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We were all blindsided as 2020 unfolded, yet the momentum of technological change and innovation assured a steady stream of new products. I have identified five trends, which I have divided into three categories: unforeseeable, continuing and surprising.

The trends I believe are worth noting — Unforeseeable: COVID-19 impacts; Predicable: state court analytics and innovative workflow tools; Surprising: legal news re-emerges as a competitive focus among major legal publishers and tech marketplaces emerge.

Unforeseeable: COVID-Related Trends

COVID alone triggered four subtrends:

  • The emergence of local law and ephemeral publications. Major legal vendors were no more prepared to track county level health department issuances and Governors’ executive orders than the average law firm. To make things worse these “documents” were issued in a myriad of social media formats, texts, tweets, Facebook pages … . What’s a law firm to do?
  • Librarians and KM professionals stepped into the vacuum and established protocols for locating and harnessing the untidy universe of COVID-19 ephemera.
  • Law firms became publishers of original COVID-19 resources (leveraging the local documents harnessed by librarians).
  • Legal publishers turned out an unprecedented number of free legal resources covering COVID-19 issues. I covered this trend in an earlier ATL post.

Continuing Trends: State Court Analytics And Workflow Tools

Workflow ToolsContinue Reading 5 (Unforeseeable, Predicable, And Surprising) Legal Tech Trends In 2020

Two months ago, Lex Machina  launched an analytics module for the New York County Supreme Court, one of  the most important commercial litigation jurisdictions in the United States.

Today Lex Machina is announcing the completion of coverage for all five New York City counties (contiguous with the 5 New York City Boroughs).

  • New York County Supreme Court (Manhattan) released on September 29th
  • Kings County Supreme Court (Brooklyn) released on October 27th
  • Queens County Supreme Court (Queens) released on November 24th
  • Richmond County Supreme Court (Staten Island) released on December 8th
  • Bronx Supreme Court (the Bronx) released on December 8th

All of the New York City county courts  handle civil litigation involving contracts, torts, tax, and commercial matters. Legal Analytics are
Continue Reading Lex Machina Expands Analytics to Cover All New York City Counties

Gentle readers— in a distant era (January) when no one was thinking about facemasks and hand sanitizer, I posted the annual Dewey B Strategic Hits and Misses Survey. In an attempt to “carry on” as if everything were normal, today I am reporting on the survey results.Thanks to the  87 readers who  responded to the survey between January and March 15th. Compared to 2018, 2019 was a fairly slow year for the launch of new products and features. As a result this years survey has fewer questions and fewer categories of new products. But this year the survey covered new analytics tools, analytics documentation, workflow tools, law comparison tools. The survey also asked
Continue Reading Hits and Misses Readers Choose Best New Analytics, Workflow and Law/Reg Comparison Tools

Today I am launching a new “Hits and Misses” survey which will replace the annual “Start Stop” Survey.  The new survey is more structured and should only take 5 to 7 minutes to complete. Please take a few minutes to share your insights on the state of legal publishing industry practices, products and technology. You can access the survey HERE.

This is an anonymous survey,  however respondents who wish to be entered in a drawing to win an Amazon Echo have the option of including their name an contact information.

The survey will be open through January 31st.

What Did You Think About Legal Publishing and Tech Trends in 2018?

2018 was a tumultuous year for legal publishing and technology. Consider just a few of the key events. The American
Continue Reading Welcome to the First Dewey B Strategic “Hits and Misses” Survey – What Did Legal Publishers Get Right/Wrong in 2018?