Executive Director’s Page
‘The Gift of Technology’—50-Year Lawyers Look Back
“The legal profession has changed since 1970, not because the
individuals practicing law have changed, but technology has dictated the
change with the personal computer, cell telephone, online research,
among others, driving that change. No longer is the attorney subservient
to the office library, the staff assistant, or the office itself. … The
attorney of 2020 is independent, that independence being the gift of
technology.”
—Calvin A. Hartmann, 50-year Texas lawyer
Technology can be a double-edged sword, but it has never felt more
like a gift than during the coronavirus pandemic. After many of us
started sheltering in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19,
videoconference apps became a lifeline, letting us not only converse
with clients but also check in on friends and family who otherwise may
be isolated hundreds of miles away.
Like many of you, the State Bar staff and I have been working remotely
since mid-March. With the exception of in-person meetings, the State Bar
has been fully operational. The Texas Supreme Court has continued its
work with remote oral arguments and videoconferences, while responding
to the evolving needs of our state with a series of emergency orders.
And the Office of Court Administration equipped judges throughout the
state with Zoom licenses to enable remote video proceedings. We can’t
know whether these events portend long-term changes, and I will leave
the prognosticating to others. Instead, with this column I invite you to
look back to 1970 and consider how much our profession has evolved.
The State Bar traditionally recognizes each class of 50-year lawyers
at the Annual Meeting.1 This year, we also invited the class
of 1970 to write short essays on changes they’ve witnessed for possible
publication in the Texas Bar Journal. Many responded to the
invitation, including Calvin A. Hartmann, of Spring, whose words begin
this column. Their submissions mostly preceded the coronavirus outbreak
in Texas, but their comments on technology seem especially timely for
this period of remote working.
“Starting with the crackle of automated typewriters, floppy discs,
WordPerfect and all the rest, work eventually became portable in our
notebook computers,” wrote Richard L. Petronella, of Houston. “Now we
bring our office home … in tiny electronics.”
“The technology revolution has changed the law practice the most,”
wrote Kelly Frels, of Houston, who served as State Bar president in
2004-2005 and is one of four past presidents in this year’s class, along
with Allan K. DuBois, Harriet Miers, and Terry Tottenham.
“When I started practicing, the IBM Selectric typewriter was a new
phenomenon,” Shelly Juskiewicz, of Dallas, reminisced. “There were no
fax machines, emails, and, of course, no internet.”
The arrival of e-filing was another major advancement, wrote Mary
Ellen Keith, of Meadowlakes. “E-filing is great for courts since clerks
and lawyers no longer haul boxes of paper to the courtroom,” she wrote.
“A computer easily handles legal research; no more dusty library
trips!”
Despite the changes, these 50-year lawyers haven’t lost sight of what
it means to be a member of our profession. It’s clear from their own
words that they still believe in the basics: be honest, treat others
with respect, and do the right thing no matter the circumstance. (Be on
the lookout for more of their comments in next month’s issue.)
I’ll close with the words of Clinton S. Morse, a 50-year Texas lawyer
based in Roanoke, Virginia: “Even though the practice of law has become
big business in almost every aspect, one thing has not changed. The
people we serve are still considered clients, not customers, and they
still respond with great appreciation to the loyal attorneys who have
done the very best job that they can to represent them
professionally.”
Sincerely,
Trey Apffel
Executive Director, State Bar of Texas
Editor-in-Chief, Texas Bar Journal
Trey Apffel can be reached at 512-427-1500, trey.apffel@texasbar.com or
@ApffelT on
Twitter.
