution to Wills, Trusts and Estates.

Aside from the external uses of the Wiki platform, lawyers can use it for internal purposes, such as communicating and exchanging ideas with clients and sharing information with law firm colleagues. For example, some law firms have created collaborative Web sites, where lawyers can share valuable expertise in a certain area or specialty online within the firm. These collaborative sites can also house 'living' documents and serve as an effective and efficient tool for law firms to improve workflow and communication, and enable affordable and effective Intranets.

In terms of online networks and communities, legal professionals don't require ' or necessarily want ' broad general business networks, but rather community sites built specifically for their needs. Secure sites offering a critical mass of trusted and verified legal contacts, as well as relevant tools and content, offer attorneys a great place to expand their networks, learn, communicate, collaborate, find lawyers facing similar issues and more. All of this results in better and more efficient decision making by legal counsel. While still in their early days, such networks specifically for legal professionals, for example Martindale-Hubbell Connected and Legal OnRamp, do exist.

Procurement

Just as eBay buyers are able to rate purchasing experiences, Web 2.0 technology enables in-house counsel and other sophisticated buyers of legal services, as well as consumers, to rate their experiences with law firms. These tools are based on confidential client surveys and provide objective, third-party perspectives on criteria, such as quality of legal service, value for money and likelihood of recommending a firm for a legal matter (according to practice area, industry or geographic area).

These services can help corporate counsel in creating and managing their own personalized preferred provider lists, which offer greater visibility and management control over the outside counsel they turn to for help. In addition, legal professionals are able quickly and easily to access the lawyers they want, keep up-to-date information as contacts are refreshed when changes occur in the marketplace, annotate comments and store personal information/notes about a preferred lawyer.

Conclusion

Lawyers should explore Web 2.0 platforms and embrace this new wave of technology in order to help them better conduct the business and practice of law. Although there will be challenges and some false starts, the benefits of these dynamic new tools to enhance communication far outweigh the growing pains it takes to get used to them.

A note of caution, however, is that not all technologies considered part of the Web 2.0 transition may be particularly well-suited for the legal profession. For example, consumer-facing social networking sites aren't built for the complex relationship between in-house counsel and outside law firms. Moreover, some of the free 'Open Web' research sites are great, but often of limited value to attorneys without in-depth legal analysis and commentary to place the research in meaningful context.

By embracing Web 2.0 and putting to use the various tools that are custom-built for the legal profession, lawyers can experience a more efficient workflow and a more dynamic avenue of communication with their clients and prospective clients.

Members of the legal profession are rarely the first to embrace new generations of technology, but invariably that conversion happens eventually, and changes the way the business and practice of law are conducted. Paper discovery is steadily giving way to electronic discovery, intensive manual legal research in 'book stacks' has yielded to Web-based search platforms, and corresponding with clients by letter has been replaced with e-mail and other online communications.

Now we have what many technology experts call 'Web 2.0' and, once again, technology offers new opportunities for members of the legal profession to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their workflow. We believe it is in the interest of technology leads within law firms and corporate counsel groups to consider how they can better incorporate these innovations into their practices, given the benefits they can deliver.

Defining Web 2.0

Let's start with some definitions. As you might have already discovered, Web 2.0 has numerous definitions. The most prevalent, however, is to define Web 2.0 as the next generation in the use of the Web ' a generation that is striving to enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration among users. Tim O'Reilly is widely credited as the technology expert who coined the term when he explained in a 2004 speech that 'Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.'

If 'Web 1.0' was about organizations using the Web as a one-way communication channel to their audiences, then Web 2.0 is about using the Web to empower multi-directional communication and collaboration between peers around common interests or ideas. Within this, O'Reilly's concept was that Web 2.0 creates an architecture of participation where users can contribute content. And indeed, technologies such as Weblogs (blogs), podcasts, RSS feeds and various types of social networking software all provide enhancements over 'read-only' Web sites.

Technology gurus have taken the initial idea of Web 2.0 and begun to develop their own vernacular involving the programming language that underlies the new generation of technologies, the data formats that are used and the indexing that is evolving. However, despite slightly different vocabularies and technical conceptions, most observers agree on the fundamental characteristics that define the Web 2.0 era:

• An enriched user experience;
• More active user participation;
• Dynamic content; and
• The use of open Web standards.

Web 2.0 and the Legal Profession

Fortunately, the legal profession does not need to make a great investment in infrastructure in order to enjoy the fruits of Web 2.0. Indeed, there is a wide range of Web 2.0 applications that have already been deployed throughout the legal market.

Law Firm Marketing

Online social networks have quickly become an easy and hugely popular way for individuals to communicate, interact and share content. Prominent Web destinations, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, are continuing to experience astounding growth in the number of users who come to their sites to view content provided by other users.

As the popularity of these sites continues to skyrocket, law firms have begun to explore this medium for marketing purposes, as a way to attract new clients and recruit new talent. As The New York Times recently reported, law firms have tried using actors in YouTube-like videos to persuade law school students and graduates to apply for jobs as associates.

Online videos also provide attorneys and law firms with an opportunity to create and post videos showcasing their practice philosophy, lawyers and expertise. Videos can serve as a place for potential clients to 'visit' and assess law firms without leaving their offices. For example, online lawyer directory Lawyers.com recently announced a new capability that enables law firms to create and post videos that typically feature lawyers in the firm, talking about their services and areas of expertise.

Collaboration

Legal professionals have also begun to embrace other Web-based tools to enhance collaboration and communication. This includes sites like Wikis ' Web sites where users can add, remove and edit content, as well as online professional networking communities built specifically for attorneys.

One of the first legal Wikis to debut was a collaboratively built, freely available legal dictionary and encyclopedia called Wex, emanating from Cornell Law School. WikiLaw and JurisPedia are other popular Wikis that invite legal professionals to edit and provide comment about U.S. and worldwide legal issues from Alternative Dispute Resolution to Wills, Trusts and Estates.

Aside from the external uses of the Wiki platform, lawyers can use it for internal purposes, such as communicating and exchanging ideas with clients and sharing information with law firm colleagues. For example, some law firms have created collaborative Web sites, where lawyers can share valuable expertise in a certain area or specialty online within the firm. These collaborative sites can also house 'living' documents and serve as an effective and efficient tool for law firms to improve workflow and communication, and enable affordable and effective Intranets.

In terms of online networks and communities, legal professionals don't require ' or necessarily want ' broad general business networks, but rather community sites built specifically for their needs. Secure sites offering a critical mass of trusted and verified legal contacts, as well as relevant tools and content, offer attorneys a great place to expand their networks, learn, communicate, collaborate, find lawyers facing similar issues and more. All of this results in better and more efficient decision making by legal counsel. While still in their early days, such networks specifically for legal professionals, for example Martindale-Hubbell Connected and Legal OnRamp, do exist.

Procurement

Just as eBay buyers are able to rate purchasing experiences, Web 2.0 technology enables in-house counsel and other sophisticated buyers of legal services, as well as consumers, to rate their experiences with law firms. These tools are based on confidential client surveys and provide objective, third-party perspectives on criteria, such as quality of legal service, value for money and likelihood of recommending a firm for a legal matter (according to practice area, industry or geographic area).

These services can help corporate counsel in creating and managing their own personalized preferred provider lists, which offer greater visibility and management control over the outside counsel they turn to for help. In addition, legal professionals are able quickly and easily to access the lawyers they want, keep up-to-date information as contacts are refreshed when changes occur in the marketplace, annotate comments and store personal information/notes about a preferred lawyer.

Conclusion

Lawyers should explore Web 2.0 platforms and embrace this new wave of technology in order to help them better conduct the business and practice of law. Although there will be challenges and some false starts, the benefits of these dynamic new tools to enhance communication far outweigh the growing pains it takes to get used to them.

A note of caution, however, is that not all technologies considered part of the Web 2.0 transition may be particularly well-suited for the legal profession. For example, consumer-facing social networking sites aren't built for the complex relationship between in-house counsel and outside law firms. Moreover, some of the free 'Open Web' research sites are great, but often of limited value to attorneys without in-depth legal analysis and commentary to place the research in meaningful context.

By embracing Web 2.0 and putting to use the various tools that are custom-built for the legal profession, lawyers can experience a more efficient workflow and a more dynamic avenue of communication with their clients and prospective clients.