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Should Attorneys Care About Data Analytics?
May 10, 2017
Whatever one may think of the value of Big Data, economic studies have consistently and conclusively found that customers are more likely to buy a product when they know what the price of the product is. Data analytics can help give greater certainty to prospective clients, and hence drive more business to the firm. To answer the question that we started with then – should attorneys care about data analytics? The answer is a resounding Yes – but only if they want to make more money and have...
May 10, 2017
Whatever one may think of the value of Big Data, economic studies have consistently and conclusively found that customers are more likely to buy a product when they know what the price of the product is. Data analytics can help give greater certainty to prospective clients, and hence drive more business to the firm. To answer the question that we started with then – should attorneys care about data analytics? The answer is a resounding Yes – but only if they want to make more money and have...
An Empirical Study of the Effects of the Negativity Bias
May 9, 2017
Because I have been working on a book on cognitive biases for several months, I was delighted to discover a newly-posted article on SSRN by Kenneth D. Chestek concerning the effects of the Negativity Bias on persuasive writing. Fear and Loathing in Persuasive Writing: An Empirical Study of the Effects of the Negativity Bias. (Legal Communication & Rhetoric: JALWD, Vol. 14, 2017) Abstract "Cognitive psychologists have identified a phenomenon they call the "negativity bias," in which humans...
May 9, 2017
Because I have been working on a book on cognitive biases for several months, I was delighted to discover a newly-posted article on SSRN by Kenneth D. Chestek concerning the effects of the Negativity Bias on persuasive writing. Fear and Loathing in Persuasive Writing: An Empirical Study of the Effects of the Negativity Bias. (Legal Communication & Rhetoric: JALWD, Vol. 14, 2017) Abstract "Cognitive psychologists have identified a phenomenon they call the "negativity bias," in which humans...
Oral Argument in Federal Court Becoming a Lost Art
May 3, 2017
Oral argument - the once commonplace art of making one’s case before the judge - is slipping into obscurity in the nation’s federal courtrooms after steadily going out of fashion. This is especially so in the federal circuit courts of appeals across the country. In the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2006, 25.9 percent, or 8,956, of all 34,580 cases decided on their merits were disposed of after hearing arguments, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In the most...
May 3, 2017
Oral argument - the once commonplace art of making one’s case before the judge - is slipping into obscurity in the nation’s federal courtrooms after steadily going out of fashion. This is especially so in the federal circuit courts of appeals across the country. In the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2006, 25.9 percent, or 8,956, of all 34,580 cases decided on their merits were disposed of after hearing arguments, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In the most...
Biglaw Divided On How To Deal With Technology
April 28, 2017
If one envisions a law firm’s efforts to move boldly into the future as a matter of balancing the triad of people, technology, and process, then the most striking revelation of the event was the lack of uniformity across the industry. Considering the pack mentality of Biglaw firms — consistently terrified to waver from their peers — the firms represented on this day varied greatly in their current focus. The first few firms to offer their thoughts said, unequivocally, that they’re in the market...
April 28, 2017
If one envisions a law firm’s efforts to move boldly into the future as a matter of balancing the triad of people, technology, and process, then the most striking revelation of the event was the lack of uniformity across the industry. Considering the pack mentality of Biglaw firms — consistently terrified to waver from their peers — the firms represented on this day varied greatly in their current focus. The first few firms to offer their thoughts said, unequivocally, that they’re in the market...
Whittier Law School Says It Will Shut Down
April 27, 2017
"Trustees of the Whittier Law School said on Wednesday that it would close down, making it the first fully accredited law school in the country to shut at a time when many law schools are struggling amid steep declines in enrollment and tuition income." "The trustees of the school, in Costa Mesa, Calif., said in a statement that they had voted not to enroll new first-year students in the fall but were 'committed to ensuring that students currently enrolled will have an opportunity to complete their...
April 27, 2017
"Trustees of the Whittier Law School said on Wednesday that it would close down, making it the first fully accredited law school in the country to shut at a time when many law schools are struggling amid steep declines in enrollment and tuition income." "The trustees of the school, in Costa Mesa, Calif., said in a statement that they had voted not to enroll new first-year students in the fall but were 'committed to ensuring that students currently enrolled will have an opportunity to complete their...
Can Data Help Lawyers Earn More Money?
April 8, 2017
In 2016, the company released its Legal Trends Report, which studied benchmark data from its 150,000 daily active users. It found on average, users only billed 28 percent of their available work hours, and the average billable hour rate across the country was $232. Big data is increasingly available to industries, but lawyer information still tends to be self reported, which can be problematic, said George Psiharis, vice president of business development and partnerships at Clio. Sometimes the information...
April 8, 2017
In 2016, the company released its Legal Trends Report, which studied benchmark data from its 150,000 daily active users. It found on average, users only billed 28 percent of their available work hours, and the average billable hour rate across the country was $232. Big data is increasingly available to industries, but lawyer information still tends to be self reported, which can be problematic, said George Psiharis, vice president of business development and partnerships at Clio. Sometimes the information...
SXSW Panel: How Attorneys are Crowdsourcing to Increase Access to Justice
April 4, 2017
With wide interest in closing the access to justice gap, lawyers at South by Southwest’s “Crowdsourcing Justice” panel on March 13 discussed creative ways to use technology to meet the rising demand for legal assistance. The panel focused on how lawyers have used several new crowdsourcing projects—which consist of gathering information from a large number of people remotely using the internet—in an effort to meet the needs of a mounting number of immigration clients and cases. “This...
April 4, 2017
With wide interest in closing the access to justice gap, lawyers at South by Southwest’s “Crowdsourcing Justice” panel on March 13 discussed creative ways to use technology to meet the rising demand for legal assistance. The panel focused on how lawyers have used several new crowdsourcing projects—which consist of gathering information from a large number of people remotely using the internet—in an effort to meet the needs of a mounting number of immigration clients and cases. “This...
Wolters Kluwer Real Rate Report Shows Law Firm Rates Rising at the Fastest Pace Since the 2008 Recession
April 2, 2017
Wolters Kluwer’s ELM Solutions has released its 2016 Real Rate Report. The report contains new information that the firm...
April 2, 2017
Wolters Kluwer’s ELM Solutions has released its 2016 Real Rate Report. The report contains new information that the firm...
The Robot Lawyers Are Coming (to Help, Not to Take Your Jobs)
April 2, 2017
There is no such thing as robot lawyers, and even if there were, they are not coming to take jobs away from human lawyers. Instead, lawyers should think about how best to work with and harness the potential of software and artificial intelligence to propel their practices forward while bridging the access-to-justice gap. Those were the main takeaways in a wide-ranging Friday morning panel discussion at ABA Techshow featuring Ross Intelligence CEO Andrew Arruda, IBM Global Chief Information...
April 2, 2017
There is no such thing as robot lawyers, and even if there were, they are not coming to take jobs away from human lawyers. Instead, lawyers should think about how best to work with and harness the potential of software and artificial intelligence to propel their practices forward while bridging the access-to-justice gap. Those were the main takeaways in a wide-ranging Friday morning panel discussion at ABA Techshow featuring Ross Intelligence CEO Andrew Arruda, IBM Global Chief Information...
Dallas’ Increase in Lawyer Billing Rates Among Highest in Country
March 30, 2017
Billing rates charged by firms in Dallas increased by 6.8 percent in 2015, compared with 2014—an increase second only to New York when considering the 25 U.S. cities with the highest volume of legal work. Rates increased by 7.9 percent in New York during the same period. According to the 2016 Real Rate Report, issued by CEB consulting company and Wolters Kluwer NV's ELM Solutions, which helps in-house legal departments manage budgets, hourly rates in the United States increased 5.4 percent in 2015...
March 30, 2017
Billing rates charged by firms in Dallas increased by 6.8 percent in 2015, compared with 2014—an increase second only to New York when considering the 25 U.S. cities with the highest volume of legal work. Rates increased by 7.9 percent in New York during the same period. According to the 2016 Real Rate Report, issued by CEB consulting company and Wolters Kluwer NV's ELM Solutions, which helps in-house legal departments manage budgets, hourly rates in the United States increased 5.4 percent in 2015...
