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DCBA Brief's From the Editor Ah, Spring. The flowers are in bloom.
The sun is out. Honestly, who has time for legal technology? As it
happens, I do; it turns out your intrepid Editor recently attended
the American Bar Association’s 2007 Technology Show courtesy of the
DuPage County Bar Association (thank you Glenda). Now I know what
you’re thinking: ‘same old, same old’ right? Well despite being a
jaded 10-year veteran attendee and 2-time booth holder, there actually
were a number of novel things going on. Moreover, I was actually shocked
to find out that my incessant
Web 2.0 is Here.
How often do I get to say ‘I told you so?’ Not often enough it
turns out. So in case you missed my many posts and discussions on the
topic, Web 2.0 is the popular term for the wave of change transforming
static websites into hubs of (inter)activity. And let me be clear: Web
2.0 is now respectable. How respectable? Expect to see Web 2.0-style
applications in large firms this year, medium-sized firms next year,
and small and solo shops in 2010.
E-Discovery is Really Real:
I’ve been mighty cautious about sounding the ‘EDD’ alarm bell
because first, electronic document discovery (EDD) is limited to
Federal proceedings, and second, until recently the only way to get a
handle on the reams of information EDD produced was to pay through the
nose. But this year I spent time with a few vendors whose software,
pricing, and delivery options were both impressive and cost effective.
As the price of tools goes down, watch EDD pick up.
The Desktop is Dead/Long Live
the Browser: 6 years ago at the New York
Legal Tech Show I learned about something called an application
service provider (ASP). The idea was that you could use MS Word,
WordPerfect, etc. without being at your desk. Cool. But not nearly as
cool as the fact that you can now write a top-notch Brief or Pleading online
and collaborate you’re your fellow writers in "real time"
(it happens before your very eyes), without any software but a
browser, all for free.
Google, Google, Google:
This upstart does for free what Microsoft, Westlaw, Lexis-Nexis, and a
host of other pricey application vendors do for a fortune. And if a
free application is worth anything at all then your return on
investment is about 1,000%, right? That sounds like a good return to
me. So, what do you get out
of being familiar with cutting technology – legal and otherwise? Put
another way, what is the ROI of LPM (law practice management)? 100%?
1,000%? Of course the answer ultimately depends on who is using these
tools, but with the cost of experimental so incrementally low, what
have you got to lose but your pricey vendor relationship? Sound off at mmhedayat1@gmail.com
with your thoughts, and as always, thank you for your support. Mazyar M. Hedayat, Editor |
