Generally, today’s AI tools for solo and small law firms break down into three categories: (1) legal research and issue spotting; (2) law practice automation and marketing tools and (3) substantive legal issues arising out of the use of algorithmic, AI-driven platforms in legal matters ranging from criminal defense, employment, insurance, custody defense and others
Let me begin this series on AI in Legal Research and Law
Practice with a foundational discussion of what artificial intelligence is and
why it’s such a hot topic right now.
John McCarthy, a computer scientist credited as the father
of artificial intelligence defined AI is “the science and engineering of
making intelligent machines” –
Earlier this week, I lead a roundtable discussion on
Artificial Intelligence in Legal Research and Law Practice at the American Association of Law Librarians (AALL)
which took place in Washington D.C. I was grateful for the invitation
from @robtruman, the law
librarian at the Lewis & Clark Law School because the event forced me
Five years ago, life irrevocably changed when I learned that
my beloved
husband was diagnosed with brain
cancer. In the few seconds that it took the doctor to convey the news, my
optimistic plans for my empty-nest future with my husband — working on
law-tech projects together (there wasn’t a computer language that my husband
Post Update 7/8/19 noon: Apparently I spoke to soon in recommending a purchase of Marketing to the Affluent prior to reading it. I’ve been receiving some negative feedback from those who bought the book both about Kennedy’s political views as well as the organization of the material in the book and its value. I’ll read
A recent study
from Pew Internet found that 37 percent of U.S. adults mostly
use a smartphone to access the Internet. That share has nearly doubled since
2013, when only 19 percent of Americans identified their phone as their primary
advice for going online. So why has the number of phone-internet
connection increased? Forty-five percent
Every day, there’s one article or another about big problems with the legal profession. Depression is rampant and young lawyers are stressed. Access to justice remains a problem – one that’s heightened in rural areas where clients must often travel hundreds of miles to meet a lawyer. And students still graduate from law school
In today’s tech world, we celebrate the wunderkind – like
the founders of Facebook or Google – who achieved so much at an early age. Law
isn’t all that different when it comes to early achievement – which accolades
like law review and judicial clerkship and second year jobs at biglaw often
based entirely on
Lawyer and legal business consultant Mark Cohen observes
that the legal profession is essentially a data
wasteland in the digital era , ranking behind all other private industries
in utilizing big data and its uptown cousin, artificial intelligence to make
decisions and serve clients. Still, both nature – and today’s clients –
abhor a vacuum
Retail industries have long recognized that great customer
service goes a long way towards retaining clients, encouraging favorable
reviews and increasing overall revenues. In fact, there’s a great
article from Small
Business Trends that offers ten
examples of customer service from brands that went the extra mile. Now,
not all of these ideas from