Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m O c t O b e r 2 0 1 4 3 All aboard Director/Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Editor in Chief: Gail J. Cohen gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com Staff Writer: Arshy Mann arshy.mann@thomsonreuters.com Copy Editor: James Kang Art Director: Bill Hunter Production Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles catherine.giles@thomsonreuters.com Contributors: Jean Sorensen, donalee Moulton, Pascal Elie, Geoff Ellwand, Marg. Bruineman, Jennifer Brown, Shane Schick, Jim Middlemiss, Richard Foot, Dale Smith Canadian Lawyer is published 11 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. 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For all circulation inquiries and address changes send a copy of your mailing label or labels along with your request in writing to Canadian Lawyer , One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index by gail j. cohen Editor's dEsk A generous amount of this month's issue of Canadian Lawyer is dedi- cated to technology and the law. Technology in its various forms and permu- tations have and continue to transform legal practice and while this issue began with a plan for a special report on e-discovery, it organically morphed into a much wider discussion — one or all of which are going on throughout the profession. Woven through the cover story, "The next frontier," are examples of how technol- ogy is changing the practice of law, creating new areas of practice, and moving tradi- tional practice areas off in other directions. The effect is two-pronged: the questions the law is asked to resolve as well as the way in which lawyers work to resolve both new and traditional legal matters. The rise of social media has given way to all kinds of issues, from using Facebook to serve folks, to ques- tions about conducting discovery on text messages. The courts are addressing many of these questions but it's up to lawyers to know and understand how new technolo- gies work in order to make clear arguments to help the courts decide. And it's not just local law anymore either, social media is global, the Internet is global, privacy issues are global, business and almost everything about it has the potential to be global, and crime and security issues also know no boundaries. As many of the lawyers quoted in the cover story point out, this new and complex world also means more work for lawyers, sometimes in areas no one could have predicted even a decade ago. As such, it's clear traditional legal educa- tion and training are not exactly keeping up. Some schools and law professors are teach- ing in areas such as gaming law and other evolving sectors but there's also a dearth of leading-edge education in others such as e-discovery. In Canada, there are some courses offered in the area but there is no comprehensive program devoted to it. That leads to the types of stories I've heard too often, particularly from lawyers (and para- legals or any other professional) involved in e-discovery — an integral part of the litiga- tion and overall data management process at law firms and large businesses. Even the best in the country admit they know what they know through trial and error and teaching themselves — and as quite a few have said to me recently, that method of learning can lead to mistakes, costly mistakes. In the same way IP and litigation lawyers are well trained starting from early on in law school, e-discovery and other technology-based areas of practice need to get their due in the hallowed halls of academe. Client expectations and an incoming generation of lawyers weaned on technol- ogy, gaming, and the Internet, are forcing the traditional law firm and ways of practice to change. As Jim Middlemiss notes in his column on a recent study from the Interna- tional Legal Technology Association: legal business when compared to other — maybe all — industries "has been slow to adopt technology that re-engineers fundamental work processes or helps firms analyze data to enhance operations and provide value- added services. That's where the next wave of technological developments are headed: things like predictive analysis, indicative analysis, collaboration tools, dashboard- driven tools, the "appification" of law, and greater mobility and personalization." It's already important but once the door to alternative business structures is open here, and it will, dramatic and fast-paced change in the profession are inevitable. The ILTA report is quite clear: put clients first, leverage the lawyers you have to build on processes for the future, re-engineer processes, and most importantly innovate to differentiate. Promoting a culture of innovation and technology starting in law school but also importantly carrying through to both practi- tioners and all other departments in law firms of all sizes as well as the courts will serve lawyers, clients, and society in ways we don't even know yet. The only thing that is for sure is the train has pretty much left the station and if you want to get to the next stop, you better make sure you're jumping on board.

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