The U.S. Supreme Court, avowedly slow at adapting new technology, got the hang of it Monday on its successful first day of electronic filing for practitioners.

Old hat at most other courts, allowing electronic filing was a big step for the high court, and gave the justices a rare chance to boast that they were enhancing transparency by allowing the public to view court documents without cost on the court's web site.

“The courts will always be prudent whenever it comes to embracing the 'next big thing,' Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. said in a 2014 report that predicted electronic filing would be available in 2016. Speaking from the bench on Monday, Roberts said, “Most documents on file at the court will be made available free of charge on the court's web site.”

Twitter was abuzz with commentary about the court's technological accomplishment, with some poking fun at the court's Luddite tendencies:

By midday Monday, a dozen or so briefs had been filed and posted electronically. (The best way to find posted briefs cumulatively is to make a docket search for the words “Main Document” at the court's website.) Only members of the Supreme Court bar and lawyers appointed under the federal Criminal Justice Act can submit briefs.

“It went really smoothly,” said Kirkland & Ellis partner William Burgess, who filed an amicus brief in three Merit Systems Protection Board cases on behalf of the Federal Circuit Bar Association. He sent the briefs to the court just after 10 a.m., and after a scan for viruses that lasted three minutes, the briefs were posted without a hitch. He had done the same in lower courts for years, but was pleased that the high court joined the march of progress. “They took the time to get it right,” Burgess said.

U.S. Virgin Islands lawyer Andrew Simpson also submitted a brief in a granted case on Monday, and was pleased at how well it all went. “There were a few little quirks,” requiring him to submit the brief at the same time as the certificate of word count and proof of service, but “nothing bad.” He worked it out by phone with the court clerk's office. Hurricanes Irma and Maria left his office without power for weeks, but thanks to a generator, Simpson said he did not lose internet or the ability to file briefs electronically.

Even Wilson-Epes Printing, which has been printing Supreme Court briefs unelectronically and with care for 76 years, has embraced the new system. “No hiccups,” the company's Chris Dorsey said. He signed off on the word count of a brief for a client who submitted a court brief electronically on Monday, and he was anticipating several more briefs to be submitted by day's end.

You might think that a printer would loathe a move to electronic filing, but not Dorsey. “The court still wants printed versions,” Dorsey said.

And it wants them in a hurry. Some lower courts let printers submit printed versions a few days after electronic filing, Dorsey explained. But the Supreme Court wants them the same day, which has compelled Wilson-Epes to alter its workflow.

He's not complaining, though. After all, Chief Justice Roberts on Monday said unequivocally, “Paper will remain the official method of filing.”