Today is Earth Day. In celebration of the occasion, I’d like to talk about the idea of the paperless law office.

Lawyers are notorious paper-consumers. While some may call the seemingly insatiable consumption of paper an occupational hazard, I think otherwise.

It’s true that necessities dictate the use of paper. For example, all court forms in the Superior Court, to my knowledge, require that paper copies be filed over the counter.

Besides the required forms, lawyers file facta (brief summaries of the facts and the applicable laws), books of authority, conference briefs, affidavits (sworn evidence), motions, and correspondences. These documents often come in multiple copies - one for each party involved, one for the court, one for the file, and one for the client. As a result, the consumption of paper often gets out of control.

Aside from the court filing requirements, lawyers consume even more paper through the day-to-day operations of our law practices.

For example, for routine correspondences, we often print multiple drafts before the final correspondence is printed, signed, and faxed or mailed. While most lawyers do have access to secured email accounts, few lawyers (correct me if I’m wrong) utilize email as the main method of communication, particularly when dealing with contested matters.

But do letters coming from the fax machine or even the courier carry more weight? I think not.

I believe that excessive use of paper-based communication more likely stems from habit. Senior lawyers with decades of experience are accustomed to paper-based correspondences, and therefore many law offices are run that way. As time go by, a new generation of lawyers who are more comfortable with virtual technologies may do things differently.

Before law offices can become truly paperless (I suspect we still have a long way to go), there a’re certainly ways to run a law office in a more earth-friendly fashion. For instance, Legal Aid Ontario now accepts and encourages online billing, while accounting software is replacing the paper-and-pen bookkeeping systems in law offices across the country.

Happy Earth Day!