In October, we announced the first-ever competition to select 12 legal technology startups to participate in ABA Techshow’s inaugural Startup Alley. From the initial round of entries we received, we narrowed the contenders down to 20 and, on Nov. 14, we posted their pitches and opened the voting to you to select…
The Chambers Directory Is Launching Its Own Social Network
The company whose directories rank lawyers and law firms internationally is now launching its own social network, where membership will be by invitation only and restricted to lawyers ranked in its directories and their clients.
Chambers and Partners will formally launch its ChambersConnect in early 2017, but selected lawyers and clients are…
How Tech Is Narrowing the Justice Gap: Real-World Examples
For the past 16 years, the Legal Services Corporation has run a special grant program devoted to leveraging technology to more effectively meet the civil legal needs of low-income individuals. Over that time, these so-called Technology Initiative Grants have awarded $53.2 million to more than 640 projects.
Now, the LSC has announced its…
My 20 Tips for Travel to Cuba
If you’ve been considering a trip to Cuba, the death of Fidel Castro should provide a spur. At this point, it is far from clear whether President-elect Trump will continue the thaw initiated by President Obama. That means the ability of U.S. citizens to travel there could be in question.…
Podcast: Cuba Offers Opportunities for Law Firms and Businesses
I recently returned from an eye-opening trip to Cuba, a beautiful country full of warm and hospitable people. My visit — and those of many other U.S. citizens in recent months — became possible after President Obama decided in 2014 to reject “the failed, Cold War-era policy era of the past to chart a…
Zipwhip Lets You Text With Clients Using Your Main Office Number
Texting is the most widely and frequently used smartphone feature, according to Pew Internet, with 97 percent of smartphone owners using it regularly. But lawyers are often reluctant to advertise or give out their own mobile numbers, limiting their clients’ ability to communicate with them by text.
Happy 14th Birthday to this Blog!
It was 14 years ago today that I started this blog. Here was my first post, on Nov. 19, 2002. As I’ve noted before, this blog is so old it’s in a Hall of Fame.
Let me extend a very warm thank you to everyone who has read this blog over the…
Acrobat Reader's Free Mobile Version Gets A Useful Scanning Tool
Adobe is today releasing a new scanning tool built into its free Acrobat Reader app for iOS and Android mobile devices that lawyers should find useful for scanning documents, receipts, business cards and other paper.
If you already have the Adobe Reader app, the scanning tool will be available as soon as you update…
Has Lawyer Blogging Plateaued? ABA Tech Survey Suggests So
The number of law firms with blogs has plateaued, neither growing nor dropping for four years straight, according to the 2016 Legal Technology Survey Report recently published by the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center.
The survey found that 26 percent of firms have blogs. That number has remained effectively unchanged for…
Vote for a Legal Startup to be in Techshow's Startup Alley
A month ago in my column at Above the Law, we announced the first-ever competition to select 12 legal technology startups to participate in ABA Techshow’s inaugural Startup Alley. We received a number of entries and the judges have narrowed them down to 20. Now your votes will select the final 12.
The 12 startups…
Lex Machina Adds Third Practice Area to its Legal Analytics: Antitrust
The legal analytics company Lex Machina is announcing today its expansion into a third practice area, antitrust law. This follows its expansion in July to add securities law.
Until its…
What the ABA Tech Survey Reveals About E-Discovery Trends
I’ve published a couple of posts so far on the recently released Legal Technology Survey Report from the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center — one post about cloud computing and another about mobile apps and devices.
Now I’ve gone through the survey to find what it reveals about trends in e-discovery. I’ve…