You may be familiar with the term "expert systems".  In the context of legal web sites, we prefer to use the term "Digital Legal Solution".  A "digital legal solution" is a web-enabled software application that enables a user to resolve a legal problem or issue without the assistance of an attorney.  We call a web site that is built around digital legal solutions a "Smart Web Site." Digital legal solutions can be used by consumers directly to help them solve their legal problems on their own.

Digital Legal Solutions

A "digital legal solution" is intended to be a more inclusive concept than what is known as an "expert legal system" in the sense that it includes a variety of applications which are not quite "expert systems", but have the same impact and utility to the customer.

Examples of digital legal solutions that we have developed include:

• web-based calculators - An example would be a child support calculator.
  Also see Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Evaluator - another example of a digital legal solution.  
• diagnostic checklists - Here is an example of a diagnostic checklist for analyzing your divorce.
• Rapidocs can also be used to generate customized legal answers and memos in response to a customer's data input to a Rapidocs Questionnaire.  Instead of generating an assembled document, Rapidocs can assemble a legal memorandum that contains answers to questions that are contained within the Questionnaire.  Since Rapidocs contains a full logic engine, and supports calculations internally, many kinds of digital solutions can be created within Rapidocs itself, such as tax computations, estate planning computations, and other financial calculations.

Theory:  Web Sites That Think Like Lawyers

Web Sites That Think

Digital legal solutions offer important benefits to consumers of legal services by enabling self-help approaches.  We believe that these solutions will continue to proliferate at an accelerating rate as computer processing power continues to increase exponentially.  The reach of the Internet is a new factor which is driving the development of these intelligent applications in ways not possible when distribution of software applications was limited to the desktop.

An excellent work which supports our view that the Internet will change the delivery of legal services in the future can be found in the work of Richard Susskind and his latest book, The Future of Law. In Susskind's view, the most successful law firm's of the future will be those which embrace disruptive technologies.  These disruptive technologies challenge static practices and are the focus of our company's work.  Every managing partner or executive director of a law firm should read Susskind's book. I t provides a blue print for creating "Smart Web Sites" and streamlining the delivery of legal services.

However, we believe that it is unlikely that law firms will have either the capital, the discipline, or the motivation to create digital legal solutions that substitute for their labor. We believe that only the few, innovative law firms, will embrace digital legal solutions that substitute for their labor and the billable hour.  Thus we believe that innovation, as it always does, will come from outside of the legal industry.

Resources

Here are helpful resources on this topic:

The Latent Market for Legal Services by Richard Granat
From Legal Services to Information Services by Richard Granat

Digital Legal Solutions

GE Patent Advisor - by Jnana Corporation- the pioneer in this field.

Legal Expert Systems Vendors

Jnana Technologies Corporation - Enabling Self-Service Over the Web
A Guide to Artifical Intellience and Law Resources
Expert System: Domestic Violence
Expert System: Litigation Risk
Expert System: SecureTax (United States)
EXSYS WEB Runtime Engine
OSHA Software Expert Systems
Privacy Consultations
Expert System: Negligence
Intranet Legal Risk Assessment Program
ICaR Systems - expert system shell to capture legal, business, medical, etc. knowledge in its natural language form, save it and re-apply over time.  ICAR is a tool to provide corporate employees and clients with expensive professional expertise at a fraction of cost.

More Information

For more information - contact us.