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Using Algorithmic Attribution Techniques to Determine Authorship In Unsigned Judicial Opinions
August 4, 2013
From the Abstract: “This Article proposes a novel and provocative analysis of judicial opinions that are published without indicating individual authorship. Our approach provides an unbiased, quantitative, and computer scientific answer to a problem that has long plagued legal commentators. Our work uses natural language processing to predict authorship of judicial opinions that are unsigned or whose attribution is disputed. Using a dataset of Supreme Court opinions with known authorship,...
August 4, 2013
From the Abstract: “This Article proposes a novel and provocative analysis of judicial opinions that are published without indicating individual authorship. Our approach provides an unbiased, quantitative, and computer scientific answer to a problem that has long plagued legal commentators. Our work uses natural language processing to predict authorship of judicial opinions that are unsigned or whose attribution is disputed. Using a dataset of Supreme Court opinions with known authorship,...
Mass. Moves to Require Technology Competence for Lawyers
August 3, 2013
For a geek like me, it was big news last August when the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates voted to amend the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to make clear that lawyers have a duty to be competent in technology. Specifically, the ABA voted to amend the comment to Model Rule 1.1, governing lawyer competence, to say that, in addition to keeping abreast of changes in the law and its practice, a lawyer should keep abreast of “the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.”...
August 3, 2013
For a geek like me, it was big news last August when the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates voted to amend the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to make clear that lawyers have a duty to be competent in technology. Specifically, the ABA voted to amend the comment to Model Rule 1.1, governing lawyer competence, to say that, in addition to keeping abreast of changes in the law and its practice, a lawyer should keep abreast of “the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.”...
Google Maps Desktop Is New Again
August 3, 2013
Google Maps for mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones isn't the only work Google is doing on the best maps app in the world. You can request an invite to the new Google Maps for the Desktop as well, and it is pretty amazing. Using the card interface that has become ubiquitous on Android Jelly Bean phones and tablets, you can explore the world from your chair. Or, you can go on street view walking tours, and check out the interior of buildings you see. It's the next best thing to being there....
August 3, 2013
Google Maps for mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones isn't the only work Google is doing on the best maps app in the world. You can request an invite to the new Google Maps for the Desktop as well, and it is pretty amazing. Using the card interface that has become ubiquitous on Android Jelly Bean phones and tablets, you can explore the world from your chair. Or, you can go on street view walking tours, and check out the interior of buildings you see. It's the next best thing to being there....
Acrobat to the Rescue: Searching Unsearchable Productions
August 3, 2013
In a perverse irony, lawyers often ‘brag’ about how little they know about information technology; but in situations where admitting confusion could help them, they clam up. Abraham Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” But with respect to problems in electronic discovery, it’s foolish to stay silent. Sadly, many requesting parties are flummoxed by what’s produced to them. Rather than confess their confusion, they...
August 3, 2013
In a perverse irony, lawyers often ‘brag’ about how little they know about information technology; but in situations where admitting confusion could help them, they clam up. Abraham Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” But with respect to problems in electronic discovery, it’s foolish to stay silent. Sadly, many requesting parties are flummoxed by what’s produced to them. Rather than confess their confusion, they...
With Moto X, Google Enters a Crowded Marketplace
August 2, 2013
The time has come for Google, the king of online search, to show whether it has any business selling hardware. From left, Iqbal Arshad, Motorola’s senior vice president of global product development; Dennis Woodside, chief executive; and Jim Wicks, senior vice president of design. Motorola executives hope that the Moto X stands out for its voice command capabilities. Saying “OK Google Now, find me my way home,” for example, will quickly pull up a Google map with directions to a user’s...
August 2, 2013
The time has come for Google, the king of online search, to show whether it has any business selling hardware. From left, Iqbal Arshad, Motorola’s senior vice president of global product development; Dennis Woodside, chief executive; and Jim Wicks, senior vice president of design. Motorola executives hope that the Moto X stands out for its voice command capabilities. Saying “OK Google Now, find me my way home,” for example, will quickly pull up a Google map with directions to a user’s...
Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, and the Global Economy
July 31, 2013
Interesting blog post about New York Times Article on McKinsey & Company report.
July 31, 2013
Interesting blog post about New York Times Article on McKinsey & Company report.
Cool Tools at American Association of Law Libraries Event
July 28, 2013
The American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting & Conference finished up on Tuesday. The event had ninety exhibitors...
July 28, 2013
The American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting & Conference finished up on Tuesday. The event had ninety exhibitors...
Are Companies Like Axiom Law a Threat to BigLaw?
July 27, 2013
Axiom Law–which has 1,000 employees in 11 offices–isn't a legal process outsourcer, claims its founder and CEO Mark Harris. But it's also not a law firm, he says. Yet it's been solely responsible for the legal work on more than 10 M&A transactions over the past year–the kind of work law firms once thought they alone could do. It aspires to become "one of the world's largest providers of legal services," Harris tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. Listen for yourself to decide if it's...
July 27, 2013
Axiom Law–which has 1,000 employees in 11 offices–isn't a legal process outsourcer, claims its founder and CEO Mark Harris. But it's also not a law firm, he says. Yet it's been solely responsible for the legal work on more than 10 M&A transactions over the past year–the kind of work law firms once thought they alone could do. It aspires to become "one of the world's largest providers of legal services," Harris tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. Listen for yourself to decide if it's...
The Innovators: Renee Newman Knake
July 27, 2013
The Innovators: Renee Newman Knake Birthplace: Springfield, Mo. Location: East Lansing, Mich. Work: Co-founder/co-director of Reinvent Law Laboratory, a legal think tank, development and training center created last year at the Michigan State University College of Law with funding by theKauffman Foundation. The lab's focus is on technology, legal deregulation, reinvention of legal education, and the creation of new legal delivery systems. Knake (pronounced “kah-NAH-kee”) is also a Michigan...
July 27, 2013
The Innovators: Renee Newman Knake Birthplace: Springfield, Mo. Location: East Lansing, Mich. Work: Co-founder/co-director of Reinvent Law Laboratory, a legal think tank, development and training center created last year at the Michigan State University College of Law with funding by theKauffman Foundation. The lab's focus is on technology, legal deregulation, reinvention of legal education, and the creation of new legal delivery systems. Knake (pronounced “kah-NAH-kee”) is also a Michigan...
GPS Location Data Requires a Warrant
July 27, 2013
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that cell owners can “reasonably expect that their personal information will remain private” and in order to get GPS location data police must get a search warrant. The question in State v. Thomas W. Earls was the “constitutional right to privacy in cell-phone location” and the unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner included the following: Using a cellphone to determine the location of its owner can be far more revealing than acquiring...
July 27, 2013
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that cell owners can “reasonably expect that their personal information will remain private” and in order to get GPS location data police must get a search warrant. The question in State v. Thomas W. Earls was the “constitutional right to privacy in cell-phone location” and the unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner included the following: Using a cellphone to determine the location of its owner can be far more revealing than acquiring...
