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Is There a Future for Solos and Small Firms?
December 14, 2013
“I do not see much of a future (beyond 2020) for most small firms ….” — Richard Susskind, Tomorrow’s Lawyers Will the next 5–10 years really see the end of solos and small law firms? I’ve heard Susskind talk before, but today, I sat down with him at the William Mitchell College of Law to find out more about his predictions as they pertain to small law firms. The future according to Susskind Susskind’s most-recent book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers, is short and worth a read, but I will...
December 14, 2013
“I do not see much of a future (beyond 2020) for most small firms ….” — Richard Susskind, Tomorrow’s Lawyers Will the next 5–10 years really see the end of solos and small law firms? I’ve heard Susskind talk before, but today, I sat down with him at the William Mitchell College of Law to find out more about his predictions as they pertain to small law firms. The future according to Susskind Susskind’s most-recent book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers, is short and worth a read, but I will...
Facebook and Judges
December 14, 2013
In a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision, the court found that a mere Facebook friendship does not amount to a lack of impartiality by judge. The case is Youkers v. State, 2013 WL 2077196 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 15, 2013). In that case, the assault victim’s father was Facebook friends with the judge presiding over the trial.
December 14, 2013
In a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision, the court found that a mere Facebook friendship does not amount to a lack of impartiality by judge. The case is Youkers v. State, 2013 WL 2077196 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 15, 2013). In that case, the assault victim’s father was Facebook friends with the judge presiding over the trial.
Luddite Lawyers Are Ethical Violations Waiting To Happen
December 14, 2013
Lawyers cannot ignore technology The ABA made it abundantly clear that lawyers must keep up with technology when it amended comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 on competence. Comment 8 now reads: To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject. (Emphasis...
December 14, 2013
Lawyers cannot ignore technology The ABA made it abundantly clear that lawyers must keep up with technology when it amended comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 on competence. Comment 8 now reads: To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject. (Emphasis...
NSA Tracking 5 BILLION Cell Records Daily
December 10, 2013
Billions of cellphone locations are apparently collected daily by the NSA of the “whereabouts of cellphones around the world”...
December 10, 2013
Billions of cellphone locations are apparently collected daily by the NSA of the “whereabouts of cellphones around the world”...
Reproducible Research as an Aspirational Goal for Legal Metrics
December 9, 2013
In the sciences, a recent movement is often referred to as “reproducible research.” What it espouses is a philosophy...
December 9, 2013
In the sciences, a recent movement is often referred to as “reproducible research.” What it espouses is a philosophy...
Mommy, the Drone’s Here!
December 7, 2013
The novelty of flying cars never materialized. But flying novels are right around the corner. If you aren’t nervous enough reading about 3-D printers spitting out handguns or Google robots with Android phones, imagine the skies thick with crisscrossing tiny drones. “I know this looks like science fiction. It’s not,” Jeff Bezos told Charlie Rose on “60 Minutes” Sunday, unveiling his octocopter drones. The Amazon founder is optimistic that the fleet of miniature robot helicopters...
December 7, 2013
The novelty of flying cars never materialized. But flying novels are right around the corner. If you aren’t nervous enough reading about 3-D printers spitting out handguns or Google robots with Android phones, imagine the skies thick with crisscrossing tiny drones. “I know this looks like science fiction. It’s not,” Jeff Bezos told Charlie Rose on “60 Minutes” Sunday, unveiling his octocopter drones. The Amazon founder is optimistic that the fleet of miniature robot helicopters...
Google Puts Money on Robots, Using the Man Behind Android
December 7, 2013
In an out-of-the-way Google office, two life-size humanoid robots hang suspended in a corner. If Amazon can imagine delivering books by drones, is it too much to think that Google might be planning to one day have one of the robots hop off an automated Google Car and race to your doorstep to deliver a package? Google executives acknowledge that robotic vision is a “moonshot.” But it appears to be more realistic than Amazon’s proposed drone delivery service, which Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s...
December 7, 2013
In an out-of-the-way Google office, two life-size humanoid robots hang suspended in a corner. If Amazon can imagine delivering books by drones, is it too much to think that Google might be planning to one day have one of the robots hop off an automated Google Car and race to your doorstep to deliver a package? Google executives acknowledge that robotic vision is a “moonshot.” But it appears to be more realistic than Amazon’s proposed drone delivery service, which Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s...
Law Schools Can’t Sleep Through the Technological Revolution
December 7, 2013
It is plain to see that technology is fundamentally changing the way we live. During a recent family trip to a lodge, I was amused to learn that my children did not know what a rotary phone was. But why should they? They were born digital and have grown up in a rapidly changing world of PDAs, flat-screen TVs, ITunes, YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, and texting. These are all transformative innovations, and one can only imagine what will be next. We are in the midst of a technological renaissance, a revolution...
December 7, 2013
It is plain to see that technology is fundamentally changing the way we live. During a recent family trip to a lodge, I was amused to learn that my children did not know what a rotary phone was. But why should they? They were born digital and have grown up in a rapidly changing world of PDAs, flat-screen TVs, ITunes, YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, and texting. These are all transformative innovations, and one can only imagine what will be next. We are in the midst of a technological renaissance, a revolution...
Recalculate the Future of Law
December 6, 2013
We’ve been engaged in a year-long project to imagine the law firm of 2023. Dan Katz of Michigan State University has also been taking on law’s future through the ReInvent Law Laboratory. We talked with him about legal startups, incentivizing innovation, and what he tells lawyers who “don’t do math.” Andrew Benedict-Nelson: I’d like to do a little Rip Van Winkle experiment with you. Let’s say you fall asleep for ten years. It turns out you’ve fallen asleep in a law firm. What do you imagine...
December 6, 2013
We’ve been engaged in a year-long project to imagine the law firm of 2023. Dan Katz of Michigan State University has also been taking on law’s future through the ReInvent Law Laboratory. We talked with him about legal startups, incentivizing innovation, and what he tells lawyers who “don’t do math.” Andrew Benedict-Nelson: I’d like to do a little Rip Van Winkle experiment with you. Let’s say you fall asleep for ten years. It turns out you’ve fallen asleep in a law firm. What do you imagine...
When Algorithms Grow Accustomed to Your Face
December 5, 2013
People often reveal their private emotions in tiny, fleeting facial expressions, visible only to a best friend — or to a skilled poker player. Now, computer software is using frame-by-frame video analysis to read subtle muscular changes that flash across our faces in milliseconds, signaling emotions like happiness, sadness and disgust. With face-reading software, a computer’s webcam might spot the confused expression of an online student and provide extra tutoring. Or computer-based games with...
December 5, 2013
People often reveal their private emotions in tiny, fleeting facial expressions, visible only to a best friend — or to a skilled poker player. Now, computer software is using frame-by-frame video analysis to read subtle muscular changes that flash across our faces in milliseconds, signaling emotions like happiness, sadness and disgust. With face-reading software, a computer’s webcam might spot the confused expression of an online student and provide extra tutoring. Or computer-based games with...
