Tech experts landing lucrative jobs at law firms

October 7, 2015 Shelby Bice Leave a comment Legal News, Tech

Even though there aren’t many jobs available for tech experts in the law profession, those that have experience in litigation support or e-discovery can expect to be able to obtain higher salaries than they have in the past, simply because there aren’t that many professionals out there that fit the criteria. It’s a simply case of supply and demand—with a limited supply of these tech professionals, they’re able to demand more money. For example, Robert Half predicts that litigation support/e-discovery directors can expect an approximately 6% increase on average in their salary, bringing the average range between $101,000 and $130,050. Tech professionals working in major markets such as New York can expect much more, though, with an average salary of $230,000 or more. Chief information officers can also expect to see an increase in their earnings, and their salaries can fall into the range of $300,000 to $500,000 at top law firms. As the global practice leader in law firm management at Major, Lindsey & Africa, Amanda K. Brady, explains, “It can be lucrative …. but there’s just not a lot of these jobs.”

As tech-related fields continue to grow, though, tech professionals can expect to see more opportunities for working in law. For example, multidisciplinary teams containing professionals knowledgeable about networks and information security are predicted to become more common for firms who have practice groups centering on cybersecurity or privacy. Additionally, many firms are expected to create practice groups for these kind of tech concerns if they have not already. With this much growth in the future, tech experts can look forward to salaries continuing to rise. According to Brady, “There’s only an upward projectory here. The demand will only continue.”

Though the prospect of a better salary may attract many tech professionals to law, they should keep in mind that the workplace culture found at a law firm can be very different from what they are used to. It isn’t entrepreneurial, like the environment found at a startup. Additionally, tech professionals, especially chief information officers, are often paid very well because technology can present a huge risk to the firm. If the tech systems are not kept up to par by the chief information officer and other tech employees, the firm’s reputation can suffer. Those looking to work in a law firm should keep the above in mind, but in addition to a higher salary, tech professional may also look forward to being involved in many different parts of the firms and handling many responsibilities.

Article via Legaltech News, September 25, 2015

Photo: Cash Money (part two) via Jeremy Yerse [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

 

Legaltech startups booming in Silicon Valley

October 6, 2015 Shelby Bice Leave a comment Tech for Lawyers

Legaltech startups are doing very well for themselves—even the famous Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator is starting to invest in legaltech companies. These startups can range from making legal services more accessible, as is the case with Willing and Separate.us, to making lawyers’ lives a little bit easier, like Lawgeex, Kira Systems, and UpCounsel. Several of these startups are even going as far as trying to revolutionize their areas of expertise. Willing, for example, not only allows users to create a free will in as little as five minutes but also helps them plan funeral and other services. By drawing users in with a free legal service, Willing is then able to connect them to vendors and other paid services within the death care industry. Separate.us, on the other hand, aims to make divorces easier by simplifying a usually messy process.

Legaltech isn’t just geared towards consumers, though. Lawgeex can be helpful for both lawyers and clients alike. It digitally analyzes documents and compares them to precedents within their database, something lawyers are used to having to do manually. While Lawgeex is described as easy and efficient to use, clients may still have to turn to lawyers for help with understanding the documents themselves. Additionally, Kira Systems offers multiple products including a Due Diligence Engine which can review documents, locate certain provisions, and fill out diligence charts, saving lawyers’ time and clients’ money. UpCounsel goes beyond both Lawgeex and Kira Systems in trying to alter the entire law firm model, even securing $10M from Menlo Ventures in an effort to prove its model is suited for law firms of the future. It’s possible that legaltech startups like these will soon be changing the law profession for the better.

Article via Above the Law, September 29, 2015

Photo: Reflections of the setting sun via Alvin Law [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

Georgetown professor encourages students to make access-to-justice apps

October 5, 2015 Joyce Varghese Leave a comment Education, Tech

Professor Tanina Rostain teaches the course “Technology, Innovation, and Legal Practice” at the Georgetown University Law Center. A fundamental part of it is a competition in which 4 teams of 3-4 students work together to design apps that advocates and lawyers can use to explore intricate areas of the law. The class has seen tremendous growth over the course of just 4 years.  With technology being a pivotal factor in today’s legal world, this course is ideal for law students who are interested in hands-on learning about the accessibility of important justice matters.

What began as a small project slowly spread out throughout the U.S. with involvement from organizations such as the Alaska Legal Services Corp and the U.S. Department of Justice. Its focus is centered on law as “an institution to help people”. One particular app, ADA2Go, was designed for people with disabilities to ascertain their rights in various situations.

Mark O’Brien, the executive director and co-founder of Pro Bono Net, says “Tanina has mastered getting students to do something that’s nonintuitive—the creation of specific apps during the course of a semester and delivering them to legal aid organizations and others for use.” Rostain herself said that “these apps are adaptable to a lot of paying legal work, and they’re going to proliferate.”

With the number of apps being created, the scope of the “access-to-justice” idea is already on its way to impacting many people in this profession and consumers themselves.

Article via ABA Journal, September 23, 2015

Photo: EP via European Parliament [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

Law firm uses security certification to attract clients

October 5, 2015 Shelby Bice Leave a comment Security

The international firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon has started using their new security certification to woo potential clients. The security certification, ISO 27001, took two years and multiple consultants and analysts to obtain, but Shook’s CIO, John Anderson, thinks the work was worth it. He started the process toward obtaining the certification  based on the opinions of Shook’s information governance committee because they wished to have “a methodology and a framework that ensures [they’re] using best practices for information security” and “third-party verification that proved [their] commitment to information security to external parties”, according to Anderson. Now, the hard work is paying off. Anderson states that the certification is a “differentiator” and a “competitive advantage” for the firm.

In a recent poll of 1, 322 CEOS, 61% of them listed cyberattacks as a key concern. With the average data breach costing approximately $3.8 million dollars, it’s no wonder that organizations are asking firms about how they implement cybersecurity. Some, according to John Murphy, Shook’s chair, even specifically ask if the law firm has the ISO 27001 certification. Their clients’ questions are unsurprising, considering that the firm handles highly confidential and regulated information on a regular basis, sometimes for organizations within the pharmaceutical industry.

Just having the ISO 27001 security certification isn’t necessarily enough, though. An analyst at Constellation research, Steve Wilson, explains that the certification is simply a “management process standard–it doesn’t tell you what to do exactly in security; it tells you how to go about managing the security function.” Shook’s executives point out, though, that the certification does require the firm to routinely evaluate and update their security standards, and if nothing else demonstrates their commitment to keeping their clients’ data secure. The firm, in addition to the spending required to obtain the certification, also has funds dedicated towards the other aspects of their security strategy. “We wanted to make sure we had the processes in place so [clients] had confidence that we were doing the best we could,” Murphy explains.

Article: CIO, August 28, 2015

Photo: Security via Robert Wallace [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

United Nations creates “Sustainable Development Goals”

October 4, 2015 Abby Shulman Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Hackathon, Human Rights, Justice

The United Nations has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals, an action plan to solve the globe’s most important issues by 2030. Nonprofit founders, entrepreneurs, and social innovators are advocating around the world to execute the UN’s #globalgoals. One of these activists is Hera Hussain, a facilitator of workshops for MakeSense, a worldwide consortium of social entrepreneurs, and founder of the advocacy group Chayn. Hera Hussain is one of many activist and technologists considered to be “Local Globalists” as they seek solutions for the UN’s specified global problems.

Chayn’s mission is to use technology to empower women against violence and oppression. In the past, Chayn has organized hackathons to create solutions to end sexual violence in conflict zones and offered online toolkits to domestic abuse survivors so that they may be able to prepare their own legal cases. On September 25, the organization hosted a hackathon in Beirut called #PeaceHackBEY, in which technologists and activists invented solutions to social problems in Lebanon today. The hackathon occurred at a pivotal time, as anti-government protests have consumed Beirut in the past few weeks due to deficiencies in public services and resources to support the million-plus Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon.

“Tech and society are always further ahead than governments and governments are playing catch up, but we’re slowly starting to see this change,” Hussain says. “By using tech to fill gaps in access to information and justice, we can either complement efforts that governments and NGOs are already doing, or point out where they are failing.”

Article via GOOD, 22 September 2015

Photo: Brighton Digital Festival Hackathon Sponsored by iCrossing UK via iCrossing [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

 

Google brings Internet to India

October 2, 2015 Abby Shulman Leave a comment Business, Government

Google plans to equip 400 train station across India with high-speed Internet, as announced by the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai last Sunday. This announcement occurred at the same time that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. Bringing high-speed WiFi to rural areas of India by 2019 is one of Modi’s goals as part of his Digital India Initiative.

Google is collaborating with Indian Railways and RailTel, an Internet service provider along railway lines. By the end of next year, 100 railway stations will have Internet. This will grant access for the 10 million people who use the stations every day.

India’s huge market will benefit Google greatly, as the company profits off advertising. However, India’s limited infrastructure will still prove an obstacle. Both Google and its competitor Facebook have experimented with drones and balloons to offer service to rural areas. Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research, commented on the difficulties of building in developing areas: “Power can be a problem. Running new wires is difficult — and keeping those wires from being stolen even more so.”

Article via TechNewsWorld, 29 September 2015

Photo: Train at Mahim Junction, Mumbai via Adam Cohn [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]