Tablet PCs and the legal profession

LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard: Tablet PCs: A Reality Check is an excellent post about the current standing of Tablet PCs in the legal field. Having worked with attorneys for almost 10 years, and having brought in Tablet PCs to the law firm, I can agree with Jeff's comments on the subject. However, I think he leaves a crucial factor out of the equation by focusing entirely on the technology.

Attorneys use numerous tools on a daily basis: a voice recorder (microcassette usually) pen and pad, etc. A computer is another tool -- an under-utilized tool. With a Tablet PC, tools can be combined. By using the speech recognition capability of the Tablet PC, thoughts and ideas can quickly begin to be assembled into working drafts of documents. The handwriting recognition can also be used in composing documents, as well as, for storing notes. With the vast amounts of Tablet PC resources available, I don't need to elaborate much on the benefits Tablet PCs have to offer. I will elaborate a little on the cost savings benefits of Tablet PCs.

By dictating into a Tablet PC over a microcassette, the document begins to take shape immediately before the attorney's eyes. That is an immediate time savings over having to wait for the tape to be transcribed by a secretary and cost savings of both equipment and personnel. I'm not suggesting that personnel can be eliminated, but personnel can be freed for other tasks increasing efficiency. The mentality is that training the voice recognition costs more than the savings of using the technology and increasing personnel efficiency. This is the classic short run versus long run battle. It's also an egocentric issue -- the attorney is more important than all other personnel and their efficiency.

So, before I can argue about the Tablet PC being worth the money, I have to ask, "Are attorneys worth the Tablet PC?"

Tags: TabletPC, Commentary