Technology's Transformation of the Legal Field

Robert Half Legal has recently released their report, entitled ‘Future Law Office: Technology’s Transformation of the Legal Field’. The report discuses “how technological innovations have impacted and will continue to impact the practice of law, the management of law firms and corporate legal departments, as well as the relationships between legal counsel and their clients.”

The report highlighted an observation by attorney and author of the LawSites blog, Robert J. Ambrogi. Writing about technology and the legal field, he previously stated, “it is not so much that technology has imposed itself on lawyers, as that changes in the demands of law practice have required new solutions.”

As the report highlights law firms are adopting new technologies in order to increase efficiency, competitiveness and lower costs. For Bundledocs users, adopting legal bundling software within their firms has seen considerable benefits. When discussing Bundledocs, Ronan Kennedy of Kennedy Frewen O’Sullivan stated, “I created a bundle in two hours the old way, then I did it again using Bundledocs, it took only twenty minutes. This process takes all the pain out of ensuring that bundles are created on time, and are paginated properly. It simplified a time consuming task that used to require too much manpower and supervision.”

What new technologies has your firm adopted?  Have you seen any benefits?

Download Report: ‘Future Law Office: Technology’s Transformation of the Legal Field’

Why should Smaller Firms adopt Software as a Service?

A recent Law.com article entitled “It’s time for Smaller Firms to Question BigLaw Technology” identified the need for smaller law firms to question following larger firms lead when considering legal technology and innovation.

Within the article author William Caraher argues that when compared to larger firms, smaller law firms have a significant advantage when it comes to adopting new technologies. It is believed that smaller firms can adapt to change and are typically more open to new ideas, standards are less rigid and implementation costs are usually lower. Caraher highlights that many “assume the legal culture is pigeonholed into making “lemming” decisions based upon what other firms are doing”. As a result firms should be not be focusing on what other firms within the legal profession are doing but what are other industries doing.

An interview conducted by the Legal IT Professional with Richard Susskind highlighted some important points relating to the adoption of cloud computing within the legal profession.  The article entitled “Richard Susskind about law firm IT management and cloud computing” highlights that many start-up and small law firms can benefit significantly from the software as a service model as it enables them to access legal applications previously only available to larger firms. Addressing the benefits of cloud computing for smaller law firms, Richard Susskind said, “Cloud computing does the thing, it actually puts the data storage, the computing power and the facilities that used to only available to large organisations, and makes them available to small organisations. I think all these firms are absolutely crucial in bringing and driving technology through into the legal profession.”

Use of Tablet Devices within Enterprises

As tablet devices continue to rise in popularity there has been a significant growth in the use of tablets within enterprises. Vertic.com recently created an interesting infogrpahic which provides an overview of the use of tablet devices and projected future trends in the enterprise tablet industry in the coming years. The infographic highlights that the legal sector will be one of the sectors impacted most in 2012 by tablet devices. In our previous article entitled “Lawyers Using the iPad for Business” we highlighted a report conducted by the American Bar Association, which identified that 20% of lawyers now use a tablet device.

What are your opinions on the use of tablet devices within the legal sector?

Source: Vertic.com

Compare: Apple iPad 2 Vs New iPad 3

According to a report published this week by Gartner Inc, worldwide sales of tablet computers are set to almost double to 118.9 million units this year, compared with 60 million units in 2011. The report predicts that Apple Inc will continue to dominate the tablet market, as the iPad looks to have a 61.4% share for 2012.

As our recent article ‘Lawyers using the iPad for business’ highlights, a growing number within the legal sector are continuing to adopt the iPad. As a result, the Legal Tech Review has created an interesting infographic that clearly highlights some of the key differences and technical specifications between the iPad 2 and the new iPad 3. The infogrpahic compares features including: size and weight, display, storage, processor, camera, wireless support, battery life and price.

Do you use the ipad for business? Will you be upgrading to the new iPad 3?

Source: Law Tech Review

Lawyers Using iPad for Business

In a recent article entitled “2011 Legal Technology Survey Report” we discussed the American Bar Association’s annual report which revealed interesting information regarding the role of technology within the legal sector. The report identified that 20% of lawyers surveyed use a tablet device and of those, 96% identified the iPad as their brand of choice. So how are lawyers using the iPad for business?

Lawyers use of the ipad

Source: Law Tech Review

Discussing the significant growth of the iPad within the legal sector, the Lawyer Tech Review commented “the next time you go to court, don’t be surprised if you spot an iPad sitting next to the judge’s gavel”.  Due to its light weight and small size, tablet devices are particularly attractive to lawyers who often have to carry heavy folders, laptops and briefcases. According to LexBlog Inc, author and technology attorney Tom Mighell identified a number of benefits that the iPad has for the legal sector, these include: research, reading, note taking, use in meetings and in court.

In our article “Are Paperless Courts the Future for the Legal Sector?” we discussed a new scheme ‘Transforming through Technology’ which seeks to create paperless courts by replacing traditional bundles of paper with iPad style devices. Through this scheme files will be sent electronically and the tablet devices will then contain everything they need in court. Quinton Newcomb, a barrister from the south-eastern circuit of the Bar Council, told the guardian that “in theory this will mean that advocates will have access to everything that they need, apart from their wig and gown of course, all on a small digital device”.

Similarly Bundledocs users can use their iPad while in court, in a meeting – or anywhere. Bundledocs enables users to create an electronic document bundle that is fully ordered, indexed and paginated into a complete pdf document. With Bundledocs when users are out of the office they can use their iPad to easily view their document bundles or even send bundles to other parties. With the use of tablet devices, such as the iPad, lawyers can easily access their document bundles at any time, regardless of location.

How are you using your iPad for business?