Since I announced at the start of September that Orange Rag founder and all-round legal tech legend Charles Christian has passed away, there has been an outpouring of sadness and shock, with many, many tributes paid to the man who quite literally
formed the legal tech community.
Charles touched so many people’s lives, and it is a testament to him that there have been several articles written in tribute to him, which with the permission of the authors, are included in full in this memorial issue of the Orange Rag.
Charles founded the Orange Rag in 1995 and it is hard to know how to do justice to a career that spanned several decades. However, I have picked out some of the stories from the very first ever Legal Technology Insider, as it was called then, as well as one from 2000, and 2010, and we have reflected on how things have changed – or not changed – since Charles first began shining an at times harsh but always fair light on an industry that has consistently been slow to modernise.
There have been many discussions over the past few weeks about the genesis of the name the ‘Orange Rag’. It stemmed from the early days when the Rag was printed, and the orange colour was designed to prevent it being photocopied and circulated, given that you had to be a subscriber to read it. Charles, supported by his chief proof-reader and loving wife Jane, who many of you know, would carefully curate the stories that made it into the hotly anticipated newsletter.
Over the past few weeks there have been so many stories shared on LinkedIn about what those bright orange pages meant to people, and how for many, they were the very first introduction into the weird and wonderful world of legal technology. I have included a handful of posts from LinkedIn, as well as links to where you can read all of them in full.
I took over from Charles as editor of Legal IT Insider in 2014. I was a mainstream legal journalist at the time and Charles convinced me that writing about technology wouldn’t be that hard, and that I would get the hang of it quickly. My goodness what a baptism of fire
it was. But I had the best mentor and ally you could possibly hope for, and I am so incredibly grateful to him for his support over the years. His passing makes me all the more determined to continue his legacy, and I’ve shared in this memorial copy the words that Charles himself wrote on our 300th birthday about what the Orange Rag has stood for and continues to stand for.
We will be hosting a memorial gathering in due course to celebrate the life of someone who literally paved the way for many of our careers, and we very much hope that you will come and raise a glass.
Rest in peace Charles, you will be missed
Caroline Hill
I have worked in the legal environment for more years than I care to remember. The one constant has always been Charles Christian.
In the early 1990’s when a standalone 486 processor PC was considered the pinnacle of computerisation in the office, I recall reading an article penned by Charles Christian. He provided insight into the pace of change we could expect in technology and the effect this would have on the legal market . I made contact and for a year, maybe two, we remained in contact. Thereafter, I made sure to read his excellent and informative articles.
A doyen of legal IT, he will be sadly missed but fondly remembered.