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Addressing Generational 'Tech Gaps' for More Efficient, Effective Legal Practice

By Mike Walsh
June 29, 2009

In today's challenging economy, corporate legal departments and law firms face pressure to meet their responsibilities with leaner organizations and fewer staff. For example, a recent study conducted by Corporate Counsel magazine for LexisNexis found that 68% of in-house legal professionals feel pressure to reduce the law department budget, and a majority of them have already experienced actual reductions in total budgets. Law firms feel similar pressures too as corporate cutbacks ripple through the industry and impact bottom lines.

One way legal practices are trying to address these realities is through increased use of technology ' essentially harnessing software and online technology to make employees and operations more efficient while maintaining quality work. Working with IT colleagues, this has proven to be a successful strategy for many lawyers. However, it turns out there are some rather sharp differences in how technology is perceived and used by legal professionals among different generations. These differences, or “generational gaps,” can lead to issues in the workplace between colleagues, as well as less efficient use of time and resources by law firm or company employees. Naturally, each of these concerns is amplified given difficult economic circumstances.

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