- It’s easy to make long term predictions, largely because it’s so rare for anyone to go back and see how you did. In this post, (The Long View of Legal Innovation) Ron Friedmann goes back 15 years to take a look at his own prognostications. Some of it was pretty obvious (“change management remains a hard problem to solve: many lawyers resist new ways of working”), but I believe the basics of his Federalism & Foundations “grant” model was/is interesting and holds up. Not bad!
- With AI, it’s all about the data. I expect the data in almost every firm’s matter intake system could be improved by both doing less and doing more. It’s time for some serious process engineering! This article by Ian Connett takes a look at some of these issues.
- From DLA Piper’s IPT Italy Blog: Prisca, the DLA Piper chatbot that will become your personal assistant. “We are thrilled to announce the launch of Prisca, DLA Piper chatbot that will be able to answer data protection law questions and intellectual property questions on trade secrets. Prisca is an artificial intelligence system based on IBM Watson technology that can help you to find the information you need about the GDPR and trade secrets, their provisions, definitions and what you should do to be compliant.”
- Speaking of Italy, this is from Dentons Italy. Rise of the machines: could the increasing use of technology lead to a four-day working week for all? “Frances O’Grady, the TUC’s general secretary, said: ‘Bosses and shareholders must not be allowed to sweep up all the gains from new tech for themselves. Working people deserve their fair share and that means using the gains from new tech to raise pay and allow more time with their families.'”
- From Kelly Twigger via Above the Law: Why Review Is Much Harder Than You Think. “…(D)o we really need all of this linear review? Is it worth the money? Review is essential — no question. But what you review needs careful consideration and it should almost always be a small subset of what you’ve collected. To get to that subset takes thoughtful preparation and time, together with input from the client, consideration of the case strategy and your obligations.”
- MoFo post: Big Data and AI: “The Algorithm Did It” Defense Will Not Fly in Court.
- Also from MoFo, these brief observations: Artificial Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence. (The post’s title sounds promising, but the content doesn’t really deliver.)
- Senators introduce the ‘Artificial Intelligence in Government Act’ “Per a news release, the bill would seek to “improve the use of AI across the federal government by providing resources and directing federal agencies to include AI in data-related planning.” Details here and here.
- This, from of EffortlessLegal: Top Five Reasons Why Outdated Technology May Be Hindering Your Firm’s Potential. “Even if your legal services are the best available, not measuring up when it comes to technology will give the perception that you are slow, outdated, or otherwise not qualified to handle the client’s legal matter.”
- Law firms join forces with university in lawtech initiative. “The University of Manchester will bring together an interdisciplinary academic team from its schools of law, business and computer science, to form a consortium with City giant Freshfields Brukhaus Deringer and DWF Ventures, the national law firm’s research and development arm. The consortium is the first research collaboration of its type in the UK to draw on business and academic expertise to develop research and teaching focused on the potential application and the impact of digital technology in legal services provision.” More here.
- This post is from Stephen Beney and Reshika Dhir of Bereskin & Parr Inventorship in the Age of AI. “(T)he pervasive use of AI has given rise to a very interesting legal question of who should be considered the true inventor(s) of AI-generated inventions.”
- This article features Ari Kaplan’s interview of Anthony W. Crowell, the Dean and President of New York Law School regarding the newly launched Business of Law Institute. “The Business of Law Institute is going to start with a series of programs that tap into our alumni and other experts, who will teach master classes that give an in-depth review of different areas, including data privacy, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other pressing issues.”
- Here’s a detailed look at the PwC/Fragomen hookup: The PwC / Fragomen Alliance Unpacked: A Peek Inside The Big Four’s Legal Market Playbook.
- From Kemp IT Law: Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence (v2.0). It’s a 47-page white paper on the subject.
- It seems I’ve fallen behind re the always-interesting posts from the UK’s Artificial Lawyer. Here are some recent headlines:
– O Silo Mio! – LegalTech Silos Are On The Rise, and That’s Bad. Story here.
– AI Doc Review Co. Evisort Partners with LSI Translator. Story here.
– Smart Contract Org. Accord Bags Clifford Chance + More. Story here.
– 5 Questions Lawyers Should Ask About AI. Story here.
– BCLP Launches New Post-Integration Global Innovation Group. Story here.
– Legal Tech Popcorn, Feat: ContractPodAi, HSF, OpenLaw + vLex. Story here.
– Demystifying AI For Lawyers: Supervised Machine Learning. Story here.
Blockchain
- Araa Group of Advocates and Legal Consultants has become Dubai’s first blockchain based law firm after signing a collaborative partnership with e-Mal. Here’s the press release. “By signing the partnership with Araa, e-Mal will bring more efficiency and uniformity in contracting like done by OpenLaw, ContractCode, Integra Ledger within the Legal Industry. By introducing the blockchain based platform, legal documents within the chain will now be a ‘single source of truth’ within the legal blockchain.”
- From India’s AMLegals: Is Your Contract Safe and Healthy? The post offers a bit of a contract check-up via a series of questions.
- Walmart to salad growers: If you want to sell, you have to blockchain. Full story here.
- Shearman & Sterling post: Gaps in Current Legal Framework Hindering Blockchain-based Trade Finance. “…(W)hile it has become technologically possible to execute transactions using negotiable instruments registered via blockchain technology, existing U.S. law recognizes negotiable instruments only if they are on paper and signed, which hinders the advancement of blockchain-based trade finance.”
- Hogan Lovells posted: National Science Foundation Seeks Comments on Artificial Intelligence, Continuing Policy Makers’ Focus on AI.
- Perkins Coie is the latest to join the Accord Project. Here’s their press release.
- This, from Deepika Sharma of Khurana & Khurana Smart IP: Blockchain Technology in China. “Chinese government is introducing measures to protect blockchain IP they are also trying to bring it under China’s cyber security law.”
- California Governor passes two bills in favor of blockchain. Details here. “That it was signed into law is a great testament to the work being done around the state by folks like the Blockchain Advocacy Coalition to advance this rapidly growing technology.”
- Regarding federal blockchain legislation: “Ripple will lead a group of crypto startups to lobby lawmakers and financial regulators in D.C. to support crypto and blockchain innovation, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, September 27.” More here.
- Here’s Volume 36 of K&L Gates’ Blockchain Energizer, summarizing three blockchain news stories.