DC: It will be interesting to see how ALSPs use ChatGPT, GPT versions 3.5 and above, and other areas of #legaltech

 


Alternative legal services providers hit $20.6B share of legal market, new report says — from abajournal.com by Matt Reynolds

Excerpt:

Alternative legal services providers, or ALSPs, have shown accelerated growth and now make up $20.6 billion of the legal market, according to a report published Tuesday.

The Thomson Reuters Institute’s biennial report found that growth of ALSPs has “dramatically accelerated.” It is up 45% since the last report in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 20% for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, according to the report, titled Alternative Legal Services Providers 2023: Accelerating growth & expanding service categories.


ABA panel deals a blow to test-optional push — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Dive Brief:

  • The American Bar Association’s policymaking body rejected a plan Monday that would end the requirement that ABA-accredited law schools use the Law School Admission Test or another standardized assessment in admissions.
  • The ABA House of Delegates voted against the change to the organization’s policy that mandates admissions tests — exams detractors say contribute to middling diversity in legal education. Nearly 600 officials comprise the House of Delegates, which took a voice vote on the plan, meaning a precise count was not available.
  • However, the proposal isn’t dead. It could be revived and approved unilaterally by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar…

The Hidden Problems of “Lawyerless Courts”—and How to Fix Them

Excerpts:

Every year, 20 million Americans find themselves in state civil courts facing life-altering events such as divorce, child custody deliberations, eviction, and missed bills.

But unlike in criminal courts, where defendants have a constitutional right to legal representation, the same guarantee isn’t afforded in state civil courts. Most people in these courts are low- to middle-income and unable to afford help. They must strike out on their own to blindly navigate byzantine legal protocols.

“The civil justice system is broken in our state courts,” says Utah Law Professor Anna Carpenter, whose research examines state civil courts, the judges who preside in them, and access to justice. She is part of a four-person research team that pioneered a new body of scholarship that analyzes state civil courts.

“I challenge anyone, especially lawyers, to go sit in one of these courtrooms and watch the tragic, day-to-day reality,” Carpenter says. “You’ll see why we believe these courts are the emergency rooms of our justice system.”


The Future of Legal Technology with Gabe Teninbaum

The Future of Legal Technology with Gabe Teninbaum

 


 

Also relevant/see:

 

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

From DSC:
Obviously, all of this goes for me as well. I constantly thank the LORD for His patience with me as well as His grace and forgiveness. I often seek His help, wisdom, and strength. Anyway, the above verse caught my eye due to Isaiah’s focus on justice and to seeing that justice is had by all.

And those reflections caused me to think about what the church is all about — at least for me. This brought to mind an old pastor friend of mine who once exclaimed, “The church is a hospital.”

Wow. That thought hit me powerfully. And you know what? I agree with him.

My pastor friend said that the church is a hospital -- and I agree with him

“The church” is a place for “sick” people who are in need of hope, healing, teaching, support, forgiveness, grace, love, wisdom, community, and more. Besides a place to worship the LORD, those are some of the reasons why I continue to go to church.

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.


Along these lines, I’m trying to figure out what the LORD wants me to do (during this next year and beyond). I want to make a contribution. For those who pray out there, I could use your prayers on where He wants me to plug in.

 

The Difference Between ‘Playtime’ + ‘Production’ for AI + Legal Tech — from by Jim Wagner, CEO, Lean Law Labs.

Excerpt:

It’s fascinating to see what GPT-3 can do and the possibilities are in some cases nothing short of mind blowing. But before you plan your early 2023 implementation, you may want to exercise a bit of caution.  When it comes to using AI in a production environment – i.e., serving real customers with real expectations – you need solutions that deliver reliable results that you can explain to your clients … and potentially to a lot of other stakeholders, including courts and regulatory authorities.

Maybe in 2023 you can also try this line: ‘Dear client / court / regulator, we know it’s hard to believe, but a lot of the time you can rely on what we tell you.’

NOTE: Artificial Lawyer and its Founder are
now on sabbatical during 2023, returning in 2024.

From DSC:
My guess is that they are pursuing some serious, new opportunities involving using AI within the legaltech realm. Time will tell.

 
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

 

 

94% of Consumers are Satisfied with Virtual Primary Care — from hitconsultant.net

Excerpt from What You Should Know (emphasis DSC):

  • For people who have used virtual primary care, the vast majority of them (94%) are satisfied with their experience, and nearly four in five (79%) say it has allowed them to take charge of their health. The study included findings around familiarity and experience with virtual primary care, virtual primary care and chronic conditions, current health and practices, and more.
  • As digital health technology continues to advance and the healthcare industry evolves, many Americans want the ability to utilize more digital methods when it comes to managing their health, according to a study recently released by Elevance Health — formerly Anthem, Inc. Elevance Health commissioned to conduct an online study of over 5,000 US adults age 18+ around virtual primary care.
 

GPT Takes the Bar Exam — from papers.ssrn.com by Michael James Bommarito and Daniel Martin Katz; with thanks to Gabe Teninbaum for his tweet on this

Excerpt from the Abstract (emphasis DSC):

While our ability to interpret these results is limited by nascent scientific understanding of LLMs and the proprietary nature of GPT, we believe that these results strongly suggest that an LLM will pass the MBE component of the Bar Exam in the near future.

LLM — Large Language Model
MBE — Multistate Bar Examination

 

Speaking of technology and the law, also see:

Holding Court Outside the Courtroom — from legaltalknetwork.com

Host: Molly McDonough, Legal Talk Network Podcast Producer and Founder of Molly McDonough Media, LLC.

Guests:

  • Dori Rapaport, Executive Director at Legal Aid Services of Northeastern Minnesota
  • David Estep, Supervising Attorney at Legal Aid of West Virginia
  • Honorable Jeanne M. Robison, Salt Lake City Justice Court Judge
 

From DSC:
I received an email the other day re: a TytoCare Exam Kit. It said (with some emphasis added by me):

With a TytoCare Exam Kit connected to Spectrum Health’s 24/7 Virtual Urgent Care, you and your family can have peace of mind and a quick, accurate diagnosis and treatment plan whenever you need it without having to leave your home.

Your TytoCare Exam Kit will allow your provider to listen to your lungs, look inside your ears or throat, check your temperature, and more during a virtual visit.

Why TytoCare?

    • Convenience – With a TytoCare Exam Kit and our 24/7/365 On-Demand Virtual Urgent Care there is no drive, no waiting room, no waiting for an appointment.
    • Peace of Mind – Stop debating about whether symptoms are serious enough to do something about them.
    • Savings – Without the cost of gas or taking off work, you get the reliable exams and diagnosis you need. With a Virtual Urgent Care visit you’ll never pay more than $50. That’s cheaper than an in-person urgent care visit, but the same level of care.

From DSC:
It made me reflect on what #telehealth has morphed into these days. Then it made me wonder (again), what #telelegal might become in the next few years…? Hmmm. I hope the legal field can learn from the healthcare industry. It could likely bring more access to justice (#A2J), increased productivity (for several of the parties involved), as well as convenience, peace of mind, and cost savings.


 

 

The Justice Gap: The Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans — from the Legal Services Corporation

Legal Services Corporation’s 2022 Justice Gap Report provides a comprehensive look at the differences between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs. LSC’s study found that low-income Americans do not get the help they need for 92% of their civil legal problems, even though 74% of low-income households face at least one civil legal issue in a single year.

The consequences that result from a lack of appropriate counsel can be life-altering – low-income Americans facing civil legal problems can lose their homes, children and healthcare, among other things. Help can be hard to access, so LSC is working to bridge this “justice gap” by providing pro bono civil legal aid for those in need. Find out more about LSC’s work to ensure equal justice for all by tuning in to the rest of the Justice Gap video series.

For more information on the Justice Gap, visit https://justicegap.lsc.gov/.

Also relevant/see:

.

Legal Services Corporation’s 2022 Justice Gap Report provides a comprehensive look at the differences between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.

 

2022 Winners of the LegalTech Breakthrough Awards — from legaltechbreakthrough.com

Categories include:

  • Case Management
  • Client Relations
  • Data & Analytics
  • Documentation
  • Legal Education
  • Practice Management
  • Legal Entity Management
  • Legal Research
  • Online Dispute Resolution
  • Contract Management
  • eDiscovery
  • Marketplaces
  • RegTech
  • Leadership

Also see:

With the cost of international air travel rising sharply, remote hearings are a practical alternative to in-person proceedings. International travel is expensive, and the virtual option means that it is no longer necessary to count travel as a “cost of doing business” when pursuing an international dispute. The widespread use of technology in global dispute resolution proceedings gives attorneys and their clients the option to participate remotely, which is a compelling cost saver for all parties. 

  • Most debt lawsuits get decided without a fight. Michigan leaders want to change the rules. — from mlive.com by Matthew Miller
    Excerpt:
    Most of the 1.9 million debt collection cases filed in Michigan’s district courts over the past decade or so never went to trial. Usually, the defendants don’t show up to court, and debt collectors win by default, according to data compiled by the Michigan Justice for All Commission. In most cases, the courts end up garnishing defendants’ wages, income tax returns or other assets, sometimes on the basis of complaints that include little more than the name of the creditor, an account number and the balance due.

And both debt lawsuits and garnishment are more common for people living in primarily Black neighborhoods, regardless of their income.

Members of the Commission say Michigan’s rules around debt collection lawsuits don’t do enough to protect regular people, who sometimes don’t find out they’ve been sued until they see money coming out of their paychecks.

They say those rules need to change.

An early participant in the Law Society of BC’s Innovation Sandbox, the Clinic offers the in-person and virtual help of 25 articling students located in 15 different BC communities —from Tofino to Cranbrook— with the support of 15 supervising lawyers, four staff and dozens of local mentors. Together, they provide fixed-fee services in a wide range of areas covering everyday legal problems.

 

Yale and Harvard’s Law Schools Are Ditching the ‘U.S. News’ Rankings. Will Others Follow? — from chronicle.com by Francie Diep

Excerpt:

Yale Law School — long ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report — is quitting the magazine’s rankings, it announced Wednesday. Hours after that announcement, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Law School said it would do the same.

“U.S. News stands in the way of progress for legal education and the profession,” said Heather Gerken, Yale Law School’s dean. “It’s made it harder for law schools to admit and support low-income students, and it’s undermining efforts to launch a generation to serve. Now is the time to take a step.”

Also related/see:

Some other legal-related items include:

IAALS Releases New Allied Legal Professionals Landscape Report and Resource Center in an Effort to Increase Legal Options for the Public — iaals.du.edu

Excerpt:

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announced today that it released its new Allied Legal Professionals landscape report, along with an accompanying online Knowledge Center. With generous support from the Sturm Family Foundation, this project seeks to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals nationally, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.

“Today, the majority of Americans are faced with a very serious access to justice problem—not only low-income populations, as many people believe. And the pandemic has only made matters worse in recent years,” says Jim Sandman, chair of IAALS’ board of advisors and President Emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation. “For example, studies show that around 40–60% of the middle class have legal needs that remain unmet. Simply put: people want legal help, and they are not getting the help they need.”

Legal Innovators: An Ecosystem of Change Agents! — from artificiallawyer.com

The expanding role of technology in the law firm business model (338) — from legalevolution.org by Kenneth Jones
Legal technology is slowly becoming core to the legal business. It’s time to commit to a cross-functional team approach.

Excerpt:

The premise of this post is that individual capabilities and excellence (either legal or technical) standing alone are not enough to ensure long-term, sustainable success.  No superstar technologist or lawyer is equipped to do it all, as there are too many specialties and functional roles which need to be filled.  Rather, a better approach is to construct team-based, cross-functional units that offer greater operational efficiency while building in layers of redundancy that reduce the potential for surprises, errors, or disruption.  Cf Post 323 (Patrick McKenna’s “rules of engagement” for high-performing legal teams).

 

From DSC:
I virtually attended the Law 2030 Conference (Nov 3-4, 2022). Jennifer Leonard and staff from the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School put together a super conference! It highlighted the need for change within the legal industry. A major shout out to Jennifer Leonard, Theodore Ruger (Law School Dean), and others!

I really appreciate Jen’s vision here, because she recognizes that the legal industry needs to involve more disciplines, more specialists, and others who don’t have a JD Degree and/or who haven’t passed the Bar. On Day 1 of the conference (in the afternoon), Jen enlisted the help of several others to use Design Thinking to start to get at possible solutions to our entrenched issues.

America, our legal system is being tightly controlled and protected — by lawyers. They are out to protect their turf — no matter the ramifications/consequences of doing so. This is a bad move on many lawyers part. It’s a bad move on many Bar Associations part. Lawyers already have some major PR work to do — but when America finds out what they’ve been doing, their PR problems are going to be that much larger. I’d recommend that they change their ways and really start innovating to address the major access to justice issues that we have in the United States.

One of the highlights for me was listening to the powerful, well-thought-out presentation from Michigan’s Chief Justice Bridget McCormack — it was one of the best I’ve ever heard at a conference! She mentioned the various stakeholders that need to come to the table — which includes law schools/legal education. I also appreciated Jordan Furlong’s efforts to deliver a 15-minute presentation (virtual), which it sounded like he worked on most of the night when he found out he couldn’t be there in person! He nicely outlined the experimentation that’s going on in Canada.

Here’s the recording from Day 1:

 


Jeff Selingo’s comments this week reminded me that those of us who have worked in higher education for much of our careers also have a lot of work to do as well.


 

Addendum on 11/8/22:

 


 

The Technology That Is Revolutionising How Business Gets Done — from artificiallawyer.com

Excerpt:

We are on the cusp of a revolution. Contract negotiation, with all the associated document redlines and email threads, is about to get a whole lot quicker. Today, artificial intelligence has the potential to save lawyers hours of intense editing – but only if they embrace the sector-wide behaviour change this could ignite.

Technology has reached the point that much of the initial legwork of perusing a contract can be done by a piece of software. Precision AI can scan a document and create a list of issues based on how a lawyer typically contracts. It is then up to the lawyer to accept or disregard those issues, but the point is that the initial editing time is greatly reduced.

 

From DSC:
Many of the items below are from Laurence Colletti’s posting, Clio Cloud Conference – The Big Return


Clio Cloud 2022: Innovation in the Courts with Judge Schlegel — from legaltalknetwork.com by Laurence Colletti and Judge Scott Schlegel

Episode notes:

The pandemic was a driver for change in justice systems around the globe, but one court’s innovative and inexpensive approach is worth a closer look. Judge Scott Schlegel manages what may be one of the most advanced courts in the United States for delivering justice online. Tune in for his tips on how any jurisdiction in the country can modernize its justice system for under a thousand dollars. Go to https://www.onlinejudge.us/ for all of Judge Schlegel’s recommendations.

Clio Cloud 2022: The Benefits of a Legal Blog — from legaltalknetwork.com by Laurence Colletti and Teresa Matich, Kevin O’Keefe, and Iffy Ibekwe
Legal blog posts are great tools for building relationships with potential clients because they build trust, credibility, and allow you to create a personal connection with your clients.

LawNext Podcast: What Is Justice Tech? A Conversation with Maya Markovich — from lawnext.com by

Excerpt:

An increasing number of startups are defining themselves not as legal tech, but as justice tech. So what, exactly, is justice tech, who are some of the companies that represent it, and what is the business opportunity they present for potential investors? Our guest this week is Maya Markovich, executive director of the Justice Technology Association, an organization formed earlier this year to support companies in the justice tech sector.

Clio Cloud 2022: Insights from Clio’s 2022 Legal Trends Report — from legaltalknetwork.com by Laurence Colletti, Joshua Lenon, and Rio Peterson
Amid Inflation, Rising Interest Rates, and Volatile Employment Markets, Clio takes a look at How Global Trends have Impacted Business and Productivity among law firms.

Clio Cloud 2022: What Lies Ahead for Legal with Jack Newton — from legaltalknetwork.com by Laurence Colletti and Jack Newton

Episode notes:

The world of lawyering has surged in spite of the pandemic, but new adversity looms. Fears over inflation, war, hiring markets, and a recession have left many attorneys wondering how to prepare for the coming months. Jack Newton discusses the concept of anti-fragility and its place as a mental model for law firms as they face an uncertain future. Jack outlines how deliberate preparation can help your law firm thrive in the midst of opposition.

Jack Newton is CEO and co-founder of Clio.

Clio Cloud 2022: How Content Creation Can Grow Your Law Firm — from legaltalknetwork.com by Laurence Colletti

 


Also related, see:

Virtual Courts Are Not Going Away — from news.bloomberglaw.com by Jon David Kelley
As the pandemic winds down, courts are shifting to a hybrid approach that incorporates remote with live proceedings. Jon David Kelley of Kirkland says virtual courts can expand access to justice, but care should be taken to maintain credible representation.


 

 
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