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Technology and Lawyers - Is IT making us mighty?

Contributed by Lee Shih

Monday, 17 December 2007 04:03pm

Lee Shih Technological advances have made it easier for lawyers to carry out work - whether it is researching for case law via Lexis Nexis, obtaining an online copy of a statute, or shooting out an e-mail to a foreign client who will receive the message almost instantaneously.

However, have these advances truly made work easier and more convenient, or has technology brought about more stress into a lawyer's working life? Join us at the Young Lawyers Convention, from 18 - 20 January 2008, to take part in the interactive session to discuss these issues and more.

In the days before the invention of e-mail or even fascimile, lawyers communicated with clients mainly through the post. However, with the rise of e-mail, it has ushered in an era of near-instantaneous communication. Lawyers can advise, negotiate with and receive instructions from clients. Bulky documents can be scanned and attached to e-mails and sent at a click of a button. The instantaneous nature of e-mail has now brought about an expectation on the part of the client for an immediate response. This can then bring about more stress.

As reported in The Guardian, in a survey carried out on 177 people, 34 per cent of workers felt 'stressed' by the sheer number of emails and obligation to respond quickly and a further 28 per cent were 'driven' because they saw them as a source of pressure.

Further, the survey also found that employees working on a computer typically switched applications to view their emails as many as 30 or 40 times an hour, for anything from a few seconds to a minute. It indicated the extent to which e-mail is embedded in our working lives.

This expectation to respond quickly to e-mails has also spilled over with the advent of BlackBerry. BlackBerry, along with the normal functions of a mobile phone, allows e-mails to be pushed directly to your BlackBerry and its built-in keyboard helps the user to quickly reply to these e-mails. The huge advantage with using BlackBerry is that it helps a lawyer use his time productively while waiting in court or travelling back to the office. One can continue to read and answer e-mails from clients. There will be less stress in that there will not be a backlog of unanswered e-mails waiting for you at the office.

But this freedom to work outside of the office can mean an extension of work outside of office hours. There will be an increased demand for e-mails to be answered, as these e-mails are similarly being answered and sent out by clients also using BlackBerry. According to a study on BlackBerry usage, up to 90% of the subjects felt some degree of compulsion to check their e-mails at times when they were not working.

The above are but a few examples of how technology has helped in the way all of us work. It also demonstrates the reality of how technology can equally increase the stress in the workplace.

At the upcoming Young Lawyers Convention, to be held from 18 - 20 January 2008 in Penang, Session 3 will see a discussion on 'IT: How does it make us mighty?’ Stephen Tan Ban Sheng will moderate this interactive talk show styled forum with speakers, Shanmuga Kanesalingam, Nizam Bashir and Lim Chee Wee. The session will see an informative discussion on the way technology has improved working conditions of lawyers, and conversely, whether it has in fact made working conditions more stressful.

For more information on the 3rd YL Convention, please contact Ms Chandrika Baskaran at 03-2031 3189 or chandrika@malaysianbar.org.my. You may also visit us at our website and join the group in facebook. Please send in you application now, see you in Penang!