Legal technology

The words “legal” and “technology” may not seem to go together — in fact, the legal industry is well known for its aversion to technology, favoring instead the written word, the printed page, the tangible and material. But this is fast changing as we embrace the digital age, replacing all things tangible with the digital, amorphous nature of unrestricted information.

In today’s technology-enabled companies we send volumes of communication — as email, digital documents, images, voicemail — that have been until now impossible to achieve. We are no longer paper-bound, limited by slow document production and even slower delivery. In fact, the ease and speed with which we communicate is leading to an information boom of unprecedented proportions. What used to take days to convey can now be accomplished in hours as hastily dashed off emails and voice messages blur along our lines of communication.

In fact it is so easy to communicate that we often loose sight of the fact that all this communication is part of an eternal record. We no longer proof our documents and carefully consider our words before sending them off. Yet, our letters, missives and memos remain an important — and immutable — part of corporate communication even as our attention to detail slides abysmally as we strive to keep up with the demand of information flow.

This explosion of digital information is leading in two inevitable directions: Greater control over information and more effort in analyzing and reacting to the data. The former I believe we’ll see in the coming decade, probably in the form of stronger corporate and social awareness regarding the implications of information sharing. The latter is already happening as we see the industry of Electronic Discovery begin a rapid growth curve.