Legal operations

“Leading your law firm into the Gen AI Era” [Furlong] + other legaltech-related items

On 08/17/2023, in 21st century, business, Canada, corporate / business world, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, strategy, UK, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Legal Innovators Assemble! Great Speakers for London in November — from artificiallawyer.com

The Legal Innovators UK conference will take place on 8 + 9 November, and we are already assembling a fantastic group of speakers from across the legal innovation ecosystem.

The two-day event comes at a time of potentially massive change for the legal market and we will be bringing you engaging panels and presentations where leading experts really dig into the issues of the day, from generative AI, to the evolution of ALSPs, to law firm innovation teams in this new era for legal tech, to how empowered legal ops groups and pioneering GCs are taking inhouse teams in new directions.

Virtual law firm Scale absorbs Texas IP firm in first acquisition — from reuters.com by Sara Merken

Aug 1 (Reuters) – Virtual law firm Scale said [on 8/1/23] that it has brought on small Texas intellectual property firm Creedon in the first of what it hopes may be a series of acquisitions.

James Creedon and two other attorneys from his firm have joined Scale, a Silicon Valley-founded law firm where lawyers work entirely remotely.

Scale, which debuted in 2020, is among so-called “distributed” or virtual firms that use technology to operate without physical offices and embrace a non-traditional law firm business model.

The lawyers are leaning into AI — from alexofftherecord.com by Alex Su
Despite all the gloom and doom, corporate legal and law firms are both embracing generative AI much more quickly than previous technologies

When I first heard law firms announcing that they were adopting AI, I was skeptical. Anyone can announce a partnership or selection/piloting of an AI vendor. It’s good PR, and doesn’t mean that the firm has truly embraced AI. But when they create their own GPT-powered tool—that feels different. Setting aside whether it’s a good idea to build your own vs. buy, it certainly feels like a real investment, especially since the firms are dedicating significant internal resources to it.

Today I’ll discuss why generative AI is diffusing across law firms much more quickly than expected.

Leading your law firm into the Gen AI Era — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Lawyers are embracing its promise. Clients want to reap its rewards. Here are three ways your firm can respond to the immense disruption and extraordinary opportunity of Generative AI.

Move fast to implement project and client pricing.
Prepare to hire fewer associates and to rethink partnership.
Establish a fresh approach to developing future law firm leaders.

…
Above resource via BrainyActs — who mentioned that the QR code takes you to this survey. Just 3 simple questions.

Q1: Agree/Disagree: Artificial Intelligence (AI) won’t replace lawyers anytime soon. Lawyers who use AI will replace lawyers who do not use AI.

Q2: Agree/Disagree: Non-lawyers should be allowed to have an ownership interest in a law firm.

Q3 Agree/Disagree: Trained non-lawyers should be allowed to advocate for parties in lower courts.

Generative AI In The Law: Where Could This All Be Headed? — from abovethelaw.com
Findings from a new Wolters Kluwer / Above the Law survey.

To get a sense of what the legal industry predicts, Above the Law and Wolters Kluwer fielded a survey of 275 professionals from March to mid-April 2023. We asked about AI’s potential effects in varied areas of the legal industry: Will it differentiate successful firms? Which practice areas could be affected the most? Could even high-level work be transformed?

Citing ‘political challenges’ within the ABA, its Center for Innovation cancelled an op-ed advocating for regulatory reform. [Ambrogi & Co.]

On 08/05/2023, in innovation, law schools, leadership, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, United States, by Daniel Christian

Citing ‘political challenges’ within the ABA, its Center for Innovation cancelled an op-ed advocating for regulatory reform. I have the op-ed and full details of what happened. This comes as the ABA annual meeting convenes in Denver. @ABAesq #ABAAnnual https://t.co/xLFtTUIbqj pic.twitter.com/y1tqAaMvMj

— Bob Ambrogi (@bobambrogi) August 3, 2023

Also relevant/see:

Chase Hertel

@ABAesq is supposed to be the great facilitator of debate and discourse to steer the profession. To create an environment that facilitates the censorship of varying opinions is the opposite of what the organization is charged with by its members.

I was once part of the Center’s staff. I know many current ABA staff members personally. This is a situation that forces these servants of the profession to defend their existence and livelihoods because they are encouraging debate. I will defend my friends. Try me.

Kelli Proia

This is why I won’t join @ABAesq

. A Center for Innovation that can’t honestly discuss innovation in a profession that desperately needs it. Disgusting. And the truth is innovation is good for attys. Protecting a 120yo biz model is not good for lawyers or the public.

Jordan Furlong

This is equal parts disappointing and infuriating. The ABA is cutting the legs out from under its one truly forward-looking, people-focussed initiative. It’s a shameful sellout to the rising protectionist wave in the legal profession, and history will judge it accordingly.

Damien Riehl (@damienriehl)

If “Self-Regulation” has any meaning, the self-regulatory body should permit robust dialogue.

Dialogue ? Improvements

Censorship ? Moribund Stasis

@ABAesq
, please permit discussion about how technology/regulation could improve the public interest.

The Era of the Legal Technologist Has Arrived [jdsupra.com]

On 08/05/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, career development, change, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, technology (general), workplace, by Daniel Christian

Antitrust and Global Investigations: The Era of the Legal Technologist Has Arrived — from jdsupra.com

The marriage of technology expertise with the license to practice law is in high demand and essential to the efficient handling of large-scale and complex antitrust and white-collar investigations and litigation. This is no longer a discretionary skill set designed to benefit those who respond to ESI requests, but rather a necessary proficiency needed to navigate the eDiscovery landscape.

“Disconnect grows between law firm service and client expectation” [Hill] + other legaltech-related items

On 07/29/2023, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, entrepreneurship, expectations, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Disconnect grows between law firm service and client expectation, survey finds — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

Over 90% of in-house counsel and three quarters of private practice lawyers said that the legal sector is slow to embrace data, technology and new delivery models – a significant increase on the 64% who felt the same way last year.

In terms of the disconnect, 96% of in-house counsel agreed with the statement that what law firms provide is out of kilter with what clients expect. The majority (78%) of private practice lawyers also largely agreed.

ndaOK Unleashes Next-Level Efficiency in Legal Tech with GPT-4 Powered NDA Review — from legaldive.com by Christina Pennell
AI-driven legal tool promises to reduce NDA review times by over 90%

AUSTIN, Tex. — ndaOK, an innovator in AI-powered legal technology, today announces the launch of its next-generation non-disclosure agreement (NDA) review system. This advanced solution leverages OpenAI’s GPT-4 large multimodal model, a first among legal technology companies, offering unprecedented performance and efficiency in reviewing NDAs.

Capitalizing on the computational power and versatility of GPT-4, ndaOK accurately reviews and edits documents based on a user’s pre-determined requirements without the need for human assistance or input. This unique capability makes ndaOK faster and easier to deploy than any other AI-based contract review solution.

And here are two relevant postings that I missed a while back:

ANALYSIS: Meet the Law Schools Leading the Way in Innovation — from news.bloomberglaw.com by Francis Boustany

As law firms, businesses, and their clients adapt to the new realities of the legal and business worlds, law schools must prepare students in new ways—beyond traditional law school curricula and teaching methods—to give students an experience and education that better prepares them for their post-graduation careers.

Bloomberg Law launched its inaugural Law School Innovation Program as a means of promoting, acknowledging, and connecting the law schools that are innovating in the legal education space and providing their students with new ways of learning the law.

In this reimagined version of law school, students are taught to have ‘an entrepreneur’s mind’ — from fastcompany.com by Grace Buono
The University of Richmond program asks students not only to think like lawyers, but as entrepreneurs.

The demand for good lawyers is nothing new and, each year, law schools churn out graduates equipped with virtually the same skills as decades of law students before them. But one school is trying to change that.

The University of Richmond’s Legal Business Design Hub has students focus on the strategy, design, and operations of legal services in addition to their regular coursework, applying what the program calls “an entrepreneur’s mind” to their studies.

“It’s time for a Legal Moonshot” [Furlong] + other legal tech related items

On 07/24/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, strategy, United States, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, by Daniel Christian

It’s time for a Legal Moonshot — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
All the challenges facing the legal sector today are systemic and entrenched. To solve them, we have to make a radical commitment to accomplish what we once believed impossible.

Here are three Legal Moonshots that the legal profession could take the lead on.

Establish universal access to justice.
Someday, this will be reality. Everyone will know their basic legal rights and can easily exercise them. Legal remedies will be free or extremely low-cost. Courts will be integrated into communities with simple entry and guided assistance, delivering clear and swift justice. AI-driven online services will render business agreements and settle everyday disputes. Everyone will have a last will and testament. Nobody will have to represent themselves. Justice will be real. That is all possible, and lawyers can lead the way there. It’s our Holy Grail. Let’s make it actually happen.
Eliminate violence against women.
Root out public and private corruption.

The Tech Stack Law Firms and Legal Professionals Need to Succeed (Adriana Linares – LawTech Partners) — from tlpodcast.com with Adriana Linares

Adriana explains the differences between case management software, document management platforms, and practice management software. She also touches on the importance of document assembly software and how to maximize the use of data captured during the various stages of a legal matter. She closes out the discussion explaining why many in legal are missing out when they don’t use CRMs–Client and Customer Relationship Management platforms.

How To Use AI in Your Firm (with examples!) — a 1.5 hour webinar recording from clio.com; via The Brainyacts
You know your firm could benefit from AI—now, see how.

In this webinar recording you’ll learn about:

Practical use cases for AI in law firms—from legal research to practice area-specific prompts.
Popular AI tools and how to choose ones that work with your firm’s budget and goals.
The limitations, risks, and ethical considerations of AI for legal professionals.

Virtual Law Firms: Reinventing The Legal Profession With Technology — from forbes.com by Mohaimina Haque

Given these intrinsic advantages, it should come as no surprise that virtual law firms are on the rise. The shutdown and disruptions caused by Covid have provided a further impetus to this trend. For example, it would take an attorney the whole day to drive to the courthouse, park, wait for the judge to call their case, argue the matter, then drive back to the office. Now the same matter can be handled through Zoom and court filings can be filed online. However, after these measures were instituted, I’ve seen how the opposition to such virtual measures has eroded as the real savings in time and money to all parties concerned have become very clear.

Legal Soft Revolutionizes Legal Training with AI-Powered Platform — from globenewswire.com

LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Legal Soft, a pioneering company in legal technology, is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize the development of training materials for law firms. Committed to advancing legal education and professional development, Legal Soft’s innovative AI-driven platform is transforming the training landscape for legal professionals.

AI Legal Case Analysis: The Next Frontier in Legal Technology — from dtgreviews.com

AI legal case analysis refers to the use of AI algorithms to analyze legal cases, identify patterns, predict outcomes, and provide insights that can aid in legal decision-making. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way lawyers approach case strategy, conduct legal research, and even interact with clients.

One of the most significant benefits of AI legal case analysis is its ability to process vast amounts of data quickly and accurately. Traditional legal research is a time-consuming process that involves sifting through hundreds, if not thousands, of cases to find relevant precedents. AI can automate this process, analyzing thousands of cases in a fraction of the time it would take a human. This not only saves time but also increases the accuracy of the research reducing the risk of human error.
…
Moreover, AI can identify patterns and trends in case law that might be overlooked human researchers. For instance, AI can analyze the decisions of a particular judge or court to determine how they typically rule on certain issues. This information can be invaluable in formulating a case strategy or predicting the outcome of a case.

From DSC:
I’m not sure how I feel about this yet…but I have to admit that I’m very tentative and a bit suspect at this point.

‘Future lawyers need to be versatile and willing to innovate’ [legalcheek.com] + other legaltech related items

On 07/22/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, tools, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

‘Future lawyers need to be versatile and willing to innovate’ — from legalcheek.com

Lawyers’ jobs will be different and new roles have and will continue to emerge, such as the legal technologist. I believe further momentum will come with the growth of future lawyers.

I would like to see AI support the people via perhaps a chatbot that can offer reliable and accurate guidance to support individuals and services to help mitigate the pain relating to basic but fundamental legal matters to fill this void. Issues such as homelessness, debt, asylum, slavery etc. would be examples of such areas to prioritise.

To Future-Proof Their Firms, Attorneys Must Embrace AI — from forbes.com by Daniel Farrar

Law firms that want to use AI-powered legal tech should first adopt the mindset that AI is there to supplement their attorneys’ roles, not replace those roles. They must come to view AI-driven legal tech as a means to complete their jobs more efficiently and better address their clients’ needs.

Generative AI and the future of the legal profession: LexisNexis UK report canvases in-house and law firm views — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

LexisNexis Legal & Professional (on 13 July) released a new report entitled “Generative AI and the future of the legal profession”, which highlights the at times surprising expectations of in-house counsel and law firms when it comes to generative AI adoption.

Forty nine percent of in-house counsel expect their law firms to be using generative AI in the next 12 months, including 11% who say they expect firms to be already using the technology. Only 8% didn’t want AI used on their work. In contrast, 24% of firms believe their clients would not want them to use AI.

The survey, conducted among 1,175 UK legal professionals from May to June 2023, finds 87% of legal professionals are aware of generative AI tools and of that group, 95% agree these tools will have an impact on the practice of law (38% said it will have a significant impact,11% said it will be transformative and 46% thought it would have “some impact”).

5 Considerations Before Starting With New Legal Tech — from jdsupra.com

Suddenly the most urgent in-house legal conversations centered on which new technology to install next. And while I’m glad to see more legal departments shift their mindsets, I still preach caution. Budgets are tight, change is difficult and selecting the right tool at the wrong moment can prove counterproductive.

So before starting the search for innovative or new legal tech, it’s always best to assess your readiness with a few quick criteria.

The Future of Law: Embracing AI in the Legal Profession [Kubasiak]

On 07/14/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), Canada, intelligent systems, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, society, United States, by Daniel Christian

The Future of Law: Embracing AI in the Legal Profession — from ethicalailawinstitute.com by Trent Kubasiak

Excerpt:

Improving Access to Justice:
One significant advantage of AI in the legal profession is its potential to improve access to justice. The high costs associated with legal services have traditionally created barriers for individuals with limited financial means. However, AI-powered solutions can help bridge this gap by providing affordable and accessible legal information and guidance. Virtual legal assistants and chatbots can assist individuals with legal queries, empowering them to navigate legal processes more effectively and make informed decisions. By leveraging AI, the legal profession can become more inclusive and ensure that legal services are available to a broader segment of society.

Also relevant/see:

Law Unlimited: Welcome to the re-envisioned legal profession — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Will Generative AI destroy law firms? Only if lawyers are too fixed in their ways to see the possibilities that lie beyond who we’ve always been and what we’ve always done.

Excerpt:

The immediate impact of Gen AI on legal services will be to introduce unprecedented efficiency to the production of countless legal documents and processes. For most of the last century, lawyers have personally performed this work, spending and billing hours or parts of hours to accomplish each task. Law firms have used this production method to provide on-the-job training for inexperienced lawyers and have leveraged those hours to generate profits for their partners. But LLMs can now do the same work in seconds, as effectively as lawyers can today and much better in the near future. This is, among other things, a very serious problem for law firms’ business models and talent development practices, not to mention a real challenge to lawyer education and training and potentially a revolution in access to justice.

The legal realm holds the second highest potential for automation; plus other legaltech-related items

On 07/06/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, future, game-changing environment, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Metaverse, tools, using teams, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Law Firms Are Recruiting More AI Experts as Clients Demand ‘More for Less’ — from bloomberg.com by Irina Anghel
Data scientists, software engineers among roles being sought | Legal services seen as vulnerable to ChatGPT-type software

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Chatbots, data scientists, software engineers. As clients demand more for less, law firms are hiring growing numbers of staff who’ve studied technology not tort law to try and stand out from their rivals.

Law firms are advertising for experts in artificial intelligence “more than ever before,” says Chris Tart-Roberts, head of the legal technology practice at Macfarlanes, describing a trend he says began about six months ago.

.

AI Will Threaten Law Firm Jobs, But Innovators Will Thrive — from law.com

Excerpts:

What You Need to Know

Law firm leaders and consultants are unsure of how AI use will ultimately impact the legal workforce.
Consults are advising law firms and attorneys alike to adapt to the use of generative AI, viewing this as an opportunity for attorneys to learn new skills and law firms to take a look at their business models.

Split between foreseeing job cuts and opportunities to introduce new skills and additional efficiencies into the office, firm leaders and consultants remain uncertain about the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal workforce.

However, one thing is certain: law firms and attorneys need to adapt and learn how to integrate this new technology in their business models, according to consultants.

AI Lawyer — A personal AI lawyer at your fingertips — from ailawyer.pro

From DSC:
I hope that we will see a lot more of this kind of thing!
I’m counting on it.
.

Revolutionize Your Legal Education with Law School AI — from law-school-ai.vercel.app
Your Ultimate Study Partner

Are you overwhelmed by countless cases, complex legal concepts, and endless readings? Law School AI is here to help. Our cutting-edge AI chatbot is designed to provide law students with an accessible, efficient, and engaging way to learn the law. Our chatbot simplifies complex legal topics, delivers personalized study guidance, and answers your questions in real-time – making your law school journey a whole lot easier.

Job title of the future: metaverse lawyer — from technologyreview.com by Amanda Smith
Madaline Zannes’s virtual offices come with breakout rooms, an art gallery… and a bar.
.

Excerpt:

Lot #651 on Somnium Space belongs to Zannes Law, a Toronto-based law firm. In this seven-level metaverse office, principal lawyer Madaline Zannes conducts private consultations with clients, meets people wandering in with legal questions, hosts conferences, and gives guest lectures. Zannes says that her metaverse office allows for a more immersive, imaginative client experience. She hired a custom metaverse builder to create the space from scratch—with breakout rooms, presentation stages, offices to rent, an art gallery, and a rooftop bar.

A Literal Generative AI Discussion: How AI Could Reshape Law — from geeklawblog.com by Greg Lambert

Excerpt:

Greg spoke with an AI guest named Justis for this episode. Justis, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, was able to have a natural conversation with Greg and provide insightful perspectives on the use of generative AI in the legal industry, specifically in law firms.

In the first part of their discussion, Justis gave an overview of the legal industry’s interest in and uncertainty around adopting generative AI. While many law firm leaders recognize its potential, some are unsure of how it fits into legal work or worry about risks. Justis pointed to examples of firms exploring AI and said letting lawyers experiment with the tools could help identify use cases.

Robots aren’t representing us in court but here are 7 legal tech startups transforming the legal system — from tech.eu by Cate Lawrence
Legal tech startups are stepping up to the bar, using tech such as AI, teleoperations, and apps to bring justice to more people than ever before. This increases efficiency, reduces delays, and lowers costs, expanding legal access.

Putting Humans First: Solving Real-Life Problems With Legal Innovation — from abovethelaw.com by Olga Mack
Placing the end-user at the heart of the process allows innovators to identify pain points and create solutions that directly address the unique needs and challenges individuals and businesses face.

The Rumors Were True: Thomson Reuters Acquires Casetext for $650M Cash [Ambrogi]

On 06/27/2023, in Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

The Rumors Were True: Thomson Reuters Acquires Casetext for $650M Cash — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

Excerpt:

“The proposed transaction will complement Thomson Reuters existing AI roadmap and builds on its recent initiatives, including a commitment to invest more than $100 million annually on AI capabilities, the development of new generative AI experiences across its product suite, as well as a new plugin with Microsoft and Microsoft 365 Copilot for legal professionals,” TR’s announcement said.

From DSC:
I post this to show how AI continues to make inroads into the legal realm — and how serious vendors are about it. I believe AI-enabled applications will eventually increase access to justice for the citizens of the United States of America.

Below is an addendum on 6/28/23 that further illustrates how serious vendors are about AI:

Databricks picks up MosaicML, an OpenAI competitor, for $1.3B — from techcrunch.com by Ingrid Lunden

Excerpt:

Databricks announced it will pay $1.3 billion to acquire MosaicML, an open source startup with neural networks expertise that has built a platform for organizations to train large language models and deploy generative AI tools based on them.

“AI-driven Legal Apprenticeships” [Kubicki] plus other AI & legaltech related postings

On 06/26/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Alternatives, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, ideas, instructional design, IT in HE, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, United States, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

AI-driven Legal Apprenticeships — from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki

Excerpts:

My hypothesis and research suggest that as bar associations and the ABA begin to recognize the on-going systemic issues of high-cost legal education, growing legal deserts (where no lawyer serves a given population), on-going and pervasive access to justice issues, and a public that is already weary of the legal system – alternative options that are already in play might become more supported.

What might that look like?

The combination of AI-assisted education with traditional legal apprenticeships has the potential to create a rich, flexible, and engaging learning environment. Here are three scenarios that might illustrate what such a combination could look like:

- Scenario One – Personalized Curriculum Development
- Scenario Two – On-Demand Tutoring and Mentoring
- Scenario Three – AI-assisted Peer Networks and Collaborative Learning:

Why Companies Are Vastly Underprepared For The Risks Posed By AI — from forbes.com by
Accuracy, bias, security, culture, and trust are some of the risks involved

Excerpt:

We know that there are challenges – a threat to human jobs, the potential implications for cyber security and data theft, or perhaps even an existential threat to humanity as a whole. But we certainly don’t yet have a full understanding of all of the implications. In fact, a World Economic Forum report recently stated that organizations “may currently underappreciate AI-related risks,” with just four percent of leaders considering the risk level to be “significant.”

A survey carried out by analysts Baker McKenzie concluded that many C-level leaders are over-confident in their assessments of organizational preparedness in relation to AI. In particular, it exposed concerns about the potential implications of biased data when used to make HR decisions.

AI & lawyer training: How law firms can embrace hybrid learning & development — thomsonreuters.com
A big part of law firms’ successful adaptation to the increased use of ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI, may depend upon how firmly they embrace online learning & development tools designed for hybrid work environments

Excerpt:

As law firms move forward in using of advanced artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI, their success may hinge upon how they approach lawyer training and development and what tools they enlist for the process.

One of the tools that some law firms use to deliver a new, multi-modal learning environment is an online, video-based learning platform, Hotshot, that delivers more than 250 on-demand courses on corporate, litigation, and business skills.

Ian Nelson, co-founder of Hotshot, says he has seen a dramatic change in how law firms are approaching learning & development (L&D) in the decade or so that Hotshot has been active. He believes the biggest change is that 10 years ago, firms hadn’t yet embraced the need to focus on training and development.

From DSC:
Heads up law schools. Are you seeing/hearing this!?

Are we moving more towards a lifelong learning model within law schools?
If not, shouldn’t we be doing that?
Are LLM programs expanding quickly enough? Is more needed?

Legal tech and innovation: 3 ways AI supports the evolution of legal ops — from lexology.com

Excerpts:

Simplified legal spend analysis
Faster contract review
Streamlined document management

IAALS Releases National Framework for States to Create New Tier of Legal Professionals Who Can Offer More Affordable Legal Help [Montague]

On 06/16/2023, in Access to Justice (A2J), experimentation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, policy, society, by Daniel Christian

IAALS Releases National Framework for States to Create New Tier of Legal Professionals Who Can Offer More Affordable Legal Help — from iaals.du.edu by Kelsey Montague

Excerpt:

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announced today the release of its new report, Allied Legal Professionals: A National Framework for Program Growth. As part of IAALS’ Allied Legal Professionals project—which is generously supported by the Sturm Family Foundation—this report includes multiple research-informed recommendations to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals across states, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.

“To hire a lawyer, people either need considerable money or have an income low enough to qualify for the limited legal aid available. The problem is that the majority of people in the middle class don’t fit into either of those categories, making access to legal services incredibly difficult,” says IAALS Director of Special Projects Michael Houlberg. “Even if every lawyer took on pro bono clients, it wouldn’t come close to addressing the need. And IAALS’ research shows that people who need legal help are open to receiving it from qualified and authorized providers who are not lawyers.”

DSC: I couldn’t agree more with this posting from Dan Linna!!!

On 06/08/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), intelligent systems, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

We have a massive opportunity to transform law and legal services to better serve society. We MUST AUTOMATE the majority of what lawyers do today so that we can expand access to the law and justice for EVERYONE in the future.

We need to have REAL discussions about the impact of… https://t.co/1XdWoe7KYz

— Daniel W. Linna Jr. (@DanLinna) June 8, 2023

From DSC:
I put the following comment on Dan’s posting:

I couldn’t agree more Dan. Millions of people could benefit from the considered, careful research of — and eventual application of — technologies to significantly improve/impact access to justice (#A2J).

Also see:

Generative AI could radically alter the practice of law — from The Economist
Even if it doesn’t replace lawyers en masse

Excerpts:

According to a recent report from Goldman Sachs, a bank, 44% of legal tasks could be performed by AI, more than in any occupation surveyed except for clerical and administrative support. Lawyers spend an awful lot of time scrutinising tedious documents—the sort of thing that AI has already demonstrated it can do well. Lawyers use AI for a variety of tasks, including due diligence, research and data analytics. These applications have largely relied on “extractive” AI, which, as the name suggests, extracts information from a text, answering specific questions about its contents.

Ultimately this will be good news for clients. “People who go to lawyers don’t want lawyers: they want resolutions to their problems or the avoidance of problems altogether,” explains Mr Susskind. If AI can provide those outcomes then people will use AI. Many people already use software to do their taxes rather than rely on professionals; “Very few of them are complaining about the lack of social interaction with their tax advisers.”

Also see:

On @LawNextPodcast – NoellaSudbury, founder of @RasaLegal, on how technology can simplify criminal records expungement. https://t.co/3NAmLjLxqf pic.twitter.com/ge4pt1qgl2

— Bob Ambrogi (@bobambrogi) June 6, 2023

“The perils of consulting an Electric Monk” [Furlong] + other legaltech related items

On 06/02/2023, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, intelligent systems, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

The perils of consulting an Electric Monk — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Don’t blame ChatGPT for the infamous incident of the made-up cases. And don’t be too hard on the lawyer, either. We’re all susceptible to a machine that tells us exactly what we want to hear.

Excerpt:

But then the “ChatGPT Lawyer” story happened, and all hell broke loose on LawTwitter and LawLinkedIn, and I felt I needed to make three points, one of which involves an extra-terrestrial robot.

My first two points are pretty straightforward:

The tsunami of gleeful overreaction from lawyers on social media, urging bans on the use of ChatGPT and predicting prison time for the hapless practitioner, speaks not only to their fear and loathing of generative AI, but also to their desperate hope that it’s all really nothing but hype and won’t disturb their happy status quo. Good luck with that.
The condemnation and mockery of the lawyer himself, who made a bad mistake but who’s been buried by an utterly disproportionate avalanche of derision, speaks to the lack of compassion in this profession, whose members should pray that their worst day as a lawyer never makes it to the front page of The New York Times. There but for the grace of God.

Are you looking for evidence to support the side that’s hired you? Or are you looking for the truth? Choosing the first option has never been easier. It’s also never been more dangerous.

As referenced topic-wise by Jordan above, also see:

A lawyer used ChatGPT to prepare a court filing. It went horribly awry. — from cbsnews.com by Megan Cerullo

What I learned at CLOC 2023 — from alexofftherecord.com by Alex Su
This week I attended the premier legal operations conference. Here’s what I heard.

Excerpt:

Theme 1: Generative AI isn’t going anywhere
This was a huge theme throughout the conference. Whether it was vendors announcing GPT integrations, or panels discussing how to use AI, there was just an enormous amount of attention on generative AI. I’m certainly no stranger to all this hype, but I’d always wondered if it was all from my Silicon Valley bubble. It wasn’t.

What was driving all this interest in AI? Well, the ubiquity of ChatGPT. Everyone’s talking about it and trying to figure out how to incorporate it into the business. And not just in the U.S. It’s a worldwide trend. Word on the street is that it’s a CEO-level priority. Everywhere. So naturally it trickles down to the legal department.

We need to talk about ChatGPT — from mnbar.org by Damien Riehl

Excerpt:

How well do LLMs perform on legal tasks?

Personal experience and anecdotal evidence indicate that LLMs’ current state provides impressive output in various legal tasks. Specifically, they provide extraordinary results on the following:

Drafting counterarguments.
Exploring client fact inquiries (e.g., “How did you lose money?”).
Ideating voir dire questions (and rating responses).
Summarizing statutes.
Calculating works’ copyright expiration.
Drafting privacy playbooks.
Drafting motions to dismiss.
Responding to cease-and-desist letters.
Crafting decision trees.
Creating chronologies.
Drafting contracts.
Extracting key elements from depositions.

082 | Generating Voices — from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com

Excerpts:

Conventional Use Cases

Audio Document Reading:
Accessibility:
Training Materials:
Document Proofing:
Transcriptions:
Blog to Podcast:

Unconventional Use Cases

Voice Cloning for Client Interaction:
Multilingual Services:
AI-based Legal Information Hotline:
Real-Time Courtroom Assistance:
Engaging Jurors:
Storytelling for Case Understanding:

“Corporate legal departments see use cases for generative AI & ChatGPT, new report finds” + other legal/legaltech related items

On 05/27/2023, in bots, Canada, corporate / business world, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, society, trends, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Corporate legal departments see use cases for generative AI & ChatGPT, new report finds — from thomsonreuters.com

New legal tech tools showcased at CLOC 2023 — from legaldive.comRobert Freedman
Innovations include a better way to evaluate law firm proposals, centralize all in-house legal requests in a single intake function and analyze agreements.

Guest post: CLOC 2023 – Key insights into how to drive value during changing economic times — from legaltechnology.com by Valerie Chan

Excerpt:

Typically, Legalweek has always been focused on eDiscovery, while CLOC was focused on matter management and contracts management. This time I noticed more balance in the vendor hall and sessions, with a broader range of services providers than before, including staffing providers, contracts management vendors and other new entrants in addition to eDiscovery vendors.

One theme dominated the show floor conversations: Over and over, the legal operators I talked with said if their technologies and vendors were able to develop better workflows, achieve more cost savings and report on the metrics that mattered to their GC, the GC could function as more of a business advisor to the C-suite.

AI is already being used in the legal system—we need to pay more attention to how we use it — by phys.org Morgiane Noel

Excerpt:

While ChatGPT and the use of algorithms in social media get lots of attention, an important area where AI promises to have an impact is law.

The idea of AI deciding guilt in legal proceedings may seem far-fetched, but it’s one we now need to give serious consideration to.

That’s because it raises questions about the compatibility of AI with conducting fair trials. The EU has enacted legislation designed to govern how AI can and can’t be used in criminal law.

Legal Innovation as a Service, Now Enhanced with AI — from denniskennedy.com by Dennis Kennedy

Excerpt:

Over the last semester, I’ve been teaching two classes at Michigan State University College of Law, one called AI and the Law and the other called New Technologies and the Law, and a class at University of Michigan Law School called Legal Technology Literacy and Leadership. All three classes pushed me to keep up-to-date with the nearly-daily developments in AI, ChatGPT, and LLMs. I also did quite a lot of experiments, primarily with ChatGPT, especially GPT-4, and with Notion AI.

Emerging Tech Trends: The rise of GPT tools in contract analysis — from abajournal.com by Nicole Black

Excerpt:

Below, you’ll learn about many of the solutions currently available. Keep in mind that this overview is not exhaustive. There are other similar tools currently available and the number of products in this category will undoubtedly increase in the months to come.

Politicians need to learn how AI works—fast — link.wired.com

Excerpt:

This week we’ll hear from someone who has deep experience in assessing and regulating potentially harmful uses of automation and artificial intelligence—valuable skills at a moment when many people, including lawmakers, are freaking out about the chaos that the technology could cause.

Learning Ecosystems

“Leading your law firm into the Gen AI Era” [Furlong] + other legaltech-related items

Citing ‘political challenges’ within the ABA, its Center for Innovation cancelled an op-ed advocating for regulatory reform. [Ambrogi & Co.]

The Era of the Legal Technologist Has Arrived [jdsupra.com]

IAALS Releases National Framework for States to Create New Tier of Legal Professionals Who Can Offer More Affordable Legal Help [Montague]

Some conventional and unconventional use cases for AI in relation to voices/speech

“Corporate legal departments see use cases for generative AI & ChatGPT, new report finds” + other legal/legaltech related items

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