TechLaw Crossroads is a no-bullshit blog written mainly by me. I practiced as a partner with a large law firm for the better part of 30 years. I was a trial lawyer, mostly in mass tort and, later, in data breach, privacy, and cyber insurance areas. I know what it’s like to be in the trenches on the eve of a trial.
I now write this blog about the cultural gap between technology and innovation and the legal profession. It explores developments and issues that frame, illuminate, and bridge that cultural clash. It sits at the crossroads between the new and the old.
My goal, among other things, is to help lawyers use technology and innovation to improve the practice and make it a better, more livable profession. I also from time to time discuss recent developments in the law. And to paraphrase John Waters, filmmaker, and writer, I want to keep up with what’s causing chaos in our field.
Besides publishing this blog, I consult with legal tech providers to help them design products that lawyers will use. I help them navigate law firms and legal departments to market their products and services better.
I also coach lawyers, law firms, and in-house legal departments to use technology, automation, and process flow to be better at their craft. I help lawyers have more rewarding careers and lifestyles and prepare for and anticipate change.
ABOUT ME
I am a frequent speaker, blogger, and writer on the impact of technology on the practice of law. I am the immediate past Chair of the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association. I was formerly Vice-Chair of the ABA’s Law Technology Resource Center, Editor of Law Practice Today Webzine and member of the ABA’s Law Practice Futures Initiative. I also Chair the Kentucky Law Practice Management Committee. I am co-author of a book entitled Mass Tort Claims Resolution Facilities and the 2017 and 2016 editions of the American Bar Association’sTechReports. I am former Chair of the Data Breach, Privacy and Cyber Insurance Section of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. I am a certified Technology Master Advocate by the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and member of the faculty of FedTechU, the FDCC’s trial technology certification course. You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Formerly a member of Frost Brown Todd LLC and the Firm’s class action, privacy and mass tort groups, I was a national litigator and advisor primarily in the mass tort, business and consumer class action, and privacy and data breach arenas. For most of my career, I specialized in the defense of mass tort actions.
My passions include education and all things tech and travel related. And, finally, I am unabashedly and unapologetically a University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Interested in reading my articles and posts?
- Advisen: Sixth Circuit Coverge Opinion: Square Peg in Round Hole ( August 2018)
- Legal Business World: Want to Be a Great Lawyer? Embrace Technology (July 2018)
- FDCC Insights: 9th Circuit Finds a Substantive and Valuable Privacy Right (January 2018)
- LawSites Change is Easy, Leaving Is Hard (May 2018)
- Advisen: California’s Proposed Pandora’s Box:Data Breach Suits Without Damage (December 1, 2017)
- LinkedIn: I Almost Didn’t Go: Lessons in Learning (November, 2017)
- The Lawyerist: Is Reverse Mentoring Right for Lawyers? (October, 2017)
- Kentucky Bench & Bar: Avvo Legal Services: A2J Solution or Barbarian At the Gate (September, 2017)
- The Lawyerist: Dispatches from ILTA: Document Tech Mergers, Google Enters the Ring, and New Collaboration Expectations (August 2017)
- The Lawyerist: ILTA 2017: Where Have all the Lawyers Gone (August 2017)
- The Lawyerist: For the Legal Profession and Others, Change is Hard (August 2017)
- The Lawyerist: Apple’s Approach to Augmented Reality Could Change the Litigation Landscape (July 2017)
- Linked In Pulse: ILTA Fireworks (August 2017)
- Law Practice Today: AR/VR Technology: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going (June 14, 2017)
- Apps in Law Podcast: AiL009 – Stephen Embry annotates transcripts on his iPad (TranscriptPad) even during Derby Week! (June 1, 2017)
- The Lawyerist: Microsoft SQL 2017: Improvements, Advanced Analytics and What It May Mean for Lawyers (May 23, 2017)
- The Lawyerist: When it Comes to Reading, Should You Go Paperless? (April 25, 2017)
- Abacus Next: ABA Techshow: Professionals on a Mission (March 21, 2017)
- Abacus Next: It’s March Madness: It Must Be TECHSHOW Time (March 15, 2017)
- The Lawyerist: Lawyers, The Quartz Crisis and Swatch Watches: A lesson on Disruption (February 23, 2017)
- Abacus Next: So a Lawyer Walks into CES (January 10, 2017)
- ABA TechReport 2016: Litigation and T.A.R. (Article included in the annual publication.)
- Law Practice Today: Why Alternative Litigation Financing is Poised to Disrupt Litigation (December 14, 2016)
- Louisville Business First: Does FTC flexing its data-breach muscles equal trouble for businesses? (December 1, 2016)
- Law Technology Today (LTT): The Brave New World of Screenless Technology (October 20, 2016)
- Legal Talk Network (podcast): On the Road with Legal Talk Network : Clio Cloud 2016: How Cons Can Improve Your Practice (September 22, 2016)
- ABA Blueprint: State Data Breach Notification Laws Just Got Crazier (September 1, 2016)
- LinkedIn Pulse: Data Analytics and Predictive Modeling: Game Changer For How You Manage Claims… And View Your Lawyer (August 26, 2016)
- LinkedIn Pulse: You’ve Had a Data Breach? Harm Presumed and Inherent: The LabMD Ruling (August 4, 2016)
- Law Technology Today (LTT): Spokeo Inc v. Robins (May 19, 2016)
- LinkedIn Pulse: Spokeo v. Robins: A Well Executed Punt? (May 16, 2016)
- LinkedIn Pulse: Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo: A Retreat From Dukes or Just a Spoliation Case? (May 5, 2016)
- Law Technology Today (LTT): State Data Breach Notification Laws Just Got Crazier (April 19, 2016)
- LinkedIn Pulse: Law and Technology Disconnect: Tennessee Just Killed Encryption Safe Harbor (April 7, 2016)
- LinkedIn Pulse: fbtTECH @ SxSWi 2016: The Big Take Aways (March 16, 2016)
- Law Practice Today: Cyber Insurance: Panacea or Pandora’s Box? (January 14, 2016)
- Law Technology Today (LTT): Legal disruption tipping point: Why do I feel like a taxicab driver? (November 23, 2015)
- Advisen: Google Wallet: What’s your privacy really worth; Do you have the class-action standing to protect it? (June 18, 2015)
- Advisen: Why does Radio Shack ask for your phone number when you buy batteries? (May 7, 2015)
- Advisen: Hackability as a Defect? (March 18, 2015)