What was it like? We had to learn the whole key-numbering sytem. We had to thumb through book-after-book. We had to Shepherdize manually -- a terrific pain in the neck and a snare for the un-compulsive. Electronic research is a godsend, though it isn't as creative (or sometimes as productive) as the old way. Lawyers' work is becoming commodified, and that's why so much of what we do is moving to lower-priced workers overseas. And that's not all bad for clients, by the way.
12:10, was this the case in practice too (assuming you know) or did support staff help out more with those tasks? I'm a current associate and I'm lucky if I get help from my secretary with anything.
My question is, how was legal research done without Lexis/Westlaw? I realize they had books, but things must've been a lot harder.
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered that too. What was law school like pre-Lexis?
ReplyDeleteWhat was it like? We had to learn the whole key-numbering sytem. We had to thumb through book-after-book. We had to Shepherdize manually -- a terrific pain in the neck and a snare for the un-compulsive. Electronic research is a godsend, though it isn't as creative (or sometimes as productive) as the old way. Lawyers' work is becoming commodified, and that's why so much of what we do is moving to lower-priced workers overseas. And that's not all bad for clients, by the way.
ReplyDelete12:10, was this the case in practice too (assuming you know) or did support staff help out more with those tasks? I'm a current associate and I'm lucky if I get help from my secretary with anything.
ReplyDelete