PI Brief Update

What Are the Challenges Which the Internet Presents to Lawyers?

Brought to you by our friends at Prime Lawyers in Australia

Some might say that the rise of the internet has been as dramatic a technological shift as the industrial revolution. Not only that but it has come about in a much shorter time period, such is the huge speed of innovation and improvement in technology. But as we look back at over twenty years of the world wide web, how has it affected lawyers and their practices?

Well, first off on a day to day basis, so much is now done electronically that we all take much of it for granted. Correspondence is by email and documents can potentially be exchanged electronically. This might just sound like a convenience but what it has done is to speed up the process of justice in some ways. But what it might also have done is to slow it down since when the copying of documents and case law is in effect so easy, there is a temptation to throw everything in for the avoidance of doubt rather than having to face the discipline of choosing what is relevant.

Another practical effect is in dealings with the client which again have become much easier. This is not just due to email but also to technology such as online video conferencing which means that clients and lawyers can keep in touch even if the lawyers were in Australia (such as those at Prime Lawyers) and the client was in the UK. The flip side of this is that some lawyers might see this as turning their job into a 24/7 occupation although in reality it’s perfectly do-able to have a shift system with people covering for night-time work and the like.

But beyond these practical effects on the profession itself, there are also numerous challenges which the internet has raised to the issues which might be in dispute. The obvious one concerns jurisdictional matters. In other words, having to decide where things actually took place when they were transacted online and then deciding if a particular country’s courts have jurisdiction to hear the dispute. Then, even if they can hear the dispute, it isn’t necessarily inevitable that their particular law will apply to all aspects and so the choice of law itself can be further complicated by the nature of the internet.

Finally, there are evidential matters which can arise. These are not just about electronic signatures but might involve looking at exactly what took place in an electronic transaction. In doing so, technical questions might arise as to how electronic evidence should be given and even possibly as the authenticity of that evidence. How can you tell, for example, if electronic evidence has been forged or not?

So, there is no doubt that the internet has dramatically changed not only the way lawyers work but in some cases even what they are arguing about in court. Given that technological innovation is continuing apace, particularly with the growth of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it will certainly be interesting to see how this all develops and impacts upon practice into the future.

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