Law firms ditching BlackBerries

Law firm technology chiefs are ditching their lawyer's BlackBerry devices and supporting the use of personal Apple and Android handsets for firm business.

BlackBerry: feeling the squeeze

According to an ALM survey -- reported by Mobile Enterprise -- 88 per cent of law firm chief information officers expect to reduce BlackBerry support in the next 12 months.

Windows rejected

Perhaps surprisingly, only 7 per cent of those surveyed – based on responses from 83 of top 200 Am Law firms – plan to migrate their systems to Microsoft’s recently released Windows 8 operating system.

The survey also suggested that security will be tightened because of issues related with smartphone and other personal device use.

Cloud concerns

Around two thirds of US law firms prohibit their lawyers from using cloud storage and synchronisation features, with a similar figure using mobile device management software. However, 80 per cent reported that they had placed no restrictions on applications that could be downloaded to personal devices used at work.

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