2010 ABA Legal Technology Survey

Nothing like a Friday afternoon to examine six volumes of law & technology statistics from the ABA.  I was somewhat amused when I accessed their page and discovered that they'd received an endorsement - from yours truly.  Somebody apparently liked something I said about last year's survey and quoted me.

The ABA provided me with some excerpts, so I reviewed them and picked out a few that I thought would be of interest.

E-READERS

Ten percent of survey respondents report the availability of e-book readers at their firms. Solo respondents are most likely to report their availability (16%), while large firm respondents are least likely (4%).

WINDOWS 7 vs. VISTA

Usage of newly released Windows 7 (9%) has already surpassed that of Vista (8%, compared with 9% in 2009 and 4% in 2008) as the second most frequently reported operating system on respondents’ primary computers.

METADATA

Metadata removal software is available at 59% of respondents’ firms, up from 46% in the 2009 survey. Large firm respondents report the highest availability (92%, up from 86% in the 2009 survey), followed by respondents from firms of 10-49 attorneys (64%, up from 51% in the 2009 survey). This increase in availability in metadata removal software is likely due to the numerous ethics opinions addressing sender’s responsibility regarding metadata exposure.

VIRTUAL OFFICE

When asked whether they have a virtual law office/virtual law practice (i.e., do not typically meet with clients in person, and primarily interact with clients using Internet-based software and other electronic communications software), fourteen percent of respondents responded affirmatively. Of counsel and solo respondents were most likely to report having a virtual law office/virtual law practice (27% and 19% respectively).

SOCIAL NETWORKS

When asked whether they personally maintain a presence in an online community/social network such as Facebook, LinkedIn, LawLink, or Legal OnRamp, overall, 56% of respondents answered affirmatively, compared with 43% in the 2009 survey and 15% in the 2008 survey.

WESTLAW vs. LEXISNEXIS

Eighty percent of respondents (compared with 88% in 2009) report using fee-based online resources to conduct legal research. Fifty-four percent of respondents report using Westlaw most often (compared with 61% in the 2009 survey), followed by LexisNexis (32%, compared with 28% in 2009).