SQL is Where it's At

Most good legal software programs are moving to SQL databases and this is a great step for the Legal Profession.  SQL databases make it very easy to link to other programs, are efficient enough to use over a VPN connection, and have virtually unlimited database capabilities.  SQL (Structured English Query Language)  Server was first released by Microsoft in 1993 and its latest version, SQL 2005, launched in Nov 2005.

SQL is a commonly used database and most programs are built with the ability to link to it.  A good example is HotDocs, a document generation program.  Some legal programs have a link to HotDocs, which sometimes I can find quite limiting.  If the program has a SQL Database I can use the HotDocs database to connect and link directly to the SQL database bi-passing the programs built in link.  This has two advantages for the user.  The first is that the direct link to the HotDocs database is usually way more robust than the program's link. And second, if the client has a program with no built in HotDocs link, you can just use the SQL Database Connect.

Lawyers (and just about anyone else) would love to work from home.  Back in 2002 I tried disastrously to run Amicus Attorney V and PCLaw 5 over a VPN connection that I had set up at a partner's home.  I wasted an entire day and it never came close to working.  Those versions of Amicus Attorney and PCLaw used a Ctree database and I have come to discover that it is pretty impossible to run a Ctree database over a VPN, regardless of the program.  Flash forward to 2006.  TimeMatters and PCLaw have Ctree and SQL versions, and Amicus has gone totally SQL.  From my home, I can VPN to my office's server and run Amicus Attorney, TimeMatters Enterprise, and PCLaw Enterprise like I was actually at my office.  Since I only make it in to the office about once a week, this is very effective for me.  If you have multiple offices, then they can all be connected together (SQL Replication) and you can work from home like you were in the office. 

Microsoft's newest version of SQL Server does have "some limitations".  Its maximum database size is 1,000,000 terabytes.  Now I don't have any clients with databases over 10 gigabytes and I would be surprised if there are a large number of firms with databases over 1 terabyte of data, but the ability is there and in the future more and more firms will move to the terabyte size.  The United States Library of Congress has around 20 terabytes of text.  In my experience, Ctree and other databases begin to crap out once you start getting into the 2 gigabyte range.  If you use a SQL database, you won't have to worry about space limitations for a long, long time.

If you are looking to purchase Legal Software, I would only buy programs that have a SQL database or have the ability to upgrade to one.  Unlimited linking, portability, and size are just to hard to pass up.