Whether or not this is critical depends, I suppose, upon the document. Regardless, information presented in an electronic document is more easily understood that struggling through a sea of paper. Please do not construe my argument for electronic legal documents as all encompassing. I have not dispensed with all paper publications, and I still enjoy the feel of a good book in my hands. With electronic documents and good output printing and binding systems we have the best of both worlds.
Many companies have machines which combine copiers, laser printers, and binding equipment.
Therefore, if a judge wishes to receive a case file on paper, it would be a simple matter to request a bound copy from the computer system. Blank note pages could also be inserted by the output system at intervals to facilitate preparation for trial or opinion creation. Despite these advantages there will be many implementation difficulties, some valid and many invalid in bringing electronic documents to the legal system in the future. The greatest of these difficulties will be to coordinate international cooperation on developing standards for electronic tags, data formats, and security. These are not technical problems, but require long-range vision and an understanding of the various implications.