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Last week, I posted on the issue of whether law schools should be teaching students how to use tools like ChatGPT. After I posted this, James Lau, well known legal tech author, and former Chief Legal Officer, pointed out to me that Open AI, GPT-4 Technical Report, 14 March 2023, states, “In particular, our usage policies prohibit the use of our models and products in the contexts of high risk government decision making (e.g., law enforcement, criminal justice, migration, and asylum), or for offering legal or health advice.” (page 6)…

Continue Reading ChatGPT 4: Do Lawyers Know Just Enough to Be Dangerous?

Lots of questions and unease surround the use of ChatGPT in the classroom and education. The issue may be particularly acute for law schools and professors. Law schools are charged with teaching core legal concepts that (should) equip students to practice law. 

Many law school professors reportedly question how they can do that if students can have the concepts laid out for them by ChatGPT. Even ChatGPT questions how this can be done if students can use ChatGPT on such things as exams. …

Continue Reading Should ChatGPT Be In Law School?

I recently listened to Stephen Poor‘s podcast entitled Pioneers and Pathfinders. I am a regular listener and find it to be always enlightening. (Poor is Chair Emeritus of the large and innovative law firm, Seyfarth Shaw). This past week, Poor’s guest was John Alber, a former partner at Bryan Cave and its Strategic Innovation Partner for many years. Alber was one of the first chief innovation officers in a big law firm, so his experience in that regard, I thought, would be pretty revealing. And he didn’t disappoint. …

Continue Reading When It Comes to Tech, Lawyers in Law Firms Are Entrepreneurs

Last week was the ABA TECHSHOW 2023 in Chicago. I am partial to this show–it’s my favorite of the legal technology shows I attend. It’s my favorite not only because it’s put on by the ABA Law Practice Division, of which I am the current Chair (Yes, I know. I can’t be impartial about this). But it was my favorite even before I became Chair or commenced a leadership position in the Division. I have written about TECHSHOW several times, here, here, and here.

TECHSHOW is geared more toward smaller firms and solo lawyers. There is less high-power selling and nerd speak. There is more education, training and discussion. There is space for more substantive discussions and learning from vendors. People are less interested in sales and more interested in learning. …

Continue Reading ABA TECHSHOW 2023: A Joyous Celebration.  A Rousing Success

I spent this week at the ABA TechShow, which is put on by the Law Practice Division of which I am current Chair. The Show was a rousing success.

Lots of hoopla about new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, generative AI, neural networks, and large language models. Pablo Arredondo, CEO of Casetext, and I presented on the topic. Well, Pablo presented; I just tried to stay out of the way. Pablo is one of the few people who can talk about these tools in a way that even I can understand it.

Continue Reading AI, Generative AI, ChatGPT, Robot Lawyers: Why Should I Care? Are Robots Going to Replace Us ?

Why are lawyers incompetent when it comes to e-Discovery: Hubris. Time. Perceived easier options.

markus-spiske-iar-afB0QQw-unsplash

Stephanie Wilkins recently wrote an excellent article entitled, “Is Attorney E-Discovery Incompetence the Elephant in the Room?” In it, Wilkins notes a recent Report from eDiscovery Today, a website paper from EDRM, commentary by several exerts, and several recent examples that all evidence the glaring ignorance of so many lawyers about e-discovery issues:…

Continue Reading Why Are Lawyers So Darned Incompetent With E-Discovery? Three Reasons

I recently published a post that discussed client pressures on law firms to take public stands on social issues. These issues are often controversial and can be tricky for law firms.

In the process of conceptualizing the post, ChatGBT hit the news. I decided to use it least to get started. The results were interesting and showed both the power and limitations of the tool. I ended up with two posts. The post you are reading shows how I used—and didn’t use—ChatGPT. The other was the actual substantive post on the relevent issues.

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Continue Reading I Asked ChatGPT to Help Write a Post on Law Firms: Here Is How It Turned Out

I recently came across an article by Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law that discussed client pressures on law firms to take public stands on social issues. The same issue was front and center in the excellent book by David Enrich Servants of the Damned. These issues are often controversial and divisive and arouse passions among both law firm partners and clients.

It is becoming more and more common for individuals and businesses to take public stands on various social and political issues. This trend is certainly evident in the legal industry, where clients are beginning to demand that their law firms also take positions on important social issues.…

Continue Reading Clients Demand Public Positions on Contentious Social Issues: What’s a Law Firm to Do?

As the Covid pandemic finally (hopefully) begins to wind down, 2023 may be the year law firms will need to reach more definite decisions about remote work.

Certainly, law firms have been grabbling with this thorny issue for some time. And policies have been in flux as the pandemic ebbed and flowed. Also, the increased legal workload and shortage of lawyers to handle that load may have forced firms to somewhat reluctantly throw in the towel. They began to let lawyers and associates work where and when they wanted. But when the hot legal market began to cool, firms began to do an about face and require lawyers to be in the office, at least some of the time. But should that be certain days of the week, like Tuesday through Thursday? Should it be every day? Should it be left to the discretion of individual lawyers? Practice groups?…

Continue Reading Dealing with the Remote Work Conundrum: Six Best Practices

I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been

Wayne Gretzky

Last week, I was back at the sprawling CES (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. I go every year, although I missed the last two years due to the pandemic. 

CES has always been gracious enough to extend a media pass to me, even though I write more about legal tech than consumer tech. CES goes out of its way to accommodate the media. Nice media rooms close to most of the sessions and exhibit halls. Lunch every day. Lots of background material to make our jobs easier, not harder. It’s nice to feel welcomed for a change.…

Continue Reading CES 2023: 10 Tech Trends That Will Impact Legal