Practice Technology

Does lawyer have ethical duty to replace hacked client funds? It depends, ethics opinion says

A lawyer who takes reasonable computer security precautions has no ethical responsibility to replace stolen client money when a hacker breaks into the network and pilfers trust account funds, according to an ethics opinion by the North Carolina State Bar. The hacking hypothetical is one of seven scenarios involving stolen…

Nov 23, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Need money for an expert witness, legal fees or bail? Some turn to crowdfunding

Pennsylvania pro bono lawyer Justin McShane turned to crowdfunding when he needed to pay for expert witnesses in a wrongful conviction case he had taken on pro bono. He raised more than $8,000 from the online pitch. He’s not the only lawyer to see the value in crowdfunding, the Marshall…

Nov 17, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Law firm calls LED sign ban unfair, says gas station got preferential treatment

Denied permission by a Pennsylvania municipality to use a LED sign in front of its law office, Quatrini Rafferty is threatening to sue. That’s because a gas station across the street was granted an exception by the Greensburg Historical and Architectural Review Board and is allowed to use a lighted…

Nov 12, 2015 10:15 AM CST

How California cops are using mobile fingerprinting and facial recognition devices

Police departments in California are identifying suspects using mobile biometric devices that scan fingerprints, faces and even tattoos. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a joint project with MuckRock, filed public records requests around the country to learn how police departments are using mobile biometric technology. More than 30 agencies have…

Nov 6, 2015 11:45 AM CST

These law students combine technology with fee-generating cases

Some law students at Suffolk University are getting real-life experience on how to make money handling fee-shifting cases with the help of technology. Six law students, working under the supervision of seasoned lawyers, are participating in a so-called Accelerator Practice, an in-house law practice representing average income individuals in mostly…

Nov 6, 2015 10:02 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

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

Want to be more productive? New desk lets user work while lying down

Want to be more productive? The answer, counterintuitively, may be to work in a reclining position. So says Che Voight, the CEO of Altwork, a company that makes computer desks that will permit high-intensity users to do exactly that. In a Wednesday news release, it announced that the new Altwork…

Oct 29, 2015 10:25 AM CDT

‘Free the Law’ project by Harvard’s law library is scanning books for free Internet case database

Harvard’s law library is removing the spines of most of its books and scanning the pages for a free Internet database of U.S. case law. Startup company Ravel Law is financing the law library’s “Free the Law” project with millions of dollars, the New York Times reports. Ravel Law hopes…

Oct 29, 2015 7:04 AM CDT

This law firm will spend more than $25M in legal advertising this year, report says

A handful of law firms will spend more than $10 million this year on television advertising, including a Houston law firm projected to spend $25 million, according to a new report by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. The Houston law firm, AkinMears, tops the list for TV spending…

Oct 28, 2015 8:45 AM CDT

App to aid migrant workers wins 3rd Hackcess to Justice hackathon

After two days of brainstorming and collaboration in North Carolina’s capital city, lawyers, students and coders developed legal apps to aid farm workers, streamline legal aid cases and evaluate legal aid eligibility. Five teams competed at Hackcess to Justice NC, the ABA Journal’s hackathon series to find tech solutions to…

Oct 27, 2015 10:35 AM CDT

Couple’s suit says Apple should pay for increased usage cost from Wi-Fi Assist feature

A feature on new Apple smartphones is intended to make use of the devices faster and smoother by switching to cellular service from Wi-Fi if the connection is weak. But the Wi-Fi Assist feature of the latest version of the iOS operating system for iPhones and iPads caused them to…

Oct 26, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Will newbie associates be replaced by Watson? 35% of law firm leaders can envision it

An increasing number of law firm leaders believe first-year associates and paralegals could be replaced by a “Watson”-type computer with artificial intelligence in the next five to 10 years. Watson is an IBM product described as a “cognitive computing” system. Thirty-five percent of surveyed law firm leaders say they can…

Oct 26, 2015 7:42 AM CDT

LegalZoom resolves $10.5M antitrust suit against North Carolina State Bar

LegalZoom has settled its protracted legal dispute with the North Carolina State Bar with a consent agreement that permits the company to continue operating there, Forbes reports. The online legal document company has been expanding quickly to provide other services, including prepaid legal services plans. The agreement comes on the…

Oct 23, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Want a great password? Use iambic tetrameter and rhyming program to create poem, researchers say

Many people could considerably improve their cybersecurity simply by following recommended password practices. However, remembering a random string of letters and symbols isn’t easy, especially if the password is changed frequently. Two researchers at the University of Southern California say they have created a system that helps individuals find passwords…

Oct 23, 2015 11:30 AM CDT