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5 Legal Tech Startup Areas to Watch in 2017
January 1, 2017
While 2015 was marked by major investments in legal tech organizations like Avvo and kCura (who raked in $71 million and $125 million in venture capital investments, respectively), 2016 lacked the same the same robust investing climate. That said, venture capitalists, accelerators, and other investors in legal tech demonstrated some continued interest in a few areas that are likely to carry into 2017. Legal tech entrepreneurs may want to look into these 5 areas for their next big project:
January 1, 2017
While 2015 was marked by major investments in legal tech organizations like Avvo and kCura (who raked in $71 million and $125 million in venture capital investments, respectively), 2016 lacked the same the same robust investing climate. That said, venture capitalists, accelerators, and other investors in legal tech demonstrated some continued interest in a few areas that are likely to carry into 2017. Legal tech entrepreneurs may want to look into these 5 areas for their next big project:
Equal Access to Information & Justice Online Dispute Resolution
December 31, 2016
Online dispute resolution ('ODR') refers to the use of technology to support the settlement of civil and commercial disputes. Platforms began appearing two decades ago offering a plethora of online processes for various types of disputes. ODR has grown exponentially and offers unique features for handling millions of disputes annually and has the potential to significantly increase access to justice across all legal jurisdictions. In previous ODR Conferences it was noted that ODR can really help...
December 31, 2016
Online dispute resolution ('ODR') refers to the use of technology to support the settlement of civil and commercial disputes. Platforms began appearing two decades ago offering a plethora of online processes for various types of disputes. ODR has grown exponentially and offers unique features for handling millions of disputes annually and has the potential to significantly increase access to justice across all legal jurisdictions. In previous ODR Conferences it was noted that ODR can really help...
The Artificial Lawyer Year in Review: The New Era of Legal AI Begins
December 31, 2016
2016 will be remembered as the year when legal AI and advanced automation went from being a subject for conference discussions about ‘the future’ and became something very real in the eyes of the market, and perhaps most importantly something that law firms were actually using for client work. AI and advanced automation, at least as theories, have been around since the 1950s and such pioneers as Marvin Minsky and Norbert Wiener were some of the leading lights in these fields back then. But,...
December 31, 2016
2016 will be remembered as the year when legal AI and advanced automation went from being a subject for conference discussions about ‘the future’ and became something very real in the eyes of the market, and perhaps most importantly something that law firms were actually using for client work. AI and advanced automation, at least as theories, have been around since the 1950s and such pioneers as Marvin Minsky and Norbert Wiener were some of the leading lights in these fields back then. But,...
The 10 Most Important Legal Technology Developments of 2016
December 31, 2016
THE LEGAL INDUSTRY GETS SMART ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. CHATBOTS START CHATTING ABOUT LAW. LEGAL STARTUPS FIND STARDUST. ANALYTICS EXPAND THEIR REACH. TECH FOR A2J GOES MAINSTREAM. INTERNET OF THINGS BECOMES A THING IN LAW. TECH CLE BECOMES MANDATORY. ALL U.S. CASE LAW GETS DIGITIZED. AT LAST! AVVO PUSHES THE LEGAL SERVICES ENVELOPE. AS SECURITY BURNS, LAW FIRMS FIDDLE.
December 31, 2016
THE LEGAL INDUSTRY GETS SMART ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. CHATBOTS START CHATTING ABOUT LAW. LEGAL STARTUPS FIND STARDUST. ANALYTICS EXPAND THEIR REACH. TECH FOR A2J GOES MAINSTREAM. INTERNET OF THINGS BECOMES A THING IN LAW. TECH CLE BECOMES MANDATORY. ALL U.S. CASE LAW GETS DIGITIZED. AT LAST! AVVO PUSHES THE LEGAL SERVICES ENVELOPE. AS SECURITY BURNS, LAW FIRMS FIDDLE.
The ABA’s Proposed 75% Bar Passage Rule And The Coming Legal Job Destruction Caused By Artificial Intelligence
December 30, 2016
The issue of ABA law school accreditation and the passage rates achieved by law schools is obviously quite volatile. The arguments pro and con the proposed ABA rule on accreditation and the need for law schools to achieve a 75% bar passage rate over a two year period contain hidden agendas that involve preset political positions and the self interest of a variety of groups, including the ABA, HBCU’s and law teachers who are already threatened by sharply falling enrollments. I have tried to stay...
December 30, 2016
The issue of ABA law school accreditation and the passage rates achieved by law schools is obviously quite volatile. The arguments pro and con the proposed ABA rule on accreditation and the need for law schools to achieve a 75% bar passage rate over a two year period contain hidden agendas that involve preset political positions and the self interest of a variety of groups, including the ABA, HBCU’s and law teachers who are already threatened by sharply falling enrollments. I have tried to stay...
If You’ve Never Lost a Trial, You Aren’t Trying Enough Cases
December 30, 2016
In a moment of weakness, I agreed to write this piece for THE ADVOCATE, feeling both honored and humbled by the request. Only later did I fully come to realize the challenge that I had undertaken. I came to the awareness that this publication may be read by the full spectrum of trial practitioners, from rank beginners to the most seasoned professionals, and from the cutting-edge, technologically savvy to the “oldsters” who cannot find the power button. Then, when the topic was more fully provided...
December 30, 2016
In a moment of weakness, I agreed to write this piece for THE ADVOCATE, feeling both honored and humbled by the request. Only later did I fully come to realize the challenge that I had undertaken. I came to the awareness that this publication may be read by the full spectrum of trial practitioners, from rank beginners to the most seasoned professionals, and from the cutting-edge, technologically savvy to the “oldsters” who cannot find the power button. Then, when the topic was more fully provided...
McMichael, Van Horn, & Viscusi on Apology Laws
December 30, 2016
Benjamin McMichael, Lawrence Van Horn, and Kip Viscusi (all Vanderbilt) have posted to SSRN Sorry is Never Enough: The Effect of State Apology Laws on Medical Malpractice Liability Risk. The abstract provides: State apology laws offer a separate avenue from traditional damages-centric tort reforms to promote communication between physicians and patients and to address potential medical malpractice liability. These laws facilitate apologies from physicians by excluding statements of apology from...
December 30, 2016
Benjamin McMichael, Lawrence Van Horn, and Kip Viscusi (all Vanderbilt) have posted to SSRN Sorry is Never Enough: The Effect of State Apology Laws on Medical Malpractice Liability Risk. The abstract provides: State apology laws offer a separate avenue from traditional damages-centric tort reforms to promote communication between physicians and patients and to address potential medical malpractice liability. These laws facilitate apologies from physicians by excluding statements of apology from...
MIT Profs Push Moneyball Approach For Faculty Hiring And Tenure Decisions
December 29, 2016
Michael Lewis’s 2003 book, Moneyball — later made into a movie starring Brad Pitt — tells the story of how predictive analytics transformed the Oakland Athletics baseball team and, eventually, baseball itself. Data-based modeling has since transcended sport. It’s used in hiring investment bankers, for example. But is academe really ready for its own “moneyball moment” in terms of personnel decisions? A group of management professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
December 29, 2016
Michael Lewis’s 2003 book, Moneyball — later made into a movie starring Brad Pitt — tells the story of how predictive analytics transformed the Oakland Athletics baseball team and, eventually, baseball itself. Data-based modeling has since transcended sport. It’s used in hiring investment bankers, for example. But is academe really ready for its own “moneyball moment” in terms of personnel decisions? A group of management professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
Jury Selection in Personal Injury Cases
December 29, 2016
Jury selection is an important part of the judicial process, intended to be fair to the participants. A jury that includes...
December 29, 2016
Jury selection is an important part of the judicial process, intended to be fair to the participants. A jury that includes...
A Settlement Agreement That’s Too Vague Doesn’t Settle Much At All
December 29, 2016
I am always saying to my students that if they care about something, they should put it in their contract, and they should be specific about what it is they want. I think sometimes people might think there's something to gain strategically by being vague, but introducing ambiguity into a contract can work out very poorly (and also takes control out of the hands of the parties). A recent case out of Florida, Boardwalk at Daytona Development, LLC v. Paspalakis, Case No. 5D15-1944, is a case where the court,...
December 29, 2016
I am always saying to my students that if they care about something, they should put it in their contract, and they should be specific about what it is they want. I think sometimes people might think there's something to gain strategically by being vague, but introducing ambiguity into a contract can work out very poorly (and also takes control out of the hands of the parties). A recent case out of Florida, Boardwalk at Daytona Development, LLC v. Paspalakis, Case No. 5D15-1944, is a case where the court,...
