by Matthew Pitts
People want a personal touch
Based on my experience with legal service delivery and technology, I can tell you that people want more than automated software. In fact, the concept of e-lawyering lives along side of completely automated legal software. Any seasoned legal professional knows that every area of law has twists, turns, and unforseen circumstances which must be addressed. The challenge for e-lawyers and legal professionals today is to integrate the best of internet technology with the personal touch that only they can deliver.
Programmers with deep legal knowledge
The last thing I want to do is to complicate matters. However, I believe that it is crucial to have a developer/programmer who has knowledge about your area of practice. Otherwise, you will need to do a lot of hand-holding and your end result may not be what you expected. A developer/programmer with legal knowledge can tailor your web application to meet the real-world challenges involved in many areas of law.
Example of a real world challenge
The following example represents a portion of an online questionnaire/form which would ideally be part of a case review process. At this point, the legal professional does not know much about the case, but can nonetheless capitalize on relationship building opportunities with the potential client. This sample is based on some form of a child support action in Washington State. Consequently, it is based on a 20-day response deadline framework. Please expirement with the form below.
About the example
The above example is a basic implementation of a real world solution to address a potential family law client who needs to respond to some form of child support paperwork. One of the most fundamental requirements of any legal practice is timing. This form captures the timing information and allows the legal professional to work with that data. The are many ethical ways to leverage and act upon this information.