Wide-ranging reach: Lawyer Greg Siskind says the Internet has made practicing law easier and more global. Siskind's staff is spread over three countries (Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY)

Jury's in: Lawyers find in favor of Net

By Troy Glasgow for USA TODAY

Greg Siskind has a happy marriage, lives in an area he loves and enjoys practicing law — thanks to the Internet.

In the early 1990s, Siskind was working for one of the largest law firms in Nashville. He took the job after graduating from nearby Vanderbilt University law school and was courting a woman he hoped would be his wife. There was just one problem — Siskind discovered that he wanted to be an immigration lawyer after handling a few cases for his firm, and there wasn't much demand for that specialty in the middle of Tennessee.

He looked for jobs out of state, but his fiancée made it clear that she wasn't moving.

Then the Internet took off, and Siskind suddenly had a way to communicate with potential clients around the world. During a frantic three months in 1994, he got married, put up a rudimentary Web site and started his own firm.

"I was sort of making it up as I went along, because there weren't any models," he says.

Today, Siskind Susser Haas & Devine is a successful practice with offices in Toronto, Beijing and five U.S. cities. Siskind, 33, is one of thousands of lawyers across the USA who rely on the Internet to:

Do research. Five years ago, Siskind had to drive to a courthouse or library to get many of the research documents he needed. Now his personal legal library is inside every PC, thanks to a crop of research Web sites that is bringing legal documents online.

Douglas Haldane, an insurance lawyer with Meyer Knight & Williams in Houston, also relies on Web sites for research. "Anytime I need to look anything up, the first thing I do is go to the Net," he says.

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One of the best-known sites is Lexis.com, which contains more than 200 million legal documents ranging from expert analysis of the latest legislation to Supreme Court decisions from 1791. Other popular sites include FindLaw, The Virtual Chase (http://www.virtualchase.com/) and Westlaw. Without such sites, "There are some things you'd never find," Siskind says.

File documents. Online filing is in its infancy, but more than 90 million cases were filed in state courts alone in 1998, according to the most recent data obtained by the National Center for State Courts. If courts don't start putting some of their documents online, they'll "drown in a sea of paper," says Matthew Schiltz, CEO of CourtLink, a company that builds Web-based legal document management systems.

"We'd love to be able to (file immigration documents online), but it's not available yet," Siskind says. He is eagerly watching as online filing is slowly implemented across the USA.

Colorado is in the process of introducing the first statewide "e-filing" system, which allows lawyers to file motions and divorce papers over the Internet.

Other large judicial systems, such as those in San Diego and San Francisco, have also allowed some documents to be filed online, and many more are studying the issue.

Fulton County, Ga., started offering online filing for certain cases in October, and the move has reduced the number of phone calls into the courthouse 25% to 30%, court administrator Michael Rary says.

"There are 100,000 pieces of paper out there in cyberspace that have never hit this courthouse," Rary says. Online filing is so new, though, that Rary says he is "winging it" and doesn't expect the service to become widespread for about five years. Other experts agree.

Take classes. Lawyers must take several classes a year to keep credentials up to date in most states. Some of these "Continuing Legal Education" courses are now offered online, allowing lawyers to take them from their offices instead of traveling to seminars.

Siskind says he's a "fan" of online training sites such as Taecan.com, which offers 162 classes on everything from sexual harassment to housing law.

"Time is the biggest commodity out there for lawyers. If they can take some (legal classes) without taking time out of their practice, that's a benefit," says Brad Lagusch, marketing director for the Ohio State Bar Association. Lagusch says the online courses are especially popular in rural areas, where access to live seminars is limited.

Communicate. "We use the Web site to collaborate with lawyers in multiple markets and collaborate with clients," Siskind says. "A lot of days, I don't even have to come into the office."

Siskind has put his calendar online to make it easier for clients to schedule appointments. He posts public legal documents online so they can see where their cases stand. An online case-tracking system sends clients e-mail when documents are filed.

"It really cuts down on the phone tag," says Carole Levitt, president of Internet for Lawyers, a legal training company. "And it empowers the client."

Virtual case files also help teams of lawyers work together on a single project. Siskind's staff, for example, is spread over three countries. They use the Net to share documents and notes and use an instant messaging system to keep in touch.

Advertise. "Lawyers spend more money on Yellow Pages listings than any other group," says Stacy Stern, president of FindLaw. "The Internet is changing the way lawyers market themselves." Web sites, such as Siskind's, are popular. Lawyers can also place their names in online directories for a fraction of the cost of print advertising. Many also choose to post articles they have written on the Internet.