Welcome to Introduction to Legal Technology

Teacher’s Assistant

The Syllabus• Announcements

• One seminar each week in units 1-4 and 6-9; backup plan• Due dates for assignments and tests (Tuesday of that Unit)

• Midterm and final exam

• One written assignment in Unit 2

• Office Hours Through Live: Thursdays 10 am – 12 pm

• Discussion Board Requirements

Syllabus

• Course Materials-eBook: Goldman, T. (2010). Technology in the law office (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

-Software: Microsoft Office Suite 2003 or later- NOTE: MS Office is MANDATORY to successfully complete this course

About the Course

• Once an assignment is graded, you cannot resubmit I it for higher grade – that is the policy of the School of Legal Studies.

• There is no extra credit, all graded assessments are listed on slide # 6

• Discussion boards can be made up late for up to 75% credit if done within 3 weeks and by the end of Unit 7. They will not be allowed if more than 3 weeks old or after Unit 7.

• 4 substantive post over three days and answering both discussion boards (if applicable) is what is required for full credit

4 substantive posts over 3 days = 20/20

4 substantive posts over 2 days = 18/20

4 substantive posts over 1 day = 17/20

About the Course

• Students in the course are at different levels regarding their understanding of technology – if you know more, please share your understanding with them on the DB; if you don’t understand something, please ask!

• This is an introductory course regarding legal technology – you may at times know more than we are discussing at that time. Tell the class in your post “this is additional information if anyone is interested.”

About the Course

Assessments Number Points Total Points

Seminars 8 20 160

Discussions 8 20 160

Quizzes 1 40 40

Tests 6 40 240

Midterm Exam 1 120 120

Final Exam 1 160 160

Assignment 1 120 120

Total 1000 points

Late Submission Policy

• A maximum penalty of 5% per week will be assessed on all late work.  No late work will be accepted more than 3 weeks after the original due date or after the conclusion of Unit 7 without an extenuating circumstance AND prior instructor approval.

• Extenuating Circumstances:  Contact your instructor immediately if you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from completing assignments, projects, and quizzes, attending seminars, or participating in the class.

• Active communication is the key to overcoming any obstacles you may encounter during the term. Your responsibility is to advise your instructor (ahead of time, whenever possible) of extenuating circumstances that might prevent you from completing work by the assigned deadline.   

• At the instructor’s discretion, in consultation with the Academic Chair, the instructor and student may agree to an acceptable plan to meet the academic requirements of the course. Prior notification of extenuating circumstances does not result necessarily in a waiver of the late penalties.

• When submitting late work, you must notify your instructor by email when you have submitted late work to assure the instructor is aware of the submission. All late work must be submitted by uploading the assignments using the classroom drop box. Be sure to contact your instructor if you have questions.

Academic Integrity

• Per the catalog: “Kaplan University considers academic honesty to be one of its highest values” (p. 34).

• Plagiarism:

As Diane Hacker writes in Rules for Writers (6th edition): “Three different acts are considered plagiarism: (1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and (3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words” (p. 480).

 Other practices students should avoid: (1) Distributing any document that contains answer keys to quizzes or tests. (2) Sharing a paper you’ve written with another student. If that student plagiarizes you, you could be found guilty as well.

Plagiarism

• I will turn your paper in to Turnitin.com – it will detect if there is any plagiarism.

• If you copy someone else’s words, you have to use quotation marks and a citation. If you use your own words, the citation alone is enough. Changing a word or two is not making it “in your own words.”

• If you plagiarize on the discussion board or assignment, you will receive a 0 and it will be reported.

Netiquette

• Enjoy healthy debate and have fun• Be respectful• All capital letters look like you are SHOUTING

Check it out!

The Academic Support Center

The Writing Center:

• https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/Index.aspx

The Writing Center

The Library

The Library

• http://library.kaplan.edu/content.php?pid=150035

The Library

The Library

Westlaw

Do you have any initial questions?

Unit 1: The Paperless Law Office

How is Technology Used in a Law Office

• Word Processing• Spreadsheets• Time and Billing • Accounting• Calendars• Trial Prep• Email and Document Delivery

Technology and Confidentiality

• Legal assistants and non-legal staff have access to confidential data and need to understand the nature of confidentiality so that client confidences are not disclosed

• Attorneys have a duty to keep client confidences, and those doing work for the attorney are similarly bound

• We will go into these ethical responsibilities in depth during Unit 2.

Do You Presently Work in a Law firm?• If so, what type of technology is used?• Do the attorneys where you work take paper files to

court or computers?• Are PDA and Blackberry devices used? Do paralegals

get them too?

The Cost Savings in Going Digital

• Saving cost on paper will cost money: How?- it takes people and time to scan in documents.

• Once documents are scanned, there are many cost savings:

- the amount of time it takes to scan the documents is far less than the amount of time spent in a paper-based office retrieving and organizing physical files. 

- reduced our copying, paper and mailing costs, maybe by as much as 80%.

- Lawyers have immediate access to the complete file simply by accessing their computer.

-Digital searches!

Why Paperless Is Good

• Saves time and expense of having people file documents in traditional hard copy files.

• Saves expense and headaches of file storage.• Saves expense and time delay of getting documents from closed

storage.• It's green and doesn't adversely affect the environment. • If your building is destroyed or your office vandalized, your

documents are safe and not affected (assuming you have a proper backup system).

• Allows for security so that only authorized people can access a document.

• Allows almost instant access to documents.• http://www.keytlaw.com/tech/paperless.htm

Source: http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/best-practices-for-a-paperless-office/

Source: http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/best-practices-for-a-paperless-office/

Source: http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/best-practices-for-a-paperless-office/

Source: http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/best-practices-for-a-paperless-office/

• Remember there are exceptions to every rule.  You may store your client files electronically, but some paper cannot be disposed of:

- Return all client originals – receipts, bills, diaries, photographs, tax returns, etc.  If the client gave you the document or item, give it back.

- Be mindful of documents with legal significance – original wills, contracts, fee agreements, promissory notes.

-You cannot convert a signed paper contract to a legally enforceable electronic contract merely by scanning it.

- In some cases, court rules may require that you retain original paper.  

- If authenticity is a potential concern, keep the paper.

Voice Recognition Software

• Windows Vista has voice recognition software. If you have Vista or later, think about checking it out. You can even use it to dictate your papers on Microsoft Word.

- Do you think this will enhance the role of the legal assistant or could lead to a lesser need for legal assistants?

http://www.voicerecognition.com/med_demo/MedicalDemo7501.html

Thin Client

Operating Systems: PC vs. Mac

• Windows is the dominant operating system in the world• Because of this, much legal software is created for

Windows• Mac users can run the Windows operating system in

one of 3 ways:- Boot camp - a utility that enables users to fully install and run Windows on Mac computers in a "dual-boot" environment.

-may not be the ideal solution because it prevents you from using the Mac operating system

- run a Windows virtual machine on your Mac, which also requires a copy of Microsoft Windows

- run a program that emulates (or ports) a Windows application over to run in OS X. Does not require you to have a copy of Microsoft Windows in order to run a Windows application

Questions?

Test Prep!

Test Prep

• What law “players” share information digitally through computers?

• How do we share documents through the Internet – particularly on email?

• Primary concern for a legal team relates to this term – which refers to the privacy of client information?

• Legal court rules that have been amended to reflect changes in technology.

Test Prep

• Those who work in this part of a company are responsible for making sure all types of technology are working properly.

• Sending work outside the office to get it done.• Software that picks up on speech patterns for typing.• Trend when it comes to technology is to make things

smaller so they can be carried easily – this is referred to as ___________ and ____________.

Test Prep

• What is included in the term “hardware?”• When you allow someone outside of your office to get

into your computer in the office, we refer to that as ____________.

• Having files saved on a server with many having access to those files on “dumb terminals” is _____________.

• What is a “hot spot?”

Test Prep

• Using the internet for meetings is referred to as _______________.

• Trend toward storing information digitally instead of keeping paper files is referred to as a ____________.

• Court officials who are also getting used to using technology in the courthouse, particularly for ____________ presentations during trial.