From smart phones that allow lawyers to make the most of downtime, to technologies that permit law firms to host virtual meetings, tools that use the Internet are significantly increasing the productivity of lawyers and decreasing their wasted time, according to the recently released 2009 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey Report.
The American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center surveyed ABA lawyer members in private practice from January through May 2009 on their use of technology. Topics ran the gamut from budgets and purchasing habits to the use of smart phones in the courtroom. The survey concentrated on issues relating to technology use, not product use.
Among the results:
- Leaving the office doesn’t mean leaving work behind. Eighty-two percent of respondents said they use a PDA, smart phone, or BlackBerry while out of the office, compared to 67% in 2008. Of respondents who provided brand names, the BlackBerry/RIM (64%) was cited most often, followed by the iPhone (14%) and Palm Treo (13%).
- While more than three-fourths of respondents report that they telecommute (77%), only 6% of all respondents report having a virtual law office. Solo respondents are the most likely to report using a virtual law office (12%), followed by respondents from firms of two to nine attorneys (7%).
- Social networking for personal use is gaining popularity among lawyers. Forty-three percent of respondents said they maintain a personal social networking presence. That’s up from 15% last year.
- When asked whether their firms maintain a presence in an online community/social network such as Facebook, LinkedIn, LawLink, or Legal OnRamp, 12% of respondents report affirmatively, up from 4% in the 2008 survey.
This survey provides a glimpse into the changes that are rapidly transforming the work environment, even in a conservative profession such as law. Agents too can transform—so pay attention and learn.
