Blog Archives
Start-Up Chatomate Pioneers Legal Bots
August 28, 2016
An Edinburgh-based legal tech start-up is looking for law firms and social sector organisations that want to put into action a new generation of chat bots aimed at helping clients and improving access to justice. Srini Janarthanam, founder, ChatomateLegal bot company co-founder, Srini Janarthanam’s baby is called Chatomate and it is only a few months old after launching this April. However, the company has already developed several experimental legal chat bots, initially with a focus on helping...
August 28, 2016
An Edinburgh-based legal tech start-up is looking for law firms and social sector organisations that want to put into action a new generation of chat bots aimed at helping clients and improving access to justice. Srini Janarthanam, founder, ChatomateLegal bot company co-founder, Srini Janarthanam’s baby is called Chatomate and it is only a few months old after launching this April. However, the company has already developed several experimental legal chat bots, initially with a focus on helping...
25 Years Ago the Internet Revolution Began, Now Imagine AI in 25 Years
August 27, 2016
25 years ago this month the internet, which until 1991 had been used mostly by the military and academics, was opened up to the wider world via the ‘WorldWideWeb’ developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. I was trying to think of all the things that would not be here today without the internet and here are a few things: This site. The ability to work from home. The ability to shop and sell goods/services remotely, from buying and selling shares, to buying gifts on Amazon or booking a holiday. ...
August 27, 2016
25 years ago this month the internet, which until 1991 had been used mostly by the military and academics, was opened up to the wider world via the ‘WorldWideWeb’ developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. I was trying to think of all the things that would not be here today without the internet and here are a few things: This site. The ability to work from home. The ability to shop and sell goods/services remotely, from buying and selling shares, to buying gifts on Amazon or booking a holiday. ...
Why is Now the Time for Artificial Intelligence?
August 27, 2016
Image Credit: Shutterstock Artificial intelligence, or A.I., has been around since the start of computing and has had many false starts. The reality did not live up to the expectations set by science fiction. Accordingly, for many years, the majority of people’s understanding of A.I. was confined to university laboratories, corporate skunk works, research parks, and that movie with Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law. Attempts to introduce A.I. products and services into the marketplace...
August 27, 2016
Image Credit: Shutterstock Artificial intelligence, or A.I., has been around since the start of computing and has had many false starts. The reality did not live up to the expectations set by science fiction. Accordingly, for many years, the majority of people’s understanding of A.I. was confined to university laboratories, corporate skunk works, research parks, and that movie with Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law. Attempts to introduce A.I. products and services into the marketplace...
Pneumatic Octopus is First Soft, Solo Robot
August 27, 2016
US engineers have built the first ever self-contained, completely soft robot - in the shape of a small octopus. Made from silicone gels of varying stiffness, the "octobot" is powered by a chemical reaction that pushes gas through chambers in its rubbery legs. Because of this design, the robot does not need batteries or wires - and contains no rigid components at all. Instead, a sequence of limb movements is pre-programmed into a sort of circuit board built from tiny pipes. These...
August 27, 2016
US engineers have built the first ever self-contained, completely soft robot - in the shape of a small octopus. Made from silicone gels of varying stiffness, the "octobot" is powered by a chemical reaction that pushes gas through chambers in its rubbery legs. Because of this design, the robot does not need batteries or wires - and contains no rigid components at all. Instead, a sequence of limb movements is pre-programmed into a sort of circuit board built from tiny pipes. These...
Why so many businesses are fleeing California for Texas
August 26, 2016
California’s tax and regulatory policies have made the cost of doing business more expensive than other states and prompted about 10,000 companies over the last eight years to leave the state or shift or curtail operations to reduce costs, according to a report from Spectrum Location Solutions. The out-of-state metropolitan areas that benefited included: 1. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 2. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale 4. Reno-Sparks 5. Las Vegas-Paradise 6. (tie)...
August 26, 2016
California’s tax and regulatory policies have made the cost of doing business more expensive than other states and prompted about 10,000 companies over the last eight years to leave the state or shift or curtail operations to reduce costs, according to a report from Spectrum Location Solutions. The out-of-state metropolitan areas that benefited included: 1. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 2. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale 4. Reno-Sparks 5. Las Vegas-Paradise 6. (tie)...
2015 Law School Graduates Got Fewer Jobs in Private Practice
August 26, 2016
Last year’s law school graduates landed fewer jobs in private practice than any class in the last two decades, according to the National Association for Law Placement, which tracks developments in the legal profession. “You have to go back to 1996 to find a comparably small number of private practice jobs,” said James G. Leipold, the association’s executive director. Private practice includes firms of any size as well as solo practitioners. In 2007, there were 37,123 such jobs, the association...
August 26, 2016
Last year’s law school graduates landed fewer jobs in private practice than any class in the last two decades, according to the National Association for Law Placement, which tracks developments in the legal profession. “You have to go back to 1996 to find a comparably small number of private practice jobs,” said James G. Leipold, the association’s executive director. Private practice includes firms of any size as well as solo practitioners. In 2007, there were 37,123 such jobs, the association...
AI Should Be Helping Lawyers Move Up The Value Chain
August 26, 2016
Michael goes on to state that “AI techniques enable lawyers to devote more of their time to more valuable (and interesting) work. Mining documents in discovery and due diligence, answering routine questions, sifting data to predict case outcomes, drafting contracts — all are faster, better, cheaper and becoming more so with the assistance of intelligent software.” That seems like a good starting point. Using these understandings and definitions, I would say that law firms embracing AI gain...
August 26, 2016
Michael goes on to state that “AI techniques enable lawyers to devote more of their time to more valuable (and interesting) work. Mining documents in discovery and due diligence, answering routine questions, sifting data to predict case outcomes, drafting contracts — all are faster, better, cheaper and becoming more so with the assistance of intelligent software.” That seems like a good starting point. Using these understandings and definitions, I would say that law firms embracing AI gain...
FINRA Reminds Broker-Dealer Firms of Their Duty to Arbitrate
August 25, 2016
Last Friday, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 16-25 reminding member firms that, under FINRA Rules 12200 and 13200, they have a regulatory duty to arbitrate at the request of a customer (account-related disputes) or an associated person (employment disputes). The Notice cited a number of recent circuit court decisions holding that a forum selection clause in the parties’ agreement superseded FINRA rules. (In those cases, the broker-dealer was attempting to avoid arbitration at FINRA.) FINRA disagrees...
August 25, 2016
Last Friday, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 16-25 reminding member firms that, under FINRA Rules 12200 and 13200, they have a regulatory duty to arbitrate at the request of a customer (account-related disputes) or an associated person (employment disputes). The Notice cited a number of recent circuit court decisions holding that a forum selection clause in the parties’ agreement superseded FINRA rules. (In those cases, the broker-dealer was attempting to avoid arbitration at FINRA.) FINRA disagrees...
The Evolution of Hunters and Gathers
August 25, 2016
The Conflict Continuum It is helpful to consider a dispute as a continuum of conflict where on one end is the “dispute” and the other end is “resolution”. In the middle are a number of signposts where the parties have real and substantive moments to reach closure. On the right end of the continuum is a jury trial, which is the most effective and elegant approach developed by our judicial system. It has succeeded for centuries and is the cornerstone for everything else that flows from...
August 25, 2016
The Conflict Continuum It is helpful to consider a dispute as a continuum of conflict where on one end is the “dispute” and the other end is “resolution”. In the middle are a number of signposts where the parties have real and substantive moments to reach closure. On the right end of the continuum is a jury trial, which is the most effective and elegant approach developed by our judicial system. It has succeeded for centuries and is the cornerstone for everything else that flows from...
Creating Value in a Zero Sum Game
August 25, 2016
You can create value in negotiations by engaging in the cooperative process of integrative or interest-based bargaining. Below are some tips for creating value in a zero sum game: The parties find ways to increase the amount of beneficial goods (what they want or what will improve their situation) that will be divided up. This can be called “joint value” or “joint gains” because these new developments are considered improvements by both parties. To create value you need to focus...
August 25, 2016
You can create value in negotiations by engaging in the cooperative process of integrative or interest-based bargaining. Below are some tips for creating value in a zero sum game: The parties find ways to increase the amount of beneficial goods (what they want or what will improve their situation) that will be divided up. This can be called “joint value” or “joint gains” because these new developments are considered improvements by both parties. To create value you need to focus...
