In this edition of the Priori Digest, a weekly look at what’s happening in law and technology, we look at the explosive growth in the use of Alternative Legal Service Providers by corporations and large law firms, how adopting ‘tech tools’ was the number one priority for a majority of in-house counsel in a recent survey and which areas of the U.S. look most likely to suffer job losses as a result of the next wave of automation. To get the digest straight to your inbox, sign up here. Enjoy!
Legal
- A new comprehensive study shows the rapid and disruptive growth of Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSP). Some highlights:
- ALSPs make up a $10.7 billion market for legal services, compared with $8.4 billion as found in the previous survey two years ago
- 74 percent of corporations surveyed are now using ALSPs in at least one service category, compared with 60 percent in the survey two years ago
- Nine in ten large law firms are now using ALSPs
- In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of Audio Visual Links (AVLs) between prisons and courtrooms. Here is an interesting discussion on the practical and legal issues involved with such a technological advancement
- Assistant GC of Microsoft, Jason Barnwell, on how an expert legal technician becomes a big-picture strategic advisor to clients. In April, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jason on how his legal team at Microsoft is delivering increased value
Tech
- The CEO of Twitter and Square, Jack Dorsey, was recently interviewed by Rolling Stone on his life, work, career and how he grapples with the fact that Twitter has and is continuing to reshape societies and politics around the world
- The future of automation resembles the past. In the U.S., the areas of the country hit hardest by previous waves of job-market turbulence caused by technology will bear the brunt of the next round of automation-fueled disruption
- The Pontifical Swiss Guard—the colorful soldiers who protect the Pope in the Vatican—has replaced their ancient metal helmets with ones made by 3-D printers. (To be recruited as a guard, you must be an unmarried Swiss Catholic male between 19 and 30 years of age who have completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces)
Legal trivia
- Which state senate in the U.S. once unanimously approved all psychiatric professionals dress as wizards when presenting expert evidence in court? Find out here
Legal & tech cartoons
By the numbers
- 63: The percentage of in-house counsel surveyed who said that adopting tech tools was their number one priority of 2019
- 38.9 billion: The amount of money (USD) invested globally in companies with at least one female founder in 2018
- 26: The percentage of general counsel at Fortune 500 companies that are women
