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The legal-size legal pad has been under attack since as early as 1982, when then Chief Justice Warren Burger banished legal-size documents from federal courts. One informal survey estimated Burger’s move saved almost $16 million through more efficient use of storage space. Several states followed the federal government’s lead; in Florida, a group appeared called “Eliminate Legal Files,” or ELF.
Perhaps the “paperless office” will not be achieved by more aggressive computerization, but by trimming a few inches from the bottom of the pads every ten years or so.
I look forward to the hit Fox drama about a crack team of legal paper enforcers entitled The ELF Files.