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in the right place — that's quite difficult to do. I think ultimately it will happen, but the tools aren't there yet." Of course, people like Granat are already doing it. Moreover, Granat insists he can answer the standard objections, such as concerns over client confidentiality and claims that e-lawyering represents an unauthorized practice of law. "We haven't had any ethical barriers," he says, noting the American Bar Association is currently drawing up best practice guidelines for online legal services that he hopes will address any concerns. E-lawyering has the potential to increase access to justice by making legal services cheaper. Proponents of civil justice reform, such as Osgoode Hall law professor and chairman of the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, Trevor Farrow, welcome the idea as one option for improvement. "It might well be a helpful addition to the tool kit." Still, he cautions that any moves to facilitate e-lawyering, including changes to encourage the unbundling of legal services, should first consider any implica- tions for a lawyer's professional obligations. "There are some challenges, [such as] who your client is, who's actually doing the work, [and] what the retainer looks like," he says. Proponents of e-lawyering argue that change is inevitable and law firms — particularly big ones — must adapt. It's a point Susskind makes in his new book, The End of Lawyers? He argues lawyers can meet the challenge disruption poses by combining legal services with other disciplines. At the same time, he predicts MARMER PENNER INC. BUSINESS VALUATORS & LITIGATION ACCOUNTANTS BUSINESS VALUATION MATRIMONIAL & OTHER LITIGATION SUPPORT FORENSIC ACCOUNTING QUANTIFICATION OF DAMAGES SHAREHOLDER/PARTNERSHIP DISPUTES GOODWILL IMPAIRMENT TRANSFER PRICING 94 Cumberland Street, Suite 200 Toronto, Ontario M5R 1A3 Tel: (416) 961-5612 Fax: (416) 961-6158 Emai l our partners at: sranot@marmerpenner.com jdebresser@marmerpenner.com 38 M ARCH 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com armer_CL_Mar_09.indd 1 2/13/09 8:38:11 AM ntitled-5 1 12/11/08 3:24:59 PM 2600 - 160 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3 Tel: (613) 786-0139 Montréal Ottawa | gowlings.com | Kanata | Toronto | Hamilton | Waterloo Region | | | Calgary Vancouver Moscow | London Supreme Court of Canada Counsel and Agency Services Henry S. Brown, Q.C. Martin W. Mason Brian A. Crane, Q.C. Graham Ragan Guy Régimbald Eduard J. Van Bemmel, Legal Assistant the emergence of "legal knowledge engineers" who will lead the creation of e-laywering smart systems. Of course, Canada doesn't yet have a Richard Granat or a Richard Cohen to spearhead such systems, thus launching e-law- yering is largely left to individual practitioners such as Garton- Jones. She hopes her lean and profitable operation will make her law firm recession-proof, but getting there was complicated and expensive. "I made mistakes. I spent way more than I needed to spend at the outset. I would do it again and I'm happy with it, but it's certainly not going to be right for every lawyer." Nevertheless, after spending an estimated $50,000 already, she plans to expand her automated services. Tamminga, too, says while Gowlings is eager to apply its smart systems to other practices, he's not worried about Susskind's predictions on technology's threat to the profession. "If we were owned by an accounting firm [or] if we were owned by the public, this practice would still exist because it still has to get done." He also rejects the notion law firms will fold if they don't move fast enough. "In many ways, we're all doomed if we don't get on. But everybody was doomed in 1920 if we didn't get phones. We got phones in the right order at the right time without panicking. Lawyers aren't very good at being first adopters, but quite often they don't have to be. I've grown increasingly skeptical of the dire predictions. I don't think extinction is coming our way." PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY