Jeffrey Beard, Legal Technologist at Milwaukee’s Quarles & Brady, and legal technology columnist for American Lawyer Media and Law.com, writes:
Look for embedded speech recognition to hit mobile devices within twelve to eighteen months, particularly in cell phones. Watch for developments from companies like Voice Signal Technologies www.voicesignal.com, which already works with interactive toy manufacturers and GE for embedding speech recognition systems in microwave ovens and other appliances. Let’s hope it’s more than just ‘hot talk!’ Next, as handheld computer microprocessors become faster and more powerful, the mass technology convergence will generate even more ‘jack-of-all-trades’ types of devices, with the lines blurring significantly among cell phones, personal organizers, wireless messengers, personal entertainment devices, and even consumer appliances.
Stephen Bour, a legal technology consultant based in Indianapolis, writes:
First, lawyers trying small cases as well as large will benefit by routinely scanning discovery documents, medical records, and exhibits to disk because retrieving, sharing, and physically transporting paperless copies is more efficient and less expensive than working with stacks of hard copies. Second, video depositions will be stored on disk instead of on tape, making for fast review and direct access to any portion of the deposition as well as easy computer editing of excerpt clips. Third, legal professionals will regularly use computers to display documents, photographs and videos in court.
