Abstract:
A computer system includes a server computer, a plurality of client computers and a communication network that interconnects the server computer and the client computers. A first user of the computer system publishes a notification of a potential legal issue in the computer system and directs the notification to a second user. The notification is stored in a web page that is accessible to the second user. The second user accesses the web page and publishes a response to the notification. The response indicates whether a warning notice regarding the potential issue is warranted. Computer-based forms facilitate the preparation of the notification and the response. Menus in the forms facilitate the assignment of notification to the second user and the indication as to whether a warning notice is warranted.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/645,065, filed Aug. 24, 2000, entitled “Method and System for a Comprehensive Litigation Early Warning System”, and incorporated herein by reference, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application serial No. 60/173,248 filed on Dec. 28, 1999. The &#39;248 Provisional Application is also incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to computer systems, and more particularly to a computer system that facilitates management of a corporation&#39;s legal affairs.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    It is an oft-stated goal of legal counsel, and particularly in-house counsel, to provide “preventive” legal services, i.e., to advise clients of potential legal issues in such a way as to prevent or minimize exposure to litigation. However, achieving this goal can be elusive, since it can be difficult to receive, manage and act upon information concerning potential legal risks. A particular problem arises in connection with the profusion of information that practicing attorneys typically receive concerning new legal developments. Newsletters, advance sheets and updates from outside counsel usually contain much information that is irrelevant to a particular corporation&#39;s business. Such documents are often relegated to the bottom of an in-box, and any relevant issues may escape attention. A system is needed that identifies potential legal risks in a specific, user-friendly way that facilitates evaluation of new issues and preventive action when required.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0004]    To alleviate problems inherent in the prior art, the present invention introduces improved computer systems and methods for operating computer systems to facilitate receipt and handling of information relating to potential legal issues.  
           [0005]    According to one embodiment, a computer system includes a server computer and a plurality of client computers. Each of the client computers includes a respective display device, a respective pointing device and a respective keyboard. The computer system also includes a communication network coupled to the server computer and to the client computers to permit data communication among the server computer and the client computers. The server computer and the client computers are programmed such that (a) a first user at a first one of the client computers is permitted to use the respective pointing device of the first one of the client computers to actuate a first actuatable option on a first screen display to access a second screen display. The second screen display includes a first form that is completeable by the first user to provide a notification of a potential legal issue. The first form includes a first menu that is actuatable by the respective pointing device of the first one of the client computers to select from among a plurality of options presented by the first menu. Each of the plurality of options corresponds to a respective potential recipient of the notification of the potential legal issue. The server computer and the client computers are further programmed such that (b) upon the first user electing to publish the notification of the potential legal issue, an electronic mail message is automatically dispatched to the respective potential recipient who corresponds to a one of the plurality of options selected by the first user in completing the form. The respective potential recipient is a second user of the computer system. The server computer and the client computers are further programmed such that (c) the second user is permitted to retrieve the electronic mail message and to display the retrieved electronic mail message on the respective display device of a second one of the client computers. The displayed electronic mail message indicates to the second user that the notification has been published and that the notification has been directed to the second user. The server computer and the client computers are further programmed such that (d) the second user is permitted to use the respective pointing device of the second one of the client computers to actuate a second actuatable option on at least one of the first screen display and a third screen display to access a fourth screen display. The fourth screen display is for providing to the second user information concerning the potential legal issue as to which the first user provided notification. The server computer and the client computers are further programmed such that (e) the second user is permitted to use the respective pointing device of the second one of the client computers to actuate a third actuatable option on at least one of the first screen display and a fifth screen display to access a sixth screen display. The sixth screen display includes a second form to provide a response to the notification of the potential legal issue provided by the first user. The second form includes a second menu that includes an early warning menu option selectable by using the respective pointing device of the second one of the client computers to indicate that a warning notice concerning the potential legal issue is to be provided to a plurality of users other than the first and second users.  
           [0006]    According to another embodiment, a computer system includes a server computer and a plurality of client computers. Each of the client computers includes a respective display device, a respective pointing device and a respective keyboard. The computer system also includes a communication network coupled to the server computer and to the client computers to permit data communication among the server computer and the client computers. The server computer and the client computers are programmed such that at least some of the client computers display, in response to respective requests from users, at least the following screen displays:  
           [0007]    (a) a welcome screen display that includes a confidentiality and privilege notice and which provides an overview of an early warning system for potential legal issues;  
           [0008]    (b) a potential issues room screen display that allows a user access to other screen displays which provide information concerning potential legal issues;  
           [0009]    (c) a request folder screen display that lists at least one notification of a potential legal issue;  
           [0010]    (d) a request form screen display that is completeable by using at least one of a keyboard and a pointing device to publish a notification of a potential legal issue;  
           [0011]    (e) a plurality of subject area room screen displays, each corresponding to a respective area of responsibility within a corporation that operates the computer system and each displaying at least one line of information concerning a potential legal issue related to the respective area of responsibility;  
           [0012]    (f) a response folder screen display that lists at least one response to a notification of a potential legal issue; and  
           [0013]    (g) a response form screen display that is completeable by using at least one of a keyboard and a pointing device to publish a response to a notification of a potential legal issue.  
           [0014]    According to still another embodiment, a method of operating a computer system includes navigating from a first screen display to a second screen display. The second screen display includes a first form that is completeable by a first user of the computer system to provide a notification of a potential legal issue. The first form includes a first menu that is actuatable by a pointing device to select among a plurality of options presented by the first menu. Each of the plurality of options corresponds to a respective potential recipient of the notification of the potential legal issue. The method also includes publishing the notification of the potential legal issue to at least one other user of the computer system. The method further includes, in response to publishing the notification, automatically sending an electronic mail message to a second user of the computer system. The second user is the respective potential recipient who corresponds to a one of the plurality of options selected by the first user in completing the first form.  
           [0015]    According to yet another embodiment, a method of operating a computer system includes navigating from a first screen display to a second screen display. The second screen display includes a first form that is completeable by a first user of the computer system to provide a notification of a potential legal issue. The first form includes a first menu that is actuatable by a pointing device to select among a plurality of options presented by the first menu. Each of the plurality of options corresponds to a respective potential recipient of the notification of the potential legal issue. The method also includes publishing the notification of the potential legal issue to at least one other user of the computer system. The method further includes, in response to publishing the notification, storing the notification at a web page associated with the second user. The method also includes the second user accessing the web page associated with the second user to access the published notification.  
           [0016]    As used herein and in the appended claims, “pointing device” includes a computer mouse, a track ball, a touch pad, and any other device that may be used to move a cursor on a computer display screen.  
           [0017]    As used herein and in the appended claims, “publishing” a document in a computer system refers to making the document available to at least one user of the computer system other than the author of the document.  
           [0018]    With these and other advantages and features of the invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims, and the drawings attached herein. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system according to some embodiments.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server computer that is part of the computer system of FIG. 1.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a typical one of the client computers that are part of the computer system of FIG. 1.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a flow chart that illustrates a process performed according to some embodiments to bring a potential legal issue up for evaluation.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIGS. 5-8 are examples of screen displays that may be displayed by one of the client computers of the computer system of FIG. 1 in connection with the process illustrated in FIG. 4.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIGS. 9A to  9 C together form a flow chart that illustrates a process performed according to some embodiments to evaluate and respond to a potential legal issue.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIGS. 10-12 are examples of screen displays that may be displayed by one of the client computers of the computer system of FIG. 1 in connection with the process illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIGS. 13 and 14 are examples of screen displays that may be displayed by one of the client computers of the computer system of FIG. 1 in connection with a user of the system accessing a memorandum stored in the system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]    System Overview  
         [0028]    Turning now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a computer system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral  100  generally indicates the computer system. The computer system  100  includes a server computer  102  and a number of client computers  104 . The computer system  100  also includes data communication network  106  which is coupled to the server computer  102  and to the client computers  104  to permit data communication to occur among the server computer  102  and the client computers  104 . In some embodiments, the data communication network  106  may be implemented as an intranet, an extranet or a combination of intranet and extranet. In some embodiments, communication over the data communication network  106  may be performed in accordance with the well-known Internet Protocol (IP). The data communication network  106  may be physically realized with any one or more of a public network, a private network, dial-up lines or any combination thereof.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 2 is a block diagram which shows some details of the server computer  102 . In its hardware aspects, the server computer  102  may be entirely conventional, or may be constructed of standard hardware components developed in the future. The server computer  102  includes a processor  200 , which may be a conventional microprocessor, or a number of processors operating in parallel. The processor  200  is in data communication with a communication interface  202  coupled to the data communication network  106  (FIG. 1). Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the server computer  102  communicates with other components of the computer system  100 , including the client computers  104 , through the communication interface  202 . The processor  200  is also in data communication with one or more output device(s)  204 , which may include one or more displays and/or printers. (Although not shown in the drawing, the server computer  102  may also include one or more input devices, such as keyboards and mice, in data communication with the processor  200 .)  
         [0030]    Also included in the server computer  102  is a storage device  206 , such as a conventional hard disk drive or group of hard drives, in data communication with the processor  200 . The storage device  206  stores programs and data which are provided in accordance with the invention to control the processor  200  so that the computer system  100  operates in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. In particular, the storage device  206  stores an operating system  208  which controls the processor  200  to perform basic functions of the server computer  102 . In addition, the storage device  206  stores server functions software  210  which controls the processor  200  so that the server computer  102  functions as a server in communication with the client computers  104  (FIG. 1).  
         [0031]    Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the storage device  206  further stores electronic mail system software  212  so that the server computer functions as a clearing house to provide for electronic mail communication among the client computers  104 .  
         [0032]    The operating system, server functions and e-mail system software may all be provided substantially in accordance with conventional practices and/or in accordance with standard or custom software packages developed hereafter.  
         [0033]    In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the storage device  206  also stores a number of web pages  214  by which users of the client computers  104  are welcomed to, and are permitted to navigate among various rooms of, an early warning system (EWS) for potential litigation issues. Also, the storage device  206  stores folders  216  for storing documents created by users of the client computers  104  in connection with the EWS. These document may include notifications of potential legal issues and responses to the notifications.  
         [0034]    Moreover, the storage device  206  may store web pages  218  that function as forms that may be completed by users of the client computers to author the above-mentioned notifications of potential legal issues and responses thereto. In addition, software and utilities  220  for operating the EWS (as described below) may be stored in the storage device  206 . Finally, the storage device  206  may store memoranda  222  prepared by users of the client computers  104 . The memoranda may be related to the legal issues that are the subjects of the notifications and the responses to the notifications.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a typical one of the client computers  104  shown in FIG. 1. Each client computer  104  may be, in its hardware aspects, constituted in a conventional fashion as a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a notebook computer, for example. As seen from FIG. 3, the typical client computer  104  may include a processor  300  (e.g., a conventional microprocessor) and a communication interface  302  in communication with the processor  300 . The communication interface  302  may allow the processor to communicate with other components of the computer system  100  (FIG. 1) such as the server computer  102  and other client computers.  
         [0036]    Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, the client computer  104  also includes a display device  304  (e.g., a computer CRT monitor or a flat panel display) in communication with the processor  300 , a pointing device  306  (e.g., a computer mouse, a track ball or a touch pad) in communication with the processor  300 , and a keyboard  308  in communication with the processor  300 . In addition, the client computer  104  includes a storage device  310 , which may be a hard drive, for example.  
         [0037]    The storage device  310  may store the following software: (a) an operating system  312 , (b) device drivers  314  for controlling and/or receiving input from peripheral devices such as the communication interface  302 , the display device  304 , the pointing device  306  and the keyboard  308 , (c) a browser  316  which allows the client computer  104  to operate as a client device relative to the server computer  102  (FIG. 1) and to access web pages and other server functions provided by the server computer, (d) client electronic mail software  318 , and (e) a word processing program  320 . In some embodiments, all of the software stored in the storage device  310  may be conventional, with all of the custom software and/or data required for the EWS resident on the server computer  102  and accessible via standard client software on the client computers  104 .  
         [0038]    In some embodiments, all of the client computers may be dedicated to users who are employees of a corporation that operates the EWS and the computer system  100 . For example, the users may be restricted to in-house attorneys of the corporation, support staff for the attorneys who aid in operating the EWS, and managers of the corporation who receive legal advice from the in-house attorneys. It may be advisable to restrict the users to the individuals referred to in the previous sentence, so as to maintain the right of treating the contents of the EWS as subject to attorney/client privilege. Without losing such privilege, the group of users may be expanded, in some embodiments, to include outside counsel, and in such embodiments some of the client computers may be located in the offices of the outside counsel and may be dedicated to the use of the outside counsel and their support staff.  
         [0039]    The server computer  102  may, but need not, be located on premises controlled by the corporation. In some embodiments, the server computer may be maintained on the premises of a contractor who provides web hosting and/or other services to the corporation, with the understanding that access to the EWS functions of the server computer  102  are limited as indicated in the preceding paragraph. In some embodiments, the computer system  100  and/or some or all of its components may also be used for purposes other than the EWS. To give only one example, the electronic mail system that operates on the computer system  100  may be used for messaging that has nothing to do with the EWS, in addition to being used in connection with the EWS.  
         [0040]    EWS Functionality  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 4 is a flow chart that illustrates a process performed according to some embodiments to bring a potential legal issue up for evaluation in the EWS.  
         [0042]    At  400  in FIG. 4 is a decision block at which it is determined whether a potential legal issue has come to the attention of a user of the system. The potential legal issue may come up as a result of one or more of newly enacted legislation, new regulations, a court decision or new interpretation of existing laws or regulations, or the bringing of a lawsuit or claim against another corporation or against the corporation which operates the computer system  100 .  
         [0043]    If at  400  no potential legal issue is found to have arisen, the process idles. However, if a potential legal issue is found, it is determined, at a decision block  402 , whether the potential legal issue merits further study. If such is not the case, the process returns to an idle condition, but if further study of the potential legal issue is merited, then a first user uses a first one of the client computers  104  to access the EWS, as indicated at block  404 . Access to the EWS may be password-controlled, for example, and/or other security features may also be employed to control access to the EWS. Upon grant of access to the EWS, the client computer used by the first user may display a “welcome” screen display like the screen display shown in FIG. 5 (which is formed from FIGS. 5A and 5B). The screen display may include a confidentiality and privilege notice, as indicated at  500  in FIG. 5A, and may also include a brief overview of the nature of the EWS. The overview may be presented in text shown at  502  in FIG. 5B.  
         [0044]    The screen display may also include, at its left-hand side, for example, a column  504  of cursor-actuatable buttons (cursor not shown). The buttons of column  504  may each provide access to a respective auxiliary function of the EWS. In addition, one of the buttons (e.g., button  506 , FIG. 5A) may be actuatable by the use of the pointing device of the first user&#39;s client computer to access the screen display shown in FIG. 6 (which is made up of FIGS. 6A and 6B). The screen display of FIG. 6 corresponds to a web page or “room” known as the “potential issues room”. Activity by the first user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish navigation to the potential issues room screen display is indicated by block  406  in FIG. 4.  
         [0045]    Referring again to FIG. 6, the potential issues room screen display may, for example, contain text at  600  to present instructions on how to utilize some features of the EWS. In addition, the screen display of FIG. 6 may have actuatable buttons arrayed in a column  602  at the left-hand side of the screen display. As will be understood better in view of subsequent discussion, some of the buttons in the column  602  each correspond to a respective area of responsibility within the corporation that operates the computer system  100 . As will be seen, notifications of potential legal issues and responses thereto may be conveniently categorized for storage and access in accordance with the areas of responsibility to which the respective buttons correspond. In addition, one of the buttons (e.g., button  604 , FIG. 6A) may be actuatable by use of the pointing device of the first user&#39;s client computer to access the screen display shown in FIG. 7 (which is made up of FIGS. 7A and 7B). The screen display of FIG. 7 corresponds to a web page or “folder” known as the “request folder”. Activity by the first user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish navigation to the request folder screen display is indicated by block  408  in FIG. 4.  
         [0046]    The request folder screen display may list (as indicated at  700  in FIG. 7A) one or more potential issue notifications that have been previously published in the EWS. The screen display of FIG. 7 may also have essentially the same column  602  of actuatable buttons as in the screen display of FIG. 6. In addition, near the top of the screen display of FIG. 7, or alternatively in the column  602  or elsewhere in the screen display, there may be a button  702  which is an actuatable option that may be actuatable by use of the pointing device of the first user&#39;s client computer to access the screen display shown in FIG. 8 (which is made up of FIGS. 8A and 8B). Activity by the first user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish navigation to the screen display of FIG. 8 is indicated by block  410  in FIG. 4  
         [0047]    The screen display of FIG. 8 includes a form  800  that is completeable by the first user, by use of the pointing device and keyboard of the first user&#39;s client computer, to provide a notification of a potential legal issue. The form  800  includes a title field  802  (FIG. 8A), which the first user may fill out with text to create a title for the notification. The form  800  also includes a summary field  804  which the first user may fill out with text to provide a concise description of the potential legal issue recognized at decision block  400  (FIG. 4). Also included in the form  800  is an attachment field  806 , in which the first user may append supporting documents, such as court decisions, news reports, etc., that provide background concerning the potential legal issue.  
         [0048]    In addition, the form  800  includes a drop down menu  808  (FIG. 8B). The menu  808  is actuatable by the pointing device of the first user&#39;s client computer to select from among a number of options (only one option visible in the drawing) presented by the menu  808 . Each of the options presented by the menu  808  may correspond to a respective area of responsibility within the corporation. Selection of an option causes the notification to be assigned to the corresponding area of responsibility and to be directed to a respective recipient (e.g., an attorney) who is responsible for considering legal issues that pertain to the area of responsibility. The recipient may be another user of the computer system  100 .  
         [0049]    The form  800  further includes another drop down menu  810 , which may be similar to menu  808  in that menu  810  may also include options (not shown) that each correspond to a respective area of responsibility within the corporation. In addition the menu  810  includes an option that does not select an area of responsibility. Menu  810  may be actuated by the first user to select a secondary assignment of the potential issue notification, but selection of a secondary assignment is not required for completion of the form  800 .  
         [0050]    A third drop down menu  812  is also included in the form  800 . The menu  812  allows the first user to select one or more additional recipients of the potential issue notification in addition to the recipient(s) who correspond(s) to the primarily assigned area of responsibility and to the secondarily assigned area of responsibility, if any.  
         [0051]    Among other actuatable options in the form  800  is a button  814 , which the first user can actuate to indicate that the form has been completed and should be published in the EWS.  
         [0052]    Activity by the first user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish completion of the form  800  is indicated at  412  in FIG. 4. Completion of the form  800  includes filling in the text fields  802  and  804  and possibly also attaching one or more documents in the attachment field  806 . In addition, the first user effectively designates at least one recipient for the notification by selecting an option from menu  808  to designate an area of responsibility. The first user may also designate a secondary assignment area of responsibility via menu  810  and may designate one or more additional recipients via menu  812 . Then the first user may cause the notification to be published by actuating the “publish” button  814 .  
         [0053]    Activity by the first user and by the computer system  100  to publish the potential issue notification is indicated at  414  in FIG. 4. When the potential issue notification is published it is stored in a “room” (e.g., on a web page) that corresponds to the area of responsibility to which the issue was primarily assigned by selection of an option from menu  808  of form  800 . Each user who has access to the room for that area of responsibility thus has access to the potential issue notification when the notification is published. In addition, upon publication of the notification, it is also stored in the room that corresponds to the area of responsibility, if any, to which the issue was secondarily assigned by selection of an option from menu  810  of form  800 . A listing (e.g. a line of text) concerning the published notification may also now appear in the page representing the request folder, as exemplified by the screen display of FIG. 7.  
         [0054]    Furthermore, upon publishing of the notification, an electronic mail message is automatically dispatched (as indicated at  416  in FIG. 4) by the computer system  100  to the recipient (system user) who is responsible for considering and following up on potential issues assigned to the area of responsibility selected via the menu  808 . The electronic mail message indicates that the potential issue notification has been published and has been directed to the recipient who corresponds to the selected area of responsibility. The computer system  100  permits the recipient to retrieve the electronic mail message and to display it on the display device of the recipient&#39;s client computer.  
         [0055]    If the notification is assigned to a secondary area of responsibility and/or if additional recipients are designated, an additional electronic mail message or messages may also be dispatched to the corresponding recipients.  
         [0056]    In the meantime, the first user, having published the potential issue notification, may log off from the EWS, as indicated at  418 .  
         [0057]    [0057]FIGS. 9A and 9B together form a flow chart that illustrates a process performed according to some embodiments to evaluate and respond to a potential legal issue for which a notification is published in the EWS by the process of FIG. 4.  
         [0058]    At  900  in FIG. 9A is a decision block at which it is determined whether a particular user of the computer system  100  has received an e-mail message to indicate that the user (hereinafter referred to as “second user”) has been designated to receive a potential issue notification. That is, it is determined whether a new potential issue notification has been assigned/directed to the area of responsibility for which the second user is responsible.  
         [0059]    If at  900  no such e-mail message is received, the process idles. However, if such a potential issue is received, then the second user uses a second one of the client computers to access the EWS, as indicated at  902 . As before, password entry and/or other security requirements may need to be met for the second user to obtain access to the EWS.  
         [0060]    Next, as indicated at  904 , the second user may navigate to the web page or “room” which corresponds to the second user&#39;s area of responsibility. More specifically, after having the welcome screen display (FIG. 5) displayed on the display device of the second user&#39;s client computer, the second user may use the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to actuate button  506  (FIG. 5A). In response to the actuation of button  506 , the potential issues room screen display (FIG. 6) is displayed on the display device of the second user&#39;s client computer. The second user may then actuate the button (say, in this example button  604 , FIG. 6B), within the column  602 , which corresponds to the second user&#39;s area of responsibility. The result is that the screen display for the corresponding “room” is next displayed on the display device of the second user&#39;s client computer. FIG. 10 (which is made up of FIGS. 10A and 10B) presents an example of a subject area room screen display.  
         [0061]    The screen display of FIG. 10 includes a confidentiality and privilege notice, indicated at  1000  in FIG. 1A. The title of the potential issue notification as entered by the first user in the title field  802  of the form  800 , is indicated at  1002  in FIG. 10A. The name of the first user (i.e., the person who authored the notification) is indicated at  1004 . Text at  1006  states the summary of the potential issue, as entered by the first user in the summary field  804  of the form  800 . An icon  1008  which represents a supporting document is present in attachment field  1010  of the subject area room screen display. Text at  1012  indicates the area of responsibility to which the first user primarily assigned the potential issue notification. Text at  1014  indicates the secondarily assigned area of responsibility, if any. The same column  602  of buttons as in the screen displays of FIGS. 6 and 7 may also be present in the subject area screen display shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0062]    Thus the screen display of FIG. 10 provides to the second user information concerning the potential legal issue notification published by the first user and directed to the second user by the first user. Block  906  in FIG. 9A represents the activity of the second user in reviewing the potential issue notification, exemplified by the information conveyed by the screen display of FIG. 10. It may be assumed that the second user (typically an in-house attorney) is an expert in regard to the corporate area of responsibility to which. the notification was assigned by the first user, and that the second user is familiar with the business practices of the corporation in regard to the area of responsibility. In the case of some potential issue notifications, the second user, upon reviewing the notification, may recognize that one or more business practices of the corporation may present an exposure to litigation in view of the potential legal issue reported in the notification. Thus block  908  in FIG. 9A represents the identification by the second user of a corporate business practice to which the potential legal issue is relevant.  
         [0063]    The second user may then navigate to a “response folder” screen display. Activity by the second user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish navigation to the response folder screen display is indicated by block  910  in FIG. 9A. More specifically, the second user may use the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to actuate button  1016  (FIG. 10A) that is included in the subject area screen display. Upon actuation of the button  1016 , the display device of the second user&#39;s client computer may display the response folder screen display, of which an example is presented in FIG. 11 (made up of FIGS. 11A and 11B). The response folder screen display may list, as indicated at  1100  in FIG. 11A, one or more responses previously published in the EWS with respect to potential issue notifications. Further, the response folder screen display may have essentially the same column  602  of actuatable buttons as in the screen display of FIG. 6. In addition, near the top of the screen display of FIG. 11, or alternatively in the column  602  or elsewhere in the screen display, there may be a button  1102  (FIG. 11A) which is an actuatable option that may be actuatable by use of the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to access the screen display shown in FIG. 12. Activity by the second user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish navigation to the screen display of FIG. 12 is indicated by block  912  in FIG. 9A.  
         [0064]    The screen display of FIG. 12 includes a form  1200  that is completeable by the second user, by use of the pointing device and keyboard of the second user&#39;s client computer, to provide a response to the potential issue notification published by the first user and directed to the second user by the first user. The form  1200  includes a title field  1202  which the second user may fill out with text to create a title to the response. The title to the response may be different from the title to the potential issue notification, since, for example, the title to the notification may focus on the potential legal issue, whereas the title to the response may focus on the business practice identified as relevant by the second user. In other cases, the response may have the same title as the notification.  
         [0065]    The form  1200  also includes a drop down menu  1204 , which is actuatable by the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to select from among a number of options (only one option visible in the drawing) presented by the menu  1204 . The menu  1204  may include an early warning menu option (indicated by “yes” in the drawing) which is selectable by using the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to indicate that a warning notice concerning the potential legal issue and the identified business practice is to be provided to various business managers and/or in-house attorneys with responsibilities in regard to the area of responsibility to which the potential legal issue was assigned by the first user. The persons to whom the warning notice is to be directed may include one or more leading business managers of the corporation and/or one or more leading in-house attorneys of the corporation. At least some of the persons to whom the warning notice is to be directed may be users of the computer system who are different from the first and second users. The menu  1204  may include another option, which is not shown, to indicate that a warning notice is not needed.  
         [0066]    Also included in the form  1200  is a “rationale” field  1206  which the second user may fill out with text to give the second user&#39;s reasons for either initiating a warning notice or for determining that a warning notice is not warranted. The text to be filled in to the rationale field  1206  may refer to the potential legal issue directly and/or by identifying the notification to which the second user is responding, and may also identify the one or more business practices to which the second user considered the potential legal issue to be relevant.  
         [0067]    The form  1200  further includes another drop down menu  1208 , which may be actuatable by the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to indicate whether the second user elects to reassign the potential legal issue to a corporate area of responsibility that is different from the second user&#39;s area of responsibility. The second user may determine, upon reviewing the potential issue notification, that the potential legal issue is not particularly relevant to the second user&#39;s area of responsibility, but rather should be considered by the in-house attorney designated as responsible for another corporate area of responsibility. The menu  1208  is provided to allow the second user to implement this determination by the second user.  
         [0068]    In addition, the form  1200  includes a further drop down menu  1210 , which may be actuatable by the pointing device of the second user&#39;s client computer to select a corporate area of responsibility to which the potential legal issue should be reassigned. The menu  1210  may also be actuatable to select individuals who are to be notified of the reassignment of the potential legal issue.  
         [0069]    Among other actuatable options in the form  1200  is a button  1212 , which the second user can actuate to indicate that the form has been completed and should be published in the EWS.  
         [0070]    As noted above, in some cases the second user may determine that the potential legal issue should be reassigned to another area of corporate responsibility. Decision block  914  in FIG. 9A is indicative of this determination. If the second user does not determine that the potential issue should be reassigned, then there is activity (represented by block  916  in FIG. 9A) by the second user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish completion of the form  1200 . Completion of the form  1200  may include filling in the text fields  1202  and  1206 . The text filled into field  1206  may identify a corporate business practice to which, in the second user&#39;s opinion, the potential legal issue is relevant. By selecting one of the options of menu  1204  (or by leaving unchanged an automatically selected default option), the second user may indicate whether a warning notice is warranted with respect to the potential legal issue and with respect to a relevant business practice, if any.  
         [0071]    Details of a decision-making process that may be included in block  916  (FIG. 9A) are illustrated in FIG. 9C. At  917  in FIG. 9C, it is indicated that completion of the response form of FIG. 12 is being undertaken. A decision at  919  is made concerning whether an early warning notice is required. If so, an indication to this effect (block  921 ) is included in the response form by, e.g., selecting the appropriate option in menu  1204  (FIG. 12). If not, a decision is made at  923  as to whether a formal report should be issued so that the potential issue continues to be tracked and considered for future action.  
         [0072]    If a positive determination is made at  923  (i.e., if it is determined that an “emerging issue report” or the like should be made, although an early warning is not warranted), then an indication to this effect (block  925 , FIG. 9C) may be provided in the response form by, e.g., a suitable notation in text field  1206 . If a negative determination is made at  923 , then, as indicated at  927 , no indication of a warning notice or an emerging issue report is made in completing the response form.  
         [0073]    Through actuation of menu  1208  (or by leaving a default option unchanged), the second user indicates that reassignment of the potential legal issue to another area of responsibility is not required. Since no reassignment is needed, in the case now assumed, there is no need to select another area of responsibility via menu  1210 .  
         [0074]    The second user may now effect publication of the response to the notification by actuating the “publish” button  1212 . Activity by the second user and by the computer system  100  to publish the second user&#39;s response to the notification is indicated at  918  in FIG. 9A. In some embodiments, a listing (e.g. one or more lines of text) is added to the response folder (exemplified by the screen display of FIG. 11) with respect to the published response. The response may also be added to the web page stored in the server computer  102  for the area of responsibility for which the second user is responsible. If the option selected (or left unchanged) in menu  1204  indicates that a warning notice is to be provided, a predetermined list of recipients may automatically receive an electronic mail notification of the issuance of the warning notice, upon publication of the response. Also, a predetermined set of follow up procedures may automatically be set in motion upon publication of a response with an indication that a warning notice is to be issued. The computer system may operate to track performance of the follow up procedures, and to provide reminders to selected users if the follow up procedures are not performed in a timely manner, as confirmed by entries into the computer system.  
         [0075]    After publication of the response, the second user may log off from the EWS, as indicated at  920  in FIG. 9B.  
         [0076]    Decision block  922  in FIG. 9B indicates a determination by the second user as to whether it is necessary to prepare a memorandum describing for management and for other in-house attorneys the nature of the potential legal issue and how one or more business practices of the corporation may be implicated by the potential legal issue. Typically, the second user may determine that a memorandum is needed in cases where a warning notice is needed, or if advice of the issue should be provided to management, albeit in less urgent form than a warning notice, in a case where a warning notice is not needed.  
         [0077]    If it is determined at  922  that a memorandum is needed, then the second user (or another in-house attorney) prepares the memorandum, by using, e.g., a standard word processing program available on one of the client computers. Activity by the second user or another user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish preparation of the memorandum is indicated at  924  in FIG. 9B. The memorandum may be sent in hard copy to suitable recipients, possibly including senior management and/or senior members of the corporation&#39;s legal department. In some embodiments the memorandum itself may be the above-mentioned warning notice, and may be printed on paper of a distinctive color, such as yellow. In cases where an emerging issue report is warranted but a warning notice is not, the memorandum may be the emerging issue report and may be printed on blue paper. In other cases, where neither a warning notice or an emerging issue report is warranted, but some further attention is needed, the second user may informally contact (e.g., by telephone) a member of management to inform him or her about the potential issue.  
         [0078]    The memorandum produced at  924  may also be stored in the EWS, as indicated by block  926  in FIG. 9B. In one embodiment, the author of the memorandum may provide an electronic copy of the memorandum (e.g., on a floppy disk, which is not shown) to an administrator of the EWS. The administrator may access the EWS, arriving at the welcome screen shown in FIG. 5. The administrator may then actuate a button  508  (FIG. 5A) to navigate to a main memorandum room (e.g. a room designated EWS and EIR (Emerging Issue Report) room), exemplified by the screen display shown in FIG. 13. Through one or more actuatable options that are not explicitly shown, the administrator causes the computer system to store the memorandum in association with a suitable web page, such as a page which lists EWS-related memoranda for the current year. Users entitled to suitable access may then access the electronic copy of the memorandum so as to view the memorandum on the display devices of the users&#39; client computers. Navigation to view the memorandum may proceed through the welcome screen (FIG. 5) and the EWS/EIR room (FIG. 13) and possibly through one or more intermediate screens (not shown, may include a screen which lists memoranda issued in a given year). A screen display in which an example memorandum is viewed is illustrated in FIG. 14.  
         [0079]    Referring again to FIG. 9A, consideration will now be given again to the determination made at decision block  914 , and particularly to the case in which the second user determines that the potential issue directed to the second user by the first user should be reassigned. In such a case, the process of FIG. 9 branches from decision block  914  to block  928 , which represents activity by the second user and by the computer system  100  to accomplish completing of the form  1200  for the purpose of reassigning the notification to another area of responsibility (i.e., to another recipient who is another user of the computer system). If need be the second user may fill in the text fields  1202  and  1206  in form  1200  (FIG. 12). Also, the second user actuates menu  1208  using the pointing device of the second user&#39;s computer to indicate that the notification is to be reassigned, and actuates menu  1210  using the pointing device of the second user&#39;s computer to select at least one other area of responsibility to which the notification is to be reassigned.  
         [0080]    The second user may then publish the response by actuating the “publish” button  1212  so that the reassignment of the notification is implemented. Activity by the second user and by the computer system  100  to publish the response and thus to reassign the notification is represented by block  930  in FIG. 9B. Upon publishing the response with selection of the reassignment option (not shown, indicated by “yes” for example) in menu  1208 , an electronic mail message or other suitable notification may be provided to the selected recipient or recipients. One such recipient may be an in-house attorney who has responsibility for the corporate area of responsibility to which the potential issue notification was reassigned by the second user. Publishing of the response with the reassignment option of menu  1208  selected may also cause the potential issue notification to be stored in the room/web page that corresponds to the area of responsibility and recipient to which the potential issue notification was reassigned.  
         [0081]    Following the completion of the form  1200  per block  928  and publishing of the response/reassignment of potential issue notification per block  930 , the second user may log off the EWS, as indicated at  932  in FIG. 9B.  
         [0082]    An early warning system such as that described herein has been effectively deployed to surface and evaluate potential legal issues, to identify business practices that may require modification or termination, and to track and manage remedial activities so that a corporation may take timely action to avoid or reduce exposure to legal risks. The efficient and focused handling of key information as provided by the EWS may lead to savings of literally millions of dollars by foreseeing and forestalling potential litigation.  
         [0083]    In the foregoing discussion, attention has been given primarily only to one of the rooms/web pages dedicated to particular areas of responsibility within the corporation which operates the computer system. However, in practice the computer system is likely to operate such that a number of different subject area room screen displays, each corresponding to a respective area of responsibility with the corporation, are displayed on the respective display devices of various ones of the client computers at various times. Each of the subject area room screen displays may display at least one line of information concerning a potential legal issue that has been assigned to the area of responsibility to which the subject area room corresponds.  
         [0084]    In the example screen displays illustrated in the accompanying drawings, certain buttons of the column  602  (FIGS.  6 ,  7 , 10  and  11 ) indicate areas of responsibility that may be assigned in, for example, a financial services company. However, other sets of buttons, suitable for use in other corporations or other types of corporations, may be used instead of the subject area buttons shown in column  602 .  
         [0085]    The server computer described herein may be constituted by one computer or by two or more computers that are linked together.  
         [0086]    In some embodiments, the screen displays and other aspects of the EWS as described above may be authored using a conventional software package such as the “QuickPlace” software (also known as “Lotus Team Workplace”) available from IBM Lotus.  
         [0087]    The present invention has the technical effect of using a computer system to facilitate and improve communication, assignment and tracking of potential legal issues within a corporation.  
         [0088]    The present invention has been described in terms of several embodiments solely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art will recognize from this description that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications and alterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.