Technology
A Game-Changing Litigation Technology Trend
August 8, 2015
According to a recent article in Corporate Counsel magazine, more legal departments are now experimenting with alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) in litigation (29%) than in other practice areas. However, litigation is not at all where the greatest impact of AFAs are going to be felt for many in-house legal departments and law firms.The Brad Pitt film, Moneyball, portrays Billy Beane as the baseball team manager of the Oakland A’s struggling against accepted dogma in player selection. Beane’s...
August 8, 2015
According to a recent article in Corporate Counsel magazine, more legal departments are now experimenting with alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) in litigation (29%) than in other practice areas. However, litigation is not at all where the greatest impact of AFAs are going to be felt for many in-house legal departments and law firms.The Brad Pitt film, Moneyball, portrays Billy Beane as the baseball team manager of the Oakland A’s struggling against accepted dogma in player selection. Beane’s...
NY Times on the “Gig Economy”
August 8, 2015
Today's New York Times has an article about how Uber and Lyft are merely the latest incarnation of a decades-long trend towards replacing (or attempting to replace) employees with independent contractors. According to the Times, Uber is a rather extreme version, officially employing only 4000 people, while 160,000 people make their living through Uber. The Times attributes stagnating wages to this "gig economy," acknowledging that other forces, including the decline of unions and globalization,...
August 8, 2015
Today's New York Times has an article about how Uber and Lyft are merely the latest incarnation of a decades-long trend towards replacing (or attempting to replace) employees with independent contractors. According to the Times, Uber is a rather extreme version, officially employing only 4000 people, while 160,000 people make their living through Uber. The Times attributes stagnating wages to this "gig economy," acknowledging that other forces, including the decline of unions and globalization,...
Silicon Valley Company’s Software Starting to Take Divorces, Other Court Disputes Online
August 3, 2015
Imagine working out a divorce without hiring an attorney or stepping into court or disputing the tax assessment on your home completely online. A Silicon Valley company is starting to make both possibilities a reality with software that experts say represents the next wave of technology in which the law is turned into computer code that can solve legal battles without the need for a judge or attorney. "We're not quite at the Google car stage in law, but there are no conceptual or technical...
August 3, 2015
Imagine working out a divorce without hiring an attorney or stepping into court or disputing the tax assessment on your home completely online. A Silicon Valley company is starting to make both possibilities a reality with software that experts say represents the next wave of technology in which the law is turned into computer code that can solve legal battles without the need for a judge or attorney. "We're not quite at the Google car stage in law, but there are no conceptual or technical...
You’re Not Entitled to Privacy When You Make a “Butt Call”!
August 3, 2015
A court ruled that there is no privacy to people who make “butt calls” and particularly when the party making the “butt call” admitted “that he was aware of the risk of making inadvertent pocket-dial calls and had previously made such calls on his cellphone.” On July 21, 2015 the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals considered in the case of Huff v. Spaw : …whether a person who listens to and subsequently electronically records a conversation from an inadvertent “pocket-dial” call violates...
August 3, 2015
A court ruled that there is no privacy to people who make “butt calls” and particularly when the party making the “butt call” admitted “that he was aware of the risk of making inadvertent pocket-dial calls and had previously made such calls on his cellphone.” On July 21, 2015 the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals considered in the case of Huff v. Spaw : …whether a person who listens to and subsequently electronically records a conversation from an inadvertent “pocket-dial” call violates...
Hilton Helps Guests Book Perfect Room With Google Maps APIs
August 2, 2015
No one likes surprises when they reserve hotel rooms, so it’s crucial for Hilton that people see exactly what they’ll be getting before they arrive. Currently, Hilton’s HHonors guests can use the HHonors website and app as a one-stop tool to control their on-property experience – from finding the best hotels in the right neighborhoods and booking the most suitable one, to soon, using the app as a room key. With a spirit of constant innovation, we’re always looking for new ways to enhance...
August 2, 2015
No one likes surprises when they reserve hotel rooms, so it’s crucial for Hilton that people see exactly what they’ll be getting before they arrive. Currently, Hilton’s HHonors guests can use the HHonors website and app as a one-stop tool to control their on-property experience – from finding the best hotels in the right neighborhoods and booking the most suitable one, to soon, using the app as a room key. With a spirit of constant innovation, we’re always looking for new ways to enhance...
A New Appellate Court Opinion on “Pocket Dialing”
August 2, 2015
Yes, I know we all call it something else other than "pocket dialing," but congratulations to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for using a more polite term. Huff vs Spaw (Download in PDF) was issued this week. I don't usually comment on substantive law issues, but the facts on this one are pretty interesting. James Huff inadvertently placed a pocket-dial call to Carol Spaw while he was on a business trip in Italy. He discussed the possible firing of Spaw's supervisor first with a colleague...
August 2, 2015
Yes, I know we all call it something else other than "pocket dialing," but congratulations to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for using a more polite term. Huff vs Spaw (Download in PDF) was issued this week. I don't usually comment on substantive law issues, but the facts on this one are pretty interesting. James Huff inadvertently placed a pocket-dial call to Carol Spaw while he was on a business trip in Italy. He discussed the possible firing of Spaw's supervisor first with a colleague...
Are Lawyers Ready for Artificial Intelligence?
August 1, 2015
Here’s the show summary: “Artificial Intelligence is a means of designing a system that can perceive its environment and take actions that will maximize its success.” -Tom Mighell Developments in Big Data, machine learning, IBM Watson, and other advancements in technology have brought back the cyclical discussion of what artificial intelligence might mean for lawyers. Has anything really changed, or have we just reached another round of the AI debate? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell...
August 1, 2015
Here’s the show summary: “Artificial Intelligence is a means of designing a system that can perceive its environment and take actions that will maximize its success.” -Tom Mighell Developments in Big Data, machine learning, IBM Watson, and other advancements in technology have brought back the cyclical discussion of what artificial intelligence might mean for lawyers. Has anything really changed, or have we just reached another round of the AI debate? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell...
Three More Resources Relating to Judge Profiling
July 31, 2015
In a post yesterday, In Litigation and Legal Research, Judge Analytics is the New Black, I wrote about three websites that provide data and analytics about judges. Thanks to sharp-eyed readers, I have learned of three other sites with similar missions. Two of the sites were just this week awarded start-up funding through the Knight News Challenge. Both are focused on using data to provide greater transparency about judges and judicial elections. Each received $35,000. * * * In a blog post...
July 31, 2015
In a post yesterday, In Litigation and Legal Research, Judge Analytics is the New Black, I wrote about three websites that provide data and analytics about judges. Thanks to sharp-eyed readers, I have learned of three other sites with similar missions. Two of the sites were just this week awarded start-up funding through the Knight News Challenge. Both are focused on using data to provide greater transparency about judges and judicial elections. Each received $35,000. * * * In a blog post...
The Struggle for Accurate Measurements on Your Wrist
July 26, 2015
Until recently, I didn’t know a thing about how my roughly 25-minute bike commute across San Francisco—or any other part of my day, really—affects my body, other than that I inevitably arrive at work sweaty and a bit out of breath when I’m in a big rush. How high is my heart rate? Do my sleep habits affect it? How many calories do I burn? These questions have been on my mind as a number of activity trackers and smart watches have hit store shelves over the past couple of years, promising...
July 26, 2015
Until recently, I didn’t know a thing about how my roughly 25-minute bike commute across San Francisco—or any other part of my day, really—affects my body, other than that I inevitably arrive at work sweaty and a bit out of breath when I’m in a big rush. How high is my heart rate? Do my sleep habits affect it? How many calories do I burn? These questions have been on my mind as a number of activity trackers and smart watches have hit store shelves over the past couple of years, promising...
Why Google’s Neural Networks Look Like They’re on Acid
July 26, 2015
The main difference between our visual processing and that of neural networks is the amount of feedback from different areas of the brain, says Melanie Mitchell, a professor of computer science at Portland State University, who has written a book on neural networks. Google's neural network is “feed forward”—it's a one-way street where data can only travel upward through the layers. By contrast, our brains are always communicating in a million directions at once. Even when we’ve only seen...
July 26, 2015
The main difference between our visual processing and that of neural networks is the amount of feedback from different areas of the brain, says Melanie Mitchell, a professor of computer science at Portland State University, who has written a book on neural networks. Google's neural network is “feed forward”—it's a one-way street where data can only travel upward through the layers. By contrast, our brains are always communicating in a million directions at once. Even when we’ve only seen...
