Excerpts:
On 01/15/2020,
in career development, change, changing business models, disruption, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, ideas, innovation, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, society, strategy, technology (general), UK, United States, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
On 01/15/2020,
in 21st century, career development, change, education technology, ideas, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal,
by Daniel Christian
Why the traditional US model of educating tomorrow’s lawyers must change — from iam-media.com by Megan Carpenter
Disruption is increasingly affecting the legal services industry but legal education is not evolving fast enough. Greater specialisation in areas like IP, argues Franklin Pierce School of Law dean Megan Carpenter, could improve the training of lawyers and non-lawyers alike
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
But the legal education we need today is not the one-size-fits-all model of the past. For 150 years, law schools and the legal services industry have combined to make legal education a precious commodity, bundled in a very specific way. Like the cable industry or print news media of yore, the education that qualifies people for the legal profession in the US has been one-size-fits-all, without regard to particular practice areas or specialisations and without responding to the diversification of the legal services market.
The legal profession should take a page from the playbook of the medical profession here. Under “healthcare occupations”, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook lists 46 professions, from doctors and nurses to physician assistants, medical extenders, technologists and technicians. Yet, under “Legal Occupations”, the BLS Handbook lists only five positions. By failing to adapt like the medical industry has to a variety of roles for different types of legal professionals, including education that fits those roles, the haves and have-nots of legal knowledge have been defined in a way that is not sustainable and fails to reflect the needs of the marketplace.
Law schools should not resist the expanding market for alternative legal service providers and legal tech; rather, they should lead the charge to provide legal education to people who need it, even if in a different form than such education has taken in the past. There should be more undergraduate and community-college programmes that provide appropriate legal training. The University of Arizona College of Law launched the first undergraduate bachelor degree in law in the US in collaboration with the broader university and other schools should do the same.
From DSC:
I’ve also been thinking about the need for more specializations within law schools, the legal realm, and in the Bar Exam itself.
On 01/09/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, society, tools, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
In the future, will this be happening more in the United States? I’d say yes, most likely. I’d also add consumers to this new type of online-based offering as well.
“LawBite is an online legal platform powering a fully SRA regulated UK law firm providing fast, expert, affordable legal services for businesses of all sizes.”
On 01/07/2020,
in change, changing business models, disruption, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, tools, trends, United States, universities, using teams, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
‘Fundamental shift’ is transforming the delivery of legal services, new report concludes — from abajournal.com by Debra Cassens Weiss
Excerpt:
“Revolutionary changes are afoot” in the market for legal services, according to a new report.
Clients are actively managing their relationships with outside counsel, nonlaw competitors are gaining ground, and law firms are responding to market changes in innovative ways, the report says.
The 2020 Report on the State of the Legal Market was released Monday by Georgetown Law’s Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute. It is available for download here.
However, taking that view is seeing only one side of the story. Over this same period, there has been mounting evidence that the underlying model itself is changing, that clients, non-law firm competitors, and even many law firms are now operating with very different assumptions about the role law firm services should play in the legal ecosystem and how such services should be delivered. In the past year or so, this evidence has grown to the point that it seems apparent that a fundamental shift is now well underway.
Also see:
- A Future Focus: The Success of Legal Tech Depends on Transformation, Not Automation — from law.com by Zach Warren
Legal technology has incrementally shifted law in recent years, but true transformation isn’t incremental. The next decade has the potential to change that. - Legal Tech’s Predictions for Legal Innovation in 2020 — from law.com by Zach Warren
From blockchain and cryptocurrency to new skillsets for lawyers, here’s what lawyers and technologists see as the future of law—coming in 2020.
Lori Lorenzo, research and insights leader of chief legal officer program, Deloitte: “Catching-up and keeping-up with tech advancements for the legal function will remain a top goal for chief legal officers in 2020. Of course, addressing legal team tech skills gaps may drive inclusion of professionals with diverse skillsets, like data scientists, automation experts and the like, into the legal function.”
On 01/04/2020,
in career development, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
AI fears subside: Most see fundamental change, but not job loss — from .law.com by Frank Ready
ILTA released a new Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning report that alludes to fundamental changes coming for the legal industry—but those disruptions may not be happening where one would expect.
Excerpt:
A new Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning report published last week by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) indicates that while law firms may be expecting AI to yield “fundamental change” within the industry, lawyers shouldn’t count on a significant portion of the work they perform being replaced by software.
Also see:
- Legal engineering: A growing trend in software development — from techrepublic.com by Scott Matteson
On 01/03/2020,
in 21st century, career development, change, Cost of legal services - including access, data related items, future, game-changing environment, heutagogy, ideas, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, reinvent, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, streams of content, technology (general), tools, trends, UK, United States, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Some of the topics/items mentioned include:
- Technologists join lawyers in creating the legal realm of the future.
- Future lawyers will need to either have project managers on staff or be able to manage projects themselves.
- Lifelong learning is now critically important. One doesn’t necessarily need to be able to code, but one needs to be constantly learning.
- Need to understand legal principles but you will also need to have augmented skills (which will differ from person to person)
- New business and delivery models. Don’t presuppose that the current model will always be around.
- There will be fewer traditional roles/practices. Traditional roles are sunsetting; new skillsets are needed.
- Students: Do your due diligence; read up on the industry and think about whether there’s a good fit. Learn your craft. Get experience. Be who you are. Bring your unique brand to the table.
On 01/03/2020,
in future, ideas, innovation, internet, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal,
by Daniel Christian
Online courts, the future of justice and being bold in 2020 — from abajournal.com by Ari Kaplan
Excerpt:
Ari Kaplan: How do you define online courts?
Richard Susskind: I describe two aspects of online courts in the book. The first is ‘online judging,’ which supports the idea that human judges, not artificial intelligence, should decide cases, not in a physical courtroom or through oral hearings but by the submission of evidence and arguments by the parties online. It is an asynchronous hearing system where the parties pass messages and arguments to the judge remotely and receive responses in kind. I am entirely open to the argument that this is not suitable for all cases, but there are many low-volume matters for which it is simply disproportionate to take the day off work or for lawyers to take up a court’s time to resolve relatively modest difficulties and differences. The second aspect of online courts is, in a way, more controversial. I call it ‘extended courts’ and suggest that it should be part of the court function to provide a range of tools to help the parties understand their rights and obligations. These resources could help them formulate arguments, gather and organize evidence, and provide ways for the parties to resolve disputes with one another similar to online alternative dispute resolution. This combination of judges making decisions online together with an extended court structure will greatly increase access to justice.
Addendum on 1/7/20:
Online Courts and the Future of Justice from State Courts on Vimeo.
On 12/30/2019,
in change, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, trends, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Legal Tech Broke Investment Record in 2019 as Sector Matures — from biglawbusiness.com by Sam Skolnik
Excerpts:
- Investments in legal tech soared past $1 billion in 2019
- Key legal tech conference boasted record attendance
Legal technology deals and investments stayed on a fast track in 2019 as the sector becomes increasingly relevant to how Big Law firms and corporate legal divisions operate. Legal tech investments flew past the $1 billion mark by the end of the third quarter. It hit that mark for the first time the year before.
Also see:
- Legal Tech’s Predictions for E-Discovery in 2020 — from law.com by Zach Warren
From ephemeral messaging to global expansion and beyond, lawyers and technologists believe e-discovery will show no signs of stagnation in 2020.
“E-discovery sits at the intersection of two industries not known for diversity: legal and high-tech. Despite what can feel like major wins, statistics paint a bleak picture—most U.S. lawyers are white, managing partners are primarily male, and only 2% of partners in major firms are black; leadership at e-discovery companies has historically reflected this demographic. The next decade will see a major shift in focus for leadership and talent development at e-discovery providers as we join law firms and corporate legal departments in putting our money where our mouths are and deliver recruitment and retention programs that fight discrimination and actively recruit, retain, and promote women, minority, and underserved talent.”
Sarah Brown, director of marketing, Inventus
On 12/12/2019,
in career development, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, society, technology (general), tools, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
2019 Solo & Small Firm — from the American Bar Association (ABA)
Excerpt:
Solos and small firms are in a unique position to leverage technology in order to become more sustainable and competitive with larger firms and alternative legal service providers—they have the ability to be more agile than larger firms because of their size. There are numerous technology options available and many are solo and small firm budget-friendly. Consumers are demanding convenience, transparency, and efficiency from the legal profession. Attorneys must be adaptable to this driving force. The legal profession has some of the highest rates of addiction, depression, and suicide. Women are leaving the profession in droves and lawyers are struggling to find work-life balance. Technology use can reduce human error, increase efficiency, reduce overhead, provide flexibility, enhance attorney well-being, and better meet client needs.
On 12/10/2019,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, bots, Cost of legal services - including access, Daniel S. Christian, entrepreneurship, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online media, platforms, society, strategy, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, tools, TVs, United States, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Along these lines, we’ll likely see more bots and virtual legal assistants that we will be able to ask questions of.
#A2J #AccessToJustice #legal #lawyers #society #legaltech #bots #videoconferencing #AI #bots #VirtualAssistants
Along these lines, also see:
Innovative and inspired: How this US law school is improving access to justice — from studyinternational.com
Excerpt:
Though court and other government websites in the US provide legal information, knowing what to search for and understanding legal jargon can be difficult for lay people.
Spot, software that is being developed at the LIT Lab, aims to fix this.
“You know you have a housing problem. But very few people think about their housing problems in terms of something like constructive eviction,” explains David Colarusso, who heads the LIT Lab. “The idea is to have the tool be able to spot those issues based upon people’s own language.”
Developed by Colarusso and students, Spot uses a machine-based algorithm to understand legal queries posed by lay persons. With Spot, entering a question in plain English like “My apartment is so moldy I can’t stay there anymore. Is there anything I can do?” brings up search results that would direct users to the right legal issue. In this case, the query is highly likely to be related to a housing issue or, more specifically, to the legal term “constructive eviction.”
Lastly, here’s an excerpt from INSIGHT: What’s ‘Innovative’ in BigLaw? It’s More Than the Latest Tech Tools — from news.bloomberglaw.com by Ryan Steadman and Mark Brennan
Top Innovation Factors for Success
- The first step is always to observe and listen.
- True innovation is about rigorously defining a client problem and then addressing it through a combination of workflow process, technology, and people.
- Leave aside the goal of wholesale transformation and focus instead on specific client use cases.
Before revving the engines in the innovation process, the safety check comes first. Successful innovation requires a deliberate, holistic approach that takes into consideration people, process, and technology. Firms and vendors that listen and learn before implementing significant change will stand apart from competitors—and help ensure long-term success.