A recent story in The Florida Bar News provides some poignant reminders about the world as it is, and the challenges that some face. The system is being updated to distribute only document links instead of transmitting the actual documents as attachments. This will undoubtedly decrease the bandwidth required for the messages, and that is an important concern for the person (entity) sending the email. But, it is also a potential concern for those receiving it. We sometimes think relative to having up-to-date and leading-edge technology, but we must strive to remember that everyone in the world (in our own communities) does not.
The Portal Program, which coordinates the e-filing process for the state's courts (not the OJCC, we are not a "court"), announced that the "scheduled update" making this transition will exempt organizations whose technology is not up to the challenge. This reportedly includes "the entire Miami-Dade county criminal division." There are precluding "system limitations," according to those involved. There is, in this example, sound proof of the evolution of technology in its abilities, but also in our personal evolution of our individual adoption.
The News article notes that the goal will remain. The process will one day not include PDF attachments. There is some expectation that this might be achieved by 2025. The evolution of "document management" will continue, there will be adaptations, and there will be progress in both system capability and user comfort. Miami Dade county's reliance on paper files will diminish and progress will occur. Yes, Virginia, there are still processes and systems that are paper-dependent.
The News story also notes plans for the public to have free access to documents in the Portal. They envision people registering to accomplish such access. Their plan will include processes and procedures for "users to designate whether case-initiating documents contain confidential information." There will be burdens on parties and lawyers to provide analysis and identification in the court system filing process. Their goal is to provide some degree of public access to documents in days to come.
This is a somewhat stark contrast to the system that the Florida OJCC operates. E-JCC has existed now for over 17 years, and to say that it has evolved is an understatement. The robust functionality of 2022 is miles from where we started in the fall of 2005. But note that, 2005, we were first. Over that time, we have wrestled repeatedly with the fact that different people adapt to and adopt technology at different rates. Before e-filing was mandatory, I was confronted by an attorney who confided that he still used a dictaphone for pleadings, and his secretary listened to the recordings and prepared documents therefrom on a typewriter. Many of you will not be sure what a typewriter is, will have never depended on one, never stained your fingers replacing a "ribbon," or oiled a carriage.
It is hard to e-file with a typewriter. The transition for that lawyer, from a typewriter to a windows-based computer was not evolutionary, but revolutionary. His office had remained with an aging paradigm for so long that the eventual necessary change was dramatic, organic, and traumatic. That is not a criticism. It is in our nature to find processes with which we are comfortable and to maintain them. Change is never easy, and thus it is uncomfortable and usually unwelcome. To persevere, we must all force ourselves to make periodic, minor, evolutionary changes or we will likely face traumatic and systemic change at some point.
In the current workers' compensation practice, the computer age is adopted and accepted. We have been transmitting the document links through our process for over a decade, with no option for PDF attachments, as offered by the courts. The OJCC has persistently provided public access to various documents on the website, including most petitions for benefits, notices, and orders, for almost 20 years. Access to the full spectrum of filings is restricted to registered users, and the day may come when more access can be afforded or offered to the public. And, in that event, some process may be required of litigants and lawyers in designating what is or is not exempt from disclosure. The OJCC is ahead of the courts but has to remain aware that further change is likely if not inevitable.
For now, it seems that e-JCC remains out front in the realm of electronic filing. Its processes today are where the Florida court systems hope to be by the time we reach e-JCC's twentieth anniversary in 2025. I am proud of the program, our evolution, and the benefits to the practice, practitioners, and the public.
But, it bears remembering that some, perhaps many, non-attorneys may remain challenged in their adoption of technology. When we gravitated to video hearings during COVID-19, I received a complaint about a claimant that could not experience the video portion of a hearing because his/her cellphone was a "flip phone." The Claimant joined the audio, but was hindered in full participation. That "flip phone" potential had not previously occurred to counsel or the judge. There was a preconception that "everyone has a smartphone." That is not true. Even if it were, the odds are that not everyone has the latest and greatest smartphone.
In many other instances, with telephonic and virtual appearance, we have learned that there remain issues in 2022 with bandwidth and signal strength. There are times when connections are weak, calls are dropped, and there is difficulty in effective communication. We in Paradise are immensely proud of the (literally) hundreds of "5G" antennas installed here in 2020. But, over two years later, we franly yearn and hope that someday, someway, those antennas will be turned on and we will actually have access to the 5G that is already available in so many communities. When I tell people that Paradise remains mired in 4G, they are amazed. Expect the unexpected.
We have been persistently reminded that technology can be challenging and that Murphy still holds great sway in our modern world. We must remember that geography, economy, and even personal preferences will potentially impact participation in legal processes. That technology exists will never mean universal acceptance, implementation, and comfort. Society and the practice of law will remain diverse, evolve at differing paces, and present us challenges.
The future is likely to bring further evolution in technology. There is discussion, at least, of the metaverse and all that it might entail. See The Metaverse is Coming (October 2021). Will legal processes and proceedings be implicated? Will there come a day when participation is enabled with expensive headsets, specialized user interfaces, and more? The potentials exist. While the demands of practice will remain in the here and now, we must all remain aware that those sophisticated devices on our desks today may be the typewriter of tomorrow. While working today, we must have one eye on the horizon.
The News story reminds us that there will be differences in the pace of adopting technology. It reminds us that there may be times when the pace of evolution will necessarily slow to accommodate the needs of the broader community. It suggests that technology, community needs, and progress may be driven by a variety of factors. The story reminds that change will be persistent, inspiring, challenging, impatient, and at times frustrating. If we glean nothing more from it, let us grasp that patience and communication will remain critical as we follow the path to the future.
