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Trust Darwin: How Tech Will Disrupt, Save the Legal Profession
February 9, 2015
Charles Darwin was right. It’s not the strongest, nor the most intelligent, who survive—it’s those who can best adapt to change. (Never mind that some people claim Darwin never actually said that.) If ever there was a time when the legal industry needed to pay attention to that advice, it’s today. We face profound challenges, and if we don’t man (and woman) up, we are all in for some serious hurt. But the flip side of the equation is there has never been a more exciting time to be a legal...
February 9, 2015
Charles Darwin was right. It’s not the strongest, nor the most intelligent, who survive—it’s those who can best adapt to change. (Never mind that some people claim Darwin never actually said that.) If ever there was a time when the legal industry needed to pay attention to that advice, it’s today. We face profound challenges, and if we don’t man (and woman) up, we are all in for some serious hurt. But the flip side of the equation is there has never been a more exciting time to be a legal...
Google Fiber is coming to Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham
February 7, 2015
It’s been nearly five years since we offered to build a fiber-optic network in one U.S. city as an experiment — and were met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Now, Google Fiber is live in Kansas City, Provo and Austin, and we've started to see how gigabit Internet, with speeds up to 100 times faster than today’s basic broadband, can transform cities. It can give them new platforms for economic development and new ways of using technology to improve life for their citizens. And, around the country,...
February 7, 2015
It’s been nearly five years since we offered to build a fiber-optic network in one U.S. city as an experiment — and were met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Now, Google Fiber is live in Kansas City, Provo and Austin, and we've started to see how gigabit Internet, with speeds up to 100 times faster than today’s basic broadband, can transform cities. It can give them new platforms for economic development and new ways of using technology to improve life for their citizens. And, around the country,...
ALM Media CEO Bill Carter on Smart Systems at LegalTech
February 7, 2015
Bill Carter, CEO of ALM, joins Mike Sacks at ALM’s 2015 Legal Tech conference to discuss the changing legal media market,...
February 7, 2015
Bill Carter, CEO of ALM, joins Mike Sacks at ALM’s 2015 Legal Tech conference to discuss the changing legal media market,...
Google Earth Pro is Now Free
February 7, 2015
Over the last 10 years, businesses, scientists and hobbyists from all over the world have been using Google Earth Pro for everything from planning hikes to placing solar panels on rooftops. Google Earth Pro has all the easy-to-use features and detailed imagery of Google Earth, along with advanced tools that help you measure 3D buildings, print high-resolution images for presentations or reports, and record HD movies of your virtual flights around the world. Starting today, even more people will...
February 7, 2015
Over the last 10 years, businesses, scientists and hobbyists from all over the world have been using Google Earth Pro for everything from planning hikes to placing solar panels on rooftops. Google Earth Pro has all the easy-to-use features and detailed imagery of Google Earth, along with advanced tools that help you measure 3D buildings, print high-resolution images for presentations or reports, and record HD movies of your virtual flights around the world. Starting today, even more people will...
Small Firms Using Data Tools Too
January 28, 2015
You probably think of big data as the province of big firms. Those are the firms more likely to represent the large corporations that amass big data, advising about its retention, management and discovery. Large firms even use big data themselves for internal benchmarking and competitive intelligence. Big, it would seem, wields big. Small firms, however, also stand to benefit from big data. Various technology tools enable even solo lawyers to analyze large data sets in ways that provide them with...
January 28, 2015
You probably think of big data as the province of big firms. Those are the firms more likely to represent the large corporations that amass big data, advising about its retention, management and discovery. Large firms even use big data themselves for internal benchmarking and competitive intelligence. Big, it would seem, wields big. Small firms, however, also stand to benefit from big data. Various technology tools enable even solo lawyers to analyze large data sets in ways that provide them with...
Should Google Stop Pointing Out Police Cars on Waze Traffic App?
January 28, 2015
Add law enforcement officers to the list of those concerned about personal privacy and safety implications of Internet tracking. Among other services provided by Waze, the popular Google traffic application makes it easy for drivers to share with fellow motorists the location of any speed traps they spot. However, some fear the app also could aid those targeting law enforcement officers, the Associated Press reports. Among those concerned about a potential threat is Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford...
January 28, 2015
Add law enforcement officers to the list of those concerned about personal privacy and safety implications of Internet tracking. Among other services provided by Waze, the popular Google traffic application makes it easy for drivers to share with fellow motorists the location of any speed traps they spot. However, some fear the app also could aid those targeting law enforcement officers, the Associated Press reports. Among those concerned about a potential threat is Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford...
Toronto Students Use Watson for Predictive Legal Research
January 26, 2015
Helping lawyers reduce research time is key to the functioning of Ross, the students said. All teams were given access to Watson on the cloud, which allowed them to feed the computer program large amounts of text from Ontario corporate law decisions and statutes as reference material. The super computer Watson then processed that information and the students’ application, Ross, made that data accessible to lawyers and legal researchers. Ross can, for example, predict the outcome of court cases,...
January 26, 2015
Helping lawyers reduce research time is key to the functioning of Ross, the students said. All teams were given access to Watson on the cloud, which allowed them to feed the computer program large amounts of text from Ontario corporate law decisions and statutes as reference material. The super computer Watson then processed that information and the students’ application, Ross, made that data accessible to lawyers and legal researchers. Ross can, for example, predict the outcome of court cases,...
Researchers Create Program that “Solves” Texas Hold’em Poker
January 17, 2015
Researchers in Canada say they’ve created a computer program that has “weakly solved” a form of poker. It may be the first such solution for a game where players don’t have all relevant information available to them. Cepheus, developed at the University of Alberta, is said to be able to play a perfect game of two-player limit Texas Hold’em Poker. If you’re wondering why the researchers have published their findings rather than using Cepheus to make their fortune, it’s because what...
January 17, 2015
Researchers in Canada say they’ve created a computer program that has “weakly solved” a form of poker. It may be the first such solution for a game where players don’t have all relevant information available to them. Cepheus, developed at the University of Alberta, is said to be able to play a perfect game of two-player limit Texas Hold’em Poker. If you’re wondering why the researchers have published their findings rather than using Cepheus to make their fortune, it’s because what...
Landeo on Tort Law and Economics
January 13, 2015
Claudia Landeo (Alberta-Department of Economics) has posted to SSRN Law and Economics and Tort Law: Theory and Experiments. The abstract provides: In tort litigation, delayed settlement or impasse imposes high costs on the parties and society. Litigation institutions might influence social welfare by affecting the likelihood of out-of-court settlement and the potential injurers' investment in product safety. An appropriate design of litigation institutions and tort reform requires good knowledge...
January 13, 2015
Claudia Landeo (Alberta-Department of Economics) has posted to SSRN Law and Economics and Tort Law: Theory and Experiments. The abstract provides: In tort litigation, delayed settlement or impasse imposes high costs on the parties and society. Litigation institutions might influence social welfare by affecting the likelihood of out-of-court settlement and the potential injurers' investment in product safety. An appropriate design of litigation institutions and tort reform requires good knowledge...
M.B.A. Programs Start to Follow Silicon Valley Into the Data Age
January 10, 2015
Greg Pass, the former chief technology officer of Twitter, put the matter succinctly. The M.B.A., he observed, is "a challenged brand." That's because the degree suggests a person steeped in finance and corporate strategy rather than in the digital-age arts of speed and constant experimentation — and in skills like A/B testing, rapid prototyping and data-driven decision making, the bread and butter of Silicon Valley. Those skills are not just for high-tech start-ups. They are required now in every...
January 10, 2015
Greg Pass, the former chief technology officer of Twitter, put the matter succinctly. The M.B.A., he observed, is "a challenged brand." That's because the degree suggests a person steeped in finance and corporate strategy rather than in the digital-age arts of speed and constant experimentation — and in skills like A/B testing, rapid prototyping and data-driven decision making, the bread and butter of Silicon Valley. Those skills are not just for high-tech start-ups. They are required now in every...
