Write Apps

• Author: Simon Lewis
• Date: January 05, 2015

One of our neighbours was born in India. When he was young, his father would buy one pencil every few months for him to share with his brother. They did this by cutting the pencil in half. Contrast this with the over-abundance of pencils in our household with just one 9 year old.

Similiarly, there is now an amazing abundance of apps that can used by lawyers. That was not the case when I compiled the first Australasian Legal Software Directory in 1986. I had to scrounge to find tools for lawyers. Like pencils, apps don’t come with pre-packaged drawing skills, nor the experience of when and how to use each. That makes all the difference, as I have discussed before HERE.

One can buy the best software tools but find they outstrip the ability of most to use, let alone master. Peat Marwick’s 1980’s slogan “For a computer to be useful, it needs to be useable” is even more relevant today as we are more ambitious in what we try to do. Ease of use, and convenience for users – as opposed to IT departments – is a recent trend.

If a large case is a rarity for the team, then rather than be “casual users” of powerful tools, they might be better to stick with the consumer-friendly tools they already know. The more sophisticated members of the team might use additional tools such as relational databases to analyse the data, and present the results in the tools the others use.

Most lawyers need protection from tech and information complexity. But in the end you have to ask: why do we need such sophisticated tools in litigation? Have things got out of hand? Clients certainly think so.

While hospitals have a reputation as dangerous places, law offices are perceived as financially hazardous as 70%+ of the population avoids engaging a lawyer when needed.

It’s easy to understand why when lawyers charge by the hour, putting them in potential conflict with the clients’ interests. I recall a school classmate being celebrated by his partners at a top firm for his ability to make a mountain out of a molehill. Corporate clients would seek guidance on a minor issue, but end up with their heads spinning on being alerted to a number of major issues.

Meanwhile, medicine is improving in certain areas thanks to innovations such as keyhole surgery, where the changes are dramatic. Could the law benefit from “keyhole litigation”? It would need to be less traumatic, safer and have the parties back on their feet, much sooner. Maybe it is finally time for the Ron Friedmann tag #DoLessLaw.

But...