Business of Law

New York’s attorney general and law clinics aid entrepreneurs

New York City is wooing more tech startups to headquarter there with a new, free program that offers expert legal advice for establishing a legally sound organization.

Spearheaded by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the New York City Corporation Council, the program also gets help from two legal clinics and Fordham University.

Jan 1, 2016 1:20 AM CST

Innocence project movement in China rises to aid the wrongfully convicted

China's death penalty train, widely believed to be the world's most active, is showing some signs of slowing down. And domestic innocence projects may be having an effect, though small, on getting wrongful convictions in capital crimes overturned.

Dec 1, 2015 2:30 AM CST

Lawyer who crusaded against trans fats turns his attention to fighting distracted driving

The California lawyer who turned the tide against trans fats wants to put the brakes on distracted driving.

Stephen Joseph is a self-described public interest lawyer and campaigner who uses the pressure created by filing lawsuits to change public policy and perception:

Dec 1, 2015 2:20 AM CST

Release of police info draws suspicion, but it helps some defense attorneys

Last August, the New Orleans Police Department publicly released data around its policing practices. Along with 23 other police departments, the NOPD is providing the public with a new look at policing as a member of the White House’s Police Data Initiative. “When government releases data in a proactive and…

Dec 1, 2015 2:10 AM CST

When the legal job market tanked, a law student changed it

As a law student facing a tough job market, Shahed Kader figured he had a couple of options: He could leave law school and try a new career or move ahead with his degree. But he ended up choosing a third option—change the job market.

Dec 1, 2015 2:00 AM CST

There’s an uptick in e-filing in state and local courts

Graphics by Stephen Ravenscraft This article originally appeared in the December 2015 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Digital Docs: There’s an uptick in e-filing in state and local courts.”

Dec 1, 2015 1:50 AM CST

Slow-evolving legal research platform Cheetah has pluses, minuses

The cheetah is the fastest mammal on Earth. But Wolters Kluwer's new Cheetah seemed to have one of the slowest rollouts ever for a legal research product.

After starting to build Cheetah early in 2012, WK announced its imminent launch at the July 2014 annual meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries, but it would be another year still before the launch would actually occur—and then only for limited practice areas.

Dec 1, 2015 1:40 AM CST

Trading in IP addresses becomes a lucrative market

When clients approached Marc Lindsey in 2008 about a request from the American Registry for Internet Numbers to voluntarily give back unused IP addresses, he researched the issue. Then he advised his clients to hang on to them. That simple piece of advice saved clients a valuable asset and brought…

Nov 1, 2015 2:00 AM CST

Are lawyers better at evidence collection than tech companies?

Whenever a law firm has a case involving large volumes of electronic evidence, there are thousands of companies clamoring to do the dirty work of collecting and managing that evidence. But a few large law firms have looked at the job of e-discovery and built their own in-house services. A…

Nov 1, 2015 1:50 AM CDT

Some big firms are finding profit in commoditized work

When I was in Las Vegas a few months ago, Avvo CEO Mark Britton talked about legal services and how many large law firms are leaving business on the table by ignoring cheaper, more commoditized legal work. You wouldn’t think that law firms would be so discriminating when it comes…

Nov 1, 2015 1:40 AM CDT

Chinese firms keep a low profile in the US, but ambitions grow

While U.S. law firms have expanded heavily in China, peaking with Dentons’ Swiss verein merger with Beijing-based Dacheng Law Offices, there has been little movement as yet in the opposite direction by Chinese law firms. Even the largest Chinese firms tend to have quite small offices in the U.S. Beijing’s…

Nov 1, 2015 1:30 AM CDT

Half of respondents in legal tech survey have encryption, but less than a third use it

Graphic by Stephen Ravenscraft This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Not So Secure: Half of respondents have encryption, but less than a third use it.”

Nov 1, 2015 1:20 AM CDT

Mediators find more tools through neuroscience

Mediators and other practitioners of alternative dispute resolution are using information gleaned from the research of world-class neuroscientists to calm emotions and help mediations resolve more easily. With the advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging and the growing interest in brain mapping, neuroscientists and those trained by them are teaching thousands of mediators how to ease clients through a conflict-ridden process.

Nov 1, 2015 1:10 AM CDT

Lawyer’s life’s mission is to reduce racial conflict with cops

Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Akai Gurley. Tamir Rice. Walter Scott. Freddie Gray. Samuel DuBose. All names of unarmed African-American males killed during police encounters in the past 18 months. The string of high-profile fatalities stirred unrest and prompted marches and public outcries for reform.

Oct 1, 2015 7:45 AM CDT

LegalForce is looking for a few good apprentices

Raj Abhyanker's Trademarkia search engine has become a popular spot for inventors and entrepreneurs to learn whether their ideas have already been trademarked. Abhyanker estimates that Trademarkia draws 2 million visitors a month, 60,000 visitors a day or "one person every couple of seconds."

Oct 1, 2015 7:40 AM CDT