In our last blog post, we mentioned how the American Bar Association (ABA) revised its rules on attorney advertising. The revision of the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Responsibility was more of a complete rewrite, though, as the changes gutted most of the sections in Rule 7. Here’s what changed, and why it matters for your law firm’s online marketing efforts, particularly legal blogging. The changes particularly impact Old Model Rule 7.4 and whether you can call you or your firm a specialist in a field of law. We’ll deal with the nuances of that change, in next week’s blog post. Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services The text of Model Rule 7.1 is left unscathed. The Comments to New Rule 7.1, however, reveal some subtle differences that betray the underlying policy behind the revision. There is a new sentence at the end of New Comment 2 to Rule 7.1, which explicitly states that “[a] truthful statement is……
New Model Rule 7 and Its Impact on Legal Blogging
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How the Marshall Project visualized racial inequities in New York City subway policing
“Last month, The Marshall Project published a piece about arrests for subway turnstile jumping in New York City by interactive reporter Anna Flagg and former reporting intern Ashley Nerbovig. They found that, while the number of arrests for turnstile jumping has fallen since 2014, the racial makeup of those arrested has remained steady. This year, 89 percent of people arrested for turnstile jumping in NYC have been black or Hispanic. The piece opens with two adjacent maps, one showing the NYC precincts with the highest rates of arrests for turnstile jumping per subway card swipe and the other showing the city’s neighborhoods with largely black and Hispanic residents. Lower down in the story, a single map overlays those two data sets, highlighting how the majority of these arrests occur in the city’s neighborhoods of color. The visualization drives home the close tie between a neighborhood’s racial makeup and how strictly the subways are policed.…
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How data helped visualize the family separation crisis
“Early this summer, at the height of the family separation crisis – where children were being forcibly separated from their parents at our nation’s border – a team of scholars pooled their skills to address the issue. The group of researchers – from a variety of humanities departments at multiple universities – spent a week of non-stop work mapping the immigration detention network that spans the United States. They named the project “Torn Apart/Separados” and published it online, to support the efforts of locating and reuniting the separated children with their parents. The project utilizes the methods of the digital humanities, an emerging discipline that applies computational tools to fields within the humanities, like literature and history. It was led by members of Columbia University’s Group for Experimental Methods in the Humanities, which had previously used methods such as rapid deployment to responded to natural…
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After a year of MeToo, American opinion has shifted
The Economist – After a year of #MeToo, American opinion has shifted against victims – Survey respondents have become more sceptical about sexual harassment: “… #MeToo…resonated most on social media, as millions of women shared their experiences of abuse, intimidation and discrimination. In the past 12 months, the hashtag has been tweeted 18m times according to Keyhole, a social-media analytics company. The phrase has come to encapsulate the idea of sexual misconduct and assault. In recent months American journalists have used the hashtag in their articles more frequently than they have mentioned “sexual harassment”, according to Meltwater, a media analytics company. Yet surveys suggest that this year-long storm of allegations, confessions and firings has actually made Americans more sceptical about sexual harassment. In the first week of November 2017, YouGov polled 1,500 Americans about their attitudes on the matter, on behalf of…
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Mary Midgley, Moral Philosopher for the General Reader, Dies at the age of 99
The New York Times: “Mary Midgley, a leading British moral philosopher who became an accessible, persistent and sometimes witty critic of the view that modern science should be the sole arbiter of reality, died on Wednesday, less than three weeks after her last book was published, in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne. She was 99. Her death was confirmed by Ian Ground, who teaches philosophy at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, where Dr. Midgley taught for many years. Dr. Midgley wrote more than a dozen books for a general audience, beginning when she was in her late 50s and continuing well into her 90s. Her last book, “What Is Philosophy For?,” was published by Bloomsbury Academic on Sept. 20. “Not many authors can be known to publish a book in their 100th year,” the publisher said in a statement, adding, “Its quality and remarkable insights do not fall short of the brilliant mind that penned it.” The biologist Stephen Rose, writing in…
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The Employer Surveillance State
The Atlantic – The more bosses try to keep track of their workers, the more precious time employees waste trying to evade them. “…In fact, electronic surveillance of employees, through technologies including not just video cameras but also monitoring software, has grown rapidly across all industries. Randolph Lewis, a professor of American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Under Surveillance, Being Watched in Modern America, pointed to software that makes it possible for employers to monitor employee facial expressions and tone of voice to gauge their emotional states, such as rage or frustration. Among more conventional surveillance methods, employers can track employees’ website visits, and keep tabs on their employees’ keystrokes. Employers can also monitor employees’ personal blogs, and read their social-networking profiles. In one case in California, a sales executive at a money-transfer firm sued her…
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Getting Started with the Marrakesh Treaty – a Guide for Librarians
IFLA: “The Marrakesh Treaty entered into force in September 2016, faster than any other international copyright text in the last 40 years. It promises to remove some of the key barriers to access to information by people with print disabilities. Yet the Treaty will only be effective, where it has been incorporated into national law, when libraries and others are using it. Not all librarians feel confident in dealing with copyright law, potentially leaving users without the access they need. This guide, edited by Victoria Owen, and with the welcome support of the World Blind Union, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Electronic Information for Libraries, and the University of Toronto, offers answers to frequently asked questions. It can also be adapted by national actors to their own laws – IFLA encourages this, in order to get the largest possible number of libraries involved.” The guide is available in the following languages: English (pdf, word)…
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Google AI claims 99% accuracy in metastatic breast cancer detection
VentureBeat – “Metastatic tumors — cancerous cells which break away from their tissue of origin, travel through the body through the circulatory or lymph systems, and form new tumors in other parts of the body — are notoriously difficult to detect. A 2009 study of 102 breast cancer patients at two Boston health centers found that one in four were affected by the “process of care” failures such as inadequate physical examinations and incomplete diagnostic tests. That’s one of the reasons that of the half a million deaths worldwide caused by breast cancer, an estimated 90 percent are the result of metastasis. But researchers at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and Google AI, a division within Google dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) research, have developed a promising solution employing cancer-detecting algorithms that autonomously evaluate lymph node biopsies…”
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Trump Administration Reform and Reorganization Plan: Discussion of 35 “Government-Wide” Proposals
Trump Administration Reform and Reorganization Plan: Discussion of 35 “Government-Wide” Proposals, CRS memorandum, July 25, 2018. “This memorandum provides a brief summary and some preliminary analysis of the Donald J. Trump Administration’s recent proposals to restructure and reform agencies, programs, and operations in the executive branch. Specifically, the memorandum covers the 32 proposals characterized by the Trump Administration as “Government-wide.”The 32 proposals include several sub-proposals, which, when enumerated separately as they are in this memorandum, bring the total to 35. The analysis of each proposal includes, to the extent possible, a discussion of statutes that might be involved in the proposed changes, and whether some changes might be achieved through administrative action. The memorandum includes research and writing of analysts and information professionals from across the Congressional Research Service…
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Providing Better Legal Services Isn’t Always About the Law
In “Why Lawyers Really Struggle for Work-Life Balance,” I listed six steps to building a practice that runs smoothly and allows you to have a life: 1) acquire better management skills; 2) implement better technology; 3) create and install better systems and procedures; 4) develop better teams; 5) build better market focus; and 6) deliver better legal services. In this post, we’ll discuss the last step, delivering better legal services. First, notice I didn’t say “being a better lawyer.” That’s not what I mean. Most prospects don’t really know how to evaluate your skills as a lawyer. They only know what a friend told them about you, or what you said about yourself on your website or in an ad. And at the end of their initial meeting with you, they will likely decide on a visceral level if they “liked you” or “felt good about you.” In other words, their decision to hire you and trust you with their matter…
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Lawyers: Keep An Open Mind-You never know where your journey will take you
I’ve written this post mostly about me and what I am thinking about this week. So, when you read the title, and this sentence, you may have asked yourself: What does any of this have to do with me? For those of you not likely to read all of this post, let me answer the question up front. You never know where your career and life will take you, and it’s best to be open to new ideas. I received a call last week on my cell phone. When I looked at the caller ID I saw it was from the Atlanta, Georgia area code. I rarely answer unknown callers, but I answered this one. The person on the other end told me his name, which sounded vaguely familiar. He said he was calling to ask me to be on the Virginia Tech Class of 69 50th Reunion Committee. I had just returned from watching the Hokies lose to Notre Dame, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back next year for a game, but I told the caller I would serve. When I was a student at Virginia Tech they started The Old…
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How an Online Game Can Help AI Address Access to Justice (A2J)
TL;DR: If you like issue spotting, play this “game” to help AI improve access to justice by training algorithms to help connect folks with legal services. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that the majority of those in possession of legal problems, remain in want of solutions.1 Also, ROBOTS! Ergo, we should throw AI at A2J. There is considerably less consensus, however, on how (or why exactly) this should be done. But don’t worry! There’s an app/game for that, and it let’s you train artificial intelligence to help address access-to-justice issues. We’ll get to that in a minute. But first, some background. Machine Learning & Access to Justice, Together at Last Machine Learning, the subdiscipline within AI around which the current hype cycle revolves, is good at pattern recognition. Acquaint it with a sufficiently large number of example items, and it can “learn” to find things “like” those items…
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Legal Geek Conference in London, glad to be here
This Wednesday, October 17, marks the the third annual Legal Geek Law Tech Conference. What started out as 30 people eating pizza and drinking beer in the basement of a startup warehouse in San Francisco, Legal Geek has grown into one of the largest legal tech conferences in the world with over 2,000 attendees from 40 countries coming this year. They’ll have over a 100 speakers from US, Canada, Russia, Singapore, New Zealand, Spain, France, Netherlands and Israel. Legal Geek’s new In-House stage hopes to make legal tech more relevant for general GC’s. Founded by Jimmy Vestbirk, Legal Geek is a startup community with over 6,000 members. Like organizations and startups in the States, they see their members, “Friends of Legal Geek” changing the legal profession forever. I have been following Legal Geek and Vestbirk for a couple years and been drawn to the fun they they have, the passion they bring and to the people and companies they…
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Starting Its Second Year, Global Legal Blockchain Group Unveils New Guides and World Tour of Briefings
August marked the first anniversary of the formation of the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium, an organization created to drive the adoption and standardization of blockchain in the legal industry. In that time, the GLBC has grown to have 125 organizations from 20 countries as members and is the third-largest blockchain consortia in the world in any industry, with major law firms and legal companies as members. Today, with the aim of further accelerating understanding and adoption of blockchain in legal, the GLBC is unveiling three initiatives for members: A series of non-technical blockchain guides for law firms and legal departments. A global series of 25 regional briefings on blockchain in law. A free “Blockchain 101” course for legal professionals and staff. Yesterday, I was briefed on these initiatives by David A. Fisher, founder and CEO of blockchain company Integra and a founder of the GLBC. Fisher says these initiatives represent the fact that, after a…
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Stanford and Suffolk Create Game to Help Drive Access to Justice
Here’s an idea: What if there was a way to promote access to justice while having fun at the same time? That is the idea of a unique project launching today that uses a game to train a machine-learning algorithm. The algorithm ultimately will be used to better match those in need of legal help with the lawyers best suited to help them. The game, called Learned Hands, is a joint project of Suffolk Law School’s Legal Innovation and Technology Lab, led by David Colarusso, and Stanford Law School’s Legal Design Lab, led by Margaret Hagan, with funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Colarusso gave me a preview of the project last week and allowed me to log in and try it for myself. This morning, he published a detailed description of the project at Lawyerist. Margaret HaganPlayers are challenged to spot the legal issues in real people’s stories about their problems. They earn points and rankings based on how many questions they mark and the extent to…
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Getting Started with Any Social Network Checklist
There are a lot of social media networks out there and it can feel overwhelming figuring out how to start and maintain online brand consistency. That’s where this checklist can help. Have a mini-guide to help you create your law firm social media profile on any network and start posting meaningful content. The post Getting Started with Any Social Network Checklist appeared first on Lawyerist.com.
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A daily habit for people who think too much
My wife and I are talking about getting a new car. We’re considering a hybrid, talking about features, costs, and gas mileage. My wife asks me a question. “I think better on paper,” I tell her, and reach for a pad and pen. By writing things down, I see things more clearly. I can weigh the pros and cons, do the math, and figure out what I think. That’s harder to do when everything is still in my head. Author Joan Didion said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” Yeah, me too. While back, I talked to you about “keystone habits,” positive habits that have a ripple effect on other areas of your life. Regular exercise, for example, doesn’t just improve your physical health, it can improve mental well-being, give you more self-confidence and more self-discipline to develop other positive habits. Journaling is another keystone…
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LawNext Episode 15: Lexicata CEO Michael Chasin on His Company’s Acquisition by Clio
It was big news earlier this month when practice management company Clio announced that it had acquired Lexicata, the first cloud-based CRM and client-intake platform for lawyers. It was the first acquisition by 10-year-old Clio, which says it will continue to operate Lexicata but will also develop its technology into a new, more advanced client-engagement platform, Clio Grow. Lexicata CEO Michael Chasin and law school classmate Aaron George founded the company in 2014, after previously founding LawKick, a marketplace for connecting clients with lawyers. A 2013 graduate of Loyola Law School, Chasin also received a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University. In this episode of LawNext, I sat down with Chasin during the recent Clio Cloud Conference, shortly after the acquisition was announced. We discussed the history of Lexicata, the reasons for the acquisition, the future of the product, and what it all…
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The End Of Avvo Legal Services
Avvo Legal Services launched in 2016 offering limited-scope, fixed-fee, legal services in 18 states. Avvo terminated the service in July. The service offered direct access to attorneys who provided limited-scope legal services at a fixed fee, including reviewing legal documents, uncontested divorces and citizenship applications. Avvo Legal Services found a niche of users who needed [...]
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Should You Outsource Your Law Firm Marketing? [Infographic]
Typically, lawyers are among those who are considered to be helpers. Other people are supposed to come to you for help — which may be why it can be hard to be the one who is seeking out help. However, there are many law firm marketing tasks that you can and should delegate or outsource because it’s simply not the best use of your time. To build a successful law firm, your entire team needs to be laser-focused on your core competencies — which means that many business functions can and should be outsourced. There are also several law firm marketing functions that you should keep in your own hands, including cultivating relationships with clients and referral sources. When it comes to outsourcing your law firm marketing and business development efforts, there is a five-step process we recommend our clients follow: Identify the marketing strategies and business development tools that will work best for your practice area. Analyze your firm’s realistic…
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