What lawyers can learn from a dollar-store model

Innovation has been the buzzword in the legal sector for several years. These days, there is a seminar or conference on innovation or IT disruption in the legal sector every week. Fueled by these repeated messages, many law firms start building apps, giving models away for free or embark on using software for such tasks as due diligence.

Mar 14, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

CodeX co-founder caught the entrepreneurial bug at Stanford (podcast)

Born and raised in Austria, Roland Vogl fell in love with California almost from the moment he arrived in 1999 as a student at Stanford Law School. In particular, he was drawn to the entrepreneurial ethos of Stanford's home base of Silicon Valley.

"The idea of being in Silicon Valley and being immersed in the gung-ho spirit where people solve problems—not so much by policy and lawmaking but by building new systems—really appealed to me," says Vogl, a 2017 Legal Rebels Trailblazer.

Mar 8, 2017 8:30 AM CST

Does new judicial commission in Georgia even exist? Law prof raises doubts

A poorly drafted constitutional amendment approved by Georgia voters in November could mean the state’s new and temporary Judicial Qualifications Commission has no authority to act—or doesn’t even exist, according to a Georgia State University law professor. The problem, says professor Clark Cunningham, is over confusion about the effective date…

Feb 13, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Lawyerist founder Sam Glover reports anecdata from the legal community (podcast)

The website Lawyerist focuses on getting attorneys information they want. Determining what that is isn't hard, says founder Sam Glover, because readers frequently tell him through the site's discussion forum or on social media.

Feb 8, 2017 8:30 AM CST

Build legal tech tools with actual lawyers in mind

When I was a kid, my dad used to caution me against seeing other people’s concerns through my own eyes. “When you’re a hammer, not everything is a nail.”

Jan 12, 2017 8:30 AM CST

Judge Dixon stays on to keep bringing tech to courts (podcast)

Herbert Dixon had already been eligible to retire for six years before he finally did in 2015, after 30 years on the District of Columbia Superior Court—the district’s version of a state trial court. But the judge stayed on longer because he was having too much fun changing the way…

Jan 11, 2017 8:30 AM CST

What BigLaw gets wrong about pay

Like clockwork, the news reports of Cravath’s associate bonus payouts led the dominoes of BigLaw firms to fall. Much like it did when Cravath announced its intention to pay first year associates $180,000 per year, BigLaw matched bonuses dollar-for-dollar rather than think of the long-term health of its institutions. My…

Dec 22, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Does tying performance to money stifle innovation and change?

This past summer, I spoke to a group of in-house lawyers about implementing the principles behind the agile manifesto for lawyers, something I wrote about in the New Normal.

Dec 15, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Legal tech’s future is in lawyers’ mindset, Randi Mayes says (podcast)

When you ask Randi Mayes about the future of technology in law firms, she says its growth will stem from attorneys' behavior rather than specific product offerings.

Dec 14, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Tech knowledge makes lawyers more productive, and could be key to increasing access to justice

The faith we place in our future selves is near limitless. The me-of-tomorrow is going to be more disciplined and diligent than the me-of-today. Getting to the gym. More sleep. Acquiring a new skill. We often laugh at our prior selves for their hubris. That is, unless they have somehow…

Dec 8, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Mandatory tech CLE: An idea whose time has come

One complaint. Out of 103,000 lawyers. One solitary complaint. The Florida Bar only received one formal objection to its proposal to add three hours to its MCLE requirements and reserve all three hours for technological competence.

Dec 1, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Does machine-learning-powered software make good research decisions? Lawyers can’t know for sure

Do lawyers need to know what they are doing? If you asked sellers of legal research products, their answer might be “mostly.” New technology is changing just how much of the legal research process is hidden from view. The next question sellers must ask is whether the secrecy will pay…

Nov 22, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Competence-based CLE: A different way to learn

Nov 17, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Solving the other legal education crisis

Our legal education system is in shambles. Candidly, there is little the bar can do to ensure that graduates have job opportunities. That’s a market problem that requires a market solution. But the bar can do quite a bit to ensure that law students do not graduate with such a…

Nov 10, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Tech skills are no harder to learn than driving, says e-discovery expert Craig Ball (podcast)

Craig Ball likes to say he got into law to stay out of prison.

Nov 9, 2016 8:30 AM CST