TNS mrbi/136941/Law Society IT Survey/February 2006 1 Table of Contents Introduction Background & Research Methodology Research Methodology Charted Findings.

1 TNS mrbi/136941/Law Society IT Survey/February 2006

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


Introduction


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 19th and 30th January, 2006.


Charted Findings


Sample Profile


Sample ProfileBase: All Respondents: 200

18

6 1 1

25

29

11

4

28

18 33

4

5

3933

4

13

7

16

16

1966

12

8

89

Area%

No. of partners/Principals

%

No. of Other Staff%

No. of solicitors In firm

%

Presence Of Dedicted IT Person

%

Dublin

Rest of Leinster

Munster

Conn/ Ulster

1.75 5.85

1

3456+DKAvr

2

None

DKAvr

Yes

No

1

2-3

4-10

11+

1

2

3

4

5

6+


IT Equipment


Computer Hardware Packages Used Base: All Respondents: 200

2%

14%

23%

29%

62%

66%

99%

99%

100%

100%

78%

Other

PDAs

Digital Dictators

*Desktop PC

*Laptops

Scanner

*Networked PCs

Photocopier

Fax machine

Printers

*Any computer

Region No. of Solicitors

Dublin RoL Munster Conn/Uls 1 2-3 4-10 11+

% % % % % % % %

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

99 100 98 100 98 98 100 100

96 100 100 100 95 100 100 100

69 86 84 81 60 77 95 100

65 64 70 61 54 65 74 91

71 56 58 56 63 62 57 82

28 28 32 25 43 27 12 36

27 22 18 22 9 23 31 64

19 8 12 8 9 14 12 45

4 - - - 2 - 2 9

Q.5 Which, if any, of the following types of hardware does your firm use?

*”Any Computer” refers to any desktop PC, any networked PC, or any laptop.


Computer Software Packages Used Base: All Respondents: 200

1%

10%

16%

27%

30%

40%

56%

99%

None

Other

Time RecordingPackage

CaseManagement

DocumentManagement

Specific PayrollPackages

Diary

Word Processing

No. of Solicitors

1 2-3 4-10 11+

% % % %

98 98 98 100

42 55 64 73

22 36 55 91

22 23 43 55

11 23 43 64

5 14 24 55

- - 5 -

- 3 2 -

6 11 5 18

2 - - -

Q.4 And which, if any, of the following, computer software packages are used in your firm?


Accounts ManagementBase: All Respondents: 200

Manual18%

Computerised82%

14%

15%

1%

2%

3%

4%

4%

5%

8%

10%

12%

23%Harvest

Key House/Sam 3

Accountancy Software PackagesBase: All whose accounts are computerised: 164

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?

Italax

Safe Law

Opsis/Millennium

BCL Law

Lex

Alpha Law

Big Red Book

Sage

Other

Don’ t Know


Network Upgrades Base: All With Networked PCs: 156

Never1%About 4-5

years ago3%

Longer ago1%

D.K.2%

About 2-3 years ago

19%

Within the last year73%

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)?


Internet & Email Usage


Office Internet AccessBase: All Respondents: 200

No1%

Yes99%

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?

No20%

Yes80%

More likely to be:• Outside Dublin firms• Smaller firms

Internet Access Broadband


Staff Internet Usage Base: All with Internet access & all with relevant staff

121 3

8899 97

Yes

No

Partners/ Assistant OtherPrincipals Solicitors Staff

% % %

Q.8 Which of the following types of employees use the internet in your firm?

Non - usage more likely to be:• Outside Dublin firms

• Smaller firms


Types Of Information ObtainedBase: All with Internet Access: 199

53%

39%

38%

30%

25%

22%

21%

20%

18%

11%

11%

54%

54%

57%

63% 37%

43%

46%

46%

47%

61%

62%

70%

75%

78%

79%

80%

82%

89%

89%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

No Yes

Outside Dublin, smaller firms

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


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?

More likely to access…


Email UsageBase: All who have Internet access: 199

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?




No 7%Yes

With Courts Service

With Clients

Yes 93%

General E-mail Use

Internally with colleagues in office

Frequency x Type of Email Usage

Base: All using Email: 185

3

62

46

5

22

6

10

10

2

9

2

1

12

4

4

51

2

41

9

Everyday Every 2-3 days Once a wk Every 2-3 wks

Less often Never Don't Know


Firm WebsiteBase: All Respondents: 200

Yes24%

No77%

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?

11

17

34

21

17Very useful

Fairly useful

Not particularly useful

Not at all useful

Don’t know

Usefulness of WebsiteBase: All who have a website: 47

Incidence of Firm having a Website


Back-Up Policies


Back-Up PolicyBase: All Respondents: 200

No6%

Yes94%

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?

D.K.4%

Manual88%

External8%

More likely to be:• Dublin firms

Presence of Back-up PolicyExternal/Manual Back-Up

Base: All who have back-up policy: 188

More likely to be:• Outside Dublin firms• Smaller firms


Virus Protection


Virus ProtectionBase: All Respondents: 200

No2%

Yes98%

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?

D.K.3%

Manual17%

Automatic80%

Presence of Anti-Virus SoftwareManual/Automatic Update

Base: All with anti-virus software: 196

Q.20 And how often is this software updated automatically is it …….. ?

18

8

22

51Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Don’t know

Frequency of Automatic UpdatesBase: All whose anti-virus software

updates automatically: 156


Remote Access


Remote Access For SolicitorsBase: All Respondents: 200

Yes31%

No70%

More likely to be:• Outside Dublin • Smaller firms

Q.21 Can solicitors in your firm access the office network remotely from their homes?


No76%

Yes24%

External Staff & Remote AccessBase: All Respondents: 200

No81%

Yes19%

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?

More likely to be:• Dublin firms• Larger firms

Presence of External Typists/Support StaffRemote Access For External Typists/Support Staff

Base: All with external typists/support staff: 38


Voicemail Activated Landlines Base: All Respondents: 200

No56%

Yes44%

More likely to be:• Larger firms

Q.24 Does your firm have voicemail activated on the landlines in the office?


IT Management


IT Management Base: All Respondents: 200

55

40

89

46

60

11

Internal

External company

Yes

No

Internal/External

IT Management%

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.27 Do you have a dedicated IT person within the firm, or is it part of your or someone else’s job?

Presence of IT Support Contract With External

Company%

Incidence of Dedicated IT Person

%

Yes

No – part of my/someone

else’s job


Management Summary


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, only one 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.


Tabular Report


Appendix - Questionnaire

TNS mrbi/136941/Law Society IT Survey/February 2006 1 Table of Contents Introduction Background & Research Methodology Research Methodology Charted Findings.

Documents

tns mrbi136941law society

dublin firms larger

larger firms larger

medium firms dublin

solicitor firms

larger firms outiside

dublinmunster smaller

internet email usage