Digitization of the judiciary: Now!

In Austria, an obligation to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is to be stipulated by law. Needless to say, this plan is polarizing opinion. Recently, the professional association of judges and public prosecutors expressed its position on this issue. In addition to constitutional concerns, the issue is the immense additional burden on the courts resulting from the expected appeals against penal decisions. There is talk of a 6-digit number of additional proceedings "threatening" the administrative courts and supreme courts. 

The concern is certainly justified. One does not have to be a prophet to foresee that this wave of complaints will be steered on the one hand by certain political parties, but also by the legal profession. And there the question of resources does not arise? No, because these complaints will certainly be handled with a high level of technological support. Just as in the case of flight delays or fines for speeding.

These resources must also be available to the authorities! The cases will resemble each other or can be typified, the arguments will be repeated. If lawyers manage to build up the necessary infrastructure - why should the judiciary not be able to do so?

It is certainly not a financial question. Probably a legal one, but the lawyers on the other side are also obliged to personally authorize each and every appeal, and the relevant case law of the Administrative Court is well known. But of course, it also requires the willingness of judges (and politicians) to accept technological support. If compulsory vaccination actually becomes law, typical mass proceedings must be expected. The timing for a digitization push in the judiciary could not be better.

USA: COVID-19 does not increase cloud usage among lawyers

An interesting article on law.com recently addressed the question of whether the pandemic has led to increased use of cloud technology among lawers. A survey by the American Bar Association of several hundred members from law firms of all sizes paints rather the opposite picture. A fairly stable 40% of American lawyers continued to reject cloud technology.

The reasons given are not new. On the one hand, there is the cost risk involved in a transition from on-premise to cloud during the changeover phase.  More important, however, are security concerns. These can be roughly divided into two categories. One set of concerns is factually based. The fear that cloud providers could install spy software under pressure from public authorities and thus gain access to confidential information is usually cited. These reservations probably cannot be definitively dispelled for the USA.

It is more difficult to deal with dogma, such as the following. "Data storage in the cloud carries a higher security risk than on premise." Once you internalize this, it will be hard to convince you otherwise. So ultimately, it will be the clients who motivate their advocates to use contemporary technology. Or everything will remain as it is.

Parallels to current discussions are coincidental, but not necessarily wrong.

What remains of Covid-19?

Recently, an interesting discussion took place on the topic of "What remains of Corona?" from the perspective of specialist information providers. There were predictable, but also surprising opinions. Here's a quick look. 

#1 Information Behavior. Those professionals who have "digitized" their information behavior in the now almost 1 ½ years since the Corona outbreak will stick with it. This is especially true for the use of cloud services; those who have given up their reluctance will not want to miss the benefits.

#2 Meeting culture. Participants did not draw a clear picture. If one wanted to draw a succus, it might be that virtual meetings will always remain when distance and duration play a role. Pure status meetings could also remain digital. On the other hand, it is safe to assume that meetings in which personal contact plays a role will be held in real life again as soon as possible. (The hospitality and tourism industries will thank you).

#3 Education and training. A similar trend is drawing here. Hardcore continuing education may remain digital; events that are more about face-to-face contact, such as conventions, will become real again.

#4 Home Office. This is where there was the most discrepancy. One discussant expects his employees to remain largely in home offices, and has already initiated a large-scale reduction in office space. Another managing director, also from the trade publishing industry, maintains individual offices for all her employees and has no thoughts of giving up direct personal contact.

Conclusion: General trends are not apparent; individual conditions and cultural aspects are the drivers. Also, all opinions mentioned reflect the German situation; trends in other countries and cultures may vary significantly.