Practice Technology

AIG launching consulting company to advise corporate clients on efficient legal operations

American International Group Inc. is launching a new consulting company that will advise outside corporations on how to make their legal operations more efficient. The Legal Operations Company will use internal data from the insurance giant’s Legal Operations Center to help clients set competitive prices and identify areas where legal…

Oct 21, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Synthetic DNA could help foil problem of forged art, experts say

A new system is being developed that could help curtail high-priced sales of art forgeries, experts say. Along with the real artist’s signature, a unique pattern of synthetic DNA would be embedded in the artwork when it is created, the New York Times (reg. req.) explains. The bioengineered “tag” could…

Oct 13, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Self-described drunken driver live-streams video while behind wheel and is charged with DUI

A 23-year-old Florida woman was charged with driving under the influence over the weekend after she allegedly live-streamed her self-described drunk-driving incident on Periscope. Police in Lakeland were initially unfamiliar with the social media mobile app and didn’t have access to it on their department-issued equipment. But one of the…

Oct 13, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

California law requiring warrant for digital searches is ‘a landmark win for digital privacy’

A new California law requiring police to get warrants for online data is the most protective in the country. California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act on Thursday, report Wired and CNet. The law requires law enforcement agencies in the state to get a warrant…

Oct 9, 2015 9:17 AM CDT

Secret computer code is used to help send defendants to jail

Courts in at least four states have refused to allow defense lawyers to examine proprietary computer programs that are being used to send defendants to jail. Courts in California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida are among those that have ruled against defendants seeking the information, Slate reports in an article…

Oct 8, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Lawyers slow to adopt email encryption and other forms of secure communications, ABA survey finds

If you’ve ever received an email from a lawyer, it’s common to see a long statement at the end saying that the contents of the email are confidential and disclosure is strictly prohibited. For the vast majority of lawyers, that’s enough to ensure that client communications remain confidential. According to…

Oct 5, 2015 4:10 PM CDT

Which practice areas are going to be the most lucrative in the future? (podcast with transcript)

The market for legal jobs may be getting better, but it’s still not great. That being said, are there specific practice areas that need more attorneys to serve current and future needs? In this month's episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with a legal search consultant to find out what the best prospects are for a long-term, successful legal career.

Oct 5, 2015 10:00 AM CDT

Evolve Law hopes to foster a collaborative community for legal tech

Evolution of a concept into a reality can take some time. Legal tech entrepreneurs Mary Juetten and Jules Miller were both in the audience at the 2014 ReInvent Law event in New York City. They remember feeling inspired by the many legal entrepreneurs and industry thought leaders that got on…

Oct 5, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

ABA and Rocket Lawyer launch on-demand legal advice pilot program

The American Bar Association and Rocket Lawyer have launched a new pilot program that provides on-demand legal advice for small businesses. In a Thursday press release, the ABA and Rocket Lawyer announced that they have begun testing ABA Law Connect in Illinois, Pennsylvania and California. First announced in August 2014,…

Oct 1, 2015 1:55 PM 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

Get rid of UPL, Avvo founder tells House during TED Talk-like speeches

With a mission to present issues “intended to be provocative,” the House of Delegates’ Committee on Issues of Concern to the Profession did just that with five short speeches. Perhaps the most provocative of the group was Avvo founder and CEO Mark Britton, who urged the audience to start “looking…

Oct 1, 2015 6:55 AM CDT

Is LinkedIn helpful or a headache? Blog post confessing disenchantment leads to connection requests

Legal tech blogger Robert Ambrogi got an unexpected response after he wrote about his disenchantment with LinkedIn. Ambrogi, author of LawSites, remarked on Twitter that it’s “pretty funny how many connection requests I received after my rant about LinkedIn.” Ambrogi wrote on LawSites that he is of two minds about…

Oct 1, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

What the jobs are: New tech and client needs create a new field of legal operations

It's mid-March and I'm at the DocuSign conference at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Francisco. It's a bustling gathering with a Fortune 500 vibe—room after room of people discussing various aspects of digital transaction management.

Oct 1, 2015 6:00 AM CDT

Insiders are stealing data without law firms even realizing it

It’s no secret that law firms and other businesses with valuable confidential information are targets for potential hack attacks. But, as those in charge of information technology focus on preventing cybersecurity breaches, they may be missing an important information drain—the firm’s own lawyers and staff, Legaltech News (sub. req.) reports.…

Sep 29, 2015 2:35 PM CDT

Got cyber liability insurance? Few lawyers say they have it, despite security breaches

Only 11 percent of lawyers responding to a technology survey said their firms had cyber liability insurance, though significant numbers reported their firms had fallen victim to computer viruses or hacking. Many of the 880 lawyers responding to questions about tech security, however, didn’t know whether their firms had cyber…

Sep 28, 2015 5:45 AM CDT