December 2022

My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6.

As we close out 2022, it’s customary to look back and highlight the most noteworthy events or discuss all the things we are thankful for during the year.

While I have a lot of things to be thankful for, I want to focus on what we have to be most grateful for from a legal tech standpoint. Looking back at 2022, what had the most significant positive impact on legal? And its data. What can data do for lawyers? What it can show us. Information we never had before.Continue Reading As 2022 Closes, I Am Thankful For…Data

There’s lots of talk about AI and machine learning and how those tools will or will not impact the practice of law.

One school—perhaps buoyed by all the talk and little perceived impact—says it’s all hoopla. That AI won’t affect how lawyers do their job one iota. The other group—the sky is falling group—focuses on the possibility that robots will soon replace lawyers. They believe that machines will ultimately rule the human race. Neither extreme is entirely accurate.

I recently had a chance to hear Richard Susskind speak on AI in law and, as always, found his comments perceptive and spot on. Susskind spoke as part of a series of lectures entitled Legal Tech Essentials 2022. This year, the series was a joint effort between Bucerius Law School’s Center for Legal Technology and Data Science and Singapore Management University’s Centre for Computational Law at the Yong Pung How School of Law.Continue Reading Legal AI: A Lawyer’s New Best Friend?

If you want to be a successful lawyer, work hard at identifying and eliminating your clients’ pain points.

This past Sunday, I decided I wanted a small tabletop Christmas tree for my office. After all, ’tis the season. I went online and was immediately faced with a confusing and irritating search (Tabletop Christmas trees not readily indexed on several sites). But, I finally found one at a big box store nearby. I could get it delivered by Monday afternoon, but what the hell, I could also drive over and big it up immediately, right? Wrong.

I got to the store, and it was packed. Of course, it was impossible to find the trees, especially tabletop ones. When I got to the right spot, there were no trees, even though the website said the store had several in stock.Continue Reading Want To Be a Successful Lawyer? Be More Like Amazon. Here’s Ten Ways

While lots of states endlessly debate what to do about A2J and contemplate their navels, Alaska has actually done something that might just move the needle.

On December 1, the Alaska Supreme Court adopted Bar Rule 43.5. This rule sets up a process for those who have not necessarily graduated from law school to provide certain limited legal services to those Alaskans in need. And they can do so without the worry of being accused of the unauthorized practice of law.Continue Reading Alaska Offers Practical Approach to A2J Crisis

Several articles and surveys that have come out recently suggest a looming donnybrook in 2023 between law firms and business clients. The law firms want to aggressively raise rates but their business clients claim to be outraged by such efforts. These clients also say they plan to resist such efforts aggressively.

Pardon me, but I have heard this before. Law firms annually raise rates—albeit not as much as they plan in 2023. And many clients claim outrage before swallowing hard and accepting the increases. But there is some evidence 2023 may be different.Continue Reading To Raise or Not To Raise Lawyer Rates: That Is The 2023 Question