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.
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.
Why are lawyers incompetent when it comes to e-Discovery: Hubris. Time. Perceived easier options.
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.
Continue Reading I Asked ChatGPT to Help Write a Post on Law Firms: Here Is How It Turned Out
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
Well, I did it. Sort of. At the beginning of 2021, I set a goal of posting once a week on this blog. I didn’t hit a post every week, but I ended up posting 52 times for an average of once per week. I hit my goal despite a lengthy hospital stay of someone close in early 2021, a personal bout of breakthrough Covid, and numerous other minor and not so minor setbacks, slights, and ups and downs.
Some posts I know were better than others. Some too long. Some too short. Some made little sense, but some, a precious few, were pretty good, I think.
In retrospect, I learned (or maybe relearned) four things about blogging in 2021.
Continue Reading Four Things I (Re)Learned About Blogging 2021
The truth is law is just not a client service driven business. And it looks like the pandemic has done little to change that.
Continue Reading The Wolters Kluwer Future Lawyer Survey: Law Just Ain’t Client Service Driven
I chat periodically with David Carns, Chief Revenue Officer of Casepoint, to find out what his company is up to. But also to get his take on what’s going on in the legal tech world.