Trial Magazine

When I started practicing law 30 years ago, we did not have computers or smartphones. We relied on typewriters, pay phones, pink message slips, and OCR scanning. If you were lucky, your secretary had an IBM Selectric typewriter with a few pages of memory.

Technology has made our practice more efficient—but at a cost. We have no downtime. People expect immediate responses to every request, work often comes with us on vacation, and there is a digital record of everything we do. Technology, like many things in life, is a double-edged sword with benefits and burdens. This issue of Trial explores both of those sides.

To me, the biggest benefits of technology are efficiency and the ability to have information at my fingertips. Today, this is not only useful but expected. A few months ago, AAJ Education presented the Technology in Trial Webinar, led by attorneys Raymond Jones of Washington, D.C., and Tim Williams of Bend, Ore. Tim began his presentation with a simple concept: Trial attorneys need to use technology because jurors use technology. Each juror likely has a smartphone or tablet and regularly sees such devices used to report the news, map a location, send a video, and the million other things we can do with digital devices in today’s world. When jurors enter the ­courtroom, they have the same expectations. A flip chart might not cut it anymore.

From Nov. 10–11, AAJ is presenting its annual Day at the Races: Marketing & Management Seminar in Louisville, Ky., which will focus on using social media, firm websites, case management software, search engine optimization, and other technology of which we should all be aware. I encourage you to attend the seminar and learn how to take advantage of these tools in your practice. For more information, visit www.justice.org/education/programs/s17raceky.

And for members who want to stay up to date on the latest apps, software, and tools that will strengthen your practice, subscribe to AAJ’s complimentary legal technology list server by visiting www.justice.org/dashboard/my-list-servers or by emailing listmanager@justice.org.

Of course, technology has disadvantages. One of the biggest issues that AAJ State Affairs has been tracking is the fight over manufacturer immunity and safety standards in highly automated vehicles or “robot cars.” The robot car represents a whole new business model for liability and insurance. AAJ’s report, Driven to Safety, details the potential pitfalls. You can download the report at www.justice.org/robotcars.

AAJ opposes federal legislation that preempts state law and limits remedies for those who have been injured by data breaches and other technology-based torts. Hacking and cyberattacks pose a risk to our practices and our privacy. Mismanaged or malfunctioning technology poses a risk to our clients. This issue of Trial includes articles on liability issues related to internet-connected devices (p. 24) and consumer data breaches (p. 30).

We—as trial lawyers—should remain vigilant and be prepared to protect our clients should they ever be faced with technology’s consequences rather than its benefits. Whether you use an iPad to take notes during trial or still swear by the tried-and-true yellow legal pad, you must acknowledge that technology is here to stay. It is up to us to use it to our advantage—and to ensure that technology helps us and our clients more than it harms.

Kathleen Nastri is an attorney at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport, Conn. She can be reached at kathleen.nastri@justice.org.