The situation is serious and will get worse.

There are solicitors who believe that information technology is not for them.

The surveys all show that there are still firms which have no word processor, let alone practice management systems etc.The valid excuses used to be:-- it is too expensive;-- it is only for the boffins and is too difficult for mere mortals;-- it does not give me any benefit.These excuses are rapidly losing their credibility.

The price of hardware continues to tumble.

The graphical user interface has made computers considerably easier to learn about and to use.

Increasingly, it can be demonstrated that firms which use IT sensibly, whatever their size, are more profitable and deliver a higher quality service at lower unit cost than their non-computerised competitors.Certainly, it can no longer be argued that investment in IT is the exclusive preserve of the large firms.

One of the interesting attributes of IT is that it is easier and cheaper to implement a complete and powerful set-up in a small firm than in a large one.By IT, I do not mean giving the secretary a word processor and leaving everything else unchanged - that merely represents an extra overhead to the firm.

Nor would I necessarily argue that the senior partner be made to type all his or her own documents - though there are interesting statistics to show how considerable economies can be made by introducing a measure of fee-earner typing.I focus instead on the nature of the solicitor's job and how the new technology can transform it.There is of course no such thing as a typical solicitor: one must differentiate in terms of size and structure of firm, geography, type of work, etc.

However, most solicitors perform three functions:-- they advise (from multinationals in high value corporate transactions to the man in the street in relation to his welfare benefits);-- they persuade (in court and in negotiation); and-- they process transactions (from conveyancing through debt collection and probate to company formation).Within the first two functions, the key to performing effectively lies in the ability to obtain up to date information quickly, cheaply and efficiently.

Paper-based sources are difficult to manage and navigate around.

There have now arrived on the mar ket services which harness the powers of search and storage to assist in the performance of these tasks.When it comes to doing standardised transactions, the ability of the computer to assist in dealing with processes and procedures is coming into its own.

It is not that the computer does away with the need for a solicitor but, armed with the appropriate technology, the solicitor is considerably more productive.For the lawyer who is not using IT, the seriousness of the situation is that there are now competitors who are reaping the benefits of their investment in computers, software and training.

This is a modest investment in financial terms but, to be realistic, a considerable one in time, effort and culture change.

These firms are all competing against the lawyer who is not using IT, in a difficult marketplace where the clients are more aware of value for money, quality and timeliness.

Cutting prices will not win the day.If pressure from the clients were not enough, government and its agencies are going to require those with whom they deal to fit in with their way of doing business.

Of course, it is not obligatory to have sophisticated IT to win a legal aid franchise, but I envisage the development of systems at the Legal Aid Board reaching the point where franchise holders will have to be able to deal electronically with their paymasters in order to make any sense of the system.Likewise, dealings with the Land Registry, Land Charges Registry and the court administration, let alone the judges themselves, are going to require the ability to communicate electronically and process incoming and outgoing data internally.Is this so very strange? In industry these trends have been visible for some time.

Initially it was the figure workers who benefited from the arrival of the personal computer and the spreadsheet.

But the lessons in what happens to employment when IT is applied to a function are clear to see.

Our problem is that the computer has now reached the level of sophistication at which it can start to deal with words, information and workflow in the same way that spreadsheets dealt with figures a generation ago.The positive messages are:-- It is by no means too late to do anything about it if you are not yet making use of IT.

You have missed the mistakes that the frontiersmen made.

You can learn from them.-- There exist organisations which are alive to the problems which practitioners have in making the adjustment.

The Law Society's recent appointment of an IT specialist bodes well for a concerted awareness, education and training campaign.

One of the main functions of the Society for Computers and Law is to encourage a flow of expertise and know-how from those using IT to the uninitiated.-- There are products and skilled help where the potential payback can be measured in months and not years.IT will not go away.

It is affecting our lives in a fundamental way, all around us.

The legal profession is not exempt from what is happening in the rest of the world.

Whether you are a success story or a casualty is up to you.