The latest IT survey by the American Bar Association could show the way ahead for lawyers here, says Rupert White

If the Americans are a yardstick for technology trends for lawyers this side of the Atlantic, the near future of lawyering will be dominated by mobile devices, and regular electronic filing of documents to court will be normal.


According to the latest American Bar Association (ABA) IT survey, there are some interesting areas in which smaller firms are on the cutting edge. They are more likely to have instant messaging and are almost as keen on wireless networks as the largest firms, for example.


But the overwhelming feeling from this year's ABA survey is that mobile messaging devices are becoming a fact of life. This mobile life is often touted as saving people time but, with eight in ten lawyers questioned saying they regularly use their BlackBerry, smartphone or personal digital assistant (PDA) at home, perhaps they are not saving as much time in the office as they should, especially as only 34% of users regularly use them in the courtroom.


But the courtroom, though still a relative refuge from the BlackBerry and its ilk, is gradually being invaded. In 2002, 74% of respondents to the survey said they did not use their mobile messaging devices in court - that figure has now dropped to 60%. Whether this means 40% of US lawyers are now brazenly tapping away in court is not as clear, but if the Gazette's recent experience in Chicago is anything to go by, they probably are (see 2006 Gazette, 28 September, 11).


While small firms and sole practitioners in the US may not be as rabid mobile device users as those in large firms, they are still heavy users compared with the UK. The leap from 2004/05 to this year in terms of 'planning to buy a BlackBerry, PDA or smartphone' to one-quarter of sole practitioners and small firms is irrefutable evidence that where the big firms have gone in IT, the rest of the legal practice must follow. When taken alongside figures showing that more than 40% of sole practitioners and small firm lawyers are using them, the way forward is surely as clear as it is going to get.


The ABA survey also shows that Americans are increasingly using electronic filing of documents to court, and are resoundingly supportive once they have done it. Four in ten respondents reported that they e-file at least once a month - with 14% e-filing one to three times a month, 15% e-filing one to four times a week and 11% at it one or more times a day. The number of respondents who said they never file court documents electronically has fallen by nearly half since 2002 - down from 80% to 44% in 2005/06.


Courts in England and Wales should have e-filing around 2009, depending on which government department you choose to believe.


Sole practitioners are also ahead of the game in terms of having a disaster recovery plan. Though the whole subject's importance is no doubt heightened in US lawyers' minds post-Hurricane Katrina, 57% of sole practitioners said they had such a plan, compared to 52% of small firms and 44% of firms with ten to 49 attorneys. The big firms only beat sole practitioners by a few percentage points - with 59% saying they have a plan.


The survey is not without its lighter moments. As if to prove that using a BlackBerry too much can do terrible things to the unwary, Laura Ikens, the report's author and senior research specialist for the ABA, recalled one comment with particular relish.


'Many respondents, when offered the chance to write in places in which they use their PDAs, smart phones or BlackBerrys, wrote, "everywhere",' she said. 'One respondent even composed a Dr Seuss-ian rhyme about where he uses his mobile device: "In the elevator, in the hall, with a friend or in the stall, in the park or in the dark, I can use it here or there, I can use it anywhere".' Indeed.


LINK: www.abanet.org


Rupert White