SOFTWARE FOR LEGAL PRACTICE
Introduction
Although Information Technology (IT) is becoming increasingly common within the legal workplace, few lawyers make full use of the technology. The purpose of this paper is to introduce some types of computer application software available for use in a legal practice, and demonstrate their capabilities to those unfamiliar with them.
Word Processing
What Is Word Processing
It is an electronic replacement for anything previously done on a typewriter or with a pen and paper.
Word processing software enables the user to write documents as real as they would write by hand, only much more efficiently and professionally. The document can also include graphics, graphs and tables, making it much more expandable than a typewriter.
A Word processing software can support document revision, by making it easy to delete, insert, and move words, sentences, paragraphs, and large blocks of text. Most programs include a spell checker and a thesaurus, and some can identify style and grammar problems.
A Word processing software e.g. Microsoft Word permits the user to import information from associated packages such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access, and import text, graphical and statistical information of various forms from packages produced by other suppliers.
Today there are a number of word-processing products to choose from, two clear leaders in the legal market at this moment are WordPerfect and Microsoft Word 2000.
Other successful word processing packages on the market include: DisplayWrite, MultiMate, WordStar, and Word Pro.
Letters to clients
Agenda for and Minutes of a meeting.
Business cards. letterhead and envelope
Memos to colleagues.
Invoices that actually calculate figures.
Personal address book.
Send current document as an e-mail attachment
Preparation of text for your Web site.
Features to look for in purchasing Word Processing Software
Extensive On-Screen Help
You should not have to read your manual. The system should provide you with on-screen help that is easy to find and to the point.
Mail Merge
A good word processing package will allow you to prepare your basic letter, leaving spaces where name, address and other personal details can go. You can then prepare a separate file, stored in the computer, containing all the names and addresses and other details: All you have to do is to specify the type of person you want to send the letter to and the data base system prepares the files. Finally, your word processor prints out multiple copies of the letter, inserting all the different names in appropriate places in each letter.
Spell Checker and Thesaurus
These resources are available in most full-featured word-processing programs.
Legal and medical dictionaries are also built in or available from third-party vendors. One thing that is a set back is the program?s inability to detect all Nouns and foreign words (like Obasanjo) they are regarded as spelling mistakes - One has the option to instruct the computer to add foreign names in the dictionary. It checks for grammatical errors, punctuation errors, paragraph problems, Jargon, and redundant words Proof-reading a document is a time-consuming task at the best of times. At least a spelling checker can cut down the time to some extent.
Templates
Nobody likes to waste time reinventing the wheel. If you run a small business and are always making out invoices, why spend precious time setting out each new invoice? Just create an invoice with all the text and formatting you usually include in your invoices, and save it as a template. Then just use that as the basis for new invoices in the future.
Desktop Publishing
Desktop Publishing programs are designed to produce posters, illustrated articles, books and other forms of documents which combine large amounts of text with images. As such they tend to contain a number of facilities in common with graphic design packages and word processors, but in particular they emphasise page layout and the management of large documents. These packages place a lot of emphasis on being able to experiment with arranging sections of the document and seeing its overall appearance. Text is imported from a prepared file, and the user is generally able to experiment with different type fonts, colours and sizes.
Before making use of desktop publishing software such as Adobe PageMaker for producing a document make sure this is really what you need. It is particularly suited to producing a magazine or newsletter by combining articles that have been typed in using a word processor. There are facilities to assist the layout of a number of articles on the same page It is not designed for the direct entry of large quantities of text.
A word processing software has many of the features that used to be associated with desktop publishing packages
Document Drafting, Proofreading and Analysis Tool
Use this to proof read your agreement. A good document drafting, proofreading and analysis tool should be able to check whether defined terms are properly used. It indicates where parentheses, quotes and brackets do not close. It indicates missing or multiple punctuation at the end of paragraphs and extra spaces between words.
DocProofReader is very powerful software; it is an "add-in" for Word 2003.
Database Management
Database software is a method of recording data so that it can be sorted and searched easily. A database can simulate a filing cabinet full of record cards. The program will search a single or a group of records, instead of having to manually sift through a filing cabinet.
Microsoft Access is a database manager permitting the storage of information in a logical manner for subsequent querying.
Some other successful database programs include: DBASE III Plus, dBASE IV, R Base, Reflex, FlexiData, Paradox, and Fox Pro.
Time Recording
Your firm may take on many fixed fee cases - However have you considered whether this fee accurately reflects the amount of work your firm puts into the case?
Solicitor Time Recording
This is an automated time recording and cost billing software that watches you as you work. It eliminates the need for writing down what you have done in the office regarding a client.
Spreadsheet software
A spreadsheet is essentially a computerized version of an accounting worksheet of rows and columns. It has the edge over pen and paper in that it allows you to make up charts containing formulas, which do all the calculations for you. For example, instead of adding up a column of numbers and putting the total sum at the bottom, you just type in a mathematical formula to add those numbers automatically; then if any of those numbers change, the sum updates accordingly. By far the standard to which all other spreadsheet software is compared is Microsoft Excel 2002; offered on its own or part of the Office XP suite. Others are Corel Quattro Pro 10. Ability Spreadsheet and Lotus 1-2-3 ME 9.6
Document management systems
Lawyers are consumed in paper, paper, and more paper. This presents enormous document-management problems for law offices of any size. These include the labour and time-intensive nature of document retrieval and maintenance and the need for security and control of access to documents.
Assume that your client has just briefed you and he gives you hundreds of thousands of materials (e.g. photos of the damage to a building, police report, correspondence, pictures, and hand-written notes) to read, understand and use to formulate your case.
The easiest and most cost effective way to have a good grasp of the case is if the documents are held in some orderly manner to work efficiently. This is particularly relevant now in the light of the new rules of the Lagos State High court civil Procedure Rules 2004, requiring litigants to frontload all the documents to be used in a case, at the start of the trial.
What you must do is to convert all the paper documents into electronic form with a Document Management software. Once this is done, they can then be retrieved from the computer's memory in just a few seconds.
A document management system uses three steps.
Documents are:
(1) scanned or typed into the system,
(2) edited
(3) indexed, stored and retrieved from the storage device like cds, flashdisks and hardisks.
1st Stage - Scanning or typing documents
Virtually all the documents needed for a case for example, pictures, writs, entries, diagrams, text, decided cases, laws can be converted into digital format.
With the aid of equipment called a scanner a personal computer can register images (including handwritten material) graphically. Newer technology allows even sound and video recordings to be stored this way. You may choose to type the text into the computer, but this process will take a long time to accomplish.
Some management systems will enable you to scan your incoming post into the system so that all documents, whether they have been received from the client or other parties, can be viewed from your desktop.
Pictures
Pictures (in the above example, photographs to be used as exhibits in the case) are stored in the computer in either of two ways: by scanning or by the use of a digital camera.
The picture or an image is not editable as it is not text. Similarly, you would want to preserve the original correspondence or hand-written text from your client. You must scan them as pictures.
When you scan these correspondence or hand-written text from your client, they are represented like a replica of the original, you give it a name, and it is by that name that you search for it in the computer.
2nd stage ? editing
After scanning text, (like the cases or the laws you intend to use in the brief) you need to convert scanned documents to text with the aid of an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software; the industry standard editing software is Omnipage and it is used only to recognize text (the letters of printed material being scanned). It can't be used with handwritten or picture material.) OCR software converts text into regular computer documents, just as though a person had typed the words into the computer.
3rd stage - indexing and storage and retrieval
Search and Retrieval System
After scanning and editing, these mix of publications can be put together (indexed or arranged) in an electronic library on cd-rom or hardisk to enable ease of search with the aid of a Search and Retrieval System
Thereafter you can search for all the words or phrases in the library of information at the click of a button. This is like a database programme, but offers more.
A good full text search and retrieval system software must have the following features:
Stemming enables a user to extend a search to cover grammatical variations of a word. For example, a search for bank would also find banking, banker, banked, bankruptcy etc.
Phonic search finds words that sound similar to words in your request, like Smith and Smythe
Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) let you specify combinations of query terms to include in a document. For example, apple pie AND poached pear would retrieve any document that contains both phrases while apple pie OR poached pear would retrieve any document that contains apple pie, poached pear, or both. Alternatively, you could exclude documents from a search. Example: apple sauce and not pear
Fuzzy search sifts through scanning and typographical errors. Therefore, a search for "Lau School" will retrieve the correct spelling "law school"
Synonym searching uses a thesaurus to find synonyms of words in your search request, so a search for lawyer will find "legal practitioner". "Attorney" and "solicitor"
E-mail Handling
Instead of printing reams of paper everyday, there are e-mail software that give you the ability to attach both e-mail messages & document attachments to a specific case file.
Messages sent are recorded and entered into the case files details to show when, to whom and what was mailed to a specific person.
Messages received can be placed, together with any attachments in the case file.
Other software
Use of templates to create legal documents:
This facility provides easy-to-use templates for some of the more common and simple legal documents, covering issues from divorce letter of demand, will writing to simple contract.
Instead of writing letters or preparing documents, the software (Desktop Lawyer is an example) asks you questions and constructs a document accordingly.
The question and answer format allows you to concentrate on getting the necessary information correct without having to worry about presentation or style.
E-Book
Building E-Books with Compiler Software
It may be convenient to put all documents (as many as 10,000 different files) you use in preparing a brief in one file and search for the relevant information from that file. This is possible by making an e-book from those files.
Contents which have been developed and saved as HTML, text pages or sometimes PDF formats can be turned into a single executable file. This is achieved through the use of a program called an e-book compiler. A compiler can be defined as software that is designed to take a number of HTML or text pages and combine them into a single file. There are numerous compilers on the market:
EBook Edit Pro ; Activ EBook; HyperMaker HTML; HTML Compiler Pro \Illuminatus v4.51; NeoBook ; Ebook Creator; ebook Generator ;WinEBook
Microsoft has also developed its own compiler, ReaderWorks, which supports Microsoft Word, documents, text and HTML files, and the finished products are read using Microsoft Reader. Other tools that can be used to build e-books for Microsoft Reader include
Resources for a legal practice
Dictating to Your Computer: Speech Recognition
Another way to convert paper documents into electronic form is to dictate the pages of your documents to the computer You can talk to your computer and have it do your typing. The technology is not perfect, but it is much further developed than you may have imagined. There are many voice recognition software two of such are DragonDictate and Via Voice from IBM. It is fascinating to see words uttered by you into a microphone appear instantaneously on a computer screen. A Nigerian (especially one with strong accent must train the computer to understand how he pronounces certain if not all words and he may be required to spell and pronounce certain words, for the computer to understand that strong "Nigerian accent"
As the technology improves even more it is likely that speech recognition will eventually replace keyboards, as it would be quicker to dictate something to a computer than to type it. Speech recognition could also be used to run programs (imagine how much easier it would be to say "Microsoft Word" than to hunt for it in the Start Menu) or to browse the web (you would say the name of the hyperlink to click on, and say "Page Up" or "Page Down" to scroll up or down).
But even if speech recognition does replace the ancient keyboard, it is unlikely that it will replace the mouse. It will still be required for drawing with (something which speech recognition alone would make almost impossible)
Computer-Assisted Legal Research
Apart from storing and retrieving your information from your cd or hardisk, a lawyer could look to other avenues for information. A wealth of information is available on databases that are available on the Internet.
Databases such as Lexis/Nexis, Butterworths, Westlaw, Dialog, and Newsnet exist both on cd and on-line, however you need a credit card to pay for these services. Thankfully, Standard Trust Bank has launched the use of credit card (Mastercard) in Nigeria. If you subscribe to any of these services, you can do all your searching on the internet, whether you are in the office, at home, or on the road with your laptop or notebook computer.
These sources specialise in bibliographical information related to law. They will probably be the first sources you consult when looking for information in this subject area.
LexisNexis?
Dates covered: Various
Notes: Access is provided to the full text of UK, US, EU and Commonwealth legal sources. Contents include:
? UK cases from 1865, including The Law Reports
? Cases of the Irish, Northern Ireland, and Scottish Courts from 1945.
? All current Public General Acts and Statutory Instruments of England and Wales
? Halsbury's Laws monthly review from 1996
? European Union cases from 1954
? European Union legislation
? Commonwealth cases and legislation, particularly from Australia, Canada and South Africa
? US Federal and State case law from all 50 states
? US Federal legislation
? Comprehensive collection of US law reviews from 1982
Access: Via http://web.lexis-nexis.com
an ATHENS username and password is required web.
Westlaw UK
Dates covered: Various
Notes: Westlaw offers a range of legal research tools. You can conduct research on Westlaw, check citations, build a table of authorities, find citing cases and more. Contents include:
? UK cases from 1865, including The Law Reports
? Fully consolidated laws in force, including Acts from 1267 and Statutory Instruments from 1948.
? European Union cases from 1954
? European Union legislation, including treaties and parliamentary questions
? European and UK Human Rights database (includes full-text documents)
? Index to British legal journals from 1986
? Full-text British and American legal journals (varying date coverage)
Access: http://www.westlaw.com
an ATHENS username and password is required
Butterworths LawDirect
Dates covered: 1995-
Notes: A free current information service on legal matters. Updated daily on legal issues. Index to legal articles from 1995 onwards. A bill tracker for current legislation; database of cases since 1995 including details of hearing date, judges, annotations, legislation considered, representation and narrative summaries of judgments.
Access: via http://www.macdonald.butterworths.co.uk
no username or password required
Halsbury's Laws Direct
Dates covered: 1907-
Notes: Legal encyclopedia of English law. Volumes 1-50 of Halsbury's Laws of England, with the full text of the 2000 Cumulative Supplement and the latest issue combined. Updated monthly. Allows you to search using plain English!
Access: via http://www.ahens.butterworths.co.uk
an ATHENS username and password is required
Butterworths Legal Updater
Notes: A current awareness service which includes: case materials; EU materials; legislative materials; news and features; and quasilegal materials. It has broad case coverage and monitors all the legal sources. Legal Updater includes an archive providing summaries and full text of cases (transcripts) and legislation, the full text of 40 key journals and a comprehensive journals index, and legal stories from the UK broadsheets and regional press. It is also possible to set up automatic email alerts using the My Daily Update service.
Access: via http://www.athens.butterworths.co.uk an ATHENS username and password is required
Butterworths Legislation Direct
Notes: Full, amended text of Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments of general application in England and Wales, plus new legislation of the Scottish Parliament and Church of England Measures. Also includes the "Is it in Force?" database of commencement information on all Acts of general application passed in the last 25 years.
Access: via http://www.athens.butterworths.co.uk an ATHENS username and password is required (see Section 7.1)
Casetrack
Dates covered: 1996- (varies by court)
Notes: Transcripts of judgments by the official shorthand writers Smith Bernal Reporting Ltd. Court and date coverage varies. Includes House of Lords, Court of Appeal, Crown Office, Queen's Bench and Chancery Divisions. Also includes some transcripts for the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal and High Court.
Access: via http://www.justis.com
Username and password required (you will need to enter your University username and password to view the password page).
Current law index
Dates covered: 1990-2000
Notes: Subject and author/title indexes to over 875 law journals from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Coverage includes Bar Association journals and selected journals in allied disciplines such as criminology and accounting. Tables of cases, and of statutes, are also included.
Access: Periodical--340.05
Index to legal periodicals and books
Dates covered: 1908-
Notes: Subject and author index to legal periodicals and books published or edited in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. About 800 periodicals are now covered. Tables of cases, and of statutes are also included. The most specific subject is used whenever possible. Further subdivision by jurisdiction is included when appropriate.
Access: 1908- in print shelved at Periodical--340.05
Aug. 1981 - Sep 1993 available as a stand-alone CD-ROM - book at the 4th Floor Information Desk, Main Library Whiteknights
Theses
Unicorn
Dates covered: 1927-
Notes: All PhD and MPhil theses produced in the University of Reading are kept in the Library and are listed on Unicorn. Masters level theses are usually kept in the relevant University department with the exception of the Institute of Education which are held in Bulmershe Library.
Access: Search http://www.unicorn.rdg.ac.uk/uhtbin/webcat/
Using the Internet to conduct research
The network of networks created decades ago by the United States Government to avoid the entire shutdown of communications in the United States should a foreign power drop an atomic bomb on a city central to nationwide communication. It wasn't until fairly recently (1992) that the Internet (or rather the World Wide Web) was actually released into the public domain. From then on usage of the Internet grew and grew and is still growing today.
The Internet is thousands of computers around the world that communicate with each other over standard telephone wires thus providing users with access to electronic mail, bulletin- board-type forums and conversations, files that can be uploaded and downloaded and the ability to search by the use of search engines" to help you find whatever you are looking for. The time taken to distribute information around the world has fallen from months to seconds within a period of 100 years. The Internet holds vast amounts of information, much of which is freely accessible to the public 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. It is estimated that the total amount of information held on the Internet exceeds 6 terabytes (a terabyte, TB, is approximately a million megabytes). This figure is increasing daily as more information is added.
An Internet user has access to a wide variety of services: electronic mail, file transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, and much more.
The World Wide Web
The Web is one of the most popular and widespread information services on the Internet. It provides unparalleled quantities of information with a standard means of access, and user-friendly tools for locating information. The components of the web are the Web server and the browser. The server holds pages of information and makes them available to Web users, while the browser is used to locate and display information.
The Web contains an astonishing variety of legal materials from dozens of countries. Significant collections of legislation are already available on the Web from over 50 countries. The full text is available on the Web of all legislation from almost all the jurisdictions of the USA, Canada, Australia, many Latin American countries and some European countries (such as Norway and Germany), and extensive collections from many other European counties (such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal). Substantial collections of legislation are available from many developing countries, including India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Vietnam, Zambia, China, Mexico and Israel.
There are also extensive collections of case law from about 20 countries, particularly from North America and Australasia and some European courts, but also courts from India, Korea, Brazil and other countries. The Parliaments of dozens of countries have Web pages, and these contain many significant resources concerning legislation and law reform.
It took the initiative of a Nigerian lawyer to post some of our laws and Supreme court cases on the Web http://www.nigerianlaw.org
HTML Web pages
Web pages are created using a page description language named HyperText Markup Language (HTML).
As well as text, HTML also supports multimedia information such as graphics, pictures, sound and video. Another powerful feature is its capability to provide links to other related documents.
Information saved from a browser is in HTML format and has a default file extension of .HTM.
Web browsers
A Web Browser is required to access Web pages. It is a software package that can retrieve and display information that has been formatted using HTML. There are many browsers to choose from, but the two most popular PC packages are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
As well as displaying Web pages, browsers have evolved to include support for additional Internet services. A user can send and receive e-mail, and participate in newsgroups through the browser.
Electronic Mail (E-mail)
E-mail is a messaging system that can be used to transmit text messages and file attachments such as word processing documents, graphics, video and sound.
E-mail services are implemented by the SMTP protocol, which transfers messages from one server location to another, and the POP3 protocol, which allows users to retrieve messages from the server.
E-mail is arguably the single most important service on the Internet, as it has become a standard means of communication for most computerized organizations. Users can send messages more or less instantaneously to anywhere in the world without incurring the cost of international telephone calls. Once the initial cost of the Internet connection has been met, the only additional cost for the use of e-mail may be local telephone calls to an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Law Library on the Internet
Broadband Internet Access
Like I pointed out earlier, you will need a telephone line to call your ISP provider that will provide the gateway to the Internet.
A new trend now is to have access to the Internet without dialling any ISP.
The term Broadband encompasses a range of technologies, including DSL, cable, ISDN, wireless and satellite that allow you to access the Internet at high speeds.
DSL
DSL or Digital Subscriber Line (affordable only in developed countries) is a broadband technology that allows for large amounts of data to be carried over conventional copper telephone wires.
DSL provides an ?always on? connection to the Internet which is billed at a flat monthly rate rather than per call. It works by splitting the existing telephone wire in two. One line is used for voice while the other is used for data, so you can use the same telephone line to go online while making a call or receiving a fax.
The most common type of DSL technology today is ADSL, which stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, asymmetric because your download speed is different to your upload speed.
At present download (receiving) speeds range between 512Kbps and 2Mbps, while upload (sending) speeds are capped 256Kbps.
With DSL you have contention to deal with in built-up areas where you have to share the line with a number of people. This means that speeds can drop noticeably if many people are online at the same time.
Cable
Cable broadband allows you to connect to a high speed cable network in your area via a cable modem. In this case, Internet traffic is routed through the coaxial cable lines that deliver digital television services. This means that you need to be in an area supplied by a cable company to take advantage of the service.
Like DSL, cable offers an always on Internet connection, and there is no need to dial up each time you use the Internet.
Theoretically, cable broadband can offer speeds of up to 30Mbps, though cable companies will in all likelihood cap these speeds at 512Kbps download and 128Kbps upload.
With cable broadband you also have contention to deal with as you can expect to share your connection with between 20 and 50 users.
ISDN
ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network; a data transfer technology that provides two channels over a telephone wire that can be split for voice and data or used as a single channel for data transfer. Hence the term ?integrated?.
ISDN is widely available across the UK and can be found in most places that offer a relatively modern telephone exchange. When you subscribe to an ISDN service you have the option of installing a new telephone line or converting an existing one, the latter being the cheaper option.
ISDN doesn?t offer an always on connection, so you need to dial up at a cost each time you wish to use the data service, and you pay for the amount of time spent online.
The technology offers guaranteed connection speeds starting at 64Kbps, going up to 128Kbps. There are two types of ISDN available: ISDN2e, which is suitable for small businesses and home offices, and ISDN30e, which can carry 30 voice or data calls at the same time and is thus suitable for larger companies.
Satellite
Satellite broadband is becoming more readily available and may be an option if you need to transfer large amounts of data but aren?t geographically situated to take advantage of other alternatives. This is however currently a rather expensive option.
The technology requires a dish similar to the one used for satellite TV, (offered by MWEB) along with a decoder box or interface card.
There are two options available. Hybrid satellite broadband is at present the more cost effective, though it is only really suitable if you are planning to download large files but don?t have significant upload requirements. The technology lets you download files via satellite, but you still need a regular Internet connection to upload.
The second option, two-way satellite is fast replacing its hybrid brother. Two-way satellite, though more expensive, is more practical as it offers upload as well as download functionality, though as with other broadband technologies, your download speeds are faster than uploads. So if your system allows for 256Kbps download, you can expect 64Kbps upload.
Wireless
Another up and coming broadband technology is wireless, though this can be considered more of a distribution than a connection method. Fixed wireless is still under trial, but the intent is to see relay transmitter stations or ?nodes? popping up in more remote parts of the country to distribute connectivity to places that telecoms infrastructure do not currently reach.
Don?t Throw Away That Modem!
Wireless devices typically only give you access to the Internet. You will need to keep your modem if you send/receive faxes from your PC. (see discussion below)
Viruses
One major concern when you are accessing the Internet to transfer or receive files is infection of your computers by viruses. They can be put into a system by someone intending to cause harm, or they can be innocently transferred by a user who has an infected disk
A virus is simply a program that attaches itself to some other program or data file.
It may be programmed to do great harm to its new computer host or it may be programmed to provide a silly message that pops up on your screen. At the least, it can be irritating; at the worst, it can completely disable your computer.
You catch a virus by loading a program or a data file onto your computer from an external source, usual a cd or floppy disk or from the Internet.
Anti-Virus Software
What you must do is to lock your computer to the possible invasion of computer viruses.
To do this you need some software that examines every program and data file stored on your floppy hard disk or other storage devices like cd-rom or tape backup. Most anti-virus software also examine each program and data file that comes into your computer from external sources. If a virus is found, the software disables it and notifies you that it was found. Do not use any file that your anti-virus software says is either infected or suspected of being infected.
Backup your data
There is a backup utility in Windows, under Accessories
The Backup utility helps you protect data from accidental loss if your system experiences hardware or storage media failure. For example, you can use Backup to create a duplicate copy of the data on your hard disk and then archive the data on another storage device like your cd-rom (re-writable cd drive).If the original data on your hard disk is accidentally erased or overwritten, or becomes inaccessible because of a hard disk malfunction, you can easily restore the data from the archived copy.
Protect your data
Software tool exist to protect the content of your web page and prevent others from viewing or using your source code. It can also stop spam robots from extracting email addresses from your pages and prevent users from using page downloaders to download your entire web site to their hard drive. HTML Power is a utility programme that offers JavaScript based encryption method and a variety of other little tweaks like right click disable, printing disable , kill frame, and more. You can also password protect your pages, insert copyright information and more.
These programmes contain powerful functions and more convenient for users.
In case you wouldn't like to find your fine-designed web page which costs you a whole week time to be "stolen" in one minute;
In case you wouldn't like to check your email box full of all sorts of unsolicited spam emails everyday;
In case you wouldn't like to let someone copy your website to his local hard disk
Telephone from your PC
FREE long distance telephone calls
There are offers about FREE long distance telephone calls on the Internet. Here?s how it works.
The phone call is initiated by you while on line on your computer. The signal travels over the Internet to a telephone switch close to the number you have called where it is converted into a local phone call. You speak into your computer's microphone and listen to your computer's speakers. The call recipient uses their telephone handset as usual.
Phone Call Computer To Computer
There is another method. You can make a phone call computer to computer. To receive the call; the person you are calling must be connected to the Internet and be running the same software you use to make the call. In this case, both parties will use their computer microphones and speakers to communicate with each other
Using the computer's microphone and speakers can sometimes cause an annoying echo, which can be alleviated by the use of earphones or sometimes even just rearranging the speakers. The service is free in developed countries
Callback
Another method is the Callback; if you do not like the idea of telephone conversations through a microphone, then try callback. You need to pre-pay (credit card) for this service, as it is not free
How Does Callback Work?
Dial a phone number given to you by the phone company. You must have an IDD access on your phone.
You will let the phone ring once and then you hang up. The call is never completed so one is not charged for that portion of the call by Nitel
Within seconds after hanging up, the system calls you back. Upon answering, the caller is instructed to dial the destination number.
If you have no IDD, then simply go online, place the call on line, disconnect from the Internet immediately, and within seconds, your telephone will ring and that is it
Using Computer As Photocopying Machine
This process is simple, simply scan your document as a picture, and then print the scanned page to your printer, to see a replica of your document
Faxing from computer
A lawyer can, in addition to making calls on the Internet, fax documents either directly from the computer or over the Internet
Faxing from the computer replaces the need for a fax machine. The vast majority of PC owners only use their modems for sending data over the internet. However, unbeknown to many is the fact that the humble modem actually doubles up as another piece of communications equipment, a fax. With the help of Windows you can send and receive faxes from your PC in no time at all. In fact, once set up, you can fax a document straight from the application you are working on. For example, when you've finished typing your word processing document you can select the fax option as if it were just another printer, enter the details of the recipient and off it will go
There is a fax software called MightyFax that is very reliable although the industry standard is Win Fax Pro.
Long Distance Internet Faxing:
There are companies on the Internet that will provide you with a unique fax number for free to receive your fax messages, these numbers are either U.K or U.S.A numbers, so if you regularly receive faxes from abroad, get this number, it is free and have your clients send faxes to the software company's server the software company will in turn direct the fax to your e-mail where you can retrieve the fax exactly as it was sent.
For a fee you can also send faxes from any internet connected PC to any fax number or email address worldwide
Web Conferencing:
You do not need to travel abroad to hold a meeting, once you have a pc and internet connection, with speakers and microphone, you will find that there are companies that will host a large scale web event for you from your desk
What Is Web Conferencing?
You can conduct live interactive meetings, presentations, or seminars all over the world-in real time!
Law Library
In developed countries, the nature of libraries is changing due to the availability of electronic information - the cabinets of index cards that formed the catalogue in the academic libraries of twenty years ago were first replaced by microfiche, then by dedicated terminals with the electronic index, and now replaced by PCs linked to servers and the Internet.
A cost-benefit analysis comparing on-line legal information sources to traditional hard-copy materials reveals a number of cost savings inherent in on-line services:
1. charges are incurred only for what the library actually uses, as opposed to fixed costs of subscription that are incurred whether or not the material is ever used;
2. By relying on on-line services for certain titles, the library may be able to dispense with textual sources and save the cost of housing, updating, and storing the materials
Recommendation
a. Law libraries should have networked computers that are internet ready. The library users should have access to variety of electronic information like decided cases, laws, etc. The libraries should then make available to the users, the already available products like Butterworths? Books on Screen including All England Law Reports, the World Wide Web, which is accessed via the web. The users should be able to print from any of the terminals
b. Cataloguing system should be automated, The industry standard is Horizon Sunrise
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