WIRED LAWYERS
Ruth Fernandez-Yap

This article was lifted from the e-magazine website. Atty. Ivan Uy was featured in Vol. 1 No. 19 issue of e-magazine. He is currently the Vice President of the Philippine Computer Society. He has been a PCS member since 1991.

Next to law books, lawyers now view computers and the Internet as important tools in their practice.

The TV series "The Practice" on RPN 9 gives us a peek into the work and lives of practicing lawyers. The impeachment trial last year showed to nonlawyers the meaning and implications of legal terminologies and procedures that happen inside a courtroom. For us outside the legal business, the tasks of lawyers seem too daunting. There are voluminous works to be reviewed, witnesses to be examined and cross-examined, and piles upon piles of books and research materials to read.

But these tasks become easier if they get a little help from technology.

In the past, lawyers found no use for computers, or so they thought, until the Internet came along. This revolutionary technology has transformed the way we live, modified the way we do business Ð it's practically changing everybody's lifestyle, including the lawyers'. In the beginning, everything was done out of curiosity and the need "to belong." Later on, however, the Web took a different face in the eyes of law practitioners. Faced with technology that would never go away, lawyers were forced to update or be outdated, connect or disintegrate. They either hook up or face the threat of being totally left out of the competition. Suddenly, it has become a connected world.

A law student from Xavier University College of Law in Cagayan de Oro city dreamt of developing a Web site that will answer the needs of working law students like him. He envisioned it to be a site that would provide complete jurisprudence, statutes and other legal information.

Maynard L. Flores did not even think that his dream would come true Ð and in an impressive manner at that. On April 25, 2000, Pinoylaw.com was born. "Pinoylaw.com has evolved into a Web site offering free legal advice online as its main attraction," Flores said.

Traditional ways of reaching clients maybe as effective as the Web, but as competition gets tough and the market gets really saturated, more and more lawyers are thinking of alternative and fresher ways to present their causes. Over at Zamora, Mendoza and Associates, Atty. Anthony Zamora believes that the Internet is another effective medium to reach clients. "We came across electronic commerce and all these new technologies via the media.

We were thinking of new ways to reach potential clients, so we tried the Web," he said.

Atty. Rudy Quimbo, Senator Juan Flavier's chief of staff, has another story to tell. "Four years ago, a group needed someone with my expertise to study e-commerce, so I got the job," he said. That job inevitably led him to the World Wide Web. He now takes pride in being a part of the team that provided the legal infrastructure of the Philippine E-Commerce Law.

For Atty. Jesus Disini, Jr., the principal author of the E-Commerce Law's Implementing Rules and Regulations, the Web was an eventuality. "With the present computer technology, one will surely come across the Internet," he said.

Atty. Ivan John Uy, MIS chief of the Supreme Court, shares the same view.

The Web has been beneficial to all kinds of professions. Has it helped the law profession as well?

Even with the Web technology, the legal profession per se is already a tough call for anyone - and the Web seems to compound what is generally perceived as one of the toughest and most complicated professions. Aside from studying a case, lawyers now have a duty to familiarize themselves with computer technicalities.

At the start, some lawyers were wary of the negative effects of the Internet on their profession. But today, they know exactly how to use it to their advantage. The Internet is now part of the whole legal picture. Some are even taking the initiative to promote the technology.

"I can do minor troubleshooting, but only on a certain level," said Atty. Disini, a Humphrey Fellow on Law and Technology and chief information officer at the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Asked about his computer proficiency, Atty. Uy said, "I know enough to help me decide on technology policies." He is not a programmer but can analyze the impact of IT issues on the court or legal processes.

The Supreme Court is leading the promotion of IT and the Internet in the legal world. It is now working on the guidelines for Electronic Filing and Electronic Evidence. This new framework, which will be ready in a few months, promises the country's legal system another electronic structure to utilize in their practice.

The Supreme Court has its own Web site (www.supremecourt.gov.ph), which functions as a clearinghouse for information originating from the judicial branch of the Philippine government. Newly promulgated decisions and resolutions, as well as administrative orders issued by the Chief Justice and the Court Administrator, are posted on the homepage for a faster dissemination of information.

When the Supreme Court's budget is increased, Atty. Uy said they would interconnect all the courts in the country.

The Internet doesn't eliminate the usual court appearances and proceedings, but a lot of burden has been lifted from the shoulders of lawyers. Pinoylaw.com's online legal service, for instance, receives an average of six queries per day. It has an online attorney that answers legal questions free of charge.

Generally, lawyers have a receptive attitude towards the computer and Web technology. For others, appreciation comes easy, while for some, the traditional is still the best way. But a "wired" lawyer is definitely at an advantage as against the traditional lawyers, insofar as access to information and clients is concerned.

With information technology, one can disseminate information at an unbelievable speed. Think of what good it does to lawyers of different nationalities and from different parts of the world sharing views on international and national issues. The speed by which people communicate is greatly increased.

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