IN THE AIR WITH ACER
Armed with his extensive knowledge of copyright law, Adam Simpson travels the world for a huge variety of cases, including acting for rapper Eminem’s publishers. This is how technology makes his life easier.
The life of a solicitor
“People are often bitterly disappointed about how boring the courtroom can be compared with how it appears on TV. It’s a conservative process. Evidence is carefully tested and retested. There are rarely aha moments where someone leaps forward with a DNA sample. One of the rewarding but challenging aspects of law is the often-extreme peer review. When I started, I was dismayed at seeing red pen all over my work so I’d make sure the next draft had none.”
From paper trails to cloud trials
“I left my first job at a steel foundry to avoid being buried under molten metal; then my first job in the law had me buried under mountains of paper. We’d transport hundreds of kilograms of documents to fight a case – that seems insane and will probably date me. Now we can take our entire office anywhere in our hand luggage, accessing what we need from the cloud.”
More about data than drama
“There’s an advantage for those who can access data easily. Recently, in New Zealand, we acted for Eminem’s music publishers against a political party that had used a song that sounded like Lose Yourself, called
Eminem-esque. Through our laptops we had access to our precedent databases and knowledge wiki, video interviews with witnesses and all the music.”
Technology can be people-friendly
“Ergonomic design is essential. If the technology is uncomfortable or too heavy or things aren’t in the right place, it takes a toll on how you use it. Aesthetics are important, too; first impressions count.”
Seeing is believing
“I’m a fairly frequent flyer across Australasia, Europe and America so I need to keep an eye on matters while I’m away. I value face-to-face communication; phone calls are better than millions of emails and video calls on my laptop are better than being on the phone when building the trust that’s vital in my industry. Plus, I can use the laptop to see what’s new at MakerSpace & Co., a community hub for design excellence, in Marrickville in Sydney, which I chair. And video brings my family closer; it’s lovely seeing my daughter wander around the house, showing me what she’s made.”