An intranet offers benefits that all businesses strive for. Documents within an intranet can be viewed using web browsers emphasizing a standard look and feel. It becomes unnecessary for users to learn different software programs because everything can be viewed, edited, or contributed to using one single interface.
Intranets reduce publishing costs and create new channels of communication.
Not only is the information easily accessible, but it can also be shared by groups of attorneys working on the same case within the law firm, outside the law firm, or with clients anywhere in the world. Adding hypertext to the document population enables users to link to citations, exhibits and other references, bringing a whole new dimension to the firm's work product. Hypertext facilitates access to cited material and can make research much quicker. This type of document management should be standard technology for any attorney and an intranet can make this more of a reality for attorneys, minimizing the possibilities of missing an important detail or precedent. In addition to the research, litigation support, document management and communications applications discussed earlier other pertinent applications which any a law office should include on their intranet are time and billing, docketing, conflict of interest and telephone directories.