How Florida Lawyers Use Technology

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In January 2015, the Florida Bar released its “Results of the 2014 Economics and Law Office Management Survey,” which you can find here.11618616-businessman-with-magnifying-glass-and-suitcase-vectorkid-internet

The Bar article covers the primary study results however there are far more interesting tech-specific data about lawyers and their use of technology.

Some of the interesting, if not unusual, highlights about the Florida Bar:

* 100,000 lawyers in Florida

* 78% in private practice

* 14% bill more than 2,000 hours per year (34% bill less than 1,000 hours)

* 73% charge $200+ per hour.  32% charge more than $300/hour.

* 40% of paralegals bill over $120/hour

* 63% feel that technology has improved your client relationships

* 90% of lawyers feel that there should be a minimum level of technological competency among lawyers

* 47% feel that technology should be a mandatory part of CLE requirements

* Median lawyer salaries range from $50k (recent grads) to $150k (partners)

* Median paralegal salaries range from $30-50k (secretaries range from $25-41k)

* 92% of firms use some version of Microsoft Office as their primary platform (<1% Google Docs).

* 75% of Offices use Windows 7 or 8 while 23% use either XP or Vista (Mac 6%).

* 44% use Explorer while 39% use Chrome

* 64% of Florida lawyers have an iPhone (6% do not have a smartphone)

* 42% of Florida lawyers use an iPad (42% do not use any tablet device)

* Professionally, lawyers use LinkedIn (42%), Google+ (14%), Facebook (12%), Twitter (3%).  19% use no social media.

* 35% of lawyers do not send faxes (11% of you send 10+ fax per week)

* Average age for Florida lawyer: 48 years old

* 63% male, 37% female

* Caucasian/White (84%), Hispanic/Latino (9%), African-American/Black (3%)

* 3% of Bar members are gay, lesbian, or bisexual

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