Robert Ambrogi of the blog Law Sites believes “that crowdsourcing can help democratize legal research and enable free research sites to become more viable alternatives to paid sites.” Unfortunately for those who believe strongly in the impact crowdsourcing can have upon the law profession, most websites focused on sharing legal issues have failed. Crowdsourcing relies on users to contribute freely to the conversation at hand, whether that be by posing questions about certain law practices, sharing new insights or research that can educate others, or arguing hypothetical cases. Due to the fact that users are posting of their own free volition and not because they are looking forward to being paid, they need an incentive to keep coming back to the site and adding to the growing bank of knowledge. In the past, as shown by a multitude of legal crowdsourcing websites that have disappeared or gone dormant, finding the right incentive can been difficult. As Apoorva Mehta, the creator of one such failed enterprise, explains“I didn’t know anything about lawyers when we started. Turns out, they don’t like technology, and they don’t like to share things.”

Even though many have failed in the past, crowdsourcing legal research could still be effective at accumulating knowledge. Three sites—Casetext, Wex, and CanLII Connects—are proof that lawyers can collaborate using technology. Each site has a slightly different way of encouraging lawyers to contribute. For example, Casetext has created little niches called Casetext communities that allow lawyers with similar interests to discuss and network together online, prompting discussions and drawing more users to the communities. Additionally, Casetext provides an outlet for lawyers who love writing about law without the added worry setting up an individual blog or analyzing SEO. This publishing platform, called Legalpad, even comes with built in readers from the Casetext communities. Wex approaches incentivizing a bit differently by narrowing down the type of crowdsourcing it hopes to generate and focusing on becoming a sort of legal Wikipedia. Those that contribute to Wex articles are then listed as one of the authors. Lastly, CanLII boasts a bit of exclusivity by only allowing registered members the ability to engage in crowdsourcing.

Crowdsourcing websites have to focus on what is going to make people want to contribute and how to make those contributions useful to others. Though sites are still trying to pin down exactly how to accomplish the former, the free availability of legal research that Ambrogi dreams of may not be just a dream much longer.

Article via Law SitesAugust 10, 2015

Photo: The Rotherhithe Picture Research Library via Chris Guy [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

Now, in addition to common domain names such as .com or .net, lawyers with the appropriate qualifications can differentiate themselves with a domain name specific to the legal community. As Lou Andreozzi, the CEO of .law explains, this new domain name can be useful in several ways to interested attorneys. For example, it opens up names that may already be registered to a .com or .net address to be used. Additionally, since there are specifications that individuals must meet to purchase a .law domain name, namely being a licensed lawyer, websites with .law may appear more creditable than those with a domain name that can be purchased by anyone, such as .com. While .law is the first domain name available specifically for those in legal professions, other such as .attorney or .esq may also become available soon.

Some prominent law firms are already beginning to take advantage of the new domain name. Though the domain name will not be available to the legal community at large until October, firms that have registered their trademarks with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers have had early access to ordering from the owner of .law, Minds + Machines.

Article via ABA Journal, August 10, 2015

Photo: The letters of the law via laura.bell [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

While technology has been raising new questions and even causing problems for some lawyers, it can be helpful in making the practice of law more efficient. Unfortunately, many law firms are not taking advantage of some of the improvements technology can offer.

DocSolid, which provides law firms with the ability to digitize their files, found that of the approximately 200 law firms that were present at their roadshows across the United States and Canada, 84 percent were dependent on paper filing. Relying only on paper filing can be costly and unproductive for modern law firms, and those that are skeptical do not need to completely do away with paper filing. DocSolid states that some firms with digital systems for managing documents also have paper filing systems to organize their physical files, which does away with some of the risk. For example, the firm Lindquist & Vennum’s records are fully digital, but employees who enjoy using paper files still have the ability to do so. While digital files are contrary to tradition, DocSolid suggests that firms should make it a priority to look into digitization.

Article via Legaltech News, August 24, 2015

Photo: Filing via ExeterAnna [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

New stories of businesses being hacked are constantly being brought to light, and many need guidance from their legal teams on the measures and steps necessary after such an incident occurs. Cyberintrusion isn’t only confined to big businesses, though. Even the U.S. government and healthcare providers are also experiencing hacking. With this in mind, the Department of Justice has provided instructions for cybervictims through the Cybersecurity Unit called Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber Incidents. According to the Department of Justice, it is important for businesses and organizations to have a legal team familiar with cyberintrusion because it poses different concerns than a physical intrusion. For example, business need to know which measures they can or cannot take in order to try to remedy the situation. A wrong move could result in legal action against the company, which is the last thing one wants to deal with after being hacked. Additionally, businesses can better protect themselves against hacking if their lawyers know which cyber security practices are legal and effective to use.

The lack of uniformity surrounding how companies must react to cyberintrusion also requires lawyers to be extremely knowledgeable about the laws effecting their location. Though the U.S. government may soon implement a law that requires the same response for every company no matter its location, currently there are policies specific to each of the 47 states that have requirements concerning investigation into hacking. Additionally, companies that process credit cards should be familiar with the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. With so many regulations and procedures that may change in the future as policies are taken into consideration by state and national governments, it is more important than ever for lawyers to be tech and cyber-savvy.

Article via E-Commerce TimesJuly 20, 2015

Photo Code view via Jeffrey Zeldman  [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

 

Once thought to only be useful for engineers and computer geeks, coding is rapidly becoming not only commonplace but also necessary for many professions. This is even true for lawyers, as law firms are looking for lawyers who have experience with cybersecurity and patent lawyers aren’t knowledgeable enough about the software industry to fully understand potential lawsuits. Education focusing on computer science is even being implemented in grade schools, and for good reason. An article by the Huffington Post explains that if learning code is relegated to a small portion of the population, especially if that portion does not include individuals knowledgeable about the law, hackers will find it very easy to outmaneuver lawyers. It is becoming more imperative every day that people educate themselves about coding. Even if you don’t think you’ll be using your new coding skills in your day to day life, the logical reasoning and problem solving that coding requires can be applied to many situations.

Thankfully, one can learn to code at any age, and there are lots of resources available online. Coursera provides free online classes taught by computer science professors at well-known universities around the country such as Rice University and Stanford University. If “going back to school” isn’t your thing, Khan Academy features videos on a multitude of subjects including coding. Pamela Fox, one of the coding instructors for Khan Academy, describes the videos she creates as “five minutes that will work for pretty much everybody”. Codecademy, another great resource, lets you choose how you want to learn coding, whether that be through concentrating on projects or taking a course. Steve Schwartz, who praises Codecademy for allowing anyone to start with the very basics of computer science, also draws parallels between the logical reasoning required for the LSAT and for coding. Even if you’re years away from practicing law, learning to code can still be extremely useful.

I’ve highlighted just a few options for starting to learn code, but there are hundreds of resources online, with focuses ranging from women in coding to underrepresented groups in STEM. To see some great options, check out Free Coding Courses under the Courses tab.

Articles via The Center for Innovative Justice and Technology, August 24, 2015; The Atlantic, March 23, 2012; Huffington Post, August 25, 2015; Business Insider, November 5, 2014;  and LSAT Blog, December 19, 2013

Photo: Matrix Code via David.Asch [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

The ability to connect attorneys with potential clients in drunken driving cases, potentially before they are ticketed, is now possible due to the new smartphone app, the Duey Dialer. According to developer Daniel Delgado, the application allows a driver to trigger a traffic stop audio recording with the touch of a button and even contacts a lawyer with expertise in drunken driving cases automatically if not turned off within 45 minutes. The information sent includes the audio recording, location, identity, home address and contact information of the client. The attorneys pay for the app, which is available for Android use only and is currently used in six states.

Article via ABA Journal, 26 May 2015

Photo: Police Lights via J J  [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]