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Technology
Frequently Asked Questions Answered
Laptop or desktop and
much more
BY dANIEL J. SIEGEL
ince I began writing the than the cost of the computer), and for the representation.” (emphasis in
s “Technology” column for
The Philadelphia Lawyer
in 2003, I have received
numerous questions, including a few
frequent ones. In this column, I will
– most importantly – they generally
processinformationmorequickly.Thus,
for most users, a desktop computer
offers numerous practical advantages
overaportableone.
original). Further, Comment 6 of the
Rule (“Maintaining Competence”)
states that “To maintain the requisite
knowledge and skill, a lawyer should
keepabreastofchangesinthelawand
answer some of the most commonly There is a practical alternative, itspractice,engageincontinuingstudy
askedquestions. however,toowningoneofficelaptop.If and education and comply with all
SHOuLd I BuY A LAPTOP OR yourofficeonlyhastheneedforportable continuinglegaleducationrequirements
dESkTOP COMPuTER? computing on a relatively infrequent towhichthelawyerissubject.”
Nowadays, this question has been basis, or only plans to use it in court/ According to the American Bar
expanded to include not only laptops, at trial, then purchase one powerful Association, “Competence in using
but also netbooks, iPads and other laptop, and configure it with all of the a technology can be a requirement
portabledevices.Regardless,theanswer softwareyouanticipateusing(youwill of practicing law. Requirements for
really depends upon whether you plan needfewerlicensesthanifyouinstallit technological competence may appear
tousethelaptopoutsideofyouroffice onmanycomputers).Thisway,youwill aspartofrulesofProfessionalConduct,
frequently. have one computer that everyone can Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
Laptops have great appeal. In some usethatiscourtroom-ready,withoutthe programs, and malpractice insurance
offices, it’s even a status issue, i.e., additionalcostofoutfittingeveryone. premiumcredits.”
only “important” people have laptops, WHY dO I HAVE TO kNOW ABOuT By using technology – but not
while the peons must survive without. LAW-RELATEd TECHNOLOGY? necessarily becoming a “legal geek”
Inaddition,laptopsareportable,soyou The real question is: “By failing to – a lawyer can locate, create, modify
canusethemanywhere(althoughitstill usethelatesttechnology,doesalawyer and review documents more quickly,
helpstohaveanoutletavailablebecause violate his or her obligation to act annotate transcripts more efficiently,
many batteries still drain quickly). But competently on behalf of a client?” In stayabreastofchangesinthelawwith
mostlawyersdon’tusethemanywhere myview,theansweris“yes.”Afterall, theclickofamouse,andre-createand
otherthantheiroffices.Asaresult,their would you want to receive treatment present evidence in ways that offer
laptop computers are merely portable from a physician who didn’t use juries and judges greater insight into
computersthatnever(orvirtuallynever) MRIs and other tests because “those how events transpired. It can also help
leavetheiroffices. newfangledtestsweren’taroundwhenI them avoid situations that may lead to
If you generally do not take your graduatedfrommedicalschool?” legalmalpractice.
laptop with you (whether to court, to Pennsylvania Rule of For litigators (and every lawyer who
clients’ offices, to meetings, etc.), then Professional Conduct 1.1 states “A has a client that may ever be involved
you are better served purchasing a lawyer shall provide competent in litigation), the law has changed
desktopcomputer,becausedesktopPCs representation to a client. Competent dramatically in recent years, with
arelessexpensivethanlaptops,theyare representation requires the legal no issue more at the forefront than
easiertorepair(thecostofrepairingor knowledge, skill, thoroughness and electronic discovery. To the naïve,
replacing a laptop screen can be more preparation reasonably necessary electronic discovery (commonly
42 the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2010
Tech brieFS
Tablet Computers Set
to overtake netbooks
knownas“e-discovery”)dealswiththe servers,including:
preservation, production and review of I
• nstallingallsoftwareupdates,
materialselectronically.Butitismore. including“servicepacks”and
E-discoveryencompassesamajorpart “maintenancereleased,”suchasthose
of the changes in the Federal Rules of availablefromMicrosoftandother
CivilProcedure,andrequiresattorneys vendors;
to understand the implications of how U
• singantivirussoftware,whichis
their clients create, revise and store automaticallyupdatedtoprotectusers By 2015, nearly one in four personal
everything from e-mail to Word (and fromviruses,malwareandspyware; computerssoldtoAmericanconsumers
WordPerfect) documents, among other • leaningyourkeyboardssothatthey
C willbetabletdevices,accordingtoFor-
things. By failing to understand how donotstopworkingbecausetheyare esterResearch.
these and other laws and regulations filledwithdustanddirt;
ForesteralreadyexpectsiPadsandoth-
impact their clients, lawyers not only U
• tilizingfirewallstoassurethatyou ertabletstooutsellnetbookcomputers
do not provide the best representation preventunauthorizedaccesstoyour by2012,eventhoughnetbookshelped
possible, they may also expose computersandservers;and, steerthecomputerindustrythroughthe
themselves to liability for professional P
• erformingavarietyofroutine recession.
negligence. maintenanceoperations,asoutlined
In sum, lawyers who choose to fall inmyFall2006column,“Timefora Apple Computer has sold more than
wellbehindthetechnologycurvedoso TuneUp”(sendmeane-mailandI’ll 1 million iPads per month since its
April debut. Other computer makers
attheirownrisk.Thus,whilefailingto forwardacopytoyou). have been frantically trying to make
utilizecutting-edgeorevenmainstream Your office should also establish up ground. Dell, Research in Motion,
technology – or failing to understand written e-mail, computer and Internet- Hewlett-Packard, Acer, LG and Sam-
changes in laws, rules and regulations use policies, outlining permissible sunghaveallannouncedplansfortablet
impact their clients – may not be and prohibited use of computers, and orslatecomputers.
unethical,itiscertainlyfarfromthebest require that all employees receive and
practice – either for your office or for signacknowledgementsconfirmingthat
yourclients. they understand and will comply with
Half of Law Firms to Spend
WHAT ARE THE BASIC thesepolicies.Youshouldalsoconduct More on iT, Study Finds
PRECAuTIONS MY OFFICE NEEdS random inspections of employee
TO TAkE? computers to assure that all employees NearlyhalfofU.S.lawfirmsplantoin-
While this question is very general, are complying with the policies, and creasespendingoninformationtechnol-
it demonstrates how far many firms take appropriate disciplinary actions in ogy(IT),accordingtoanewstudyfrom
needtogo.First,regardlesshowmuch theeventanemployeeviolatesarule. CompTIA, the nonprofit trade associa-
tionfortheITindustry.
technology you use (e.g., your “only” Finally, you should require all users
use of technology is Microsoft Word to enter a unique login and password Many law firms will focus their IT
andMicrosoftOutlook),youmustback whenaccessingtheircomputersandthe spending on core investments, such as
up your data. It is frequently said that firm’snetwork.Whilecommoninlarger notebookPCs(24percentoffirmssur-
it is not a question of if, but when, a firmsandbusinesses,thesepoliciescan veyed intend to buy), desktop PCs (22
computer or server will fail, and all of beinvaluable.Byfailingtoinstitutethis percent)andsmartphones(22percent).
thedataonitcanneverberecovered. typeofsecuritymeasure,yourfirmmay
Butthesurveyalsorevealsthatagrow-
Thus, it is critical that your office bevulnerabletoadisgruntledemployee, ing number of law firms will explore
implement regular, automated backups whocouldstealordestroycriticaldata. a range of emerging technologies as a
of all computers and servers on which Most law firms face similar means to address areas of dissatisfac-
client-related files are stored. There technology issues. In future columns, tion with IT, which include reliability,
arenumerouswaystodoso.Thereare I will continue to try to address those mismatchoffeaturesand needs,insuf-
online services that will automatically matters.Feelfreetosendmeane-mail ficientsupportandtotalcostofowner-
ship.Additionally,lawyerscitemobility
backup data and store the information attheaddressbelow. andbetterremotefunctionalityastheir
offsite. Alternatively, many firms uses greatestunmettechnologyneeds.
onsite backup systems that allow them Daniel J. Siegel (dan@danieljsiegel.com),
to quickly restore data should there be a member of the Editorial Board of The Over the next year, 14 percent of law
acrash. Philadelphia Lawyer, is a local attorney firms plan to invest in some type of
In addition to performing regular who operates the Law Offices of Daniel cloud computing or software-as-a-ser-
backups, you should perform routine J. Siegel, LLC and is the president of vicesolution.
maintenance on all computers and Integrated Technology Services, LLC.
the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2010 43
Tech
UPDATE
BlackBerry’s new Torch 9800 is Research in Motion’s first smartphone to combine a keyboard
and a touchscreen as well as the new BlackBerry 6 operating system. Apple’s wildly popular iPhone
4 also boasts a new operating system. Both phones let you send e-mail, check the web, use social
media and yes, make phone calls.
Features apple iphone 4 BlackBerry t orch 9800
3.5” Display; 960 x 640 pixel 3 . 2 ” 3 6 0 x 4 8 0 c a p a c i t i v e t o uch
Display resolution screen Display
3 5 k e y F u l l q w e r t y B a c k l i t sliDe-
k e y Bo a rD touch screen o u t k e yB o a r D
624 mhz processor with 512 mB
processor apple a4 chip (speeD unknown) Fl a s h m e m o r y
size 4.5” x 2.3” x 0.37” 4.4” (5.8” open) x 2.4” x o.57”
weight 4.8 ounces 5.68 ounces
operating system ios4 B l a c kBe r r y 6 o s
4 gB B u i l t i n m e m o r y p l u s a micro
storage capacity 16 or 32 gB Flash Drive s D/ s D h D m e m o r y c a r D s l o t that
s u p p o r t s u p t o 3 2 g B c a r Ds
Dual camera with 8-megapixel 5 mp camera with Flash,
p r i m a r y c am e r a a n D 1 . 3 c o n t i n u o u s a u t o F o c u s , i m age
camera megapixel Front-Facing s t a Bi l i z a t i o n , s c e n e m o De s , geo-
s e c o nD a r y c a m e r a t a g g i n g a nD z o o m
5 mp camera with Flash,
720p, up to 30 Frames per c o n i t i n u o u s a u t o F o c u s , i m age
v iD e o r e c o rD i n g s e c o nD , Bu i l t - i n v iD e o e Di t i n g s t aB i l i z a t i o n , s c e n e m o De s , geo-
t a g g i n g a nD z o o m
v iD e o c o nF e r e n c i n g ye s , v i a w i - F i o n l y n o t a v a i l aB l e
B a t t e r y l i Fe 7 hours oF talk time 5.8 hours oF talk time
s e r v i c e p r o v iD e r at&t at & t
price $ 2 0 0 F o r 1 6 g B version $199
$ 3 0 0 F o r 3 2 g B version
44 the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2010
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