Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: Kronman mourned that the modern lawyer, in contrast, has become "an accomplished technician" without "a wisdom that lies beyond technique."5 Lawyers are now one-dimensional rather than serving as broad-based guides for their clients.6 My focus is narrower than Dean Kronman's; I focus on the role of products depending on electricity in this supposed transformation.In Michael Clayton, electronic technology is pervasive.In the modern lawyer's life, it is also pervasive.It is certainly tempting to say that electronic technology is a prime cause-or at least a critical facilitator-of the role of the lawyer today.To the extent that one focuses on big law firms (like the fictional one in Michael Clayton), the role of technology has been a longstanding feature of legal practice.Thus, Professors Galanter and Palay recognized in 1991 that "[t]he emergence of the big firm is associated with the introduction of new office technologies," 7 and they quoted a lawyer who wrote in 1914 that the introduction of the telephone "completely revolutionized" methods of transacting legal business.8 Surely the variety of electronic gadgets the Electronic Lawyer now possesses far outstrips those available to the 1914 attorney.Lawyers now employ, rely upon, and to some extent are captives of cellphones, BlackBerries (also known to some as "CrackBerries"), instant messaging, instantaneous electronic research, word processing, electronic filing, and a myriad of other gadget-facilitated activities.Dean Kronman recognized that the introduction of the computer placed pressure on his sage lawyers by reducing turn-around time and curtailing time for introspection.9 The introduction of additional gadgets in the fifteen years since Kronman wrote has surely accelerated the trend.Against this background, I intend to offer some thoughts about where these technological developments may lead and their possible effect on the legal profession.10 Of necessity, this sketch will be impressionistic, speculative, and general.I begin with a comparison to the medical profession, which may be undergoing transformative 5. Id. at 2. 6. See id. at 307-09.7.
Source: bepress Legal Repository
Author: Richard L. Marcus
Institution: University of California Hastings College of the Law
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3122579717