Legal Tech Tomorrowland: Experts Make Predictions for the Future
December 20, 2015

Automating the work of lawyers and legal professionals has long been the focus of these types of discussions—even before we watched a computer named Watson trounce its human opponents on Jeopardy. One of the fundamental functions of an attorney is spotting an unseen issue, pitfall or anomaly. And we don’t yet know the extent to which all legal issues can be seen and resolved without humans. This appears to be the key question at the crux of the issue for the future of the profession and technology’s...

A.I.: Researchers Find Quicker Way To Teach Computer
December 20, 2015

Researchers say they’ve developed an algorithm that can teach a new concept to a computer using just one example, rather than the thousands of examples that are traditionally required for machine learning. The algorithm takes advantage of a probabilistic approach the researchers call “Bayesian Program Learning,” or BPL. Essentially, the computer generates its own additional examples, and then determines which ones fit the pattern best. The researchers behind BPL say they’re trying to reproduce...

8 Tech Trends to Watch in 2016
December 19, 2015

Algorithmic personality detection. Did you know that some life insurance underwriters are attempting to assess your personality...

Will Computer Learning Replace Lawyer Earning?
December 18, 2015

In the legal profession discovery documents are classified and contract clauses are analyzed using so-called machine learning, artificial intelligence or predictive coding. But this is just the start. Will advances in computer science lead to technology that can actually do what we think we do better and more efficiently? Will smart robot attorneys be able to assess all the variables in a case and arrive at a precise exposure analysis and settlement value in seconds? Will they be able to take in all of the information...

Lex Machina Upgrades Legal Analytics Platform to Aid PTAB Case Strategies
December 17, 2015

Expansion of underlying datasets provides practitioners with tools to apply analytics to their decision making process. Legal...

Patent Lawsuits Flooded East Texas Courts in November
December 14, 2015

Businesses and individuals filed a record 851 patent infringement lawsuits in November – more than half of them in the federal...

How IBM’s Watson Went From ‘Jeopardy’ Champ to Business A.I. Tool
December 12, 2015

If Watson — the supercomputer first introduced via "Jeopardy" four years ago that's become a key part of IBM's business friendly story — was capable of all the great things IBM (NYSE: IBM) said it could do, then Hussey knew that data he had would find a good home. The trick would be to figure out which of Watson’s 30 cognitive APIs, each of which are trained to perform a different skill set and can learn to improve their performance, would best suit his company StatSocial's needs. So Hussey...

5th Annual Western Empirical Legal Studies Conference
December 11, 2015

I am delighted once again to pass along information from Joe Doherty (UCLA) about the 5th Annual Western Empirical Legal Studies (WELS) Conference at UCLA on March 5, 2016. Insofar as WELS is consciously pitched to "law and graduate students," (emphasis added) it fills an important need and presents a wonderful opportunity for interested students. Click here for more information. (Please note the 1.8.2016 proposal deadline.) *** Call for Papers: 5th Annual Western Empirical Legal Studies (WELS)...

Technological Advances Help to Resolve Disputes
December 10, 2015

Today’s lawyers are harnessing these innovations and many others to improve the delivery of legal services. Is there a place...

Straus Conference on Business, Conflict around Globe Receives Rave Reviews
December 9, 2015

"Probably the most uniformly excellent cast of speakers we have ever had." –Thomas Stipanowich, Academic Director of the Straus...