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Table of Contents. Introduction Background & Research Methodology Research Methodology Charted Findings Sample Profile IT Equipment Internet & Email Usage Back-Up Policies Virus Protection Remote Access IT Management Management Summary Tabular Report Appendix - Questionnaire.
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Table of Contents • Introduction • Background & Research Methodology • Research Methodology • Charted Findings • Sample Profile • IT Equipment • Internet & Email Usage • Back-Up Policies • Virus Protection • Remote Access • IT Management • Management Summary • Tabular Report • Appendix - Questionnaire
Background & Research Methodology • The Technology Committee of the Law Society is responsible for the education of its members in the use of IT resources in the conduct of their business. • It sought to examine the extent of IT usage amongst solicitors in the Republic of Ireland. • A CATI (Computer Aided Telephone Interview) survey of 200 solicitor firms was undertaken to address this objective. • The sample was nationally representative, with quotas set on region of firm, and size of firm. • A structured questionnaire was agreed, on consultation between the Technology Committee and TNS mrbi. • Fieldwork took place between 19thand 30th January, 2006.
Sample ProfileBase: All Respondents: 200 Area % No. of solicitors In firm % Presence Of Dedicted IT Person % No. of partners/ Principals % No. of Other Staff % None 1 2-3 4-1011+ Yes 1 2 3 Dublin Rest of Leinster Munster Conn/ Ulster 1 No 4 5 6+ 2 3 4 5 6+ DK Avr DK Avr 1.75 5.85
Computer Hardware Packages Used Base: All Respondents: 200 *”Any Computer” refers to any desktop PC, any networked PC, or any laptop. Q.5 Which, if any, of the following types of hardware does your firm use?
Computer Software Packages Used Base: All Respondents: 200 Q.4 And which, if any, of the following, computer software packages are used in your firm?
Accounts ManagementBase: All Respondents: 200 Accountancy Software Packages Base: All whose accounts are computerised: 164 Harvest Key House/Sam 3 Italax Safe Law Opsis/Millennium BCL Law Lex Alpha Law Big Red Book Sage Other Don’ t Know More likely to be: • Dublin/Munster • Smaller firms Q.2 In the main, are your accounts manual or computerised? Q.3 And which, if any, of the following accountancy software packages does your firm use?
Network Upgrades Base: All With Networked PCs: 156 Those who updated regularly More likely to be: • Dublin firms • Larger firms Q.5a When did you last upgrade any part of your Computer Network (i.e. upgrade the server etc. As opposed to buying a new PC)?
Office Internet AccessBase: All Respondents: 200 Internet Access Broadband More likely to be: • Outside Dublin firms • Smaller firms Q.6 Does your firm have Internet access in the office, or not? Q.7 Does your firm have broadband in the office, or not?
Staff Internet Usage Base: All with Internet access & all with relevant staff Partners/ Assistant Other Principals Solicitors Staff % % % Yes No Non - usage more likely to be: • Outside Dublin firms • Smaller firms Q.8 Which of the following types of employees use the internet in your firm?
Types Of Information ObtainedBase: All with Internet Access: 199 No Yes More likely to access… Outside Dublin, smaller firms The Land Registry Courts Service website in general Companies Registration Office Govt. Bodies generally Revenue on-line services Members section – Law Society webpage Legal diary (Courts Service website) Irish Statutes on-line Forms from Courts Service website Rules from Courts Service website Law Society library catalogue Planning authorities Judgements from Courts Service website Law searchers BAILII Smaller firms Dublin firms, smaller firms Smaller firms Outisde Dublin, larger firms Outside Dublin, larger firms Outiside Dublin, smaller firms Larger firms Dublin, Medium firms Dublin, larger firms Dublin, larger firms Outside Dublin, larger firms Larger firms Larger firms Outside Dublin , larger firms Q.9 Has the internet been used by anyone in your firm to obtain information from any of the following?
Email UsageBase: All who have Internet access: 199 General E-mail Use Yes No 7% Yes 93% Frequency x Type of Email Usage Base: All using Email: 185 Dublin, larger firms Internally with colleagues in office With Clients Dublin, larger firms With Courts Service Dublin, larger firms Q.10 Do any solicitors in your firm use e-mail in the course of their business Q.11 In general about how often do solicitors in your firm use email internally with colleagues in the office? Q.12 In general about how often do solicitors in your firm use e-mail with clients? Q.13 And in general about how often do solicitors in your firm use email with the courts service?
Firm WebsiteBase: All Respondents: 200 Incidence of Firm having a Website Usefulness of Website Base: All who have a website: 47 Very useful Fairly useful Not particularly useful Not at all useful Don’t know More likely to be: • Outside Dublin • Smaller firms Q.14 Does your firm have a website? Q.15 In your opinion, how useful has the firms website been in generating new business for your firm?
Back-Up PolicyBase: All Respondents: 200 External/Manual Back-Up Base: All who have back-up policy: 188 Presence of Back-up Policy More likely to be: • Dublin firms More likely to be: • Outside Dublin firms • Smaller firms Q.16 Does your firm have any type of back up policy that is, are solicitors computers files saved onto a disc, CD or tape? Q.17 Does your firm employ an external company to back up computer files, or are back ups done manually by staff on disc, CD etc?
Virus ProtectionBase: All Respondents: 200 Frequency of Automatic Updates Base: All whose anti-virus software updates automatically: 156 Manual/Automatic Update Base: All with anti-virus software: 196 Presence of Anti-Virus Software Daily Weekly Monthly Don’t know Q.18 Does your company have anti-virus software on its computers (e.g. McAfee, Doctor Solomon, Norton etc)? Q.19 Is this Anti-virus software up-dated automatically or do you have to up-date in manually? Q.20 And how often is this software updated automatically is it …….. ?
Remote Access For SolicitorsBase: All Respondents: 200 More likely to be: • Outside Dublin • Smaller firms Q.21 Can solicitors in your firm access the office network remotely from their homes?
External Staff & Remote AccessBase: All Respondents: 200 Remote Access For External Typists/Support Staff Base: All with external typists/support staff: 38 Presence of External Typists/Support Staff More likely to be: • Dublin firms • Larger firms Q.22 Does your firm have any external typists or support staff? Q.23 Can these external typists or support staff access the office network remotely from their homes?
Voicemail Activated Landlines Base: All Respondents: 200 More likely to be: • Larger firms Q.24 Does your firm have voicemail activated on the landlines in the office?
IT ManagementBase: All Respondents: 200 Presence of IT Support Contract With External Company % Incidence of Dedicated IT Person % Internal/External IT Management % Yes Internal External company Yes No No – part of my/someone else’s job Q.25 Do you manage your IT internally or do you outsource the management of IT to an external company? Q.26 Do you have an IT support contract with an external company? Q.27Do you have a dedicated IT person within the firm, or is it part of your or someone else’s job?
Management Summary IT Equipment • Overall, basic IT technology ownership amongst solicitors is very high, with all firms owning at least a computer and printer. Larger firms (11+ solicitors) have significantly more advanced hardware (e.g. scanners, laptops, digital dictators, PDAs, etc). Smaller firms, (i.e. one solicitor) are more reliant on desktop PCs, albeit for their size, a proportion of these firms do have access to more recent hardware (e.g. laptops, etc). • More recently developed technology – such as digital dictators & PDAs, are less utilised by solicitors, especially in smaller firms and those outside Dublin. • Not surprisingly, given the computer penetration, all firms use a word processing package, however usage of other software programmes is substantially lower.Less than a third use document management and case management programmes. Larger firms dominate with a range of software programmes used. • In terms of accounts management, the vast majority of firms are using a computer package (over 4 out of 5). The range of packages being used is very wide, but Harvest is used by almost one in four firms.
Management Summary Internet and E-mail Usage • Virtually all firms have some form of internet access. • 4 in 5 firms have broadband, however the latter is less likely to be available in Munster, Connacht/Ulster and in smaller law firms. • In general Internet usage is high amongst all staff in solicitors’ firms, but is lower among partners/principals than other staff. • The Land Registry, The Courts Service, Companies Registration Office, Governemnt bodies generally, Revenue and the Members’ Section of the Law Society website were the most commonly used web resources. • The least used websites were; Law Society library catalogue, planning authorities, judgements from the Courts’ Service website, Law Searchers and BAILII. • Email was used by virtually all firms, most frequently to communicate with clients.E-mail contact with the Courts’ Service was used least of all measured. • Despite high internet and email usage, onlyone quarter of firms have their own website, and even amongst these, less than 2 in 5 felt they were useful in generating business. Smaller firms and those outside Dublin were least likely to have their own website.
Management Summary Back-Up Policy and Virus Protection • 94% of firms have some form of back-up policy. • The vast majority of firms are using manual back-up to secure files etc. • Incidence of anti-virus protection programmes is almost universal. The majority of these update automatically, at least once a week. • Only 31% of solicitors have remote access from their homes – higher amongst larger firms . One quarter of external typists/support staff have access (note; only 19% employ these staff.) • 44% have voicemail activated landlines in their office. IT Management • Just over half of respondents have any of their IT managed externally, while 3 out of 5 have an IT support contract with an external IT support company. • Only 11% of firms have a dedicated IT person, which, not surprisingly is higher amongst larger firms.
Management Summary Research Conclusions • It is clear that the overall picture in terms of the development of IT equipment is bright, with almost universal ownership of basic hardware amongst solicitors’ firms. However, larger firms appear to have a more sophisticated level of IT technology, compared to their smaller counterparts. As such, the focus going forward should be placed on developing and expanding IT, especially amongst smaller firms. • Given that 8% of all solicitors still operate manual accounts, advice in this area is important. A key area of importance going forward will be the development and promotion of guidelines relating to Accounts’ Management packages, with a plethora of different packages – of varying suitablility - currently in use. In general, larger firms utilise more software packages for their businesses, compared to smaller firms.
Management Summary Research Conclusions Ctd. • An opportunity exists for training solicitors (with focus on smaller firms) in the use of web resources such as BAILII, Planning Authorities, Law Searchers and Judgements from the Courts’ Service Webiste. • Usage of email, while high overall, is more frequently used by larger firms. In addition, email communication with the Courts Service is limited. Improvement in this area would be advised. • Firms also need to embrace web marketing into the future. • Finally, the necessity for back-up policies must be instilled amongst the 6% of firms who do not back up their files.
