Does technology really make our lives easier? I think the answer is yes but sometimes I wonder.
I have a hunch how some of the lawyers involved in a sex discrimination case against General Electric would answer the question.
The Connecticut Law Tribune has this story (free online) about how plaintiff’s counsel thought they had redacted documents from public view:
…as of late last week, you could download several documents through PACER’s federal court filing system, copy the black bars that cover the text on the screen and paste them into a Word document.
Voilà. Information about the inner-workings of GE’s white, male-dominated management and their alleged discriminatory practices against women, which is supposed to be sealed by court order, appears with little technical savvy required.
Ouch.
What scares me is what I don’t know about technology. I try and stay on top of these things but the landscape is forever changing.
Connecticut State Courts (for the time being) do not have the online filing system found in our Federal Courts. Federal Courts require all documents to be e-filed.
For now, I’ll take comfort in outdated modes of communication such as the U.S. mail and my fax machine.