The World is Going Toward Apple. Will Law Firms Ever Go Mac?
Will law firms ever migrate toward Mac computers? The whole world is going iPhone, iBook, and iPad and yet firms seem stuck on Blackberries, Dells, and just scratch their heads to the concept of iPads.
Law firms were never the most technologically advanced places to work for. When I started as an associate, one thing I was told was to never type. That was the job of secretaries and I was handed a dictating device. That was in 2004.
It took me twice as long to dictate a memo. And oftentimes, I resorted to typing it myself anyway, after spending the time to dictate. Clearly, a time waster.
And with the marriage to Windows, Pentium Processors, and Blackberries, law firms continue to insist on wasting the time of their associates and even partners.
Almost everyone has turned to Apple devices for their personal enjoyment and are probably most familiar with the Mac platform. Yet when you go to work, lawyers are forced to use clunky, time-wasting, and unreliable devices that firms impose on them.
The migration away from Windows/Dell/Blackberries will eventually happen. What was unheard of 25 years ago like lawyers typing their own documents is quite common and expected today. So, lawyers using Macs being ridiculous today, will likely become quite common and expected in the years to come.
It's just that when that time happens, Macs may be on their way out. With cloud computing already the next big thing, by the time firms catch up with yesterday's trend, they will be behind again.
So what is a firm to do? Due to the sensitive nature of a lot of lawyers' work, firms simply cannot allow attorneys to use their own personal devices for work matters. And firms need to vet cloud computing and other technological trends to ensure that it protects client data.
The constant catch-up to the "next big technological thing" will always be a losing battle that law firms are not armed to handle.
So lawyers today should just be happy that they have mobile devices and laptops. Back in 2004, the only "mobile device" I had was a dictation recorder.
Related Resources:
- Robots May Soon Replace Lawyers to Rule the Legal Industry (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Best Apps to Help Lawyers Eat Right on the Go (FindLaw's Technologist)
- The Best Apps for Remote Meetings (FindLaw's Technologist)