The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/96072
available for download at iltanet.org/techsurvey profession. Emerging e-discovery issues, such as predictive coding and technology-assisted review (TAR), were mentioned by only 3% of respondents, but that low showing may be due to the fact that much of this technology is currently outsourced and has not yet emerged within the firm. We are seeing significant pressure to include consumer technologies in our portfolio. There is no denying that it promises tremendous gains in efficiency, communication, client service and general mobility. And since we, as technologists, are more inclined to use consumer devices than others in the general public, we understand the enthusiasm. We get it. What appears to be stressing our membership is the consequential scramble to secure the enterprise, in regard to both the widening array of exposures to our systems and the danger to our data when in motion, which is a direct result of this new mobility. The obvious results of BYOD practices are greatly increased mobility and greater distribution of firm data, and this theme rears its head in a number of other questions throughout the survey. Not only is iPad use up 14% from last year (now at 88%), but the presence of Android tablets in the mobile fleet is up to 26% (an increase of 16%). Even laptop and notebook use is up 8% to 44% of overall attorneys. The consumerization trend also shows itself in the steadily increasing policy of attorneys buying their own devices, which is now a practice at more than 40% of firms. Along with the growing use of Wi-Fi and aircards outside the firm, almost half now have Mi-Fi devices or use cellphones to tether. In addition, the percentage of non-attorney staff who carry a mobile email device is above 25% for the first time. That doesn't mean the firm is buying their devices, but it's not uncommon, as nearly two-thirds of firms report fully funding devices for select staff. And, of course, security concerns are evident throughout other questions in the survey as well. After years of promise, voice-to-text is beginning to gain traction, primarily, it seems, because it's now affordable as a smartphone app (e.g., Dragon Dictate mobile is up 4% this year). What may not have hit the risk radar is the fact that those voice apps and transcription files now reside on a consumer device that may not have adequate security in place. Two-thirds of firms do not yet have any mobile device management (MDM) solution in place to address this issue. These data vulnerabilities exist with other apps as well, including note-taking apps, mobile Office clones and even simple recording apps. Although we didn't ask how to mitigate these security challenges specifically, the comments collected in open-ended questions suggest it is probably some combination of user awareness training, security training of IT Peer to Peer 101