Legal Commentary

The American Lawyer's annual Associate Survey is hot off the press, and not surprisingly, it reports significant malaise about technology.

Addressing the dilemma of whether it's best, during a recession, "to conserve cash or ramp up spending to win a competitive advantage when the economy turns around," reporter Charlie Mead found that firms tried both approaches, with mixed results.

TAL asked 4,942 mid-level associates to rank their firm's technology in the areas of quality, training, support, and use on behalf of clients. Morrison & Foerster took a big hit from complainers, and dropped to 69th from last year's 46 ranking. "Technology updates have been nonexistent," wrote one frustrated MoFo fifth-year lawyer. "The firm is cheaper than ever in all respects, and it is depressing."

Bingham McCutchen took a similar spill, dropping from 38 to 58, and was called "even less nimble with respect to adopting new technologies" than in the past. (The firm says it will invest more money this year.)

"I think the firm fails to see how much productivity is lost due to outdated technology," wrote a third-year associate at Reed Smith, which took a slight drop from 86 to 81.

At the bottom: Boies, Schiller & Flexner, where upgrades are long overdue, complained a senior associate. "I think we really are in the Dark ages," said the associate. "We don't have a document management system."

Probably no one would be surprised that Wilson Sonsini was cited as quick to adopt new tech even in rough times. Happy associates there pushed the firm's ranging up to 16 from 95 last year. Top firm Thompson Coburn (for five years running) didn't cut technology spending, but didn't expand it either.

The complete survey is available at www.americanlawyer.com/associates.