Lawyers are swift to adopt new gadgets such as smartphones and Kindles, and see themselves as being at the forefront of technology.
he old-fashioned stereotype of the Luddite solicitor bears little truth according to new research among 100 lawyers ranging from sole practitioner to partner in a Magic Circle firm.
Nearly half of the respondents to the survey, commissioned by LexisNexis, considered themselves to be “early adopters” or “at the cutting edge” in embracing new technologies.
More than three-quarters of respondents said they favour online or digital resources over traditional paper-based law libraries. More than one in 10 have already purchased an Apple iPad, which only became available in May, and use it specifically for legal work. Ten per cent of respondents have an eBook reader, such as Kindle, specifically for legal work.
Nearly nine in 10 respondents retrieve information from digital sources other than email on a daily basis, for example, by downloading eBooks or via a smartphone. Two-thirds use a BlackBerry, and three-quarters of respondents pick up email either constantly or at least every hour when out of the office.
A separate survey by Kelso
