Nowadays the vast majority of business correspondence and documentationis in (or begins life and evolves in) electronic form of one sort oranother. This technological reality permeates most conceivable strataof commercial litigation, while the courts (and indeed lawyerspractising in those courts) may be perceived as having been slow incatching up. In an obvious attempt to redress the balance, after asubstantial consultation exercise on 1st October 2010 a new PracticeDirection 31B was annexed to Part 31, itself concerned of course withDisclosure and Inspection of Documents.

Equality and diversity has always been an important issue for law firms of all types and sizes, and those who have embraced equality in its fullest sense have usually found that their practice has improved as a result, and that its staff and clients have benefited.