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Lawyers’ Use of International Legal, Legislative Information Rises Sharply
LexisNexis-IBA Survey Finds Global Lawyers Catching Up to Their U.S. Colleagues in Technology
DAYTON, OH, February 11, 2004 - As their work expands across borders and oceans, lawyers around the world increasingly are tracking international legal developments and investing in technology to advance their practice of law. That’s the finding of a law-and-technology survey of 700 international lawyers in the United States and seven other countries conducted by LexisNexis and the International Bar Association (IBA).
Reflecting a rise in international commercial transactions and cross-jurisdiction laws, 57 percent of surveyed lawyers in the past year increased the use of international news about their practice area, and 55 percent used more international legislative information, material gleaned primarily from online research services. More than 90 percent of all attorneys surveyed have access to online commercial legal information services, except in France, where 84 percent of attorneys have such access.
Three of four lawyers consider online research services as "trustworthy" resources, including 84 percent of U.S. lawyers. Indeed, more than half of all lawyers questioned believe the quality of legal work has improved, in part, because of online research services.
LexisNexis and the IBA polled lawyers from Argentina, Chile, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. LexisNexis is a leading provider of legal, news and business information services. Based in London, the IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession.
"A legal-technology explosion has begun worldwide with lawyers outside the United States catching up to their American colleagues in adopting tech innovations," said Louis Andreozzi, president and chief executive officer, LexisNexis North American Legal Markets, LexisNexis Group. "Technology provides quicker and expanded access to critical legal and business information. This advantage enables lawyers to provide the most up-to-date and meaningful legal counsel to their clients."
Network equipment tops spending priorities
Surveyed lawyers indicated their organizations intend to increase tech spending in 2004 by five percent to as much as 20 percent in most countries except France, where tech outlays are expected to remain flat. Among top technology spending priorities, 24 percent of the lawyers listed research software, while 14 percent listed Internet access. The need for network equipment topped the tech-spending list at 26 percent.
When asked to rate their firms’ tech savvy, 94 percent of Australian lawyers surveyed contend their firms possess up-to-date technology, slightly ahead of the 93 percent of U.S. lawyers who believe they are up on the latest technology. Other countries aren’t far behind, the survey indicates. Identifying their firms as possessing up-to-date technology were 91 percent of Canadian lawyers, 89 percent of UK lawyers, 88 percent of German practitioners, 83 percent of French attorneys and 74 percent of lawyers in Argentina and Chile.
"It’s clear most lawyers are eager to embrace technology, underscoring the finding that the majority believe the quality of legal work has improved because of online research services," said Andreozzi. "As confidence in technology increases, the legal profession is tapping more than research tools. Already, lawyers are adopting electronic filing and retrieving of court documents and other public records, electronic discovery technology and Knowledge Management systems."
Reasons for using Internet, legal research
The survey revealed the top reasons for using the Internet in order of responses were: managing client communications, conducting legal research, accessing business data and publicly available information, accessing news articles, communicating with colleagues and employees, and marketing firm services on a Web site. Among U.S. lawyers, the leading reasons cited for conducting legal research were to foster the growth of the practice, develop expertise within their practice and to stay competitive.
Who conducts research varies by country
A variety of individuals conduct research - legal, news or business - for lawyers and it varies by country. Junior attorneys and associates, librarians and paralegals are the heavy weights when it comes to conducting research. In the United States, Germany and Australia, partners do conduct some research, but in France, partners do very little of their own research.
Keeping their hand in legal research has some advantages for partners, as they often are the chief technology decision makers in law firms. Partner committees make the final decisions on technology in an average of 36 percent of the organizations, according to the survey. A chief technology officer, an emerging position in large firms, ranks number two among decision makers. In France, 45 of the lawyers surveyed said a committee of partners makes tech-spending decisions and no chief technology officers do. In the United States, however, partner committees make the spending decisions in 29 percent of firms, followed closely by the chief technology officer, in 26 percent of firms.
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis™ is the global leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal, news and business information and tailored applications. Its online services combine searchable access to four billion documents from thousands of sources. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK], LexisNexis is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, USA, and does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide. In addition to LexisNexis™ at www.lexis.com, the leading Web-based legal research service, LexisNexis includes some the world's most respected legal publishers such as Martindale-Hubbell, Matthew Bender, Butterworths, Les Editions du Juris-Classeur, Abeledo-Perrot and Orac. For more information on products or services, please visit www.lexisnexis.com.
About The International Bar Association
The International Bar Association (IBA) is the global voice of the legal profession and the world's largest international law organization. It provides education, information, networking and strategy for the world of law and its 16,000-members, influencing the development of international law reform and shaping the future of the legal profession. The IBA is based in London. For more information, visit www.ibanet.org.
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