The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/67910
by Philip Alberta of IPM The legal profession has one of the highest device-to-employee ratios, with an average of five devices per individual. Each day, lawyers use devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops to access information at work, in the courtroom, at home and on the road. With this proliferation of mobile devices, many would say that mobile nirvana — a state of complete and secure disconnection from office-based computers and devices — has been achieved in the legal environment; yet the reality is that we've only scratched the surface. While legal IT departments have found ways to make personal and business mobile devices functional and secure, the biggest challenge has been working with a diverse array of technologies that provide mobile functionality, but do not provide the overarching integration, structure, support and capabilities required of the legal profession. We remain in a state of mobile pre-nirvana. However, advances in security, data management, virtualization, communications and applications promise the dawning of a rich and fully integrated mobile computing experience that not only completely and securely disconnects lawyers from their office-based computers and devices, but also delivers single- point access to information and applications whether in the office, at home or on the road. With this mobile environment in place, lawyers will have the same end-user experience anytime, anywhere and on every device, thus achieving mobile nirvana. 70 Peer to Peer