professional wordpress themes

The top 5 legal technology news of 2021 [Black]

On 12/21/2021, in business, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, vendors, by Daniel Christian

The top 5 legal technology news of 2021 — fromabajournal.com by Nicole Black

Excerpt:

There were also a significant number of acquisitions, resulting in the unprecedented consolidation of legal technology companies. What follows are the more notable examples, although there were many others that are not listed below.

  • Litera acquired Kira Systems, Clocktimizer, DocsCorp and  Foundation Software.
  • MyCase acquired Soluno, Casepeer and Woodpecker.
  • Clio acquired CalendarRules and Lawyaw.
  • Francisco Partners acquired Paradigm, which had previously acquired PracticePanther, Headnote, Bill4Time and MerusCase.
  • Private equity firm Warburg Pincus acquired NetDocuments.
  • Smokeball-Leap-InfoTrack Group acquired LawLytics and Lawgical.
  • ProfitSolv acquired Tabs3 (and also owns Rocket Matter, Cosmolex, LexCharge, ImagineTime and TimeSolv).
  • Veritext acquired Reportex.
  • Intapp acquired Repstor.
  • Onit acquired Bodhala and BusyLamp.
  • Consilio acquired Xact Data Discovery.

Also see:

  • Legal Transformation Is A Business Story — from forbes.com by Mark Cohen
    Excerpt:
    The first step in law’s transformation journey is to align the legal function with the mission, purpose, and culture of business and to instill a customer- centric, team-oriented mindset. This is not an easy or quick process, but it is a necessary one. The legal function cannot achieve alignment unless it: speaks the language of business and understands its goals and risk profile, works proactively and at the speed of business, operates as a team (internally and across the enterprise), upskills, and adopts a customer-centric, results-oriented approach to everything it does. Legal must embrace the data-backed, tech-enabled, multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving, value-creation, and customer-centricity of business.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Four resources relating to legaltech — from Zach Abramowitz

On 12/17/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), change, changing business models, collaboration, communications, disruption, entrepreneurship, game-changing environment, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The following items are from a recent presentation by Zach Abramowitz entitled “Legal Disruption: Key Trends to Watch in 2022.” By the way, you can sign up for Zach’s legal newsletter at zachabramowitz.substack.com/

Marble Law

 

Darrow raises $20 million to uncover corporate legal violations and bring justice to all — from calcalistech.com by Meir Orbach
The Israeli startup is focused on locating violations that have caused damage to millions of people on average – the threshold for a potential class-action lawsuit

Excerpt:

Darrow has developed a machine learning-based platform which discovers legal violations by some of the biggest corporations in the world. Operating chiefly in the U.S., the company is focused on locating violations that have caused damage to millions of people on average – the threshold for a potential class-action lawsuit.

 

TermScout

Term Scout

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Virtual law firms see 38% jump in recruitment [McCulloch]

On 12/15/2021, in game-changing environment, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, telelegal, UK, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, by Daniel Christian

Virtual law firms see 38% jump in recruitment — from personneltoday.com by Adam McCulloch

Excerpt:

In late 2020, 1,355 lawyers worked for such virtual firms, a number that has risen to 1,875 by autumn of 2021. In 2019, 1,272 worked for such firms.

Also see:

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on the Transformative Possibilities of this Moment [Penn Law]

On 12/09/2021, in Access to Justice (A2J), Canada, game-changing environment, ideas, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, podcasting, society, strategy, technology (general), United States, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on the Transformative Possibilities of this Moment — from law.upenn.edu with Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack

Excerpt:

Bridget Mary McCormack is Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and is a leading voice on modernizing court systems to expand access to justice and deepen public confidence in legal systems.

On this episode, she joins us to share her thoughts on how courts can learn from the experiences COVID-19 has created to better serve the public in a post-pandemic world. She also shares her views on how regulatory reform can transform legal services and why improving legal systems matters for the entire American experiment.

Addendum on 12/13/21:
Ontario Court Lays Down the Law on Technology Competence and Video Proceedings — from legaltechmonitor.com by Bob Ambrogi

An Ontario judge has laid down the law on technology competence, ruling in no uncertain terms that every lawyer has a duty to keep pace with changing technology, and that a lawyer’s discomfort with new technologies — in this case, video depositions — is no excuse for reverting to pre-pandemic methods.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

UpCounsel Crowdfunds $3.3m, Plans IPO + Cuts Legal Costs By 75%! [artificiallawyer.com]

On 12/09/2021, in 24x7x365 access, business, ideas, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

UpCounsel Crowdfunds $3.3m, Plans IPO + Cuts Legal Costs By 75%! — from artificiallawyer.com

By eliminating overhead and outrageous hourly rates, UpCounsel allows you to kire a partner-level attorney at a third of the price

Excerpt:

The last point is how this helps to encourage more crowdfunding in this sector. Ruby Datum the VDR company is also currently doing a crowdfunding, and Clocktimizer was funded in the same way before it was bought up by Litera. So, perhaps we will see more approaches like this. That said, UpCounsel is itself owned by an investment group – along with 1,630 others now, so it’s not a pure-play crowdfunding in its entirety.

This will be watched by the VC world and the legal market in general for signs of whether it is succeeding with its goals.

Also see:

TECHREPORT 2021: Technology Training — from lawtechnologytoday.org by Sofia Lingos

ABA Techreport 2021 -- technology training

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

2022 Predictions – The Market View: Part 1

On 12/09/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), game-changing environment, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

2022 Predictions – The Market View: Part 1 — from artificiallawyer.com

Excerpt:

What do people want to see happen in 2022? And what do they think will really take place next year? These were the two questions Artificial Lawyer asked a range of legal tech experts from across the market. The quality of responses was so good, and the views expressed so detailed, that this year the 2022 Predictions will be published in two instalments.

Here we go…

We would like to see states across the U.S. tear down regulatory barriers to innovation in legal services. We would like to see human-centred design thinking at the heart of every product, process, and service. We would like to see our community – from law schools to tech companies – advance the cause of access to justice.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

4 items involving the legal realm — tools, global internships, websites, marketing

On 11/24/2021, in 21st century, career development, change, communications, culture, game-changing environment, global / globalization, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, marketing/social marketing, tools, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Fastcase Unveils NextChapter Docs Form Preparation, Client Management Tools, and Workflow Tools for All Practice Areas — from legaltechmonitor.com by Jaime Houssami

Excerpt:

To that end, NextChapter is soon releasing a Forms Exchange, where seasoned attorneys can upload their form templates to the marketplace for other attorneys to purchase for their own use. “Providing access to pre-built forms designed by subject matter experts will be useful for many of the solo and small firm practitioners,” said NextChapter’s first Forms attorney author Carolyn Elefant.

TechReport 2021: Websites & Marketing — from lawtechnologytoday.org by Allison C. Johs

Excerpt:

The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to the practice of law–many of which were overdue–including virtual meetings and client conferences, remote document signings, court appearances by Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and more. But according to the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center’s 2021 Legal Technology Survey Report results on the use of technology in the legal profession, there is still work to be done.

Linklaters launches virtual global business teams internship — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

Excerpt:

While most law firm internships are focussed exclusively on attracting future lawyers, magic circle law firm Linklaters has launched a virtual global business teams internship programme aimed at 16- to 18-year-old students. The new internship, which will be welcomed by many for shining a light on the key functions that enable a law firm to run and succeed, will help interns to become aware of the wide range of career options available at Linklaters.

Linklaters Internships For 16-18 Year Olds To Cover Legal Ops + Tech — from artificiallawyer.com

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

TechReport 2021: Cloud Computing [Kennedy]

On 11/18/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, pace of change, trends, United States, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, by Daniel Christian

TechReport 2021: Cloud Computing — from lawtechnologytoday.org by Dennis Kennedy; with thanks to Cat Moon for this resource

Excerpt:

The 2021 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report will be important historically because it gives us the first look at how lawyers responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spoiler alert: we did not see anything like the movement to the cloud we expected in 2020. In fact, the 2021 results might be interpreted as another example of lawyers being late arrivals to technologies widely in use in other professions and businesses.

Nonetheless, we still expect the practice of law to be much more cloud-intensive in the near future than it is now, with courts and clients driving many of the changes. Do you think Zoom meetings, online court hearings, and other forms of online collaboration tools will really go away after what we’ve seen in the pandemic?

In the legal profession, it’s still a much different story. Legal is a lagging industry in cloud use. That said, it is still surprising that even in 2021 the reported use of cloud computing in law practice stayed flat or even declined—despite the pandemic and all the news coverage about Zoom meetings and working from home. This result is difficult to comprehend, let alone explain.

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

IAALS: “…the importance of retaining some of the virtual proceeding processes put in place during the pandemic.”

On 11/15/2021, in change, ideas, innovation, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

 

IAALS’ Comment to the Michigan Supreme Court on Virtual Proceedings and Lessons Learned from the Pandemic — from legaltechmonitor.com by Broke Meyer and Natalie Anne Knowlton

Excerpt:

IAALS, a nonpartisan, non-profit research organization, looks at ways to improve the legal system, specifically in the areas of civil justice, family justice, the judiciary, legal education, and the legal profession. IAALS has been monitoring court practices around the country as it relates to policies around virtual proceedings. As part of our Paths to Justice Summit Series, IAALS has held several virtual convenings with a diverse group of experts and stakeholders across the justice systems. From those convenings, IAALS published two issue papers, “Learning from this Nationwide Pilot Project—Reducing the Costs and Delays of Civil Litigation” and “Learning from this Nationwide Pilot Project—Ensuring Access to Justice in High-Volume Cases.” Both papers focus on lessons learned, upcoming challenges, and areas for further research. In this spirit, we hope to provide a broad perspective on the importance of retaining some of the virtual proceeding processes put in place during the pandemic.

After many years of urging reform in these cases, we have witnessed incredible innovation and adaptability in the Michigan court system during a crisis. IAALS and other leaders in civil justice reform have urged many of these reforms—such as remote hearings—for years, and we have now seen these innovations happen on the ground. Michigan should capitalize on the unique opportunity to evaluate and learn from these changes to improve access to justice.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Excerpt from “Use of digital technologies in judicial reform and access to justice cooperation — from HiiL

On 11/15/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Africa, Asia, Australia, Blockchain, bots, Canada, change, communities of practice, Europe, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, ideas, India, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, policy, political science, society, UK, United States, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from “Use of digital technologies in judicial reform and access to justice cooperation — from HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law)

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

What if students, not just law students, could pursue their passion for change in a way that led to more people, in more places, having access to justice?

On 11/11/2021, in Access to Justice (A2J), collaboration, experimentation, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, society, by Daniel Christian

EPISODE 91: THE INNOVATION4JUSTICE LAB – CREATING CHANGE THROUGH LEGAL EDUCATION AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION — from https://www.cli.collaw.com/

We often think about legal innovation and legal education as being separate and distinct but, what if they weren’t? What if students, not just law students, could pursue their passion for change in a way that led to more people, in more places, having access to justice?

That’s the question that the Innovation4Justice (I4J) Lab asked and is answering today.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

The future of the legal industry & practice trends; CLE is broken; paths of the pandemic courts; + other legal-related resources

On 11/08/2021, in Access to Justice (A2J), game-changing environment, law schools, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

“Bloomberg Law 2022” Releases Today – Explores Future of Legal Industry and Practice Trends — from legaltechmonitor.com by Jean O’Grady

Excerpt:

BLOOMBERG LAW 2022 SERIES EXPLORES KEY LEGAL TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE YEAR TO COME
Arlington, Va. (November 1, 2021) — Bloomberg Law today announced the availability of its Bloomberg Law 2022 series, its exploration of key issues across four major topic areas – Litigation, Transactions & Contracts, Regulatory & Compliance, and The Future of the Legal Industry – that will shape the legal market in the coming year. The full series, which is issued annually and features 25 articles from Bloomberg Law’s team of legal analysts, is available on a complimentary basis at http://onb-law.com/tXw850GAeS4.

Topic area coverage includes:

  • Litigation: Developments that will shape the course of litigation in 2022 are examined, ranging from Covid-related employment and contractual issues to emerging trends in antitrust cases and bankruptcy filings.
  • Regulatory & Compliance: Learn how a heightened enforcement environment will impact everything from return-to-office mandates to privacy and tech industry regulation to potential actions by the SEC and Congress on cryptocurrency.
  • Transactions & Contracts: Take a look at the forces shaping the transactional landscape and key markets of interest, from trends in M&A and IPOs to the nuanced impacts of new data security laws on contract language.
  • The Future of the Legal Industry: Hot topics such as diversity & inclusion and attorney well-being and the rapidly expanding areas of law such as legal operations and litigation finance are analyzed.

Also see:

Moving forward, the pandemic will have lasting implications for our justice system. The immediate focus on keeping the doors of justice open will inevitably shift to growing case backlogs, reduced funding, increased demand for low-cost legal assistance, inequities in access, and deepening concerns regarding public trust and confidence. Our justice system must be ready, but how do we create paths forward to achieve justice for all?

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Winners Named for 2021 American Legal Technology Awards [Ambrogi]

On 11/04/2021, in game-changing environment, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, technology (general), telelegal, by Daniel Christian

Winners Named for 2021 American Legal Technology Awards — from lawsitesblog.com by Bob Ambrogi

Excerpt:

Winners have been named for the second annual American Legal Technology Awards, a competition launched last year to honor exceptional achievements in legal technology.

This year, the competition added the announcement of a runner up and honorable mention in each category. A series of videos showcasing the winners in each category will be posted to the ALTA site between now and Nov. 10.

2021 American Legal Technology Awards

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Courts 2021 AWARD WINNER || American Legal Technology Awards 2021 (Access to Justice #A2J)

On 11/04/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, reinvent, society, telelegal, United States, by Daniel Christian

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

[DC: For folks interested in pulse-checking the legal realm out there] Three items from — or about — Clio this week

On 10/28/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, emerging technologies, game-changing environment, generational differences, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, telelegal, tools, trends, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
For folks interested in pulse-checking the legal realm out there, below are three items from — or about — Clio this week:

 

 

Addendum on 11/1/21:

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 
Previous Entries Next Entries
© 2025 | Daniel Christian