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A Civil Justice System With No Trials
January 14, 2014
This article was first published in the Texas Bar Journal‘s December 2013 issue. — Ed. “The steady erosion of the American trial is our dirty little secret.” The steady erosion of the American trial is our dirty little secret. A majority of the American public might be surprised to learn that there is indisputable statistical evidence that the number of jury and non-jury trials in our country is, and has been, sharply declining, both in absolute and relative terms.1 For example, in 2010,...
January 14, 2014
This article was first published in the Texas Bar Journal‘s December 2013 issue. — Ed. “The steady erosion of the American trial is our dirty little secret.” The steady erosion of the American trial is our dirty little secret. A majority of the American public might be surprised to learn that there is indisputable statistical evidence that the number of jury and non-jury trials in our country is, and has been, sharply declining, both in absolute and relative terms.1 For example, in 2010,...
Behavioral Change Needed to Curb Civil Litigation Crisis
January 14, 2014
How would we go about measuring efficiency and effectiveness of our hallowed civil justice system? First, we would establish markers for performance. The six markers I would use are: Goal Setting - the ability of litigants and their counsel to articulate what they hope to get out of the litigation process. Organization and Prioritization - the ability of counsel to organize information to give the fact finders the best understanding of the factual and legal issues in the case and what is most...
January 14, 2014
How would we go about measuring efficiency and effectiveness of our hallowed civil justice system? First, we would establish markers for performance. The six markers I would use are: Goal Setting - the ability of litigants and their counsel to articulate what they hope to get out of the litigation process. Organization and Prioritization - the ability of counsel to organize information to give the fact finders the best understanding of the factual and legal issues in the case and what is most...
LSATs Administered: December Figures
January 13, 2014
According to LSAC, 28,363 LSATs were taken in December 2013, which is down 6.2% from December 2012. October 2013 LSATs administered were down 10.9% from October 2012, and June 2013 LSATs were down 4.9% from the prior year. (LSAC doesn't report how many are repeat test-takers--since it is now easier to get into law school than just a few years ago, one would imagine that creates less incentive to re-take, but what the actual numbers are we do not know.) Judging from the last few years, there's...
January 13, 2014
According to LSAC, 28,363 LSATs were taken in December 2013, which is down 6.2% from December 2012. October 2013 LSATs administered were down 10.9% from October 2012, and June 2013 LSATs were down 4.9% from the prior year. (LSAC doesn't report how many are repeat test-takers--since it is now easier to get into law school than just a few years ago, one would imagine that creates less incentive to re-take, but what the actual numbers are we do not know.) Judging from the last few years, there's...
Study: Boom Long Gone, But Firms Get Lift as Year Dawns
January 13, 2014
While a return to the legal industry's pre-2008 halcyon days remains out of reach, law firms should expect to see the modest positive momentum they experienced in the second half of last year extend into 2014, according to a report produced by Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group and Hildebrandt Consulting. The nine-page client advisory [PDF], which is to be released Monday, notes that though growth in demand for legal services was down 0.6 percent at the end of 2013's third quarter, that figure...
January 13, 2014
While a return to the legal industry's pre-2008 halcyon days remains out of reach, law firms should expect to see the modest positive momentum they experienced in the second half of last year extend into 2014, according to a report produced by Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group and Hildebrandt Consulting. The nine-page client advisory [PDF], which is to be released Monday, notes that though growth in demand for legal services was down 0.6 percent at the end of 2013's third quarter, that figure...
The Wolfram Connected Device Project
January 13, 2014
Connected devices are central to our long-term strategy of injecting sophisticated computation and knowledge into everything. With the Wolfram Language we now have a way to describe and compute about things in the world. Connected devices are what we need to measure and interface with those things. In the end, we want every type of connected device to be seamlessly integrated with the Wolfram Language. And this will have all sorts of important consequences. But as we work toward this, there’s...
January 13, 2014
Connected devices are central to our long-term strategy of injecting sophisticated computation and knowledge into everything. With the Wolfram Language we now have a way to describe and compute about things in the world. Connected devices are what we need to measure and interface with those things. In the end, we want every type of connected device to be seamlessly integrated with the Wolfram Language. And this will have all sorts of important consequences. But as we work toward this, there’s...
Tech Summit Report on Use of Tech to Expand Access
January 12, 2014
The LSC has released the final version of the Report of the Summit on the Use of Technology to Expand Access to Justice. This Report resulted from a Tech Summit that took place over the past two years. I attended both the first ”blue sky” brainstorming meeting and the second “practical implementation” meeting of the Summit. Those interested in virtual law practice will note that the Report includes technology that is commonly used in online delivery, such as online client portal access,...
January 12, 2014
The LSC has released the final version of the Report of the Summit on the Use of Technology to Expand Access to Justice. This Report resulted from a Tech Summit that took place over the past two years. I attended both the first ”blue sky” brainstorming meeting and the second “practical implementation” meeting of the Summit. Those interested in virtual law practice will note that the Report includes technology that is commonly used in online delivery, such as online client portal access,...
Moto X at $399 For-ev-er
January 12, 2014
At least for the distant future, Motorola is giving consumer exactly what most of us want, off-contract phones. Beginning today, Motorola is offering an off-contract Moto X for $399 for the 16GB model ($449 for 32GB). Motorola also shows why low-cost, high-quality devices make perfect sense: Because you should have the freedom to buy a great device when you want, without chaining yourself down. I’m very happy with my Moto X, and am trying to talk Mrs. The Droid Lawyer into dumping her Galaxy...
January 12, 2014
At least for the distant future, Motorola is giving consumer exactly what most of us want, off-contract phones. Beginning today, Motorola is offering an off-contract Moto X for $399 for the 16GB model ($449 for 32GB). Motorola also shows why low-cost, high-quality devices make perfect sense: Because you should have the freedom to buy a great device when you want, without chaining yourself down. I’m very happy with my Moto X, and am trying to talk Mrs. The Droid Lawyer into dumping her Galaxy...
Could Law Firms Out-Publish Traditional Legal Publishers?
January 12, 2014
Jeff Bullas (@jeffbullas), a well respected social media strategist, believesthat one of the top social media trends for 2014 is brands out-publishing traditional publishers. Social media has given us the power, platforms and world reaching networks to all become publishers. Innovative and creative brands and businesses are realizing that social media and content publishing are synergistic cousins and cohorts. Create multimedia content and share it on social networks and you start global conversations. Brands...
January 12, 2014
Jeff Bullas (@jeffbullas), a well respected social media strategist, believesthat one of the top social media trends for 2014 is brands out-publishing traditional publishers. Social media has given us the power, platforms and world reaching networks to all become publishers. Innovative and creative brands and businesses are realizing that social media and content publishing are synergistic cousins and cohorts. Create multimedia content and share it on social networks and you start global conversations. Brands...
Facebook Increasingly Vulnerable to Discovery
January 12, 2014
From Bloomberg BNA: An important issue before the court system, born from the technological and intellectual advances of social media, is the proper application of privacy within the scope of a lawsuit and the confines of a courtroom. This subject was addressed in an order issued by Judge James P. Cullen of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County, in Peronne v. Rose City HMA. 3 In particular, Cullen ruled upon the discoverability of a party's Facebook login information (i.e....
January 12, 2014
From Bloomberg BNA: An important issue before the court system, born from the technological and intellectual advances of social media, is the proper application of privacy within the scope of a lawsuit and the confines of a courtroom. This subject was addressed in an order issued by Judge James P. Cullen of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County, in Peronne v. Rose City HMA. 3 In particular, Cullen ruled upon the discoverability of a party's Facebook login information (i.e....
Lawyers Going Google: How to Use and Supercharge Gmail and Calendar
January 12, 2014
Millions of corporations, small businesses, solo lawyers, large and small law firms, and federal, state, and local governments...
January 12, 2014
Millions of corporations, small businesses, solo lawyers, large and small law firms, and federal, state, and local governments...
