Mobile communications in the legal environment: the users' perspective

In a follow up to last month's article on 'Mobile Communication' from Michael Robinson, of Bevan Ashford, Heather Robinson Head of Information & Library Services, Stuart Whitfield, a Partner in the commercial department, and Erika Hodkinson, the Communication Executive, give their views on how this technology has assisted them in their work.

Heather Robinson

A recent Institute of Personnel & Development (IPD) survey indicates that one third of employees take their work home with them. The IPD are concerned about the implications of this on both employees and businesses. I have to admit that I fall into this group, but I find that the flexibility to work outside the office improves my productivity and helps me to manage projects and panic levels more effectively.

So how does mobile communication work for me?

I am head of a team of five professional and one para-professional staff, the work we do is a mixture of rapid response, which requires us to drop everything, and ongoing project work which demands a considerable amount of creative thought. As a team we rely heavily on IT and use the range of MS Office and Novell GroupWise products, CD Rom, Internet and Intranet services, without access to these facilities I am unable to carry out my work. To further complicate matters Bevan Ashford is a multi-site office and I am out of my home office visiting one of our other branches two or three times per month.

My main tool is a Toshiba laptop, which I use on a docking station when at my desk. Whilst plugged into the docking station this machine gives me full access to the Bevan Ashford network and I have a full size screen and keyboard, which are more comfortable to use than the miniaturised versions on the laptop. The laptop has a number of essential software packages, including Word and Excel loaded onto the hard drive so that I can work off line on the train whilst travelling. I have had one cool colleague who finished a report on her laptop whilst trapped in a lift.

The laptop has an in-built modem, which allows me to log into the network from any location, using an ordinary telephone socket. I can then dial into my E-mail and calendar by using GroupWise Remote or I can dial into the network using Citrix.

The Citrix link is a real bonus as it gives me access to documents held on our network and allows me to use all the networked CD Rom products and the office Intranet just as if I were at my desk. This extends the range of tasks I can perform out of the office considerably and enables me to be more flexible and more productive.

Access to the e-mail from home means that I can put off reading non urgent mail until I am out of the office. Saving time in the office is important to me, as a parent I have strict deadlines when it comes to arrival and home times and using the lap top allows me to complete the day's tasks.

Using the lap top also helps me to plan and prioritise. I do not want to spend an unlimited time working at home so I try to ensure that the work I do bring home is essential and timely and that I schedule my week to allow for social events and emergencies. The GroupWise Calendar is key to my efficiency, I use this one planner to record all dates and tasks, for home and work so that I have one record and one place to look. This means that I can forget about events and deadlines until they are required and focus on what is immediately pressing.

Stuart Whitfield - The Fee Earner's Perspective

From my point of view the most important ability whilst on the move is to have accurate access to one's diary and email. For this purpose a Palm Pilot or similar device is more than adequate, although it falls down where there are lengthy attachments or were long replies are needed to emails. However, from the point of view of portability it is hard to beat.

However, there will always be a trade off between portability and screen size, and hence the ability to display and handle large quantities of text.

For my home link to the office I use GroupWise Remote, which provides a quick and reasonably reliable means of synchronising emails and diaries (including the ability to send and receive email attachments). This is fine so far as it goes, although it does not provide access to any other office based systems or resources and, inevitably, the precedent one needs at 2am or the latest draft of document has not been attached to an email, which can be frustrating. When working at home my slow typing speed can delay my response time if large amounts of text are required.

I consider the most important feature of devices and software enabling mobile or remote working is connectivity and common software packages: each of the hardware devices must be able to talk to the others and the software packages must, ideally, be kept to a minimum and be capable of importing and exporting data to each other. Contact lists and databases are far more valuable where they can be easily accessed and updated from whichever device one is using with minimum loss of functionality.

I have not yet used digital dictation systems, which would save time and allow me to transmit dictation files to my secretary for typing or with instructions for carrying out other work.

In the near future I hope to be able to access seamlessly the firm's Intranet and knowledge management systems remotely, enabling me to search for precedence, advice letters, accounts information etc seamlessly.

An exciting development will be the new generation of WAP telephones and PDAs which promise even more seamless mobile communication coupled with internet access and, together with increased bandwidth and evolving data compression techniques, should enable streamed video soon - the palmtop video conference phone could become the next essential business tool!

Erica Hodkinson - Citrix

Advanced Information Technology systems have made it possible for me to work from home on a part time basis, without the hassle and difficulty which so often stops employers from instituting these types of arrangements. I am the first test pilot, so to speak, of a formal work at home arrangement at Bevan Ashford.

As the Communications Executive, I handle the firm's public relations, which involves a fair amount of research and a great deal of writing. The advanced Citrix framework allows me access to all of Bevan Ashford's drives and files as well as the firm's library and information services and my email. There is nothing that I can do in the office that I can't do at home.

Additionally, the Citrix Meta Frame programme is so quick that there is no hesitation while writing or opening files, which may sound unimportant, but saves on aggravation and wasted time.

I mainly utilise Citrix to access the firm's Intranet, which has a fairly well developed know-how database of firm and legal information, Word 98, Groupwise and the Internet. It is because of our IT systems that this work at home pilot has been so successful, both in my eyes and those of the Partnership.

For further information on Mobile Communication at Bevan Ashford contact Michael Robinson, Director of IT, on:
T: 0117 923 0111
F: 0117 929 1865
E: m.robinson@bevanashford.co.uk