Forecast for the Future: Emerging Legal Technologies Carol A. Watson Associate Director for Information Technology UGA Law Library
The Decade in Data Oliver J. Chiang, Forbes.com, 12/28/09 U.S. households with broadband in 2000: 6.3% U.S. households with broadband in 2008: 63% s sent per day in 2000: 12 billion s sent per day in 2009: 247 billion Mobile revenues in the first half of 2000: $105 million Mobile revenues in the first half of 2009: $19.5 billion U.S. text messages per day, June 2000: 400,000 U.S. text messages per day, June 2009: 4.5 billion
The Decade in Data Oliver J. Chiang, Forbes.com, 12/28/09 U.S. households with at least one digital camera in 2000: 10% U.S. households with at least one digital camera in 2008: 68.4% U.S. households with at least one MP3 player in 2000: <2% U.S. households with at least one MP3 player in 2008: ~ 43% Number of pages indexed by Google in 2000: 1 billion Number of pages indexed by Google in 2008: 1 trillion Number of Google searches per day in 2001: 10 million Number of Google searches in 2009: ~300 million
The Decade in Data Oliver J. Chiang, Forbes.com, 12/28/09 Total Wikipedia entries in 2001: 20,000 Wikipedia entries in English in 2009: 3.1 million Number of blogs in 2000: <100,000 Number of blogs 2008: 133 million Amount of hard-disk space $300 could buy in 2000: 20 to 30 gigabytes Amount of hard-disk space $300 could buy in 2009: 2,000 gigabytes (2 terabytes)
CURRENT RESOURCES AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET
Voice over IP Reduce or remove physical phone lines Lower cell phone bills Receive voic & faxes via or web Easy to add, move or remove Phone Lines
Online Dispute Resolution Inexpensive & Speedy eBay Resolves millions of disputes online
Virtual Jury Cheaper than jury consultants Clients learn what to expect from trial Decide whether to settle a case Develop themes or facts to emphasize Point out weaknesses
Virtual Receptionists Cheaper than a full-time receptionist Customize greetings Highly trained, personable employees Pay by the number of calls or minutes used
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS OR PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Cloud Computing IT professionals not needed No specialized software Available from any web connection 24/7 Caveat: Security
Cloud Computing Examples Online Electronic Discovery Case Management Office Management
Green Technology Boom Enable duplex printing Purchase sustainable office supplies Use Energy Star compliant equipment Reduce energy consumption Use soy-based inks
Increased Mobility Popular Smart Phone Apps Legal research Draft & review documents Voice recognition & dictation Manage schedules & tasks News, maps, weather & games Currency conversion Date calculator Language translation
Improved Legal Research Mature semantic web More vendors New WL & Lexis interfaces
The Jury Is Still Out E-Book Readers Blue-Ray Tablet PCs 3-D TV
FRIVOLOUS GADGETS (I WISH I HAD INVENTED)
LG's Cell Phone Watch
Honda's Eco-Friendly Trike of the Future
Fantasy SCOTUS
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