Technology changes face of legal practice

Large numbers of lawyers practicing today learned to do legal research from books on a library shelf. Their office staff used typewriters and carbon paper to produce documents. Books lining the walls differentiated the law office from other professions.

During the 1980s the practice of law went high-tech. Law students now learn how to research cases online. Cases can be found by typing one or two words or phrases into the search engine. Tens of thousands of cases can be searched in seconds. The stacks and stacks of case-law reports are being replaced by CD ROMs.

Law offices are now using computers and the Internet to serve their clients. Secretaries and paralegals draft documents with word processing programs, some designed specifically for law firms.

Voice-recognition software can be used to allow attorneys to draft documents while dictating. Motions and briefs can be drafted, revised and printed on the computer, incorporating research obtained online, without ever getting up from the desk.

Not only offices, but courtrooms are going high-tech, as well. Trial presentations are done using computer-generated visuals, video projectors and notebook computers. Documents and exhibits can be saved to disk for easy retrieval during the trial. Depositions can be searched on the computer to find relevant facts during the court proceeding.

The Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association assists its members by providing some of this courtroom equipment for their trial presentations at the Greene County Courthouse.

Videotaped depositions are commonplace now. Using the video deposition at trial can show the jury the demeanor of a witness during deposition. Other plusses are that a witness can appear by means of video, eliminating the cost of bringing a witness from out of town to testify, and it preserves testimony if the person is no longer available to testify at the time of the trial.

Another form of technology, video conferencing, is used for arraignments in Springfield Municipal Court. This will continue to be used to avoid the costs and complications inherent in transporting prisoners to the courtroom. Use of video conferencing is also helpful to eliminate the costs of traveling to attend meetings, depositions and the like for lawyers.

The U.S. District Court now provides for electronic case filings for cases in the Southern District here in Springfield. Documents can be filed electronically instead of by hard copy. Docket sheets can be accessed and motions and orders read online.

The goal is to eliminate the paper overload in our courthouses. As the years go on, more and more resources are being used to produce paper documents and then to store them as court records. Storage costs and environmental concerns have generated interest in alternative means of producing, handling and filing of court documents.

Technology has brought significant change to how law offices do business, but the end result remains the same. Lawyers want to help clients achieve results that are beneficial for individuals and the community. Technology just helps get the job done.

(Lois Zerrer is executive director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.)