A Paperless Office - Fact or Fiction

Lurking somewhere under the remains of a few thousand shredded trees lies a beautiful wooden

desk made of cherry. I fondly remember the day we moved into our new office building. The desk

was clean, and it sparkled as my computer was put into place. That was the last I saw of that

desktop. It is now a cluttered mess of notices, claims registers and copies of claims.

</p><p>I really have no business complaining; my desk could never compare with those of the U.S.

courts. Each year, the number of cases being filed increases, and, along with it, the amount of

paper continues to grow. There have been promises to reduce those piles of paper—electronic

filing, imaging and e-mail—but courts and lawyers have been slow, if not reluctant, to embrace

such innovations. What is the current status of these promises, and where are those of us in the

legal profession going?

</p><p>For a number of years, a majority of bankruptcy courts have made dockets available through

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). This allows for review of the dockets and

general case information, but it doesn't allow for access to the documents themselves. In July

1997, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York implemented General

Order #182 (entered <i>nunc pro tunc</i> to Nov. 25, 1996). It put into place the "procedures for

the filing, signing and verification of documents by electronic means." It enables attorneys to

electronically file pleadings and other documents by converting their documents to a PDF

(portable document format) file, and then following the easy step-by-step guide for accessing

the system and submitting the documents. (The user's manual for the S.D.N.Y.'s Electronic

Filing System is available on the Internet at <a href="http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov&quot; target="window2">http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov</a&gt;.)

</p><p>This system, originally used only for chapter 11 cases, was developed through a joint effort

of the Technical Enhancement Office of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) and

the S.D.N.Y. Currently, there are pilot projects in San Diego and Atlanta to test electronic filing

in chapter 7 and 13 cases.

</p><p>Will electronic filing eliminate the piles of paper on our desks and in our courts? "Paperless,

probably not; paper-reduced, absolutely," says Cecelia Morris, clerk of the S.D.N.Y.

Bankruptcy Court. "We are already seeing a reduction in the amount of paper." There are nine

federal courts currently using the electronic filing system, five of which are bankruptcy

courts. Morris points out that the bankruptcy courts are moving the most aggressively toward

electronic filing, given the fact that bankruptcy is so "paper intensive." By the year 2001, the

AOUSC will be offering the electronic filing system to every federal court in the nation.

Surprisingly, our government is moving relatively quickly on this issue, but will law firms be

ready for this change?

</p><p>West Group, while developing its WestFile Electronic Filing Service, conducted a great amount

of research to determine whether lawyers are mentally and technically prepared for such

changes. Unfortunately, only 44 percent of the lawyers polled were even interested in

electronic filing, and only 41 percent would consider using such a system. (See West Group's

Electronic Filing Research Library at <a href="http://www.westfile.com/research.htm&quot; target="window2">http://www.westfile.com/research.htm</a&gt;.) One reason why

the interest in electronic filing is low could be that law firms have not utilized the Internet as

quickly as other professions; 53 percent of those polled have had access to the Internet for only

a year or less. For those who do have access, less than 19 percent have it at speeds of 56K or

greater. The law is a profession steeped with great traditions and history; however, in today's

rapidly changing world, if the government is surpassing you in computer technology, then

something is amiss. "We are trying to change a culture," says Morris, and it is not an easy task.

"Some firms are amazingly progressive," but there are many others that continue to drag their

feet.

</p><p>One firm that is clearly not dragging its feet with respect to technology is Hahn Loeser &amp; Parks

LLP of Cleveland. It is counsel for the Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation and

four of its affiliates—the largest health care organization to ever file chapter 11. The Allegheny

cases were filed in Pittsburgh, but most of the creditors and professionals, aside from local

counsel, are scattered across the country. To solve this problem, Hahn Loeser &amp; Parks created

an online bankruptcy case document library—one of the first of its kind. Creditors can look at

http://www.aherfch11.org to find up-to-date information about the proceedings, counsels'

names and addresses, instructions for filing proofs of claim, the current status of motions that

have been filed and more. In addition, interested parties can e-mail inquiries directly to the

firm through the web site and have those questions answered without ever picking up the

telephone.

</p><p>The web is not the only saving grace in this case for Jean R. Robertson, an associate with Hahn

Loeser &amp; Parks. "In order to be an attorney with a regional practice, which is what is

happening in the bankruptcy arena, you must utilize e-mail. I could not have accomplished as

much as I have without using this amazing tool," Robertson said. "The clear majority of the

documents filed in this case have traveled between cities with the click of a button. We have

saved the debtors' estate an unquantifiable amount of money in telephone costs, paper, postage,

delivery and, most important of all, time."

</p><p>Hahn Loeser &amp; Parks is already preparing itself for the future of federal practice. Robertson

said that employees of the firm have recently attended electronic filing seminars in the

Cleveland area. "We are looking forward to, and are excited about, the prospect of having

electronic filing in the Northern District of Ohio. We want to be ready."

</p><p>That future brings with it some ideas that will boggle the minds of those unwilling to change.

"E-filing is a reality," said Phil Ytterberg, National Market Development manager for West

Group's WestFile. "Viable systems will become readily available within the next two years. A

nationwide system, accessible to all courts for anyone who wants to file something, will take

five to 10 years to mature, although with the appropriate customer service, training, support

and product integration, it could be much sooner."

</p><p>To prepare for today's reality and tomorrow's future, Poorman-Douglas Corp. has created a

claims processing and reconciliation system that is available through the Internet. The system

allows the debtor, debtor's counsel and the court instant access to the claim and schedule

information, and offers the ability to prepare customized reports. More importantly, it

provides a secure database to the debtor and debtor's counsel for reconciliation. All the

reconciliation requirements can be done without affecting the claim information that is required

by the court.

</p><p>This system has been designed with the future in mind. "This is just the beginning of what will

someday be a common workflow system," says Eric Sterling, one of the system's creators. "One

day, very soon, we will be replacing PDF documents with XML (Extensible Market Language)

documents. XML is essentially a language that creates intelligent documents that can do the work

for you." Simply put (if any of this technology could ever be considered simple), an attorney

could file an objection to a claim indicating that claim number 123 should be expunged. When

the judge signs that order, the signed document actually speaks to the claims database and

expunges the claim. It is incredible, but actually possible.

</p><p>Technology is both frightening and exciting. It has changed and will continue to change the way

that the legal profession conducts business. We will be faster, more proficient and streamlined.

More importantly, I may once again see my beautiful desk.