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Are Companies Like Axiom Law a Threat to BigLaw?
July 27, 2013
Axiom Law–which has 1,000 employees in 11 offices–isn't a legal process outsourcer, claims its founder and CEO Mark Harris. But it's also not a law firm, he says. Yet it's been solely responsible for the legal work on more than 10 M&A transactions over the past year–the kind of work law firms once thought they alone could do. It aspires to become "one of the world's largest providers of legal services," Harris tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. Listen for yourself to decide if it's...
July 27, 2013
Axiom Law–which has 1,000 employees in 11 offices–isn't a legal process outsourcer, claims its founder and CEO Mark Harris. But it's also not a law firm, he says. Yet it's been solely responsible for the legal work on more than 10 M&A transactions over the past year–the kind of work law firms once thought they alone could do. It aspires to become "one of the world's largest providers of legal services," Harris tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. Listen for yourself to decide if it's...
The Innovators: Renee Newman Knake
July 27, 2013
The Innovators: Renee Newman Knake Birthplace: Springfield, Mo. Location: East Lansing, Mich. Work: Co-founder/co-director of Reinvent Law Laboratory, a legal think tank, development and training center created last year at the Michigan State University College of Law with funding by theKauffman Foundation. The lab's focus is on technology, legal deregulation, reinvention of legal education, and the creation of new legal delivery systems. Knake (pronounced “kah-NAH-kee”) is also a Michigan...
July 27, 2013
The Innovators: Renee Newman Knake Birthplace: Springfield, Mo. Location: East Lansing, Mich. Work: Co-founder/co-director of Reinvent Law Laboratory, a legal think tank, development and training center created last year at the Michigan State University College of Law with funding by theKauffman Foundation. The lab's focus is on technology, legal deregulation, reinvention of legal education, and the creation of new legal delivery systems. Knake (pronounced “kah-NAH-kee”) is also a Michigan...
GPS Location Data Requires a Warrant
July 27, 2013
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that cell owners can “reasonably expect that their personal information will remain private” and in order to get GPS location data police must get a search warrant. The question in State v. Thomas W. Earls was the “constitutional right to privacy in cell-phone location” and the unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner included the following: Using a cellphone to determine the location of its owner can be far more revealing than acquiring...
July 27, 2013
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that cell owners can “reasonably expect that their personal information will remain private” and in order to get GPS location data police must get a search warrant. The question in State v. Thomas W. Earls was the “constitutional right to privacy in cell-phone location” and the unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner included the following: Using a cellphone to determine the location of its owner can be far more revealing than acquiring...
Fastcase Announces 50 Legal Innovators to Watch
July 27, 2013
With a record number of nominations, online legal research company Fastcase chose its latest class of 50 legal innovators and visionaries to honor in 2013. They include legal technologists and law professors, from start-ups to the establishment, who are inventing, adopting and advocating for new models of delivering legal services. Honoree Raj Abhyanker, co-founder of Trademarkia, which served as the world’s largest trademark firm, recently opened a retail storefront reminiscent of Apple computer...
July 27, 2013
With a record number of nominations, online legal research company Fastcase chose its latest class of 50 legal innovators and visionaries to honor in 2013. They include legal technologists and law professors, from start-ups to the establishment, who are inventing, adopting and advocating for new models of delivering legal services. Honoree Raj Abhyanker, co-founder of Trademarkia, which served as the world’s largest trademark firm, recently opened a retail storefront reminiscent of Apple computer...
Court Refuses to Disqualify E-Discovery Vendor for ‘Switching Sides’ in Case
July 26, 2013
Can an e-discovery vendor “switch sides” in a case, performing services first for one side and then for the other? A U.S. magistrate judge has denied a motion seeking to disqualify an e-discovery consulting company for precisely that reason. Finding that the company was never privy to the moving party’s confidential information or litigation strategies, the judge found no reason to disqualify the company from continuing to participate in the case. The ruling came in the case Gordon...
July 26, 2013
Can an e-discovery vendor “switch sides” in a case, performing services first for one side and then for the other? A U.S. magistrate judge has denied a motion seeking to disqualify an e-discovery consulting company for precisely that reason. Finding that the company was never privy to the moving party’s confidential information or litigation strategies, the judge found no reason to disqualify the company from continuing to participate in the case. The ruling came in the case Gordon...
Did the Court Just Look at Facebook On Its Own?
July 26, 2013
In a products liability case Circuit Judge Diane Wood referenced a Facebook Fan Page. Here is the exact passage: HP may be correct...
July 26, 2013
In a products liability case Circuit Judge Diane Wood referenced a Facebook Fan Page. Here is the exact passage: HP may be correct...
Law Firm’s Advance Conflict Waiver Upheld
July 26, 2013
A corporate client who signs a law firm’s open-ended advance conflicts of interest waiver gives “informed consent” for the firm’s future representation of adverse clients if the waiver adequately informs the client of material risks and reasonable alternatives and if the client is sophisticated enough to understand the waiver, according to a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Factors for determining sophistication include the client’s size,...
July 26, 2013
A corporate client who signs a law firm’s open-ended advance conflicts of interest waiver gives “informed consent” for the firm’s future representation of adverse clients if the waiver adequately informs the client of material risks and reasonable alternatives and if the client is sophisticated enough to understand the waiver, according to a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Factors for determining sophistication include the client’s size,...
Texas Supreme Court Issues Emergency Stay to Consider Arbitration
July 26, 2013
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay in an interlocutory appeal regarding whether an ongoing natural gas dispute...
July 26, 2013
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay in an interlocutory appeal regarding whether an ongoing natural gas dispute...
How Lawyers’ Intuitions Prolong Litigation
July 26, 2013
Most lawsuits settle, but some settle later than they should. Too many compromises occur only after protracted discovery and expensive motion practice. Sometimes the delay precludes settlement altogether. Why does this happen? Several possibilities--such as the alleged greed of lawyers paid on an hourly basis--have been suggested, but they are insufficient to explain why so many cases do not settle until the eve of trial. We offer a novel account of the phenomenon of settling on the courthouse...
July 26, 2013
Most lawsuits settle, but some settle later than they should. Too many compromises occur only after protracted discovery and expensive motion practice. Sometimes the delay precludes settlement altogether. Why does this happen? Several possibilities--such as the alleged greed of lawyers paid on an hourly basis--have been suggested, but they are insufficient to explain why so many cases do not settle until the eve of trial. We offer a novel account of the phenomenon of settling on the courthouse...
Da Silva Moore: Plaintiffs Petition for Writ of Certiorari on Question of Recusal
July 25, 2013
It was reported this week that the Plaintiffs in this case have filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court seeking an answer to the question: “Should a court of appeals review a judge’s denial of a motion to recuse de novo or for an abuse of discretion?” For those who don’t recall, the plaintiffs in this case sought Magistrate Judge Peck’s recusal following his approval of Defendant’s predictive coding protocol. That motion was denied, and the denial...
July 25, 2013
It was reported this week that the Plaintiffs in this case have filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court seeking an answer to the question: “Should a court of appeals review a judge’s denial of a motion to recuse de novo or for an abuse of discretion?” For those who don’t recall, the plaintiffs in this case sought Magistrate Judge Peck’s recusal following his approval of Defendant’s predictive coding protocol. That motion was denied, and the denial...
