AI and ADR: Strong Allies or Strange Bedfellows?
For those of us engaged in any aspect of alternate dispute resolution, our professional responsibilities compel us to keep abreast of the evolving trends in technology that are having an increasing impact on our practice as advocates and neutrals.
May 17, 2024 at 12:01 PM
8 minute read
Sometimes it's difficult to assess whether the practice of law has been enhanced or burdened by burgeoning technology. When I entered the profession in the early 1980s, my work as a litigation associate was very different than it is today. We did not have an array of devices to assist us in keeping track of our time or handling our work. I hand wrote my briefs on a yellow legal pad to be typed by my assistant, who would make changes using a memory typewriter. Partners' comments came in red marker (and ideally there were not too many of those). For documents longer than over 10 pages, I submitted revisions to word processing at night (in the basement) and the revised version would miraculously appear on my desk the next morning. I did my research using actual books in the vast library, where I hauled and then reviewed the hefty Shephard's volumes to make sure the cases I cited were still good law. If I needed to refer to something in the file, I made my way to the windowless labyrinth where row after row of imposing ceiling-high shelves held client papers. Suffice it to say, we did not have our own computers, laptops, tablets or other devices that may have confined our heavy lifting to the screen. Telephone service and messaging were also very different from what we are accustomed to today. We received our phone messages on small, pink squares of paper. If someone needed us urgently, the firm used a coded paging system, broadcasting a Morse code-type sequence of bells to summon you. With these methods of communication, we did not work remotely as the available technology did not support working anywhere except the office.
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