A Page on the Web, published in the Solicitors Journal, November 1999.
Back in January we looked at some examples of ‘internet shopping’ or e-commerce as it’s now commonly known. 1999 has seen most suppliers of substance implement e-commerce sites – ie sites where you can actually acquire the goods and services on offer, rather than just reading about them.
So you can now select and order most of the supplies and services needed to run your office without leaving your desk. Not only can you continue to use existing suppliers’ services more efficiently; you can also very easily shop around for better deals and selectively use alternative suppliers.
Web addresses are quoted selectively below. For a full set of links to the suppliers mentioned and many more, visit the new infolaw High Street pages [now see Lawfinder: Services].
Computer equipment
In January we looked at buying a computer online. All the major suppliers have efficient sites where you can select the computer model appropriate to your needs, modify the basic configuration and recalculate the price online and purchase by credit card or on account, all within a few minutes.
This is fine if you have decided on the make you wish to purchase and are happy to pay the manufacturer’s price (and this is the only way to purchase from a direct supplier such as Dell). For a wider range of computer supplies and services and competitive pricing, you will probably head for a large computer store. My company uses Action Computer Supplies at www.action.co.uk. You can find here many makes of PC and printer, network products, peripherals, software, data storage and other computer consumables. There are good search facilities. At present the site does not carry illustrations which is (surprisingly) annoying.
PC World at www.pcworld.co.uk has a product range geared towards the home user, though of course most of the basic hardware and software and consumables are equally appropriate for the office.
Drop in as well to PC Index at www.pcindex.co.uk which consists of a huge browsable database of PC-related products and their current retail prices. It provides the ability to search for specific products and find the best prices offered by retailers around the UK.
Office supplies
For more general office supplies and stationery your current supplier should by now have a website. If not, or you are looking for an alternative, visit Viking Direct at www.viking-direct.co.uk which has a complete range of supplies at competitive prices.
Law stationers StatPlus at www.statplus.co.uk have internet ordering. Oyez Straker at www.oyez.co.uk offer two alternative ‘electronic trading’ services, but these are not internet-based.
Books
In January we looked at buying law books online. The best service currently would appear to be Hammicks at www.hammickslegal.co.uk, though LawbooksOnline at www.lawbooks-online.com has an extensive catalogue and Blackwells at bookshop.blackwell.co.uk is also worth a visit.
Forms
You can of course order paper forms from your law stationer (see Office supplies above). However, electronic versions of many standard law forms are now available free from official sites (in Adobe pdf format) and more recently from EveryForm (in HotDocs format). For links to forms sites, visit Proforma Forms at www.proformaforms.co.uk. See also March’s Page on the Web.
Legal software and services
There are some 100 suppliers offering law systems and services to the UK legal market. They all now have web presences, though for the most part, software cannot be ordered online – some sites do offer online demonstrations and/or downloadable samples or evaluation versions.
Internet services
There are many companies offering web development services to law firms. Although many will claim to offer a specialist service, the claim is only justified in a handful of cases. The company which appears to have attracted the largest number of legal clients is GoInteractive at www.gointeractive.co.uk. Other established legal industry web development specialists are Legalease at www.legalease.co.uk and NKT Computer Consultants at www.nkt.net.
In a different category are those companies seeking to provide a full range of internet services ‘dedicated’ to the legal sector. These include Lawyers Online at www.lawyersonline.co.uk and LegalISP.net at www.legalisp.net.
Staff
Finally, to that most expensive resource of all – people. The principal legal magazines offer online versions of their appointments pages and generally an online advert will be included in the fee for the advertisement in the print version. The principal sites are the Law Society’s Gazette at www.lawgazette.co.uk, The Lawyer at www.the-lawyer.co.uk, In Brief at www.inbrief.co.uk and Legal Week at www.lwk.co.uk.
Many recruitment consultants are on the web, though it appears that the prime objective is to attract candidates to their books rather than servicing their clients online.
