By David P. Whelan
This article appeared in the Philadelphia Bar Association's Bar Reporter, November 2002

There seems to be no respite from the need for speed. The faster you can work, the better able you are to determine how to use your time. You can meet your clients’ demanding needs with faster responses or you can finish your work faster and focus on another aspect of life. Whatever your goal, finding ways to automate work and do things more quickly can mean your professional quality of life is enhanced.

One simple way to speed up is to move to a broadband Internet connection. Broadband is marketing jargon to describe an Internet connection that is faster than the typical, dial-up modem connection. Each broadband technology is a permanent connection to the Internet, always on, so that you can access the Internet at any time, without waiting for a modem to dial a connection. A broadband connection will be from 2 to 10 times as fast as a dial-up modem. There are four broadband technologies and, depending on your speed needs, budget, and location, one of them is sure to meet your needs.

Keep two items in mind when upgrading from a dial-up connection to a broadband connection. The first is that, unlike a modem, which typically connected only at 56 Kilobytes per second (Kbps), broadband connections will vary in speed based on your purchase, so you can buy as much speed as you need. The second is that of cost. If you want a lightening fast connection, it is available, but as the speed of your connection increases, so will your cost for the service.

Cable access and digital subscriber lines (DSL) are the introductory broadband technologies. They offer comparable speeds at comparable prices and, although they are not by any means identical, they are the same in offering different upload and download speeds. When you send an e-mail to a client, you are sending that message up to the Internet. When you view a Web site on your computer, you are downloading that page. Your cost will increase when you purchase faster upload or download access.

DSL can also appear complicated because there are two types. The first is asynchronous DSL (aDSL), meaning that your upload and download speeds are different. You can also purchase synchronous DSL (sDSL) to have the ability to send and receive at the same speed. Unless you have a large amount of traffic on your Internet connection - you host your own Web server or have more than a handful of employees accessing the Internet simultaneously - aDSL will likely be sufficient for your needs. Typical aDSL speeds range from 128 Kbps (twice as fast as a dial-up modem) to 1.5 Mbps downstream, and 128 Kbps to 324 Kbps upstream.

Cable access is like aDSL, in that your upload and download speeds will be different. DSL has two advantages over cable, although cable is often faster for downloads. Cable is a shared connection with your fellow cable users. Unlike DSL, which connects you directly to your phone company, your cable connection will slow if all of your neighbors are on the cable connection with you. Also, you have to think of cable as a communal area. If you have shared files on your computer, your files are potentially accessible to other cable users. Security is imperative with any broadband connection, but there are additional risks with cable.

Two other broadband technologies are worth mentioning, although they both predate the marketing hype of broadband. They are integrated services digital network (ISDN) and the “T” connections: T-1 and T-3. ISDN is an option for Internet access but not a good one any longer. It is slower than cable and DSL connections, offering only 128 Kbps for both uploads and downloads, and is typically more expensive. On the other hand, ISDN is more readily available than either cable or DSL and is much more reliable when used for special purpose connections like video conferencing. ISDN, DSL and cable all allow you to connect to the Internet while still using your telephone line for calls. If you do not have a special need for ISDN and DSL or cable is available, they are a better option.

Finally, a word about the T connections, the supersonic options in broadband. The Internet is made up of T-3 connections, and many large companies use T-1 connections to allow large numbers of people to access the Internet and other resources. A T-1 line may be overkill for your needs but you may find that a DSL connection is too little. You can lease a fractional T-1, and you can adjust that fraction to meet your needs, as a middle ground. You literally lease just the bandwidth you need. It is usually more expensive than DSL but will be less costly than your own T-1 connection.

A recent survey by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center found nearly 30 percent of respondents identified DSL as their Internet access method. Cable and ISDN each garnered about 5 percent of respondents, and T-1 lines were in about 20 percent of the offices. Dial-up modems are still in great demand - over 35 percent of respondents still use dial-up - but in firms with 6 or more lawyers, the shift was clearly to DSL. Once a firm had more than 40 attorneys, many of the respondents indicated they were using T1 connections. Once you have your broadband Internet connection, or pipe in techie parlance, you can start to enjoy the benefits of speed. The downside to these connections is that you are now susceptible to attacks or unauthorized access from the Internet.

There are a host of technologies that you could purchase to protect your network. The first one you should add is a firewall. This term can be confusing, as it refers to both a type of hardware and a software program. Both can block unauthorized intrusions from reaching your computer or your network. Using both is a smart “belt and suspenders” approach to protecting your clients’ information and your investment in technology.

Firewall hardware comes in two types: firewalls and hardware that acts like a firewall. The first acts as a barrier between you and the Internet and inspects the data you send and receive. Data arrives at the firewall from the Internet via your network or modem (DSL, cable, and ISDN all use modems), or from your office computers, and attempts to pass the firewall. You, or your network support staff or consultant, configure the firewall to allow certain traffic to pass through the firewall.

The other type of hardware acts like a firewall. It is not as sophisticated but these devices, known as routers or gateways, perform a similar function by segmenting computers in your office so that they cannot speak directly to the Internet. Data arrives at the router and it forwards the data to the appropriate place, whether a computer on your network or a computer on the Internet. A router can be configured to filter out certain information requests - for a Web page, for example, when you do not have a Web server on your network - and block the request from reaching your network. It can intercept probes of your network by those seeking a backdoor into your computers. Routers can also be used to block access by your internal computer to the Internet, which can be helpful if a virus gets onto your network and attempts to send data out to the Internet.

Any law firm connected to the Internet should have a firewall, a breakpoint through which all data entering or leaving the law firm must pass. This is not foolproof but will eliminate many of the risks to the firm from external intruders. That is the belt.

Now for the suspenders. Each computer in the law firm should also have a software firewall. This program allows you to block certain programs on your computer from sending out data, or receiving data, through your Internet connection. It is amazing to see how many programs on a typical computer attempt to send out information over the Internet, and retrieve information as well. Often, these requests will be at your bidding - you are accessing your e-mail or a Web page, or downloading virus software - but there are a surprising number of times when a program attempts to send information on its own. A software firewall lets you control that access and make an informed choice as to whether it is permitted or not.

The advent of widely available, high-speed broadband connections can enhance your ability to provide legal services and to make time for the professional and personal goals you have set for yourself. It brings with it the responsibility to protect your practice, clients, and systems from the external threats that might come looking for you. David P. Whelan is director of the American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center.