Yes, that's why I don't like using my phone very much, preferring my larger computer screen. I have the font set on my phone to the largest possible, and still don't like using it, except in emergencies. I carry my phone in my pocket but not my reading glasses.

No problem with the display thanks to fabulous cataract surgery but my fingers don't work that well on a small screen so I voice text and the results are often funny and occasionally scary.

I have a smartwatch now and there's not any way possible for me to ever make my fingers work that texting screen. I switched it to handwriting and hopefully the next time I'm locked out of someone's house without my phone I can scroll help and be rescued.

Get your mother-in-law to feed you.

@Petter If you ever ate my mother-in-laws cooking you would know that if I relied on her cooking skills I'd probably be very thin.

@Alienbeing Hence you would lose weight by followingy advice.
I used to tell prospective 'bed fodder' that their cooking reminded me of my mother's cooking. They would smile happily, thinking I was paying them a compliment!

As a retired attorney I can't imagine a world without paralegals. Who would make the filings and do the research?

@Alienbeing

Computer systems driven by AI

@St-Sinner Who would tell the ocmputer what to look for?

@Alienbeing

Built in logic in computers with minimum initial input that will fire off all subsequent actions in the workflow and all bells and whistles like notifications. Once a case is entered, it will make stops along the workflow at people in the chain of command to take actions - all in the system. All approvals, checks and balances, filing, paying fees, receiving acknowledgements are built into the system.

The initial input can even be done by a client and someone at a law firm.

@St-Sinner The "someone" at the law firm would be a paralegal. A client could not do that because he/she probably does not kow exactly what to look for.

@St-Sinner

What’s built into the system is the code people write.

If the people are dumb, the code is dumb and the AI is dumb.

There's still a secretary where I work, but now she is called an administrator. She knows all and sees all! We couldn't operate without her.

@yvilletom

That is a very old argument I used to hear - garbage in and garbage out since late 1980s. But that did not hold up even for a year in the blazing electronic revolution that came next.

Look around, we are living in the world of coding that human beings have written. Everything you are doing on this site is driven by a code. There is no person sitting behind a curtain doing this for you.

We have to find new valid arguments today if you want to fight the information revolution such as a concern for information security.

@yvilletom, @Alienbeing

Not really and not necessarily. It could be someone at a call center or it could be the client itself. The law firm would say, enter the form online and the fee is $100, if want to call and have us do manually, the fee is $500.

Automation is going to happen in spite of people fighting back hard. It is for speed, accuracy, standardization, volume processing and enormous cost savings. If you go to a tax consultant, trust me your 1040 and other forms are completed overseas overnight. The 1040 you are receiving in 24 or 72 hours later are done overseas. I know it intimately because I worked in New York as an accountant and as a law graduate for 3 years. Hear this, all traffic tickets issued in New York City are processed and fired off for printing, processing from Nigeria since 1992.

@Organist1

How big is the firm or the employer? Many small and medium size firm cannot afford large expensive computer systems. SAP, PeopleSoft and other ERP systems I have worked with start at $3 million license fees increasing by per user onward. ServiceNow which is IT's ticketing or ERP system start at $1,000 per user license fee after the organizational license.

Remember, federal check-21 directive came into effect in early 2000s but there are still small regional banks who will accept your check deposits. Large national banks will charge you to accept and process check deposits if you cannot do check-21.

It is safe to assume that you are still doing things old ways, you are not on the cutting edge of technology or living in a 3rd world country. In India, they still have 'peons' in every office - outside every office, on every floor. In 1970s, my Dad's office (govt service) had a peon standing outside to keep a glass of water ready all day, take and bring files for signatures and do other errands like bring tea, lunch etc. Electronic revolution has not touched most of India except where people work on call centers or in software. That is less than 1% of the population. All else is very manual.

@St-Sinner Small. The administrator just got a new computer. Her old one didn't have a camera or microphone!!! We have no peons. The payroll is done manually, and we are often paid late. I'm retiring soon.

@Organist1

Being small is one way to skip automation and live in your bliss. I have seen in Texas small towns, accountants still do tax returns, balance sheets by hand. Their pitch is not cheap, quick, and automation. Their pitch is personal service, 'everybody knows everybody and he is a good guy we trust' factor.

@St-Sinner We're a non-profit and kind of old-fashioned because really, we wouldn't improve productivity much by doing it differently.

@St-Sinner Not the client, never. The client, almost always, would not have the legal experience to know what to ask for, nor where to look. Your tax consultant example is not applicable to many, if not most legal cases.

Lawyers like research provided for them. I should know, hence the paralegal, or intern.

@Alienbeing

Regardless how it is done, staff will be eliminated in automation. New workflow will be figured out. What you call experience is just logic and rules in the system. This rules and logic will have extensive width and breadth of what and where to look up. Law work is not any more difficult than tax law work. It may be hard to fathom just like Alexa, Siri and virtual assistants were hard to fathom just a few years ago. People said the same thing about travel agents - experience, expertise, acumen, personal insight of what client wants, personal service were irreplaceable. Travel agents are almost gone. Everyone is booking travel tickets online just on their mobile phones. Paralegals are going to be replaced by computer systems.

I'm still mad about losing stenographers. I used to be one and when I got promoted to management they didn't have stenographers anymore so I had to be my own stenographer.

@Lorajay

I am an accountant and I know the pain. Accountants used to charge a good $60 for 104EZ on paper before computers, even H&R Block used to do good business for very simple tax forms, we charged $250 for a simple balance sheet, now both can be done easily by TurboTax and Quicken respectively. For most work there are off-the-shelf software for about $19.99. People used to think that accountants had a very special and deep expertise of complex accounting rules and tax laws. Software applications proved that it is a just sets of logic and rules based computer system that does it better and more accurate.

I love how quickly the technology has improved our lives. I have no complaints whatsoever.

My friends often refer their nieces, nephews, younger acquaintances arriving in the US to me. One said she was a chartered accountant from India and wanted to specialize in auditing. Very excited. I told her to her dismay that she change her field immediately and move to computer systems to avoid becoming obsolete in 15 years. A chartered accountant is a big deal in India because the government rules want every piece of paper - income statement, income proof, W2, a declaration, bank statement - anything financial signed and certified by a chartered accountant. So they are in high demand.

I am just amazed at the adoption of new technology in the competitive business environment in the US. I wouldn't be surprised if all fast food companies bring in robotic preparers and servers which are very common in Japan.

@St-Sinner Your assumption is wrong. You obviously never worked in an executive capacity, nor have a clue about legal research.

@Alienbeing

What if I have? You too are making assumptions. I have worked in that capacity and also implemented huge systems over naysayers over 24 years. Yours are the exact arguments we fight in system implementations. Do you know there are still people who don't trust the internet and go to the bank to make paper check deposits?

We tell project managers to identify naysayers and road blocks and we remove them at the outset to make sure million dollars worth implementation does not fail.

@Alienbeing I don't think the paralegals will go away, I think it will be the attorneys.

@Lorajay

There are many legal practicing fields beyond criminal and personal injury law such real estate, intellectual property, bankruptcy, corporate, civil rights, entertainment, environmental, health care, immigration law etc. These fields are prime candidates on the chopping block.

I am sure all of you have done home closings. If your state requires an attorney for closing (legislature lobbying) you will see that it is a simple Word document template. Any clerk can do it without knowing much law. They keep recycling that same damn document for charging $800 a piece. There is a lot of very simple work where you are required to pay an attorney just because you have not done the bar exam. I have not paid any attorney or accountant over 25 years. There are legal templates for most things in life such as wills (all 5 types), legal entity registrations etc. I am amazed at how people pay attorneys to register a legal entity when every state provides detailed and simple information in English online. It is just a matter of reading it.

@St-Sinner You never heard Garbage In and Gospel Out?

@yvilletom

That I have heard. Lol

@Lorajay I retired, so I don't care.

@St-Sinner You have no clue what a paralegal doesm nor how lazy lawyers are.

@St-Sinner I love automation, you miss the point entirely.

@Alienbeing

The point is automation, no other and in this automation traditional manual jobs will be eliminated and new will be created that will require computer skills. You have been debating that manual paralegal work cannot be automated and I have been trying to tell you that it will be. You make paralegal work sound like rocket science which it is not, not is attorney work. Everyone in the way of automation says.. you have no idea what it requires, the expertise, the human element, the insight, experience. Time and again, computer systems have proven that it is BS. IBM's Watson has been beating seasoned chess players since 1990. We all have been chatting and talking to virtual customer service everywhere, some may not be even realizing it.

I have prepared legal briefs, affidavits, contracts, investment agreements, reviewed volumes of legislative bills for 14 years. There was nothing complicated in it. It just needed careful reading and knowing where to go to look up for references and more information and also who to consult. All I mentioned can be automated easily. You know well that most American laws especially contract law, negotiable instruments law are based in the British law with exact definitions of terms. This makes it similar to those laws in all former British colonies. That make standardization very easy. Similarly the entire accounting globally has been automated and outsourced firms overseas can prepare your balance sheets based US GAAP or UK GAAP or Japan GAAP within hours. An junior accounting clerk can do this because rules are built into the system. You don't need a cpa to do this. I realized this 20 years ago and moved into computer systems and I am glad I did it.

@St-Sinner When you get a clue, let me know.

@Alienbeing

Live in and enjoy your bliss. You are the only one in the world who understands how a law firm works.

@St-Sinner You are hopelessly in love with yourself. I never said nor implied I was "the ony one". I did say and imply YOU don't have a clue.

@Alienbeing

You are old school and I don't know how to explain any more. I am in love with my experience, not me.

@St-Sinner You are a pompous idiot. Agreement with your ignorant assertions are not a prerequsite to being current.

@Alienbeing

It is best that the technology take care of you. You are an outdated, old, worn out unreformable human being. You do not understand what information technology is about, what it has done and what it is bringing into our lives. You have not demonstrated a slightest sign that you understand logic, rules and business processes based automation. I understood quickly based on your first question of who would do the input that you do understand resource integration and module based systems. You cannot observe and understand from the environment around you. A long time ago my first boss told me in.... "Thank god for the idiots that we can make a good living." We were in process automation. But to your credit, you are alone. There are many like you who started looking for an alternate careers or stayed jobless.

Instead of beginning to abuse others in a debate, I expect an intelligent person who knows and understands the subject to argue intelligently and win. But instead, you chose to rant and abuse. You have just displayed that you cannot debate, you do not have a good argument, you do not understand the subject and your shallow abilities makes us wonder what freaking kind of executive you are claiming you were.

@Alienbeing @Lorjay

Look at his response. We are debating service automation of attorney and paralegal services. "I don't care" is the response in a debate. Well done executive. I bet you never tried the debating team in high school.

@St-Sinner, @Lorajay Mr St-Sinner, your replies PROVE you don't have a clue. I never said nor implied I was not in favor of as much automation as possible. I DID say a paralegal job was not one where automation applies.

Your blow hard comments about "you are out of date" etc are pompus, and stupid. You don't even know what a paralegal does.

As far as debates, you stink if what you did here is evidence of your debating skills. Conversely, I debated in court all my life, how many times have you publcally debated? I must have been fairly good because I made a good deal of money and retired well off.

Your ignorance is the only thing proven here. Go back to your room.