For a long time, law firm CIOs broke into a cold sweat when lawyers clamored for the slick smartphones, laptops, and tablets they saw advertised on TV. Unlike Research In Motion’s ubiquitous BlackBerry, these consumer-friendly gadgets weren’t easy-to-manage, easy-to-secure devices that were designed for business use.
But no more. The American Lawyer ’s 17th annual survey of law technology reveals that the once unthinkable has become conventional: Consumer-friendly technology is in; enterprise-centric gear is out. Nearly 90 percent of the firms surveyed expect to see fewer BlackBerry users in the next 12 months, while Apple- and Android-based smartphones continue to gain momentum. “The marketplace has spoken,” says Dana Isaacoff, chief information officer at Williams Mullen, which had approximately 500 BlackBerry users a few years ago and now has about 40. “Consumers have learned that smartphones are more attuned to their needs, and it would be irresponsible for us to stand in the way of that. To the contrary, we want to usher in an era of user-friendly, flexible devices.
