Can technology make you a better lawyer?

Technology can help you organize

A lawyer’s office is often stocked with a lot of law books, journals and manuals. You can easily spot a clutter of papers and folders on a lawyer’s desk. A lot of effort and time is required to organize and store these paper documents. Additionally, the storage space must be maintained to avoid damage and misplaced papers. However, with the advent modern technology all those files and folders can be stored in electronic memory devices which can save precious desk space and provide the mobility for viewing documents on-the-go. Also, it is much easier to store and retrieve documents electronically than requesting a paralegal or a junior to fetch it.

Some legal media publication houses even provide law books, journals and manuals in a compact USB drive.

 

Technology can make you efficient

Undoubtedly, technology can make you an efficient lawyer. You can schedule appointments, events and meetings in a calendar application which can alert you through an e-mail notification as well as a push-notification on your cell phone or tablet. Technology has made that bulky appointment diary totally obsolete.

A note-taking application can help you jot down that idea while you were travelling in the train or taking an elevator to work. Similar to calendar applications, many of note-taking applications can sync your notes between your personal computer, cell phone, tablet and work computer.

With the help of speech-recognition software you can create or edit legal documents with the help of your voice. Additionally, this can save on transcription costs.

You can also use a task application to track progress of each case and even track down the billable hours.

 

Technology can help you in legal research

Legal research is much more accurate and easier with the help of technology. It is crucial for legal practitioners to access records of cases as legal basis for their briefs and arguments. Because of the availability of the internet, access to pertinent information has become readily available; multiple trips to courthouses and libraries can be avoided.

Online legal research services provide expert analysis on a wide variety of legal topics and comprehensive updates time to time.

 

Technology can help you to draft error-free documents

The preparation of legal documents has become more precise and less susceptible to typographical errors. Now, preparation of briefs, pleadings and other court documents are less time consuming and more accurate. Errors can be easily recognized by computers and mistakes can be rectified before taking a final print. Some applications also provide an option to save a document in multiple formats.

 

Remember that technology is a mere tool to assist and should not define one’s ability to litigate. Technology can optimize and simplify a task, making a lawyer more efficient in delivering his services to his or her clients. In all matters, a tool can either be useful or extraneous. And certainly, technology cannot make bad lawyers into good ones!