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Lawyers process information. Think of information as
your stock-in-trade. Historically, much of the information
processed by lawyers existed on paper. As the centuries
changed, so did the form of information. Today, information
exists in both digital and paper forms. Digital information
can be stored, manipulated, analyzed and managed far
more effectively and efficiently than paper-based information.
Some day, the vast majority of information will be created
and maintained in digital format. In the meantime, the
information that comes to lawyers on paper can be converted
to digital format.
Digital information can exist in many formats. Just
as paper bearing information may exist in bound books
or on the backs of cocktail napkins, written in a variety
of languages and myriad styles, digital information
can exist in a variety of media as well as formats.
We are not so concerned with the media (e.g., floppy
disk, CD-ROM, etc.) as we are with the format (e.g.,
JPEG, TIFF, PDF, etc.). The conversion of existing stocks
of paper-based information into digital information
involves choosing a format. Basing the choice of a digital
format on what you as a lawyer can do with the digital
files leads one to ask what tools are available for
working with those files and how easily and universally
those files can be shared with other people. With Adobe
Acrobat™ you can convert paper-based documents
into digital Portable Document Format (PDF) files and
then work with those files in many of the same ways
you have spent a lifetime learning. PDF files can be
shared with anyone who has a copy of the free Adobe
ReaderÔ program.
Acrobat lets you convert paper to PDF using a scanner.
It also allows you to perform optical character recognition
on image-only PDF files created by scanning turning
them into files with searchable text and an exact image
of the scanned pages. You can also convert other digital
file types to PDF. With Acrobat installed on your computer,
virtually any file (word processing, spreadsheet, etc.)
that can be printed to paper can be converted to PDF.
In addition to using Acrobat to create PDF files, the
program makes those files truly useful. For example,
bookmarks and sticky notes can be added to image-only
files. If the files have a text background, they can
be highlighted, underlined, and strike-through. PDF
files with background text can be searched while image-only
files can not be. However, information contained in
the "Document Summary" or in notes attached
to image-only PDF files can be searched. PDF files can
be reviewed and annotated; the annotations, in addition
to being searchable, can be summarized and published
to PDF with just a few key strokes or mouse clicks.
Acrobat allows lawyers to work with digital documents
in much the same way they work with paper documents.
That does not mean that Acrobat will replace your word
processor. Just as you cannot effectively edit a paper
document you cannot effectively edit documents using
Acrobat. You can mark them up, like you would a paper
document but the real work of editing remains in the
domain of word processing applications. While Acrobat
adheres to many of the familiar techniques we employ
to work with paper-based documents, it allows lawyers
to work with digital documents more efficiently, more
effectively and with greater mobility than can be achieved
with paper-based information.
Learn more at ABA
TECHSHOW 2005, March 31-April 2, 2005
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David Masters
is a small-firm general practitioner in Montrose, Colorado.
His practice focuses on real estate and business matters,
transactions, and litigation, including personal injury,
construction law, civil rights, and employment law matters,
for both plaintiffs and defendants. He writes and speaks
frequently on the use of technology in the practice
of law. Mr. Masters has written a new chapter on electronic
briefs for the Colorado Appellate Practice Guide, published
by Continuing Legal Education in Colorado Inc. He has
also contributed a chapter on Adobe® Acrobat®
to Flying Solo: A Survival Guide for Solo Lawyers,
Fourth Edition, to be published in early 2005 by
the ABA Law Practice Management Section.
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