Future & Trends

If the length of this post has shown anything, it’s that AI in legal research and law practice is an enormous and wide-reaching topic that is rapidly changing. Moreover, while large firms have the resources to understand and leverage AI tools, solo and small firms are at a disadvantage because that they lack the time…

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 to…

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…

When it comes to the topic of the future of law, there are nay-sayers – those who insist that computers will never replace them and they-sayers. As in, they say that access to justice  solutions are impossible with outside law firm ownership.” Or, they say that bespoke services are future proof because they’re immune from…

For a long time, I’ve wanted to come up with the definitive blog post on what constitutes unauthorized practice of law. I figured that if I could develop a clear set of principles, then I could create an online tool to help solos and smalls evaluate if a particular scenario constituted practice of law and…

In recent months, many lawyers and firms have started to embrace artificial intelligence, recognizing that it won’t displace all lawyers but instead, free them up to do higher value bespoke work that requires creativity and judgment.  But believe it or not, AI and other technologies can actually help create jobs for lawyers by helping to…