Business of Law

Awards are great marketing tools, but they’re not all created equal

Lucy Davis of Davis Law Group in Seattle is not an attorney. In fact, she is ineligible to sit for the bar. That’s because she’s a poodle. Nevertheless, that didn’t prevent her from being honored as a Lawyer of Distinction in the personal injury field in 2017.

Jun 1, 2020 1:10 AM CDT

Some lawyers have baked their political views into their firms’ DNA

It’s long been acknowledged that politics should be a topic avoided on dates, at family gatherings and at work. But for some attorneys, being political has become part of their business model.

Jun 1, 2020 1:05 AM CDT

ABA Techshow 2020 adopted a holistic approach to law

“I’m not a lawyer,” Mary Shen O’Carroll said during her keynote speech at ABA Techshow 2020, which took place Feb. 26-29 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Chicago. The director of the legal operations, technology and strategy team at Google has always been interested in working faster and making…

Jun 1, 2020 1:00 AM CDT

Gunshot detection technology company voluntarily submitted itself for an audit after privacy concerns

Believing concerns that its microphones could allow for eavesdropping on private conversations were largely because of a misunderstanding of the product, ShotSpotter did something radical: It opened itself up to an independent privacy audit conducted by the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law.

Apr 1, 2020 1:50 AM CDT

Facebook’s woes may have driven big firms away, but small firms and solos still see it as a great way to advertise

Law firms have finally jumped on the social media bandwagon, but when it comes to Facebook advertising, it turns out that size does matter. Thanks to privacy issues such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, along with Facebook’s algorithm—which makes it difficult for firms to reach their target audience sans paid…

Apr 1, 2020 1:40 AM CDT

Amazon’s Ring doorbell cameras may help deter package thefts, but critics worry about overreach

According to the New York Times, more than 90,000 packages a day are stolen or disappear without explanation in New York City alone, up about 20% from four years ago.

Apr 1, 2020 1:30 AM CDT

What can lawyers do to combat their bad PR?

If you’re a lawyer, you’ve probably encountered hundreds if not thousands of lawyer jokes. While laughing at lawyer punchlines is all fun and games, it can also lead to dire consequences if the public distrusts attorneys enough not to hire them.

Feb 1, 2020 1:00 AM CST

Recent spate of big-money guaranteed contracts for lateral partners raises eyebrows and concerns

In their mergers and acquisitions departments, large law firms deploy due diligence specialists to scrutinize every detail of a client’s proposed deal. Yet when it comes to firms’ own efforts to gain a competitive advantage through lateral acquisitions of marquee partners, similar analysis often is lacking. The result has led…

Feb 1, 2020 12:55 AM CST

Why have automated timekeeping programs failed to gain a foothold in the industry?

The technology’s promise to lawyers that they would never have to enter another timeslip has remained unfulfilled. But new time-capture software with artificial intelligence composed of machine learning and natural language processing is rolling out.

Nov 1, 2019 2:20 AM CDT

Attorney balances his firm’s demands with duties as a judge in local, federal and tribal courts

To borrow an analogy from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., if lawyers are baseball players and judges are umpires, then Greg Smith not only calls balls and strikes, he also throws them and tries to hit them. Smith is a family lawyer in Tennessee. When he’s not practicing law, he’s interpreting it—serving as a judge at three different levels of government.

Nov 1, 2019 2:10 AM CDT

China’s all-virtual specialty internet courts look set to expand into other areas of the law

Built to more efficiently resolve the increasing number of online disputes finding their way into the Chinese court system, internet courts also act as an incubator for a judiciary going through rapid change.

Nov 1, 2019 2:00 AM CDT

Some states are allowing people and companies to use blockchain to authenticate documents

Looking to capture a slice of the emerging blockchain market, states have enacted new laws and procedures for recognition of signatures, documents and contracts stored on the technology as legal instruments for verification.

Sep 1, 2019 1:40 AM CDT

For Kirkland junior associates, mock trial program creates court experience

The firm created the Kirkland Institute for Trial Advocacy, a lengthy civil mock trial program for associates that includes professional actors as witnesses, partners playing judges and hired jurors.

Sep 1, 2019 1:30 AM CDT

A group of Harvard law students is trying to get rid of mandatory arbitration clauses

The People’s Parity Project launched in 2018, when the #MeToo movement began drawing attention to mandatory arbitration employment disputes involving sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Sep 1, 2019 1:20 AM CDT

Do DIY divorce apps deliver? Services promise an easier process

Companies including Divorceify, Hello Divorce and Wevorce purport to simplify the divorce process by using tech to automate document production; providing resources for custodial issues, financial planning and housing; and offering counseling and hand-holding.

Jul 1, 2019 1:40 AM CDT