Document creation is the bread and butter of most law practices and yet many attorneys - despite the omnipresence of computers in the legal industry - continue to create documents one-at-a-time using the same archaic methods that have reigned from time immemorial. Perhaps this is why many attorneys see the computer as an unwanted expense (or foe) rather than as a good investment (or friend). In this column, I will briefly address how automated document generation tools are changing the way attorneys practice law.

Law offices create a diversity of documents on a daily basis. Some are substantive legal documents (i.e. pleadings, contracts, etc...) while others are of a more administrative variety (i.e. retainer letters, collection letters, etc...). In order to meet this demand, law offices commonly revise old documents to satisfy current needs. Unfortunately, this is a time consuming and error prone process closely resembling that employed by the scribes of antiquity.

First you have to locate the old document in electronic format. This can be quite a chore as many firm's file naming protocols and electronic file management systems are haphazardly organized. Second, if you are fortunate enough to find the document, someone with some legal experience, training and/or both will have to mark up the document. Although this involves some substantive legal changes, most of the work involves non-substantive, tedious tasks like making certain that each name, address and pronoun reference are correct throughout the document. Third, someone will have to type in each of the changes and/or do the appropriate cutting and pasting in order to create the initial draft of the new document. Finally, an attorney and/or experienced staff member will have to revise the grammar and content of the draft to make certain that it reads right, satisfies all of the legal requirements, and is properly tailored to meet the client's needs.

Automated document generation programs, by contrast, are designed to help you move from legal form to final product in one maybe two steps. Most of the "lawyering" is done in the development of the "templates" and "intake questionnaires" so that most anyone can generate good quality documents by simply answering a series of simple questions.

Some of you who specialize in highly form driven practice areas (i.e. bankruptcy or real estate) are probably using such tools already. Fortunately for you, the development of the "templates" and "intake questionnaires" has already been done. For many others, however, the forms they need are too "Vermont specific" or their practices are too diverse to justify the investment in all of the practice specific tools that they need. Therefore they need to consider more "generic" tools (i.e. HotDocs).

Generic tools are typically less expensive than practice specific tools, but also involve a greater learning curve. The advantage of generic tools, however, is that they can be tailored to perfectly match the needs of your practice. Properly designed, any staff person can convert the answers from a client intake questionnaire into a packet of substantive legal and administrative documents in minutes. Moreover, since the documents produced are saved in most any common wordprocessor format (i.e. WordPerfect or Word) they can easily be edited without any knowledge of HotDocs.

In conclusion, if Vermont practice follows trends in other areas of the country, the proper use of automated document generation tools - practice-specific and/or generic - will soon become a critical tool in the arsenal of law offices that desire to compete effectively in the next millennium. For those concerned with more immediate needs, however, I believe that they will see the following types of returns on an investment in automated document generation software:

1. Increased Profitability. Years ago, when I worked for a firm that represented many hospitals and other health facilities, the firm had developed a series of forms that they could produce in minutes, charge $500.00 for and still beat their competition.

2. Avoid Malpractice Claims. The process of tailoring documents previously produced for one client to meet the current needs of another client are fraught with danger of errors and, in turn, malpractice claims. Automated document generation programs do not eliminate errors altogether, but they greatly reduce the likelihood of errors by systematically changing terms the variable terms in documents.

3. Reduce reliance upon trained staff. High staff and attorney turnover rates cost you money and adversely affect continuity of service to clients. Automated document generation programs insulate you from many of these vagaries of modern life by empowering relatively unskilled employees to create excellent drafts and/or final documents by simply answering a series of simple questions.

Copyright [2003].  All rights reserved, except any article may be copied in its entirety, for non-profit usage, with proper attribution so long as a copy of said article, as reprinted, is sent to Mr. Atherton at P.O. Box 90, Northfield Falls, VT  05664.

Steven H. Atherton

The Digital Lawyer