www.canadianlawyermag.com 31
significantly reducing the need for printing
and photocopying.
Meanwhile, while technolog y can
streamline processes, it has not reduced
the emotional tension often present in
family law.
She says that the professionalism of
counsel is still the most important factor
in reducing the tensions in the courtroom,
and the parties' circumstances still deter-
mine how heated the atmosphere gets. "It's
about the issues between the parties. It's
about the circumstances of the relation-
ship; it's not really about physical presence
in the courtroom," McCarthy says.
Technology also has downsides, and
Ashbourne says texting and instant
messaging apps have led to a decline in
civility between separating partners.
" Pe o p l e w r i t e t h i n g s s o q u i c k l y.
Everybody communicates via text, emails,
or social media … and often forget that
what they write can be memorialized
"Nobody talks about how much
quieter the courtroom is when there
is no one shuffling paper"
Martha McCarthy, McCarthy Hansen & Company LLP
and potentially seen by a judge one day,"
she says.
"There have been many positive devel-
opments, but the darker side [of the use of
technology] is that people are not always as
civil as they should be in their communica-
tions," she adds.
