Cost of legal services – including access

Here are a variety of legaltech related items — showing change in the legal industry

On 10/01/2024, in Access to Justice (A2J), change, Cost of legal services - including access, Google, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, UK, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

I uploaded 200 pages of raw court documents to NotebookLM.

It created a true crime podcast that is better than 90% of what’s out there now…

And ends with the hosts debating the ethics of the genre ? pic.twitter.com/AHJ0fN4yXj

— Olivia Moore (@omooretweets) September 29, 2024

RIP To Human First Pass Document Review? — from abovethelaw.com by Joe Patrice
Using actual humans to perform an initial review isn’t gone yet, but the days are numbered.

Lawyers are still using real, live people to take a first crack at document review, but much like the “I’m not dead yet” guy from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it’s a job that will be stone dead soon. Because there are a lot of deeply human tasks that AI will struggle to replace, but getting through a first run of documents doesn’t look like one of them.

At last week’s Relativity Fest, the star of the show was obviously Relativity aiR for Review, which the company moved to general availability. In conjunction with the release, Relativity pointed to impressive results the product racked up during the limited availability period including Cimplifi reporting that the product cut review time in half and JND finding a 60 percent cut in costs.

Ernie The Attorney: A Tech Whisperer Shares His Legal Tech Secrets — from legaltalknetwork.com by Ernie Svenson
Guest Ernie “The Attorney” Svenson is dedicated to helping small and solo firms get the most out of today’s tech tools. Work smarter, not harder.

When it comes to efficiencies, automation plays a big role. In a solo or small firm, resources come at a premium. Learn to reduce wasted input through standardized, repeatable operating procedures and automation. (There are even tech products that help you create written standard processes learning from and organizing the work you’re already doing).

Imagine speaking into an app as you “brain dump” and having those thoughts come out organized and notated for later use. Imagine dictating legal work into an app and having AI organize your dictation, even correct it. You don’t need to type everything in today’s tech world. Maximize downtime.

It’s all about training yourself to think “automation first.” Even when a virtual assistant (VA) located in another country can fill gaps in your practice, learn your preferences, match your brand, and help you be your most efficient you without hiring a full-tie employee. Today’s most successful law firms are high-tech hubs. Don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back.

Here’s the Video of Our Legaltech Week Panel Recorded Live Friday at RelativityFest in Chicago — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

Several of our regular Legaltech Week panelists were in Chicago for RelativityFest last week, so we took the opportunity to get together and broadcast our show live from the same room (instead of Zoom squares).

If you missed it Friday, here’s the video recording.

LexisNexis legal AI adoption report shows sharp increase in use of Gen AI — from legaltechnology.com

Today (24 September) LexisNexis has released a new report – Need for Speedier Legal Services sees AI Adoption Accelerate – which reveals a sharp increase in the number of lawyers using generative AI for legal work.

The survey of 800+ UK legal professionals at firms and in-house teams found 41% are currently using AI for work, up from 11% in July 2023. Lawyers with plans to use AI for legal work in the near future also jumped from 28% to 41%, while those with no plans to adopt AI dropped from 61% to 15%. The survey found that 39% of private practice lawyers now expect to adjust their billing practices due to AI, up from 18% in January 2024.

Robin AI’s James Clough: ‘Don’t Skate To Where The Puck Is’ — from artificiallawyer.com

‘What if legal review cost just $1? What if legal review was 1,000X cheaper than today?’ he muses.

And, one could argue we are getting there already – at least in theory. How much does it actually cost to run a genAI tool, that is hitting the accuracy levels you require, over a relatively mundane contract in order to find top-level information? If token costs drop massively in the years ahead and tech licence costs have been shared out across a major legal business….then what is the cost to the firm per document?

Of course, there is review and there is review. A very deep and thorough review, with lots of redlining, back and forth negotiation, and redrafting by top lawyers is another thing. But, a ‘quick once-over’? It feels like we are already at the ‘pennies on the dollar’ stage for that.

What Is Legal Tech Convergence + Why It Matters — from artificiallawyer.com

In some cases the companies on the convergence path are just getting started and only offer a few additional skills (so far), in other cases, large companies with diverse histories have almost the same multi-skill offering across many areas.

Here are some examples:

Callidus
vLex
Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis
BRYTER
Harvey
Leya
…and others

ILTACON 2024: Selling legal tech’s monorail — from abajournal.com by Nicole Black

The bottom line: The promise of GenAI for our profession is great, but all signs point to the realization of its potential being six months out or more. So the question remains: Will generative AI change the legal landscape, ushering in an era of frictionless, seamless legal work? Or have we reached the pinnacle of its development, left only with empty promises? I think it’s the former since there is so much potential, and many companies are investing significantly in AI development, but only time will tell.

From LegalZoom to AI-Powered Platforms: The Rise of Smart Legal Services — from tmcnet.com by Artem Vialykh

In today’s digital age, almost every industry is undergoing a transformation driven by technological innovation, and the legal field is no exception. Traditional legal services, often characterized by high fees, time-consuming processes, and complex paperwork, are increasingly being challenged by more accessible, efficient, and cost-effective alternatives.

LegalZoom, one of the pioneers in offering online legal services, revolutionized the way individuals and small businesses accessed legal assistance. However, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart technologies, we are witnessing the rise of even more sophisticated platforms that are poised to reshape the legal landscape further.

The Rise of AI-Powered Legal Platforms
AI-powered legal platforms represent the next frontier in legal services. These platforms leverage the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing to provide legal services that are not only more efficient but also more accurate and tailored to the needs of the user.

AI-powered platforms offer many advantages, with one of them being their ability to rapidly process and analyze large amounts of data quickly. This capability allows them to provide users with precise legal advice and document generation in a fraction of the time it would take a human attorney. For example, AI-driven platforms can review and analyze contracts, identify potential legal risks, and even suggest revisions, all in real-time. This level of automation significantly reduces the time and cost associated with traditional legal services.

AI, Market Dynamics, and the Future of Legal Services with Harbor’s Zena Applebaum — from geeklawblog.com by Greg Lambert

Zena talks about the integration of generative AI (Gen AI) into legal research tools, particularly at Thomson Reuters, where she previously worked. She emphasizes the challenges in managing expectations around AI’s capabilities while ensuring that the products deliver on their promises. The legal industry has high expectations for AI to simplify the time-consuming and complex nature of legal research. However, Applebaum highlights the need for balance, as legal research remains inherently challenging, and overpromising on AI’s potential could lead to dissatisfaction among users.

Zena shares her outlook on the future of the legal industry, particularly the growing sophistication of in-house legal departments and the increasing competition for legal talent. She predicts that as AI continues to enhance efficiency and drive changes in the industry, the demand for skilled legal professionals will rise. Law firms will need to adapt to these shifts by embracing new technologies and rethinking their strategies to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market.

Future of the Delivery of Legal Services — from americanbar.org
The legal profession is in the midst of unprecedented change. Learn what might be next for the industry and your bar.

What. Just. Happened? (Post-ILTACon Emails Week of 08-19-2024) — from geeklawblog.com by Greg Lambert

Here’s this week’s edition of What. Just. Happened? Remember, you can track these daily with the AI Lawyer Talking Tech podcast (Spotify or Apple) which covers legal tech news and summarizes stories.

From DSC:
And although this next one is not necessarily legaltech-related, I wanted to include it here anyway — as I’m always looking to reduce the costs of obtaining a degree.

Improve the Diversity of the Profession By Addressing the Costs of Becoming a Lawyer — from lssse.indiana.edu by Joan Howarth

Not surprisingly, then, research shows that economic assets are a significant factor in bar passage. And LSSSE research shows us the connections between the excessive expense of becoming a lawyer and the persistent racial and ethnic disparities in bar passage rate.

The racial and ethnic bar passage disparities are extreme. For example, the national ABA statistics for first time passers in 2023-24 show White candidates passing at 83%, compared to Black candidates (57%) with Asians and Hispanics in the middle (75% and 69%, respectively).

These disturbing figures are very related to the expense of becoming a lawyer.

Finally, though, after decades of stability — or stagnation — in attorney licensing, change is here. And some of the changes, such as the new pathway to licensure in Oregon based on supervised practice instead of a traditional bar exam, or the Nevada Plan in which most of the requirements can be satisfied during law school, should significantly decrease the costs of licensure and add flexibility for candidates with responsibilities beyond studying for a bar exam. These reforms are long overdue.

Thomson Reuters acquires Safe Sign Technologies — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

Thomson Reuters today (21 August) announced it has acquired Safe Sign Technologies (SST), a UK-based startup that is developing legal-specific large language models (LLMs) and as of just eight months ago was operating in stealth mode.

“7 reasons to get rid of the law degree” + “A better pathway to lawyer licensing” [Furlong]

On 04/28/2023, in 21st century, accreditation, assessment, business, Canada, career development, cost of getting a degree, Cost of legal services - including access, credentialing, ideas, law schools, learning ecosystem, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, skills, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

7 reasons to get rid of the law degree — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Requiring a law degree for bar admission imposes unfair burdens on new lawyers and blocks innovation in legal education. Here’s what we can do instead.

Excerpt:

Hey there, legal sector participant! Do you feel that law school is too expensive? That law students graduate too heavily in debt and deeply stressed? That legal education seems impossible to reform? That the whole lawyer development and bar admission system in general is an enormous hot mess?

If so, you’re like thousands of others who’ve grown massively frustrated with the profession’s broken-down approach to developing new lawyers. But I’m here with some good news! There’s a simple and straightforward path to resolving these and many other problems with legal education and bar admission.

We start by getting rid of the law degree.

Now, hold on, let me be clear — I don’t mean kill the law degree itself. That would be crazy.

No, I mean, let’s get rid of the law degree as a mandatory element of the lawyer licensing process. Law schools should continue to offer whatever sort of degree programs they like — but legal regulators and bar admission authorities should no longer require everybody who wants to be a lawyer to get one.

From DSC:
I need to think on this further, but Jordan could be onto something here…

A better pathway to lawyer licensing — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
No law degree; a single knowledge exam; training in legal, business and professional skills; and a term of supervised practice. This is how we do it.

Excerpt:

Previously here at Substack, I provided a pretty comprehensive takedown of the law degree requirement for lawyer licensing. It generated a ton of fascinating and gratifying feedback, here and especially at LinkedIn, with a few objections but mostly a lot of support.

Of course, it’s easy to criticize legal education — fun, too — but look, most people in the legal profession already know all the problems with the law degree, and complaining about it is kind of a vacuous pastime. What I’m really interested in here is a bigger and more important question: How does — how should — someone become a lawyer?

Building a bridge to justice from the other side [Furlong]

On 03/31/2023, in Access to Justice (A2J), Canada, career development, Cost of legal services - including access, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, society, sociology, United States, by Daniel Christian

Building a bridge to justice from the other side — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Our professional-centric approach to resolving unmet legal needs hasn’t worked. Maybe it’s time we empowered the people who are already there.

Excerpts:

Given all that, I think it’s time we tried a demand-side approach instead — one that doesn’t require us to licence and deploy more legal services professionals, but instead focuses on and empowers those who are already dealing with people’s unmet and unrecognized legal needs.
…
So if we’re not looking for legal professionals, who are we looking for? If we take a user-centred, needs-focused approach, we’ll find ourselves looking for someone who’s familiar to and trusted by the vulnerable people with unmet legal needs, who’s walked with them, earned their confidence over time — “someone who looks like them, understands their situation, and are trusted members of their community.”

These individuals are already present in the lives of people with unmet legal needs. They’re community activists, librarians, hospital employees, teachers, social workers, homeless advocates, therapists, food bank employees, members of a religious order, financial counsellors, mental health clinic staffers, juvenile case workers, and many others.

Revolutionising Criminal Law with AI [Richman]

On 01/28/2023, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, Cost of legal services - including access, emerging technologies, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, society, tools, UK, vendors, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Revolutionising Criminal Law with AI — from seotraininglondon.org by Danny Richman
This case study outlines how I helped a law firm use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to streamline new client enquiries, resulting in significant savings of time and money.

Excerpt:

However, this process took up a lot of time and resources, meaning that highly qualified, well-paid individuals had to dedicate their time and energy to processing email enquiries instead of working on client cases.

That’s why I developed an app for Stuart Miller built on OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology. This app receives the content of the client’s email and makes the same determination as the human team of lawyers. It then immediately alerts the relevant lawyer to any enquiries flagged as high-priority, high-value cases. The entire process is automated requiring no human interaction.

From DSC:
Hmmm…something to keep on the radar.

Also relevant/see:

Here’s Why Lawyers Are Paying Attention to ChatGPT — from legallydisrupted.com by Zach Abramowitz
AI Will Continue to Be a Talking Point Throughout the Year

Excerpts:

Ready to get disrupted? Me neither, but let’s take the plunge.

ChatGPT is all anyone in legal wants to talk about right now, and for good reason.
…
Smash cut to yesterday, and this webinar focusing on ChatGPT is sold out and the sheer number of questions from the audience (which ranged from law students to in-house counsel and law firm partners) was more than 10x a normal webinar.

The point is that I’m not in a bubble this time. Everyone in legal is paying attention to ChatGPT, not just the legaltech nerds. This @#$% is going mainstream.

Seriously, #ChatGPT is going to change everything about how people gain access to legal information and guidance. Look at this. pic.twitter.com/BkxZlMxB9o

— Jordan Furlong (@jordan_law21) December 2, 2022

Speaking of technology and the law, also see:

Out today! Catch the latest episode of Talk Justice for a look at creative ways to connect people with legal professionals and resources– by bus, kiosks and even a kayak! https://t.co/wApNohRJw3

— Legal Services Corp. (@LSCtweets) November 29, 2022

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

If this is where telehealth is at in 2022, what might telelegal look like in a few years? [Christian]

On 12/01/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Access to Justice (A2J), change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, Cost of legal services - including access, Daniel S. Christian, innovation, internet, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, multimedia, new business models, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, trends, United States, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, Web3, by Daniel Christian

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 Artificial Lawyer Guide to Legal Tech – Autumn 2022 [artificiallawyer.com]

On 09/15/2022, in Access to Justice (A2J), Cost of legal services - including access, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, UK, by Daniel Christian

The Artificial Lawyer Guide to Legal Tech – Autumn 2022 — from artificiallawyer.com

Excerpt:

It’s been a wild ride the last couple of years, but what should we be looking out for as we move into the Autumn of 2022? Here are some thoughts from Artificial Lawyer.

ABA cleans up accreditation rules surrounding distance education for law schools — from highereddive.com by Lilah Burke

Dive Brief (emphasis DSC):

Recent amendments to American Bar Association accreditation standards addressed definitions of distance education, but Leo Martinez, immediate past chair of the ABA Council for the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, says the resolution won’t change much for law schools without waivers allowing them to conduct extra distance education.
The changes, made at the ABA’s annual meeting in August, were meant to clarify language in accreditation standards.
The ABA, which serves as the accreditor for 199 law schools and programs, requires waivers for institutions that want to offer more than one-third of J.D. program credits online. But it remains interested in reviewing distance education.

From DSC:
For an industry in the 21st century whose main accreditation/governance body for law schools still won’t let more online learning occur without waivers…

…how can our nation expect future lawyers and law firms to be effective in an increasingly tech-enabled world?

Here’s the pace of change in the world today:

The exponential pace of change is like warp speed for the U.S.S. Enterprise (Star Trek) or the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon (Star Wars).

Yet here’s the pace that the American Bar Association (@ABAesq) has been taking — and continues to take — at least in the area of supporting online-based learning as well as in developing sandboxes/new methods of improving access to justice (#A2J):

.

It’s high time the ABA did their research re: online-based learning and majorly picked up their pace. Undergraduate online-based education started back in the late 1990’s for crying out loud! (And the number of students taking one or more of their courses completely online has been increasing ever since that time.)

Plus, many law school students are adults who have jobs as well as families. They often don’t have the time nor the money to travel to campuses in order to take part in something that they could have easily accomplished online.

It’s also appropriate to recognize here that the current learning ecosystems out there continue to move more towards hybrid/blended learning models as well as a hyflex model.

The ABA is not serving law school students nor our citizenry well at all in this regard.

America’s Lawyerless Courts [Carpenter, Shanahan, Steinberg, & Mark]

On 07/27/2022, in Access to Justice (A2J), Cost of legal services - including access, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, society, sociology, telelegal, United States, by Daniel Christian

America’s Lawyerless Courts — from americanbar.org by Anna E. Carpenter, Colleen F. Shanahan, Jessica K. Steinberg, and Alyx Mark

Excerpt:

Our research reveals an unavoidable truth: The civil justice system is broken in state civil courts. There is a massive disconnect between what courts were designed to do—solve legal disputes through lawyer-driven, adversarial litigation—and what these courts are asked to do today—help people without lawyers navigate complex social, economic and interpersonal challenges, most of which are deeply tied to structural inequality. As one judge we observed told a courtroom full of litigants, “This courtroom is like the emergency room.”

Five key findings from our work highlight the scope and nature of the crisis: State civil courts are primarily lawyerless, traditional adversary litigation has largely disappeared, the judicial role is not working, the law is not developing, and people’s court experiences amplify inequality and human suffering.

I think we’ve run out of time to effectively practice law in the United States of America [Christian]

On 07/25/2022, in 21st century, accreditation, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Augmented Reality (AR), Blockchain, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, Cost of legal services - including access, credentialing, cryptocurrencies, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, distance education, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, future, higher education, Holographic comms, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, Hyflex learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, law schools, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Metaverse, Michigan, Mixed Reality (MR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, organizational change, pace of change, platforms, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, reinvent, robotics, skills, society, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, technology (general), telelegal, trends, Uncategorized, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, Web3, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Given:

the accelerating pace of change that’s been occurring over the last decade or more
the current setup of the legal field within the U.S. — and who can practice law
the number of emerging technologies now on the landscapes out there

…I think we’ve run out of time to effectively practice law in the U.S. — at least in terms of dealing with emerging technologies. Consider the following items/reflections.

Inside one of the nation’s few hybrid J.D. programs — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
Shannon Gardner, Syracuse law school’s associate dean for online education, talks about the program’s inaugural graduates and how it has evolved.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

In May, Syracuse University’s law school graduated its first class of students earning a Juris Doctor degree through a hybrid program, called JDinteractive, or JDi. The 45 class members were part of almost 200 Syracuse students who received a J.D. this year, according to a university announcement.

The private nonprofit, located in upstate New York, won approval from the American Bar Association in 2018 to offer the three-year hybrid program.

The ABA strictly limits distance education, requiring a waiver for colleges that wish to offer more than one-third of their credits online. To date, the ABA has only approved distance education J.D. programs at about a dozen schools, including Syracuse.

Many folks realize this is the future of legal education — not that it will replace traditional programs. It is one route to pursue a legal education that is here to stay. I did not see it as pressure, and I think, by all accounts, we have definitely proven that it is and can be a success.

Shannon Gardner, associate dean for online education

From DSC:
It was March 2018. I just started working as a Director of Instructional Services at a law school. I had been involved with online-based learning since 2001.

I was absolutely shocked at how far behind law schools were in terms of offering 100% online-based programs. I was dismayed to find out that 20+ years after such undergraduate programs were made available — and whose effectiveness had been proven time and again — that there were no 100%-online based Juris Doctor (JD) programs in the U.S. (The JD degree is what you have to have to practice law in the U.S. Some folks go on to take further courses after obtaining that degree — that’s when Masters of Law programs like LLM programs kick in.)

Why was this I asked? Much of the answer lies with the extremely tight control that is exercised by the American Bar Association (ABA). They essentially lay down the rules for how much of a law student’s training can be online (normally not more than a third of one’s credit hours, by the way).

Did I say it’s 2022? And let me say the name of that organization again — the American Bar Association (ABA).

Graphic by Daniel S. Christian

Not to scare you (too much), but this is the organization that is supposed to be in charge of developing lawyers who are already having to deal with issues and legal concerns arising from the following technologies:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) — Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), algorithms, bots, and the like
The Internet of Things (IoT) and/or the Internet of Everything (IoE)
Extended Reality (XR) — Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR)
Holographic communications
Big data
High-end robotics
The Metaverse
Cryptocurrencies
NFTs
Web3
Blockchain
…and the like

I don’t think there’s enough time for the ABA — and then law schools — to reinvent themselves. We no longer have that luxury. (And most existing/practicing lawyers don’t have the time to get up the steep learning curves involved here — in addition to their current responsibilities.)

The other option is to use teams of specialists, That’s our best hope. If the use of what’s called nonlawyers* doesn’t increase greatly, the U.S. has little hope of dealing with legal matters that are already arising from such emerging technologies.

So let’s hope the legal field catches up with the pace of change that’s been accelerating for years now. If not, we’re in trouble.

* Nonlawyers — not a very complimentary term…
I hope they come up with something else.
Some use the term Paralegals.
I’m sure there are other terms as well.

From DSC:
There is hope though. As Gabe Teninbaum just posted the resource below (out on Twitter). I just think the lack of responsiveness from the ABA has caught up with us. We’ve run out of time for doing “business as usual.”

Law students want more distance education classes, according to ABA findings — from abajournal.com by Stephanie Francis Ward

Excerpt:

A recent survey of 1,394 students in their third year of law school found that 68.65% wanted the ability to earn more distance education credits than what their schools offered.

Looking Forward and Backward at Legal Technology – 2021 and 2022 [Kennedy, Mighell, & Foster]

On 01/18/2022, in Cost of legal services - including access, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, Michigan, tools, trends, by Daniel Christian

Looking Forward and Backward at Legal Technology – 2021 and 2022 — from legaltechmonitor.com by Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell, Debbie Foster

Excerpt:

Tom Mighell and I, with help from Debbie Foster, continued our annual tradition of looking backward and forward at #legaltech at the end/beginning of each year on our podcast. Of course, we do that in our own way.

Here are the two episodes of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast:

Pardon the Interruption: 2021 Edition
Dennis & Tom’s 2022 Tech Resolutions

Also see:

#363: What Is the Future of Legal Tech?, with Zack Glaser — from legaltalknetwork.com

Also see:

NLADA Welcomes DOJ’s Advice to Chief Justices to Ensure Fair Process to Keep Families in Their Homes [nlada.org]

On 06/28/2021, in Access to Justice (A2J), Cost of legal services - including access, law schools, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, policy, society, sociology, United States, by Daniel Christian

NLADA Welcomes DOJ’s Advice to Chief Justices to Ensure Fair Process to Keep Families in Their Homes — from nlada.org

Excerpts:

NLADA welcomes the Associate Attorney General’s letter urging Chief Justices and State Court Administrators to consider eviction diversion strategies that can help families avoid the disruption and damage that evictions cause. Together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to extend the eviction moratorium and the additional steps announced by the White House, this letter is an important tool in a package of federal resources to help our country and courts navigate this crisis.

The housing crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, disproportionally affects women and communities of color. More than 80 percent of people facing eviction are Black. We know that when families have access to counsel provided by civil legal aid attorneys, approximately 80 percent of families stay in their homes, and that rates of homelessness have had a direct correlation to coronavirus rates. These numbers represent men, women and children who are integral to communities across the country, and we are pleased by today’s actions to help families and communities struggling in our nation.

AI and the Future of Lawyering & Law Firms – Northwestern Law and Technology Initiative — from youtube.com by Northwestern Law & Technology Initiative as moderated by Dan Linna; with thanks to Gabe Teninbaum for this resource.

Artificial Intelligence is transforming the future of work. AI has the potential to automate and augment many tasks. This transformation is leading to the creation of new roles and jobs to be done. How will AI impact the work of lawyers, legal professionals, and law firms? Our panelists will discuss the future of work, the work of lawyers and structure of law firms, and current uses of AI for legal services today.

Speakers:

Hyejin Youn, Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Mari Sako, Professor of Management Studies, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Stephen Poor, Partner and chair emeritus, Seyfarth

Moderator:

Daniel W. Linna Jr., Senior Lecturer & Director of Law and Technology Initiatives, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law & McCormick School of Engineering

Learning Ecosystems

Here are a variety of legaltech related items — showing change in the legal industry

The future of legal services + other items re: legaltech

“7 reasons to get rid of the law degree” + “A better pathway to lawyer licensing” [Furlong]

Building a bridge to justice from the other side [Furlong]

Revolutionising Criminal Law with AI [Richman]

Seriously, #ChatGPT is going to change everything about how people gain access to legal information and guidance. Look at this. [Furlong]

If this is where telehealth is at in 2022, what might telelegal look like in a few years? [Christian]

The Artificial Lawyer Guide to Legal Tech – Autumn 2022 [artificiallawyer.com]

In the USA, the perspectives of the ABA re: online-based learning — and their take on the pace of change — are downright worrisome. [Christian]

America’s Lawyerless Courts [Carpenter, Shanahan, Steinberg, & Mark]

I think we’ve run out of time to effectively practice law in the United States of America [Christian]

Graphic by Daniel S. Christian

Looking Forward and Backward at Legal Technology – 2021 and 2022 [Kennedy, Mighell, & Foster]

NLADA Welcomes DOJ’s Advice to Chief Justices to Ensure Fair Process to Keep Families in Their Homes [nlada.org]

AI and the Future of Lawyering & Law Firms – Northwestern Law and Technology Initiative [Linna]

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