For Queensland’s geographically diverse legal profession, technology is opening new doors to legal education, LexisNexis (publisher of Lawyers Weekly), said in a statement.

The company has therefore opened a Queensland branch that will offer a combination of traditional and technology-oriented professional development services.

Lawyers have generally been slower than other professionals in applying technology within the business environment, LexisNexis said.

This was exacerbated in Queensland by the high number of small firms and sole practitioners, particularly in regional areas. Additionally, for smaller firms, technology could be an area of considerable expenditure.

Webstreaming is a development service being offered by LexisNexis from September this year. This would increase the accessibility of legal education, LexisNexis said.

“Webstreaming is a combination of rich media including audio, video, Powerpoints, downloadable written materials and interactive elements,” said Queensland’s LexisNexis Professional Development manager, Angela Kurtz.

LexisNexis has also extended teleconferencing links and the use of technology to a selection of professional development resource materials.

E-learning allowed busy professionals to choose when they access educational programs, as well as what they access and how many times they do, Kurtz said.