The Millennium Bug - Part Two

By Terri Olson

Last month, I provided an overview of the so-called "millennium bug" with a description of some of the possible consequences within the law firm. This month, we continue with a discussion of more far-reaching problems along with a potpourri of suggestions for keeping those difficulties to a minimum.

Y2K Problems associated with commonly-used third party services

  • Court systems (computerized court dockets or other databases)
  • Service providers (couriers, court reporters, package delivery systems, etc.)
  • Justice systems (incarceration records, offender histories, etc.)
Legal research databases (EDGAR, Patent & Trademark databases, LEXIS& Westlaw, etc.) Even if a firm makes sure its own house is in order, there is the possibility that others on whom the firm regularly relies have been less careful. Imagine walking into court one morning and discovering that the current court docket has vanished! Law firms should contact their vendors and request that the local bar association meet with a representative of the local courts and jails to inquire whether they have looked into these issues.

Larger scale Y2K problems

  • Transportation systems (air controllers, ticketing and reservation systems, metro rails, computerized elevators, etc.)
  • Financial systems (bank accounts, credit card accounts, loans, lines of credit, etc.)
  • Communications systems (phone companies both local and long distance, cable systems, Internet access providers, etc.)
  • Government systems (IRS, social security, welfare rolls, etc.)
There is little the average citizen can do about these issues other than wait and hope. However, it may be prudent for firms to avoid travel out of the region, transferring large sums of money, changing service providers, or other activities that depend on the Y2K compliance of others for the first few weeks of the new millennium. It is also a good idea to make paper backups of any transactions with large computer systems (e.g., access bank records on-line and print out transmittal statements at the time of transaction; print out, copy, and store backup for quarterly income and payroll tax statements) if you do not already do so.

What to do about it now

The most obvious suggestion is: check with all your software and hardware vendors to determine whether what you are using is Year 2000 compliant. If it is not, upgrade now! And by now I mean now, not sometime in 1999! Why? Because it is quite possible that demand for some popular products may exceed supply as the end of the millennium approaches and all the companies, government agencies, etc. decide at once to upgrade their old copies of Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Netware, and the like. In addition, if your programs or hardware requires customization or modification before use, you may not be able to get qualified personnel to work on it as December 31st, 1999 looms closer. At the very least, contract programmers will probably drastically increase their rates (they are already going up for work on Y2K issues).

You may receive a response from your vendors of "it's not compliant now, but we're working on it". That is not acceptable. At a minimum, your vendor should provide you with a compliance date that is far enough in advance of the end of the millennium that, should the vendor be unable to perform, you would still have adequate time to convert to a new, compliant system. Many vendors of programs that run in DOS and Windows have Windows versions that are already compliant and are now working on conversion of DOS versions as time permits. Do not sit around and wait for these products to be ready – get the Windows version now and be done with it!

You may ask, "how do I determine whether my systems are compliant?" There are various tools available to help. If you are not computer literate, you are best served by contacting a competent professional who will agree to audit all your systems and make corrections as needed. Anyone in a medium to large firm would be well advised to do this. Those in very small firms, or those who want to make a preliminary study before pulling in a professional, may want to look at the following: Test your computer to see if the hardware can recognize dates properly (use the instructions in the sidebar).

Alternatively, download Test2000 from www.rightime.com to test your system.

Visit www.law.ufl.edu/college/lti/projects/year2000/year2000.htm.This site is maintained by the Legal Technology Institute, and it contains a searchable database of hardware and software used by the legal profession, along with information on compliance as well as the source of the information. Not all products listed have a full report in yet, but more are being added every day.

Look at www.microsoft.com/year2000, which is a good resource center as well as the best source of information on Microsoft products. Here is where you will find information that Windows 3.11 and Windows 95 original release are compliant "with minor problems," and where you can download a full description of any potential problems that might occur.

Review the firm's other computerized equipment, such as higher-end copiers, fax machines, postage meters, and the like.

Check with your business insurance carrier to see how they will be classifying any losses that arise from Y2K problems. You may not have coverage for these problems, especially if the carrier feels that any problems were foreseeable and therefore not accidental losses.

Teri Olson is the former Director of the Law Practice Management Program.

This article was originally published in the Georgia Bar Journal, December 1998, Vol. 4 No. 3