When Clio announced that it had acquired global legal research platform vLex for $1 billion in June, it was the latest in a series of big moves from the cloud-based practice management software company.
Surely, lawyers have been in this situation before. Imagine being in a room with a client or a prospective client you really want to land for your law firm. They ask you a question about something that you’re just not ready for, and you start stumbling around or filibustering, hoping to sound like you know what you’re talking about. Or you admit you that don’t know and will get back to them, striking fear into your heart that they might decide they’re going to find a different lawyer—one who will know the answer immediately and not have to go look it up.
For decades, the Uniform Bar Examination has been old school, with bar candidates using paper-and-pencil exam books. But starting with the first administration of the NextGen UBE next year, the test will be entirely conducted on the examinees’ personal computers.
What is agentic artificial intelligence? According to IBM, it refers to “AI systems that are designed to autonomously make decisions and act, with the ability to pursue complex goals with limited supervision.” That definitely sounds like it could be really exciting. Or really scary. Or maybe both.
When Arizona changed its ethics rules in 2020 opening the door for alternative business structures and nonlawyer ownership for law firms, it sent shock waves throughout the legal industry.
Law firms acquire or merge with one another all the time. But when it comes to technology companies, firms usually keep it in-house or enter into a partnership with an outside vendor. They rarely go ahead and just buy a tech company.
"May you live in interesting times." For immigration lawyers, that old proverb is now a reality. Ever since the start of the second Trump administration, immigration lawyers have been busier than ever.
It’s that time of year again. This year’s ABA Techshow 2025 will be a historic one for a couple of reasons.
It’s a well-worn saying that the law always lags behind technology. It makes sense. We all remember the old song about how a bill becomes a law and how long the whole process can take. By the time you get to the verse about a president signing something into law, technology has either evolved into something even more cutting edge or become obsolete—replaced by a newer, shinier toy.
Welcome to 2025! The ABA Journal's Legal Rebels Podcast is not usually in the business of making prognostications. Let’s face it: If we were, we’d be playing the lottery or putting bets on sports games and the stock market and not doing this. But it seems like a safe prediction to say generative artificial intelligence will dominate 2025—just like it did in 2024.
The year 2024 has been a momentous year for legal technology. Generative artificial intelligence continues to gain traction in an industry not known for adopting tech quickly or efficiently.
Lawyers, especially litigators, like to say they never ask a question that they don’t already know the answer to. But there’s plenty of unknowns out there—especially when it comes to how a case might turn out or how much it will cost. Predictive judicial and law firm analytics take some of that guesswork out of the equation.
When Filevine unveiled its Depo Copilot in September, it sent shock waves among those in the legal technology sphere.
Much has been made of the gigantic access-to-justice gap in this country. According to a 2022 study by the Legal Services Corp., 92% of Americans do not receive any or enough help for a civil legal need. There are many reasons for this.
Not much can strike more terror into the hearts of aspiring lawyers than the LSAT and the bar exam. Right now, these tests are having a moment.
When it comes to access to justice, it has long been estimated that low-income Americans did not receive any or enough legal help for over 90% of their civil legal problems, according to a 2022 report from the Legal Services Corp.
Widely hated by lawyers and clients alike, the billable hour has nevertheless proven to be more resilient than cockroaches, Twinkies and those nonbiodegradable containers that you used to get fast-food restaurants.
The legal professional lacks diversity. In other news, the sun is hot, law school is expensive and junk food is bad for you.
For the longest time, one of the staples of any courtroom has been the stenographer. Typing on a small machine that produced a seemingly random series of letters onto a small strip of paper about the same size as what cash registers use to produce receipts, being a court reporter required extensive training and superhuman attention span. One missed sentence or one inaccurate transcription and the entire trial record could be compromised.
