Technology

alt.legal: What Stops Lawyers From Using Macs At Work?

If the iPhone crossed over into enterprise, why not the MacBook?

By  
on

A MacBook Pro (via Apple).

For a time, it seemed impossible to envision any enterprise device besides BlackBerry. The level of security, the thumbsy keyboard (I clocked in at 61+ words per minute on my last BlackBerry, based on www.typeracer.com), the battery life, the clicky side wheel… professionals scoffed at the first-generation Android and iPhone devices, smug in the knowledge that nothing could ever be as functional as their good ol’ BlackBerry (cue the reassuring patting of a BlackBerry in its trusty belt holster).

Almost exactly ten years ago, in July 2007, BBRY traded at $230.52.  Today, it trades at under $10. The attempts to reinvent itself, and the quest to regain relevance, have faded into the background. Now, the iPhone is the preferred enterprise mobile device. Why? How did that which seemed so unlikely now seem so obvious?

And if the iPhone crossed over into enterprise, why not the MacBook? Let’s consider a few reasons why lawyers might not depend on Macs at work.

Expense

Macs are, at face value, more expensive than PCs.  I contacted Ben Stevens, a prominent family law attorney in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who keeps a blog called TheMacLawyer. He believes that lawyers misconceive Macs as more cost-prohibitive, which forecloses even thinking about buying Mac as the enterprise computer. But, “Macs are a smarter investment in the long run. When you factor in the lifespan of Macs, which is typically much longer than those of PCs, and the software-related cost savings… the numbers tilt heavily in favor of buying Macs instead of PCs.”  Stevens notes that less rigorous anti-virus programs are needed, and “OS X server software costs a fraction of PC server software.”

All of this seems to make sense, although there may be a lack of awareness around that concept, as it’s not apparent in the consumer market.

Sponsored

Lock-in, switching cost, path dependence

These are all terms for roughly the same phenomenon. People get stuck in an old way of doing things, so switching from that way becomes increasingly difficult as time goes on. PCs were there first, so they are the incumbent to be unseated.

Speaking generally about Macs being adopted in the enterprise world, this is a “chicken-and-egg problem,” says Daniel Ra, an Atlanta-based product strategist at Big Nerd Ranch, a software development and training firm.  “Many legacy enterprise solutions are still Windows-only. Until enterprise customers see a good business case for switching to Apple’s computers, they’ll stick to using their Windows machines.”

Brett Burney lives in the world of my day job (e-discovery), but another focus of his consultancy is helping lawyers use Macs, iPhones and iPads in practice. He agrees with Ra that “it’s still the lack of Mac-specific legal software” preventing lawyers from adopting Macs. Yet he provides lawyers advice on how they can make the switch anyway.

Step one is whether they actually use Macs at home. “First, I always ask if they have bona-fide, hands-on experience with Macs in their personal life… the workplace is no place for trying to learn a whole new operating system.”

Sponsored

Then, assuming OS-specific software isn’t a showstopper, he makes sure that “lawyers fully understand that there is a learning curve when switching to Macs. There’s no Start button, the menus work differently, and even the keyboard is a bit different.”

It is worth noting that small firms have an easier time than larger ones. Burney observes that “larger firms hire armies of IT professionals to maintain their information systems, which means they must keep users and systems consistent.”

So we have expense, which is not a real issue. Then there are switching costs, which require effort and pragmatism to address. But ultimately, switching costs can be overcome. If these barriers to adoption are starting to erode, what factors are advancing the transition to Macs?

iOS

Ra notes that “the barriers for iOS devices are far fewer than MacOS. iOS devices are still considered triage devices rather than workhorse devices, although iPad Pros may change that perception.” Burney agrees that iOS devices are “viewed as an ‘extra’ device to a primary computer or laptop. Which is how Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in 2010, calling it a ‘third category’ of an electronic device.”

And, according to Stevens, “iPhones (and later iPads) were the gateway drugs to entice attorneys to switch to Macs. They see how simple and easy their iOS devices are to use, and it becomes easier to envision using Macs instead of PCs.”

Maybe not everyone is using a MacBook, but lots of people use their iPhones and iPads as their first point of access for their email and calendar. “Even though we call it an iPhone,” Burney says, “it’s really a computer that has replaced dozens of devices.”

Web-based, cloud-based, OS-agnostic software

But the bottom line is that the use case for MacBooks and iMacs in a legal practice setting is a round peg into a square hole. Most Apple users are still dialing into a virtual Windows environment for some portion of their technology access. When will Macs be a primary, native device for legal technology and tools?

The answers are when the millennials take over, and when all software is web-based and in the cloud. First, the millennials are coming, and they love their Apple devices. Burney notes that if millennials “perceive that they can complete their work more completely and efficiently on a Mac, or an iPhone, or an Android, they will get frustrated if they are told they can’t use those devices (BYOD).”

Stevens concurs, stating that “most law students use Macs (and have for many years), and because they are already aware of their benefits, they are more inclined to want to continue using them in their practices.”

Along with the fact that the younger generation will take over, web-based apps hosted in the cloud are leveling the playing field. If Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox all interact with web apps the same way, the device distinctions no longer matter. “As programs continue to migrate to the cloud and become platform agnostic,” Stevens says, “the ‘conversion’ becomes much less complicated, which makes it easier to make older managing attorneys open to the concept.” Burney views this as creating incentive for “more software developers (even legal software developers) [to work] towards an OS-agnostic world so that users can use whatever computer or device they choose.”

An OS-agnostic world — the land of the free, the truly free.

Ed Sohn is VP, Product Management and Partnerships, for Thomson Reuters Legal Managed Services. After more than five years as a Biglaw litigation associate, Ed spent two years in New Delhi, India, overseeing and innovating legal process outsourcing services in litigation. Ed now focuses on delivering new e-discovery solutions with technology managed services. You can contact Ed about ediscovery, legal managed services, expat living in India, theology, chess, ST:TNG, or the Chicago Bulls at edward.sohn@thomsonreuters.com or via Twitter (@edsohn80). (The views expressed in his columns are his own and do not reflect those of his employer, Thomson Reuters.)

CRM Banner

Topics

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,