Blog Archives
Negotiation Theorists Win Nobel for Research on Contract Theory
October 10, 2016
Harvard professor Oliver Hart and MIT's Bengt Holmström were awarded Monday the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their work on contract theory, the study of how people can efficiently enter into agreements. Their contributions have shaped the thinking in a wide range of fields, from law, to economics to political science. Holmström's work explores how best to monitor and reward people for doing their jobs. Paying for performance does not always encourage employees to work...
October 10, 2016
Harvard professor Oliver Hart and MIT's Bengt Holmström were awarded Monday the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their work on contract theory, the study of how people can efficiently enter into agreements. Their contributions have shaped the thinking in a wide range of fields, from law, to economics to political science. Holmström's work explores how best to monitor and reward people for doing their jobs. Paying for performance does not always encourage employees to work...
US Law Firm Womble Carlyle Adopts ROSS’s AI Research System
October 9, 2016
US law firm Womble Carlyle has adopted ROSS Intelligence’s AI research system. The North Carolina-based firm, which has 550 lawyers and 15 offices across the US, announced this week that it had decided to make use of ROSS to help improve client service and increase efficiencies. Womble has also recently formed an alliance with UK national law firm Bond Dickinson. ROSS’s main use at present is in very fast legal research in the field of US bankruptcy. The company was one of the first legal...
October 9, 2016
US law firm Womble Carlyle has adopted ROSS Intelligence’s AI research system. The North Carolina-based firm, which has 550 lawyers and 15 offices across the US, announced this week that it had decided to make use of ROSS to help improve client service and increase efficiencies. Womble has also recently formed an alliance with UK national law firm Bond Dickinson. ROSS’s main use at present is in very fast legal research in the field of US bankruptcy. The company was one of the first legal...
Human Brain Map Gets a Bold New Update
October 9, 2016
The new Allen Brain Atlas combines neuroimaging and tissue staining to offer an unprecedented level of resolution Most of us think little of hopping on Google Maps to look at everything from a bird’s-eye view of an entire continent to an on-the-ground view of a specific street, all carefully labeled. Thanks to a digital atlas published this week, the same is now possible with the human brain. Ed Lein and colleagues at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle have created a comprehensive,...
October 9, 2016
The new Allen Brain Atlas combines neuroimaging and tissue staining to offer an unprecedented level of resolution Most of us think little of hopping on Google Maps to look at everything from a bird’s-eye view of an entire continent to an on-the-ground view of a specific street, all carefully labeled. Thanks to a digital atlas published this week, the same is now possible with the human brain. Ed Lein and colleagues at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle have created a comprehensive,...
AI Making a Difference in Cancer Care – 60 Minutes Tonight
October 9, 2016
The artificial intelligence we see in daily life is just a fraction of its vast potential. Already it's making strides in cancer care Watson, the IBM technology, is doing much more now than beating humans on TV’s “Jeopardy!” Five years after that, the A.I. technology has the ability to learn and analyze mountains of data. It is now becoming a crucial tool for doctors. Scientific research grows at a rate of some 8,000 academic papers a day – far too much for doctors to keep up with. In an analysis...
October 9, 2016
The artificial intelligence we see in daily life is just a fraction of its vast potential. Already it's making strides in cancer care Watson, the IBM technology, is doing much more now than beating humans on TV’s “Jeopardy!” Five years after that, the A.I. technology has the ability to learn and analyze mountains of data. It is now becoming a crucial tool for doctors. Scientific research grows at a rate of some 8,000 academic papers a day – far too much for doctors to keep up with. In an analysis...
Small Firms Struggling to Take the Technology Leap
October 8, 2016
Bruce MacPherson Selecting and using new technology that positively affects a firm's bottom line is an investment. The initial time investment alone can be daunting, given the way legal technology has ballooned in recent years. It's now a multibillion-dollar buffet of choices. The struggle to remain current is felt by the world's largest firms all the way down to the smallest. Smaller firms and solo practitioners face a unique set of challenges all their own that has led to a dearth...
October 8, 2016
Bruce MacPherson Selecting and using new technology that positively affects a firm's bottom line is an investment. The initial time investment alone can be daunting, given the way legal technology has ballooned in recent years. It's now a multibillion-dollar buffet of choices. The struggle to remain current is felt by the world's largest firms all the way down to the smallest. Smaller firms and solo practitioners face a unique set of challenges all their own that has led to a dearth...
Artificial Intelligence Disrupting the Business of Law
October 8, 2016
Firms are recognising that failure to invest in technology will hinder ability to compete in today’s legal market © Anna Gordon A study by Deloitte has suggested that technology is already leading to job losses in the UK legal sector, and some 114,000 jobs could be automated within 20 years. Professor Richard Susskind, a technology consultant and co-author of The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts, predicts...
October 8, 2016
Firms are recognising that failure to invest in technology will hinder ability to compete in today’s legal market © Anna Gordon A study by Deloitte has suggested that technology is already leading to job losses in the UK legal sector, and some 114,000 jobs could be automated within 20 years. Professor Richard Susskind, a technology consultant and co-author of The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts, predicts...
Technology’s Part in Closing the Justice Gap
October 7, 2016
William Hubbard, immediate past president at the ABA and currently partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, said that 80 percent of the poor as well as 50 percent of people of "moderate means" currently don't have adequate access for addressing their legal concerns, while some 96 million Americans are currently qualified for legal aid. Among his suggestions, Hubbard urged the audience to "think more creatively about how we deliver legal services," which means attorneys should "embrace...
October 7, 2016
William Hubbard, immediate past president at the ABA and currently partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, said that 80 percent of the poor as well as 50 percent of people of "moderate means" currently don't have adequate access for addressing their legal concerns, while some 96 million Americans are currently qualified for legal aid. Among his suggestions, Hubbard urged the audience to "think more creatively about how we deliver legal services," which means attorneys should "embrace...
Emotions Control
October 7, 2016
Recently, I stumbled across an interesting study published online by the ABA Journal (aka American Bar Association Journal). Researchers discovered that when the LSU Tigers unexpectedly lose a football game, the juvenile judges take their anger/frustration at the loss out on the juveniles before them by imposing longer sentences. (“Louisiana juveniles got longer sentences after unexpected LSU football losses, study finds” posted online September 8, 2016) I am particularly amused by this...
October 7, 2016
Recently, I stumbled across an interesting study published online by the ABA Journal (aka American Bar Association Journal). Researchers discovered that when the LSU Tigers unexpectedly lose a football game, the juvenile judges take their anger/frustration at the loss out on the juveniles before them by imposing longer sentences. (“Louisiana juveniles got longer sentences after unexpected LSU football losses, study finds” posted online September 8, 2016) I am particularly amused by this...
Bad Decisions to Go to Trial
October 6, 2016
You may be familiar with the Randall Kiser et al. study, Let’s Not Make a Deal: An Empirical Study of Decision Making in Unsuccessful Settlement Negotiations, 5 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 551 (2008), which replicated amazing findings in prior studies by Samuel Gross and Kent Syverud, and Jeffrey Rachlinski. The top line finding in the large-scale Kiser study was that an astounding 85% of litigants made “decision errors” by rejecting settlement offers and then getting worse results...
October 6, 2016
You may be familiar with the Randall Kiser et al. study, Let’s Not Make a Deal: An Empirical Study of Decision Making in Unsuccessful Settlement Negotiations, 5 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 551 (2008), which replicated amazing findings in prior studies by Samuel Gross and Kent Syverud, and Jeffrey Rachlinski. The top line finding in the large-scale Kiser study was that an astounding 85% of litigants made “decision errors” by rejecting settlement offers and then getting worse results...
Maybe You Should Just Say No to Negotiating
October 5, 2016
Leonhardt says the first two situations are easier to recognize than the third. If your client is desperate to put this issue behind him or her or in need of money that could come from a settlement, you should advise the client of the dangers of the situation but ultimately it’s the client’s decision what to do. If the other party is suddenly interested in negotiation it should not be a big deal to ask for a little time to prepare. In the third situation not all of us have minds with airtight...
October 5, 2016
Leonhardt says the first two situations are easier to recognize than the third. If your client is desperate to put this issue behind him or her or in need of money that could come from a settlement, you should advise the client of the dangers of the situation but ultimately it’s the client’s decision what to do. If the other party is suddenly interested in negotiation it should not be a big deal to ask for a little time to prepare. In the third situation not all of us have minds with airtight...
