<\/p>\n\n\n
Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing rate, and the legal field is no stranger to its implementation. From billing services to electronic filing systems, technology is continuing to revolutionize the practice of law<\/a> while making the hectic day-to-day routine a bit more manageable. However, with the benefits of evolving technology comes the dreaded challenge of learning how to use something new. Luckily, The North Carolina State Bar has taken steps to address<\/a> this issue. <\/p>\n\n\n As of 2019<\/a>, all attorneys licensed in North Carolina must complete one hour of technology training as part of the annual, twelve hour Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements. Time will tell how the technology requirement evolves, but there\u2019s a few things we know for certain:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n How does the North\nCarolina State Bar define \u201ctechnology training\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Technology training<\/a>\nis a \u201cprogram, or a segment of a program, devoted to education on information\n(IT) or cybersecurity . . . including education on an information technology\nproduct, device, platform, application, or other tool, process or methodology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Is the requirement\nlimited to technology as it applies to the legal field?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Yes. Even though it\u2019s\ntempting to spend an hour learning how to download your favorite Netflix show,\nthis requirement strictly focuses on technology\u2019s overlap with the legal field.\nAccredited programs<\/a>\nare designed to increase an attorney\u2019s competence and proficiency with\ntechnology. Examples<\/a> include\ntraining regarding e-discovery, online filing, and office management\nsoftware. <\/p>\n\n\n How can you fulfill this\ntechnology requirement? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n If you\u2019re a busy\nattorney who already travels more than you\u2019d like, the North Carolina Bar\nAssociation has got your back. It offers a variety of options<\/a>\nthat fulfill the technology requirement, with most all of them being in the\nform of webinar or downloadable program. For example, a webinar<\/a> on e-filing\nwill be held on September 10 from 12:00-1:00PM. If you can\u2019t commit to a\nspecific time, don\u2019t worry. You can also download on-demand programs to\ncomplete on your own time such as Going Paperless: How to Turn Magical Thinking into a\nReality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n What is the breadth of\nprogram types currently available? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Despite the recency of\nthe technology requirement, the North Carolina Bar Association offers a large\nvariety of topics from which to choose. From<\/a> e-discovery and\nlitigation management to cybersecurity\u2019s impact on legal ethics, the available\nsubject matter is quite expansive. <\/p>\n\n\n Following Florida\u2019s\nlead, North Carolina became the second state<\/a> to\nrequire its attorneys to complete technology training as part of its CLE\nrequirements. Due to the novelty of adopting such a requirement, an inevitable\nquestion arises: Is the requirement necessary? According to the Chair of the\nAmerican Bar Association\u2019s Center for Innovation, Andrew Perlman, the answer is\nyes. He echoed his support for North Carolina by stating<\/a>, \u201cThe change\nsends an important message: that lawyers need to understand how technology is\naffecting the delivery of legal services.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n Perlman\u2019s point is\ncertainly worth nothing. Among other legal technology developments<\/a> last year, Harvard Law completed an extensive project in\nwhich it digitized 6.4 million United States cases dating back to 1658. Coupled\nwith ever-growing research tools such as the AI-supported Westlaw Edge by Thomas Reuters<\/a>, technology is booming in the legal field. And despite the\noccasional headaches it produces, technology ultimately makes the workplace\nmore efficient, capable, and interconnected. <\/p>\n\n\n So, regardless of practice field or career path, the newly refined CLE program will benefit all North Carolina attorneys; even if you\u2019re one who despises technology, you can content yourself with the fact that you\u2019ll have a \u2018tech savvy\u2019 conversation starter for your next social gathering. <\/p>\n\n\n Boone Aiken IV <\/p>\n\n\n September 4, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing rate, and the legal field is no stranger to its implementation. From billing services to electronic filing systems, technology is continuing to revolutionize the practice of law while making the hectic day-to-day routine a bit more manageable. However, with the benefits of evolving technology comes the dreaded challenge of …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6811,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6337\/revisions\/6811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}