Family lawyers are going mobile! So say the results of the 2006 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report. The findings indicate that while family lawyers use mobile devices in smaller numbers than the general respondent population, their use of these devices is in fact increasing.

First, some demographic information: family lawyers responding to the survey are generally either solo practitioners (37%) or in small firms of two to nine attorneys (49%). Most have no technical support staff (58%) or only one technical support staff (19%). Our family law respondents have an average age of 53 and have been admitted to the bar an average of 22 years. They are mostly male (65%).

Most of our family lawyers are using laptops while away from the office (70%), up from 58% in the 2004-2005 survey. However, this is lower than the general response rate of 81%. Most family lawyers are using their own laptops while away from the office (61%); only 26% are using laptops from their firms. They are using their laptops primarily at home (55% regularly) rather than in the courtroom (7%), in hotels (11%), or in transit (9%).

Only 42% of family law respondents are using PDAs, smartphones or Blackberry devices, lower than the 55% total response, but slightly higher than the previous results (39%). Again, they're using their own devices (77%) rather than getting them from their firms (23%). These devices are being used most often at home (67% say they use them regularly), followed by in transit (43%) and in client offices or hotels (40% each). Or, in the words of one respondent, "In the elevator, in the hall, with a friend or in the stall, in the park or in the dark, I can use it here or there, I can use it anywhere."

The functions our family lawyers are using on their portable devices are calendaring (80% regularly), contacts (80%), telephone (33%) and e-mail synch (24%).

More and more family lawyers are finding that laptops and portable devices can increase their mobility, flexibility and responsiveness. For information on how you can integrate these devices with your family law practice, visit the ABA's Legal Technology Resource Center's website at www.lawtechnology.org.