Go Digital

Read the scenario below (it can also be found on page 215 of your textbook). The setting is a law office with boxes full of hundreds of 3"x5" index cards containing client records.

Before taking the position with Owen Mason, Ethan had worked for a sole practitioner who had been practicing for thirty years. This attorney used somewhat outdated methods for scheduling and keeping track of client information. For example, he maintained a set of 3-by-5 cards, each containing all the personal information about a client. He also maintained a set of cards for opposing counsel and their clients, and copies with the names of the opposing parties that could be checked for conflicts of interest. In the scheduling system, a separate file was kept by Ethan, with the important dates for each case, which could be pulled out daily. The related file could then be recovered from the file room and put on the attorney's desk.

These systems were increasingly difficult to maintain accurately, which sometimes led to serious problems. In one incident, Ethan scheduled an appointment with a prospective client for one of the new associates in the office. The new client was suing someone who happened to be an existing client of the firm. However, the card for the existing client had been accidentally removed from the file. As a result, when Ethan searched the files, he did not discover the conflict, and informed the associate that the opposing party was not in the client card file. The associate accepted the case, reviewed all the case documents, and received a substantial retainer. But once the conflict was discovered, the firm was not able to represent either client.

For this assignment, prepare a memorandum stating the reasons why the attorney should switch to an electronic database. Detail the potential ethical problems that could be avoided by using a database to keep client records. Explain how a database could have prevented the client conflict described above.

Submit an essay that adheres to the following guidelines:

Your memorandum should be a minimum of 1 page long, (counting body text only, not title or reference pages) in double-spaced, one-inch margins on all sides.

You will be assessed on the rationale you use in addressing the question/issue posted, and how well you justify your argument regarding this issue.

Your response must be thought provoking, have well developed ideas and/or opinions, and should reference any supporting material from the text, lecture, or other sources you have used to complete the assignment.

Federal & Local Filing

Courts are recognizing the benefits of a paperless office and are changing their processes, such as filing, to accommodate. Use this assignment to investigate the various filing processes required by courts in your state as well as the federal court processes.

Research and compare the procedures for filing documents with a court in your home state and one federal court. Your assignment should consist of a comparison analysis between state courts and federal courts. Conclude with the advantages and disadvantages of e-filing court documents.

Submit an essay that adheres to the following guidelines:

Your essay should be an in-depth submission, free of spelling and grammar errors.

Your essay should be a minimum of one page in length, (counting body text only, not title or reference pages) in double-spaced, one-inch margins on all sides.

You will be assessed on the rationale you use in addressing the question/issue posted, and how well you justify your argument regarding this issue.

Your response must be thought provoking, have well developed ideas and/or opinions, and should reference any supporting material from the text, lecture, or other sources you have used to complete the assignment.

You may use your text or the Internet as a reference, but remember to cite your sources.

Submit this essay to the "Federal & Local Filing" Dropbox by Sunday, 11:59PM (Mountain).

Discussion

Here is the prompt that will launch our discussion for the week. Be sure to select the Discussions page to the left under Week 5 to start posting:

Technology is here to stay and growing exponentially by the minute. Once upon a time, books were kept on tangible bookshelves, and legal offices were occupied with upright filing cabinets filled with numerous paper documents. Computer technology brings many changes that decrease the amount of paper that a legal office uses. For your assignment, feel free to use previously covered chapters as well. For your class discussion, answer the following:

What are at least five factors that create a paperless office? Describe why these factors contribute to a paperless office.

Do you foresee any challenges, either current or future, with a paperless office? Explain your reasoning.