The reason is simple. Notes and Domino lets you do inexpensively what previously could only be done at great cost by large organizations. Notes does more than level the playing field. It gives a small firm the advantage, if it's willing to seize it. With Notes, we can turn on a dime and adapt in an instant. That includes everything from modifying our Domino Web site to designing new Notes databases or modifying old ones.

The practice of law involves three basic skills: information, collaboration, and persuasion. Information is a commodity, and there's nothing like Notes for organizing information and creating a knowledge base. Collaboration is focused communication. Again, there's nothing better than Notes for this. Persuasion, frequently, is a result of information and collaboration. While Notes itself cannot persuade, it can facilitate effective persuasion.

The coming of Notes
In January, 1993, our small law firm got its domain name, http://www.iowalaw.com. Around that same time, the firm installed Lotus Notes. In those days, many Notes installations were satisfied with just utilizing Notes email and maybe one or two collateral applications. We already had email. It was going to take a lot more than that to satisfy us.

We were busy lawyers. While we had no fear of technology, there wasn't a lot of time to devote to assimilating new technology. Yet we did what few would advise us to do: we handled the installation ourselves, and we developed our own applications. While we wouldn't necessarily recommend solo setup to others, we learned a tremendous amount from it.

Developing applications
Developing our own Notes applications has been infinitely rewarding. Doing our own development hasn't been too difficult. The programming skills are no more trouble to learn than a word processing macro language. However, Notes programming is more durable because it can be used across more applications for a longer period of time, enabling higher skill development.

Where there's a will, there's a Web site
We started slowly, step by step, inch by inch. The key to our success was low initial expectations and high long-term goals. Our latest use of Notes is to use a Domino Web site to assemble documents. For example, wills can be created on our Web site. A client answers questions on the Web and then posts from a Web browser to a Notes database. In the office, we simply print. A process that used to take up to two hours of lawyer time is now accomplished with 15 to 20 minutes of client time, with a minimal amount of lawyer time spent to confirm that choices are appropriate and execution is proper.