Overcoming resistance to digital transformation for in-house legal teams
Katherine King
Digital transformation has long been a buzzword in the corporate world, but for many in-house legal (...)
Litigation research: Market challenges, technology, and the advantage of GenAI
Editor
With case complexities and data volumes on the rise, litigation teams must find new ways to manage, (...)
At the 2014 International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) conference, Microsoft made what could be a major splash for the legal vertical. Adding to their push for Office 365, Microsoft announced Matter Center. Although it is being marketed as “for Office 365″, Microsoft says it could also work in either hybrid or on-premises SharePoint environments. That said, the fact that the focus is on Office 365 tells you all you really need to know: This is it. This is the tipping point that Microsoft is betting on. The tipping point to grab a market share of legal Enterprise Content Management with an application that is geared to be delivered from the Cloud.
The big themes I took away from ILTA 2014, which was held in Nashville last week, were an emphasis on mobile, collaboration, and control. But more on that momentarily.
First and foremost, what I enjoyed the most about this conference was the people. No matter where I went, I soon found myself engaged in fascinating conversations with like-minded legal technology types, although our conversations sometimes veered off course into politics or current events.
Today’s legal worker is more mobile than ever. From case files to client communications, so much work performed by today’s attorneys is done via mobile devices. As a result, the risk of data leakage is becoming a heightened priority for law firms everywhere.
In fact, lawyers and their staff are collaborating and sharing files using any method that’s accessible to them, from any device they have on hand.
This week, three different stories appeared in my RSS feed that were bittersweet indications of how quickly our world is changing. All three articles were indications that technology is having a tremendous impact on the way that business is being conducted in the 21st century, sometimes to the detriment of tried and true institutions that, by all rights, shouldn’t be disappearing but are due to their leaders’ collective failure to innovate and pivot with the times. My continued hope is that the legal profession as we know it won’t fall victim to this same phenomenon.
A futuristic picture of how technology, artificial intelligence and big data might impact law firms in the future
Good morning Mr. Phelps and welcome back to the global law firm of DLA, Watson, Siri & Wal-Mart. I see from your expression that you have noticed the change in my voice. I am Stevie, a Mark 8 assistant. After the Apple-Microsoft merger on Tuesday, all the firm's assistants have been upgraded to the Siri/Cortana hybrid. I am sure you'll find the upgrades useful.
It looks like you have a very full schedule today. Your calendar and associated information have been transferred to cubical 45-38-7, which is your assigned office for your stay here today. Office lighting, temperature and virtual artwork have been updated with your stored preferences. Your personal assistant, Jordan 7188 has updated your iSlate II with a firm map and will guide you to your office.
My profession is in trouble. As a whole, the legal field has failed, and continues to fail, to adapt to unprecedented technological change. In less than a decade, the world as we know it has been turned on its head, beginning in approximately 2006, when cloud and mobile technologies re-shaped every aspect of our lives. In the span of just a few years, technologies that were once only envisioned in Star Trek episodes became readily available, changing the way that we communicate, interact, obtain information, and conduct business. And yet the vast majority of the legal profession continues to practice law as if it were 1995.
ReinventLaw London was well attended as ever and the list of attendees and presenters from all over the world demonstrated how the ReinventLaw concept has matured. I have attended all three London events.
Last Friday’s event represented an opportunity to catch up with numerous contacts and friends across the legal and legal IT world, many of whom had travelled to London to be there.
If you haven't yet heard the news, the Texas State Bar's Professional Ethics Committee now forbids non-lawyer processionals to have titles containing the word 'principal' or 'officer.' Lest you think this is some sort of new routine from Monty Python, sadly it is not. It is very real. The first question presented in Opinion 642 is "May a Texas law firm include the terms 'officer' or 'principal' in the job titles of the firm’s non-lawyer employees?"
Five self-assessment criteria for deciding if it’s time to move to the cloud
There is always a critical tipping point when it comes to technology—a point when you have to forget about that large investment your firm made several years ago and face the reality that it has outlived its usefulness. Since attorneys are now practicing wherever and whenever they choose, the traditional fax machine is an example of a diminishing asset worthy of retirement consideration: They are expensive, require energy, maintenance fees and constant support. Yet faxing hasn’t gone away…not by a long shot.
Corporations are serial litigators. That is a fact of life for major enterprises these days. Whether defending or initiating a lawsuit or responding to a government investigation, a corporation is likely to be involved in multiple legal matters within any given period of time.
A further fact of life for corporations is that multiple legal matters are likely to implicate many of the same documents and custodians. This is particularly true where a corporation has core products or technologies that are frequent subjects of intellectual property or trade disputes.
Legal IT Today editor Joanna Goodman attended KM Legal, Ark Group’s annual two-day knowledge management event
This is the fourteenth year of KM Legal and it is still going strong. Chaired by Simone Pearlman Head of Legal Knowledge, UK, EMEA & Asia, Herbert Smith Freehills, it attracted a strong UK and international contingent and included presentations and discussions from law firms, clients, consultants and vendors covering a wide range of topics.
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