I am a big champion of the concept of a paperless office - a world where the is no necessity to use paper and pen every time something needs to be recorded on a file.
Over the past few years I have been using a laptop to attempt to work without paper when I am out and about at the Magistrates Court and Crown Court. A Court environment is easy to cope with a computer and the majority of the Courts that I visit are equipped with wifi networks. Working on a paperless basis has always been a problem when it comes to working in other environments such as Police Stations or Prisons.
A major problem with working in a paperless way is getting people to sign documents that have only just been generated, such as statements, proofs, and most importantly legal aid applications.
Prisons and Police Stations are now becoming more tolerant of computers and over the next few weeks I am going to attempt to work without paper when I am out and about. I have acquired an iPad and have managed to work out how to get a Client to use the touch screen interface of the iPad to sign a document with an image of their usual signature.
I am hoping that my life can be simplified without the need to constantly record information in paper.
The only downside to my paperless working concept is that for audit purposes all the computer records that I generate have to be printed off and kept on a file!
