workplace

Legal Technology: Why the Legal Tech Boom is Just Getting Started — from nasdaq.com by Casey Flaherty and Jae Um of LexFusion; with thanks to Gabe Teninbaum for this resource via his Lawtomatic Newsletter, Issue #136

Excerpt:

In quick succession, legal technology finally saw its first IPOs:

LegalZoom (LZ; June 30, 2021)
Intapp (INTA; June 30, 2021)
CS Disco (LAW; July 21, 2021)

With private money pouring into legal tech startups and based on our own conversations inside the industry, we at LexFusion expect more IPOs on the horizon. Thus, a primer on legal tech as a category to watch. This Part I summarizes the legal market fundamentals driving unprecedented investment in enabling tech—much of which extends beyond the boundaries implied by “legal” as a descriptor.

A pivot point appears to be upon us. Considered unthinkable a decade ago, US states and Canadian provinces—following similar reforms in the UK and Australia that have resulted in the first publicly traded law firms—are rapidly creating regulatory sandboxes to expand current rules limiting (a) who can provide legal services and (b) who can own those businesses.

From DSC:
One can see why #AI will become key. “…the projected CAGR for global data volumes is 26%—to pt where ‘the amount of data created over the next three years will be more than the data created over the past 30 years.’ This data explosion complicates even standard legal matters.”

Gabe also mentioned the following Tweet, which is relevant for this posting:

10 trends for legal technology in the 20’s according to @richardsusskind #BLTF2021 pic.twitter.com/a7MpqE8wYA

— Laura Fauqueur ?? (@laurafauq) October 12, 2021

‘A very big deal.’ Nonlawyer licensing plan clears hurdle in California [Sloan]

On 10/08/2021, in 21st century, career development, change, changing business models, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, workplace, by Daniel Christian

‘A very big deal.’ Nonlawyer licensing plan clears hurdle in California — from reuters.com by Karen Sloan; with thanks to Law 2030’s October 2021 newsletter from the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School

Excerpt:

(Reuters) – California is on track to become the largest state to let specially trained nonlawyers offer legal advice in limited settings, such as employment and consumer debt.

The State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees on Thursday gave its preliminary blessing to a proposed “paraprofessional” program by voting to gather public comment on the plan. The public will have 110 days to weigh in on the proposal, which if adopted has the potential to jumpstart the fledgling movement behind legal paraprofessionals, or limited license legal professionals, as they are sometimes called.

The Disruption Of Legal Services Is Here — from forbes.com by John Arsneault

Excerpt:

For the first time in those 12 years, I am now convinced we are on the precipice of the promised disruption in legal. Not because anyone in the law firms are driving toward this — but because venture capital and tech innovators have finally turned their attention to the industry.

Legal services are a much smaller overall market than, say, retail, financial services or biotech. In the world of disruption and the promised gold rush for the companies that do the disrupting, size matters. Legal has just been low on the industry list. Its number is now up.

It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback that industry now. Easy to see how big of a threat Amazon was to those companies. But when you are being rewarded for doing what you have always done and what your predecessors always did, it’s easy to miss what is around the bend. By the time those companies’ executives realized Amazon was a direct competitor with a much better fulfillment model, it was too late.

Reflections on “Why everybody’s hiring but nobody’s getting hired” [Molla & Stewart]

On 10/01/2021, in business, career development, change, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, informal learning, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, love of learning, pace of change, passions, professional development, reinvent, society, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Why everybody’s hiring but nobody’s getting hired — from vox.com by Rani Molla and Emily Stewart; with thanks to Ryan Craig for this resource
America’s broken hiring system, explained.

Tim Brackney, president and COO of management consulting firm RGP, refers to the current situation as the “great mismatch.” That mismatch refers to a number of things, including desires, experience, and skills. And part of the reason is that the skills necessary for a given job are changing faster than ever, as companies more frequently adopt new software.

“Twenty years ago, if I had 10 years experience as a warehouse manager, the likelihood that my skills would be pretty relevant and it wouldn’t take me that long to get up to speed was pretty good,” Joseph Fuller, a management professor at Harvard Business School and co-author of a recent paper on the disconnect between employers and employees, said. “The shelf life of people’s skills for a lot of decent-paying jobs has been shortening.”

From DSC:
I also think those hiring don’t think people can reinvent themselves. Folks who hire someone (and/or the applicant tracking systems as play) always seem to look for an exact match. There is little vision and/or belief that someone can grow into a position, or to lead differently, or to go in a different but better direction. They reach for their cookie cutters and shove their imaginations and ability to think bigger aside.

Employers could help people by investing in their employees’ growth and development — even if it means they actively help an employee take a right turn. Such an employee could hopefully find a new fit within that organization — if they do, they would likely turn out to be fiercely loyal.

Even if it means offering an employee 1-2 courses a year that they want to learn about — NO STRINGS ATTACHED — the learning culture would get a huge boost!!! Peoples’ love/enjoyment of learning would grow. Morale would improve. People would feel valued.

Let me offer a personal example:

My old boss, Mr. Irving Charles Coleman Jr, let me take a Photoshop class while I was working in the IT Department at Kraft Foods’ headquarters. Kraft paid for it, even though it wasn’t directly related to my position at the time. That course ended up changing my life and my future direction. No kidding. Thank you Irv! You’re the best!

BlueJeans Video Conferencing Giant to Launch Native Google Glass App for Remote Assistance — from next.reality.news by Adario Strange

Excerpt:

Starting in 2022, Glass Enterprise Edition 2 users will have the option of using a native version of the BlueJeans meeting software.

Like other enterprise AR wearables on the market, the primary use case for the dynamic will be in the realm of remote assistance, in which an expert in a faraway location can see what a Google Glass wearer sees and advise that team member accordingly.

remote assistance continues to make inroads via Google Glass

From DSC:
Remote support is also occurring in healthcare. What might “telehealth” morph into?

Remote support is also occurring in healthcare. What might telehealth morph into?

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2021

On 10/01/2021, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business, career development, corporate / business world, economics, neurodivergent/special needs, society, surviving, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2021 — from dol.gov

Excerpt:

The theme for NDEAM 2021, “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion,” reflects the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities have full access to employment and community involvement during the national recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NDEAM is held each October to commemorate the many and varied contributions of people with disabilities to America’s workplaces and economy. Browse our website for ideas and resources for employers, community organizations, state and local governments, advocacy groups and schools to participate in celebrating NDEAM through events and activities centered around the theme of “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion.”

The 2021 NDEAM poster is available now!

ANALYSIS: Break Down Barriers to Legal Tech Usage With Training — from news.blooberlaw.com by Francis Boustany

Excerpt:

Many law firms and legal departments report barriers to using legal technology, and insufficient training may be a root cause. To help break down these barriers, organizations should consider creating more opportunities for their lawyers and staff to train on legal technology.

When asked to select what barriers to using legal technologies exist at their organizations, respondents to Bloomberg Law’s 2021 Legal Technology Survey indicated that the top obstacles are a lack of tech savvy, a lack of familiarity with available technology, and not enough time to learn the technology.

From DSC:
If it’s not already in place, all law schools should be offering curricula in this area from here on out.

The best webcams for boosting your video quality [Allard]

On 09/24/2021, in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital video, distance education, education technology, Hyflex learning, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, multimedia, online learning, online tutoring, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, remote teaching and learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, training / L&D, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The best webcams for boosting your video quality — from mashable.com by Bethany Allard
A basic necessity in 2021.

Also see:

The Best Webcams — from nytimes.com by Andrew Cunningham and Melanie Pinola (June 2021)

Artificial Intelligence: Should You Teach It To Your Employees?— from forbes.com by Tom Taulli

Excerpt:

“If more people are AI literate and can start to participate and contribute to the process, more problems–both big and small–across the organization can be tackled,” said David Sweenor, who is the Senior Director of Product Marketing at Alteryx. “We call this the ‘Democratization of AI and Analytics.’ A team of 100, 1,000, or 5,000 working on different problems in their areas of expertise certainly will have a bigger impact than if left in the hands of a few.”

New Artificial Intelligence Tool Accelerates Discovery of Truly New Materials — from scitechdaily.com
The new artificial intelligence tool has already led to the discovery of four new materials.

Excerpt:

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have created a collaborative artificial intelligence tool that reduces the time and effort required to discover truly new materials.

AI development must be guided by ethics, human wellbeing and responsible innovation — from healthcareitnews.com by Bill Siwicki
An expert in emerging technology from the IEEE Standards Association describes the elements that must be considered as artificial intelligence proliferates across healthcare.

Reflections on “How tech will change the way we work by 2030” [Lamb]

On 09/20/2021, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Blockchain, business, career development, change, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, future, technology (general), trends, United States, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

How tech will change the way we work by 2030 — from techradar.com by Rob Lamb
Everyday jobs will be augmented by technology

Technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Blockchain will have a significant impact on work in the next decade and beyond. But if you believe the sci-fi hype or get bogged down in the technology, it can be difficult to relate them to today’s workplaces and jobs.

Excerpt:

Here are three everyday examples of their potential, expressed in terms of the business challenge they are addressing or how consumers will experience them. I don’t mean to over simplify – these are powerful tools – but I think their potential shines through best when they’re expressed in their simplest terms.

From DSC:
I have an issue with one of their examples that involves positioning AI as the savior of the hiring process:

The problem with this process isn’t just that it’s hugely time-consuming, it’s that all kinds of unconscious biases can creep in, potentially even into the job advert. These issues can be eradicated with the use of AI, which can vet ads for gendered language, sort through applicants and pick out the most suitable ones in a fraction of the time it would take an HR professional or any other human being.

AI can be biased as well — just like humans. Lamb recognizes this as well when he states that “Provided the algorithms are written correctly, AI will be key to organisations addressing issues around diversity and inclusion in the workplace.” But that’s a big IF in my mind. So far, it appears that the track record isn’t great in this area. Also, as Cathy O’Neil asserts: “Algorithms are opinions embedded in code.”

AI may not be as adept as a skilled HR professional in seeing the possibilities for someone. Can person A’s existing skillsets be leveraged in this new/other position?

Report: Community Colleges Drive Workforce Education, Training [Weissman]

On 09/20/2021, in business, career development, change, community colleges, higher education, learning ecosystem, training / L&D, United States, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Report: Community Colleges Drive Workforce Education, Training — from insidehighered.com by Sara Weissman

Excerpt:

A new survey found that community colleges, and especially their noncredit programs, play an outsize role in providing job-focused education.

Opportunity America, a Washington, D.C., think tank focused on economic mobility, explained the survey findings in an accompanying policy report released Tuesday.

The report says community colleges are “poised to come into their own as the nation’s premier provider of job-focused education and training.”

Personalized Learning Using AI — from datafloq.com by Dmitry Baraishuk

Excerpt:

Process of Implementing Personalized Learning Using AI

The system tested every learner using short quizzes and games. Then AI adapted the learning path to each learner’s knowledge of a topic based on the test results.
If a pilot struggled with a certain topic, the AI LMS repeated it by presenting the information in a new way.
After completing a section, every pilot was retested and progressed to the next module.

…

Personalized learning with AI encompasses all the core aspects of online training:

personalized learning path;
relevant content based on knowledge level, skills, interests, and goals;
automated knowledge checks;
prediction of knowledge gaps;
proactive learners’ support;
tutoring, etc.

More Companies Are Looking to Hire Accessibility Specialists [Alcántara]

On 09/07/2021, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), career development, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, workplace, by Daniel Christian

More Companies Are Looking to Hire Accessibility Specialists — from wsj.com by Ann-Marie Alcántara
Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, lawsuits, and diversity and inclusion efforts explain the increase in accessibility job postings, advocates and executives say

Excerpt:

Accessibility jobs, ranging from “head of accessibility” to “accessibility analyst,” are increasing at a rapid pace across industries as companies strive to make their products and services more tailored to people with disabilities.

The number of job listings with “accessibility” in the title grew 78% in the year ended in July from the previous 12 months, LinkedIn said in response to a data request from The Wall Street Journal. Such listings had risen 38% in the year between August 2019 and July 2020 compared with the previous year, according to the professional networking site owned by Microsoft Corp.

Top 300 Tools for Learning 2021 [Hart]

On 09/03/2021, in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, Adobe, adult learning, analytics, animation, Apple, art, blogs / blogging / vlogging, business, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, online learning, online media, open courseware and systems, platforms, podcasting, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, reading, remote teaching and learning, RSS, social learning / networks, social media, STEAM-related, storytelling, streams of content, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, UK, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Top 300 Tools for Learning 2021 — from toptools4learning.com by Jane Hart

Excerpt:

2021 was the YEAR OF DISRUPTION! There were a substantial number of new tools nominated this year so the main list has now been extended to 300 tools to accommodate them, and each of the 3 sub-lists has been increased to 150 tools. Although the top of this year’s list is relatively stable, there is quite bit of movement of tools on the rest of the list, and the effect of the new tools has been to push other established tools down – if not off the list altogether. Further analysis of the list appears in the right-hand column of the table below.

This table shows the overall rankings as well as the rankings on the 3 sub-lists: Top 150 Tools for Personal Learning (PL150), the Top 150 Tools for Workplace Learning (WL150) and the Top 150 Tools for Education (ED150). NEW tools are shaded YELLOW, tools coming BACK on the list are shaded GREEN. The most popular context in which each tool is used is also highlighted in BLUE. Click on a tool name to find out more about it.

Learning Ecosystems

‘A very big deal.’ Nonlawyer licensing plan clears hurdle in California [Sloan]

The Disruption Of Legal Services Is Here [Arsneault]

Reflections on “Why everybody’s hiring but nobody’s getting hired” [Molla & Stewart]

BlueJeans Video Conferencing Giant to Launch Native Google Glass App for Remote Assistance [Strange]

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2021

ANALYSIS: Break Down Barriers to Legal Tech Usage With Training

Report: Community Colleges Drive Workforce Education, Training [Weissman]

More Companies Are Looking to Hire Accessibility Specialists [Alcántara]

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