New study from Thompson Hine: 95% of in-house counsel see little innovation from their law firms. But clients might be part of the problem. When they reward the status quo with an average 7.4% rate increases year after year while claiming innovation is “crucial,” what message are they really sending?

The gap between what clients…

When we talk about GenAI for the legal profession we frequently focus on the risks. But Comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 requires us to also the understand the benefits. Sometimes we make AI a little too complicated.

Two fundamental rules: Don’t put client confidences in prompts and check the output for accuracy. Here is…

I was recently at a charity benefit reception and dinner. An acquaintance (and I stress acquaintance) came up to me, took one look and out of the blue asked, “you’re retired, aren’t you”? For some reason that question was both galling and irritating. It took me a bit to figure why even though I’m sure…

A lot of lawyers think AFAs will save them from AI disruption. They’re wrong.

I’ve been using alternative fee arrangements since the 90s, so I’m not anti-AFA. But the current rush to AFAs as a solution to AI’s impact on billable hours misses the point entirely.

The real issue isn’t how we package our fees.

At its Inspire Conferance, NetDocuments assembled some of legal tech’s sharpest minds to talk about AI’s real impact on legal practice. Zach Abramowitz, Nicola Shaver, Zach Warren, and Jennifer Poon didn’t hold back on the hard questions: Why traditional ROI metrics fail for AI, how ‘AI-first’ firms are disrupting the leverage model, and why many…

Over the past month I have attended more user conferences than I can count. At every single one of them there are presentations and panel discussions about change management particularly for law firms.

I haven’t practiced law full time for a bit and have kind of lost the need for all this focus on change management. I forgot how hard it is for lawyers, and anyone else to change. I was quick to conclude lawyers are Luddites who are just being obstinate when they resist change. As for me, I was sure I could change in a heartbeat if need be. I don’t need no management.Continue Reading My Phone, My Pocket and My Problem: Change Is Harder Than We Think

Just back from NetDocuments Inspire conference. In an era of legal tech consolidation and flashy AI promises, NetDocuments CEO Josh Baxter told me: ‘We’re not a rock band.’ Their new AI Profile tool tackles the metadata problem that’s plagued document management for years. But can this understated, specialized approach survive when the market seems headed…

The world of GenAI: get an answer to anything and everything within seconds. No thinking required: just prompt and go. I’m all about technology and the wonders GenAI brings to our world. But sometimes I wonder: at what cost? 

Once a week, on Sundays, I try to have a screenless day. A day where I try to minimize looking at screens, the digital world if you will.

I got the idea from a book I read a few years ago entitled The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. It was written by a Canadian writer David Sax who focuses on the analog vs digital life, among other things.Continue Reading Going Analog: Is It Just for Luddites?