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03 September 2009 / Susan Knox
Issue: 7383 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology
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Dispelling technophobia

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Susan Knox claims lawyers cannot ignore the omnipresent call of new technology

Today, many people in the UK include mobile phones, PDAs, instant messaging clients and social networking applications as their primary means of communication. Lawyers are no exception, frequently using these tools in their personal as well as professional lives. Many lawyers nevertheless discount newer means of communication as potential sources of evidence, instead focusing on “traditional” sources of electronic evidence such as hard drives, back-up tapes, CDs and DVDs. However, by avoiding these new technologies and tools, lawyers may be overlooking critical evidence.

Newer means of communication
 

Having more or less completed the move to computers, word processors and e-mail messages, Britons are now swiftly moving toward ever more portable versions of these tools. Once, a laptop computer was viewed as the convenient alternative to being tied to a desk or office. Now, many laptop users read and write e-mail messages while on the go using handheld PDAs that also act as phones, portable music systems, GPS devices, cameras and planners. Some

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