Clio

The first two volumes of the 2009 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report, Technology Basics (Vol. 1) and Law Office Technology (Vol. 2), are now available for purchase.

Of particular note is the substantial increase in the number of respondents using Software-as-a-Service. 16% of respondents indicated they have used a Software-as-a-Service application, compared with just 13% in the 2008 survey (a 23% increase).

Adoption of Software-as-a-Service among solos was especially strong, with 22% of solo respondents reporting usage of SaaS applications, an increase of over 57% over 2008’s 14% usage rate.

Other highlights from the 2009 ABA Legal Technology Survey:

• Metadata removal software is available at nearly half of respondents’ firms (46%). Large firm respondents report the highest availability (86%), with solo respondents (27%) and respondents from firms of 2-9 attorneys (31%) reporting the least availability. The brands most commonly listed were Adobe Acrobat (46%), Workshare Protect (18%), and Payne’s Metadata Assistant (14%).
• The percentage of solo respondents reporting that laptops are their primary computers decreased to 26% this year from 38% in the 2008 survey, returning to the percentage in 2007 (26%).
• Seventy-seven percent of respondents report the availability of Smartphones/BlackBerrys at their firms. Of respondents that provided brand names, the BlackBerry/RIM (64%) was cited most often followed by the iPhone at 14% then the Palm Treo (13% in 2009, down from 21% in 2008). Despite increased iPhone interest, only four percent report Mac OS as the operating system on their primary computer, roughly equivalent with 3% in the 2008.
• Windows XP is still the most frequently reported operating system for respondents’ primary computers, with nearly three-fourths of respondents (74%) indicating its use. This slight decrease reflects a similar increase in reports of Vista as the operating system on respondents’ primary computers, up to 9% from 4% in 2008).
• Overall, forty-seven percent of respondents report that online storage is available at their firms, equal to 47% in the 2008 survey but for solo respondents online storage availability increased to 48% from 34% in the 2008 survey.
• Sixteen percent of respondents report having used a web-based software or service solution/Software as a Service (SaaS), compared with 13% who reported using an online service provider in the 2008 survey. The largest increase was seen amongst solos with twenty-two percent of solo respondents (up from 14% in the 2008 survey) reporting its use.

The findings of the six volume ABA Legal Technology Survey will be published serially; Technology Basics (formerly Baseline and Budgets) (May), Law Office Technology (May), Litigation and Courtroom Technology (June), Web and Communication Technology (June), Online Research (July) and Mobile Lawyers (July).