Bryan
Cave is using the latest information technology to alter the
way it practices law.
By William Poe
Stroll the halls of any law firm and you’ll hear the universal
language of the trade: “plaintiff,” “defendant,” “venue,” “deposition,”
“tort,” “writ,” “voir dire,” “ipso facto” and, of course, the
attorney’s favorite phrase, “billable hour.” Wander the corridors
of Bryan Cave LLP, and, surely, you’ll hear all of that, too.
But your ears will also pick up some surprising vernacular:
“Internet,” “intranet,” “extranet,” “eCave,” “knowledge worker,”
and more.
The influential St. Louis-based law firm is putting technology
to work for clients and, in doing so, doing nothing less than
reinventing itself and perhaps other law firms as well. To Bryan
Cave, it’s a “prima facie” case based on a “preponderance of
evidence.” Bryan Cave says its use of technology is “sine qua
non.” Just ask Walter L. Metcalfe, Jr., chairman.
“For 600 years, law was practiced the same way. We counseled,
advised and shared our knowledge to help keep people on solid
legal ground. Then technological innovations such as typewriters,
computers, faxes and the like increased speed tremendously,
and we were no longer counseling, advising and imparting knowledge.
We were reacting to events. Valuable portions of the profession
were lost. Now we’re embracing technology to restore our professionalism;
to get back to the fundamentals of law.”
And, e-gad, Bryan Cave’s foray into the world of e-business
might have a victim everyone loves to hate: the billable hour.
“No one really likes the billable hour,” Metcalfe says, one
of the city’s most prominent corporate lawyers and dealmakers.
“Clients think there is no incentive for efficiency, and attorneys
don’t like the pressure of billable hours. Clients want predictability
in billings, and we need to know we’re just not selling time.
Our services should be value-based, not time-based.”
As part of Metcalfe’s vow to “push our knowledge out the door;
not keep it locked up,” Bryan Cave, among the country’s largest
law firms with 600 attorneys and 1,400 employees in 17 offices
worldwide, recently began selling some of its legal advice in
a novel form at a fixed cost.
The advice currently takes the form of proprietary interactive
Internet information channels covering the areas of international
trade law and harassment law. Bryan Cave’s “NoZone” and “TradeZone”
are the first extranet components of “eCave,” which the firm
contends will revolutionize the way it delivers legal services.
“NoZone” is intended to help client employers avoid costly harassment
claims by employees. The program trains workplace supervisors
in harassment avoidance, tests supervisor knowledge of pertinent
law and policy and tracks corporate compliance. Client supervisors
have ongoing access to the tool and may periodically receive
e-mails that will alert supervisors to new developments and
the need to retrain and retest. Because the service is web-based,
Bryan Cave attorneys can update the program as the law changes.
“TradeZone” is a legal decision support service for non-lawyer
executives or in-house counsel to address complex international
trade questions.
TradeZone walks clients through a series of detailed questions
about its trading partner, the goods to be shipped and other
trade-related details. If the client’s answers indicate that
the transaction is likely to run into international trade snags,
TradeZone flashes a red light similar to a red traffic signal.
When clients hit a red light, they can immediately link to in-house
counsel or a Bryan Cave attorney for further information or
assistance. The firm’s international trade lawyers take turns
staffing the site.
In both cases, the idea is to advise clients and help them avoid
problems that would require attorney representation on the back
end.
“We decided to help protect companies in a way that minimizes
lawsuits,” Metcalfe says.
Bryan Cave’s web-based services are part of a concerted effort
to use technology to advance clients’ interests in a variety
of areas. To support litigation, for instance, Bryan Cave has
case management software that permits access from multiple locations
(including the client’s office; routinely files briefs and motions
electronically, and sometimes supports depositions and testimony
with video clips that are filed with courts on CD-ROM.
Spearheading the high-tech applications is John I. Alber, an
attorney and the firm’s technology partner who is leading the
firm’s development of a long-term information technology strategy.
Alber realizes that, if knowledge is power, then Bryan Cave’s
harnessing of power through IT can only be beneficial to clients.
He adds, moreover, that the technology itself is changing the
client-lawyer relationship.
“Technology has given us the opportunity to look at our business
from scratch,” Alber says. “These things are transforming the
client relationship.”
In fact, Metcalfe says Bryan Cave is offering “a new value equation”
whereby clients pay fixed fees for ongoing access to routine,
up-to-the-minute legal information and advice that is available
24 hours a day, seven days a week and that is custom-tailored
to meet individual and corporate needs. Fewer variable rate
hours would be expended only in those areas demanding the unique
talents and individual application of the knowledge of an attorney.
Metcalfe envisions clients who are better informed of the law,
ask more meaningful questions of the attorney and anticipate
problems before they occur. He says that “NoZone” and “TradeZone”
do just that.
So how do clients like the changes?
“Our clients are embracing it.”
William V. Poe is principal of Poe Communications, a St. Louis
advertising and marketing communications firm.
