THE ADOPTION AND USE OF E-MAIL THROUGH
             For many companies, the use of management information systems, in the form of the Internet, is a time of experimentation and exploration. In June 1991, the Internet jumped from 2,982 interconnected networks that supported 130,000 computers to more than 10,500 networks with more than eight million users. By 1998, the total number of users is expected to top more than 100 million. By far, the largest use of the Internet is electronic mail ("e-mail"). Included among the users are law firms, a profession that relies heavily on information and the availability of that information. Law firms, who are rarely consumers of new technologies and have traditionally been slow to grasp new technological innovations, have actually taken to the use of the Internet. The legal profession has specifically adopted the function of external e-mail.
             Although the legal field is an information-based enterprise, it has also remained a tradition bound profession where fewer than forty percent (40%) of lawyers have computers on their desks. It is a field that has always been slow to change its ways and take advantage of information technology. Attorneys are learning the potential uses of information technology to produce better, more accurate work and have realized that the failure to adopt this new technology can drive up expenses and drive away clients.
             In the 1990's, law firms began to use information technology to improve their efficiency and to increase their customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this age of instant communication, the legal field has been slow to respond and has often been out of touch with the needs of its many clients. Information technology will challenge what lawyers do with the information they possess and how to communicate this information to clients. Attorneys have always known that the art of communication, especially with their clients, has been the most vital aspect of...