Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
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I confess I consider paperless, like wireless, to be a misnomer. Some posts over the past few weeks, however, have me reconsidering.
Mark Wiggins gives a detailed account of how Pine Laurent embraced the digital age. He describes the divide, starting with law school. His legal research class “was almost exclusively dedicated to Internet and digital research, professor handouts were frequently emailed, and even our final exams were administered through computer software and wirelessly uploaded to our professor upon completion.” The actual practice of law, in contrast, was paper heavy. That changed when the firm made a conscious, and physical, investment in going paperless, creating a more innovative, efficient office and better customer service.
Peter Walzer, of Walzer Melcher, provides an interesting history of the Paper Tiger. He traces the use of paper, rise of machines (CDs. Remember those?) and talks about the process of paperless at his law firm. Process is common theme, and the firms that successfully make paperless a reality have developed and adhered to a process. The post ends with what has been quoted often in reference to it on social media: “You are going to be paperless whether you like it or not.”
Going paperless whether you like it or not is reflected in two posts on depositions. Victoria Santoro considers the deposition to be the final paper frontier, and makes the case that it is fear holding law firms back, not lack of technological know-how or tools. She references O’Brien & Levine Court Reporting Services in her post. Kenneth Zais, president and owner of O’Brien & Levine Court Reporting Services laid out how electronic exhibits are bringing an end to the paper chase. The charge is being led by iPads, to the surprise of, um, no one.
Evidence is mounting that paperless is becoming less a misnomer, and more a reality.
Featured image: “Fist hitting, fist punching” from Shutterstock.
