I got to school quite a bit early on Friday, and while waiting around for class to begin I noticed a poster advertising a LawTechTalk seminar on the use of digital evidence. As the seminar fit with my schedule I showed up for what turned out to be quite an interesting, if fairly cursory presentation. The speaker, Stephen Mason, is a “barrister and the Director of the Digital Evidence Research Programme at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law” according to the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre’s webpage promoting the presentation, and has authored a number of books and articles focusing on various aspects of the digital domain as they pertain to the legal domain.
The presentation itself was an excellent introduction to the aspects of the digital world that the legal community must make itself aware of if we are to adapt to the realities of practising law in the 21st century, (To view the presentation’s Powerpoint slides, click here) although it was hampered to a degree by time constraints and the mistaken (and somewhat smug) assumption on the part of one of the audience (an IT specialist nonetheless) that Mr Mason was speaking of emails with an attachment when in fact he was not. (Mr Mason’s point was that in upholding a contract at least one court has held that the email addresses of the parties (and nothing more) constitute valid electronic signatures)
The other issue that Mr Mason’s presentation revealed was the new Law Building’s flawed handling of presentations. Not having recourse to a remote control with which to control his presentation, an audience member was co-opted into clicking through the presentation point by point from the control panel at the side of the room so Mr Mason could remain in front of the audience for his presentation.
This was the first of a series of presentations being put on by the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre. If you’re interested in attending the next one keep an eye on the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre’s website or if you’d like to be added to their mailing list of upcoming events send an email to feedback@cyberlawcentre.org.
