Category: Legal Technology
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Tech-Savvy Lawyering: Non-AI Trends You Need to Know
Written for the ABA Center for Innovation End of Year Report By Joseph Raczynski In the ever-evolving landscape of LegalTech, the past year has seen advancements that are reshaping how law firms both practice and operate. For small and medium-sized law firms, staying ahead of these trends is crucial not only for maintaining competitiveness, but…
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Business in the Digital Age – Episode 4: Joseph Raczynski
Truly enjoyed listening back to this podcast that the exceptional Paul Caddy at Shoosmiths invited me to join back in April. Wide ranging topics from #AI, #blockchain, and #NFTs, and their impact on society, business, and law firms were discussed. I touch on the cool and the scary, which always makes for some fun! Check it out here… https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-yi9tr-1443c3d
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Litigation Radio: Ten Tips for Building a Scalable and Sustainable Law Practice
https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5zw60rI3y6W3XzPZxjwEDd?utm_source=generator
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Buying the Constitution: The rise of DAOs in legal
Originally published on Thomson Reuters Institute on November 18, 2021. Could Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) become the model for future business structures and transform the legal industry in the process? Update: After this blog post was published, the ConstitutionDAO fell short in its bid to buy a rare copy of the US Constitution in an auction…
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Podcast: The Hearing – Houman Shadab, Professor of Law NYLS
From the producers… Bitcoin: bringing FOMO since 2013. What would your scream sound like if you had dismissed Bitcoin as a joke in your law class in 2013 at $100 dollars – when it sits at $60,000 today? Joe’s guest this week is Houman Shadab, the Director of the Innovation Center for Law and Technology…
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Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Asset ownership via blockchain rockets into legal
In a two-part series, we will look at Non-Fungible Tokens, explaining what they are and how they will impact numerous industries; and how decentralized finance (DeFi) is critical to understanding NFT’s importance within the legal industry. Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski Welcome to the early days of where blockchain goes mainstream,…
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Podcast: The Hearing – Karim Sabbidine – Associate at Thompson Hine
From the producer: On The Hearing, we’ve talked to people at the top of their game about their experiences of lockdown. We’ve gained advice from experts on how businesses can best weather these unprecedented times. And this week Joe chats to Karim Sabbidine, an associate at Thompson Hine, about what COVID-19 means when you’re at…
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Podcast: The Hearing – Doug Pepe – Partner – Joseph Hage Aaronson LLC
From the producer: You may have watched as Mark Zuckerberg explained the internet to Congress in a way that felt a bit unnecessary. Well, this episode is sort of the opposite of that. Joe Raczynski is joined by legal and mathematical macroeconomics genius Doug Pepe, to take us through blockchain, tokens and cryptocurrency in a…
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ILTA’s 2020 Annual Legal Technology Survey
It’s out! In a year unlike any of the 30 previous annual surveys, the 2020 International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA’s) Annual Survey breaks down the technology transformation afoot resulting from the ongoing pandemic. With insightful data-driven industry trends, this year’s ILTA survey highlights the rapid pivots, swerves, and shifts happening in the legal technology marketplace. All of…
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ILTA-ON goes on: Biggest legal tech conference of the year presses onward
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski In a year like no other, the most prominent legal technology conference recently wrapped their weeklong virtual event as the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) morphed its annual ILTACON event into ILTA>ON. After initially vacillating on a hybrid in-person and virtual event, before ILTA decided to…
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LegalTech Report Card and Predictions 2020 to 2060 – ILTA Conference 2020
I had the privilege of being selected to report on how ILTA (International Legal Technology Association) did on their predictions from 2013 up to today, during their 2020 ILTA-ON Conference. Even more fun, predicting what technology and LegalTech will look like from 2020-2025, and then going out to 2060. Remember back when we had ‘Law…
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Part 2: APIs: The cardiovascular system of the legal platform
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski Previously, we discussed how platforms create an ecosystem or environment that allow people and businesses to interact and accomplish tasks and ultimately create a network that can connect and benefit the entire community. Within this environment, of course, interoperability flourishes – pushing early adopters and innovators to…
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Part 1: What the heck is a legal platform and why does it matter now?
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski In the past, I’ve spoke about a possible tsunami of change within the legal industry. It is something I have been carefully watching for several years, but now I think the switch may about to be thrown. During a recent discussion about legal tech startups, Prof.…
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Part 4: Legal Geek’s Uncertain Decade – The future of legal technology & digital transformation
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski By 2030 we will see significant lawyer work being done by machines. As exponential growth of technology consumes to world, the legal industry is especially appetizing. As a result, legal services will be fundamentally different than today in terms of both job function and the way legal…
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The current status of the (virtual) courts
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute By Joseph Raczynski Likely the single most salient after-effect of the current pandemic on the legal landscape is its impact on the courts. Previously, the variance of their technological proficiency ranged from fundamentally unchanged over the last 100 years, to jurisdictions that embraced a technological bent forward over…
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Part 3: Legal Geek’s Uncertain Decade: How does the US and the UK match-up in legal?
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute By Joseph Raczynski In the next decade legal knowledge will be a skill, not a practice. The assumption is that knowledge is table stakes, and technology is now the enabler buoyed by flourishing legal tech startups. These industrious neophytes are marshaling services previously owned by the practice of…
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2020 cloud update—acceleration to platform
Originally published on Legal Insights Europe. By Joseph Raczynski Cloud adoption has increased steadily over the last several years since we last forecast an Increasingly Cloudy outlook for law firms in 2017. The most recent industry data, ILTA’s 2019 Technology Survey finds that 72 percent of those surveyed across the law firm landscape will expand their use of Cloud…
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Part 2: Legal Geek’s Uncertain Decade: Can ALSPs provide what their clients want & need?
Originally published on AnswersOn. By Joseph Raczynski General counsel (GCs) across the United States and the United Kingdom have varied approaches to the current market conditions, according to recent surveys. Interestingly, at the center of the debate is how alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) are utilized and perceived compared to traditional law firms. Not surprisingly,…
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Part 1: Legal Geek’s Uncertain Decade: Debating the future of the legal industry
Originally published in AnswersOn. By Joseph Raczynski It’s the questions on the mind of every legal professional: What will legal life look like after the COVID-19 pandemic passes? What will this “new normal” actually be? And more specifically, if courts close and clients are shuttered, what will half the world’s lawyers do? In the first…
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Work From Home Checklist
Last week I created a checklist for those organizations that have not had people, at scale, work from home. There are two lists. The first list helps someone who has not worked from home previously checkoff that they have all the necessary resources from A-Z to do everything they would normal do at their office. …
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Podcast: The Hearing – Meredith Williams-Range – Chief Knowledge and Client Value Officer at Shearman & Sterling
In this week’s episode, I am joined by the preeminent thought leader in legal tech, and Chief Knowledge and Client Value Officer at Shearman & Sterling, Meredith Williams-Range. Taking us on a journey from her small-town, rural upbringing just outside of Memphis (where you’ll find the absolute best BBQ) to the bright lights of New…
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Justice for all? The impact of AI & blockchain on legal accessibility
Originally published on AnswersOn By Joseph Raczynski I have been incredibly fortunate to have traveled extensively, which has impacted my global vision. Visiting almost 40 countries, I have witnessed firsthand the enormous discrepancies in wealth, opportunities, and lifestyles that exist around the world today. I’ve seen the lavish gilded rooms, complete with Picassos on the…
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Legal technology conference (r)evolution—the launch of Legal Geek North America
Originally published in Legal Insights Europe. By Joseph Raczynski Like the legal industry itself, legal technology conferences are transforming and Legal Geek is leading the change. These industry events are finally beginning to mirror the, more, customer centric start-up community perspective. Taking a step back, a decade ago the most renown and popular legal industry conferences…
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Cybersecurity at the centre – competing globally with different rules
Originally published on Legal Insights Europe. By Joseph Raczynski The topic of global cybersecurity will challenge each one of us. It is an unstable concoction of cultural norms and legal property rights patiently awaiting attention before it bursts. The overarching question is ‘how can legal organizations and overall society manage rising threats to the integrity of…
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What is the current state of legal technology around the world?
Originally published on Legal Insights Europe by Joseph Raczynski Technology discussions once reserved solely for select Chief Information Officers (CIO), Chief Technology Officers (CTO), and technologists—are now commonplace for executive committees, partners, and associates at law firms. This transformative shift over the last four years is remarkable to witness. With wider audiences leaning into the…
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Traveling Around the World (literally – 37,503 miles or 60,355 KM) – A Global Jaunt to Connect with Customers
Over the last eight weeks I have traveled around the world to meet our customers, with enough miles technically to have traversed the earth one and a half times or over 37,000 miles. Background: I had the good fortune to visit customers and present in London, Grand Cayman, New York, Dubai, Washington DC, Auckland, and…
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Podcast: The Hearing With Kevin Poulter & Joseph Raczynski – Future Legal
Episode 2 of THE HEARING is now live! In episode 2 of The Hearing Podcast Kevin Poulter speaks to futurist Joseph Raczynski on #legaltech #AI #blockchain and the future of the robot lawyer. Listen now and subscribe to #thehearingpodcast on: iTunes – https://tmsnrt.rs/2swyzmz Spotify – https://tmsnrt.rs/2kOOpVw SoundCloud – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Js4deI
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Podcast: What the Heck is blockchain?
I had the pleasure of being a part of the Thomson Reuters Innovation Podcast series recently. This was a discussion about blockchain. In this talk with Katherine Manuel, Senior Vice President of Innovation in Strategy/Business Development, Jordan Kleinsmith – Director, Innovation in Strategy/Business Development and Sam Chadwick – Director of Strategy in Innovation and Blockchain in…
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Beyond Cryptocurrency: 5 Questions about the Future of Blockchain for Thomson Reuters Technologist Joe Raczynski
Written by Gina Scialabba and originally published by the Legal Executive Institute Blockchain — we’ve all heard about it, and also heard that it will certainly disrupt the financial, legal and public sector worlds near you. The real questions surrounding the future of blockchain, however, relates to the evolution of its virtual ledger technology and the ways…
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Podcast: The Technology of Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies with Judith Alison Lee of Gibson Dunn (Part 2)
Originally published in the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski, Gregg Wirth, and Judith Alison Lee In the second part of our podcast on the technology behind blockchain and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, I speak with Judith Alison Lee, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Co-Chair of the firm’s International Trade…
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LegalWeek 2018: The Future Phase of the Legal Industry Holds Choppy Waters for Big Law
Originally published in the Legal Executive Institute By Joseph Raczynski NEW YORK — Believe it or not, Big Law is primed to be disrupted within the next several years. At least according to one version of the future from LegalWeek’s fascinating snapshot of the state of the legal industry in 2018. Steve Kovalan and Nicolas Bruch,…
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Podcast: The Legal Implications of Driverless Car Technology with Akerman’s Gail Gottehrer (Part 2)
Originally published in the Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski, Gregg Wirth, and Gail Gottehrer In a new two-part Thomson Reuters’ Legal Executive Institute podcast, Joe Raczynski, Legal Technologist and Futurist with Thomson Reuters Legal, discusses the hot topic of driverless car technology and its impact on the legal industry with attorney Gail Gottehrer, partner…
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Understanding the Impact of Emerging Legal Tech: What is Here, What is Coming & What is Important?
This was originally posted in The Legal Executive Institute. By Joseph Raczynski Major credit for these events goes to the respective Field teams in Boston, New York, and Hartford as well as home office – Marketing – on pulling these off with aplomb! A special thanks to the Thomson Reuters Labs for their deep…
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Blockchain Takes the Stage at the British Legal Technology Forum 2017
Originally published in the Legal Executive Institute By Joseph Raczynski LONDON — The recent British Legal Technology Forum 2017 — Europe’s largest event with more than 1,400 attendees and emceed by Richard Susskind — peered into the future of the legal industry by hosting a provocative talk on Blockchain technology. I spoke at the event on…
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Emerging Technology in the Legal Industry (Video)
By Joseph Raczynski In this Vlog, learn about Emerging Technology in the Legal industry. I focus on the impact of the Trinity of Forces (Cloud, Infinite Processing Power and AI) on Emerging Technology in the Legal industry. The Emerging Technologies discussed are: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Analytics, VR/MR/AR (Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality) and…
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Legal Technology is “Thriving”: Richard Susskind Hosts the British Legal Technology Forum 2017
Originally posted on the Legal Executive Institute By Joseph Raczynski LONDON — The British Legal Technology Forum 2017, Europe’s largest event focused on legal technology, was held recently at the exquisite Old Billingsgate along the Thames River. The event showcased 55 speakers on five stages, with more than 1,400 in attendance. Event organizers use a…
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Increasingly Cloudy — Law Firms Continue the Flight into the Storage Heavens and What the Future Holds
Originally published on the Legal Executive Institute By Joseph Raczynski With the recently released ILTA Technology Survey there is little question that Cloud adoption is drifting upward at law firms. I have also seen this trend through recent conversations with law firm CIOs and CTOs. The shift is real. ILTA’s survey qualified this change to…
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360 Video: Design Thinking Workshop – Thomson Reuters Innovation Lab at Communitech
By Joseph Raczynski 360 Degree Video of a Design Thinking Workshop at Communitech, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Led by Dave Inglis we start down the path of a Design Thinking Workshop with Alston & Bird. Shot with the #SamsungGear360. *With 360 Video you can move the video around to whichever view you would like at any…
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ILTACON 2016: When Will Blockchain and Smart Contracts Be Important in Legal?
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If someone had told you in 1993 that the Web would be integral to your life today, would you have believed them? Well, the discussion around blockchain technology at ILTACON 2016 harkened back to that same scenario of the early ‘90s. This is a reboot, where another new technology will revolutionize…
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ILTACON 2016: Re-Imagining Legal Technology for the 21st Century
So reverberated the words of Mike Walsh a Futurist/CEO of Tomorrow, across an audience of more than 3,000 legal professionals at ILTACON 2016, a four-day conference that centers on the intersection of technology and the legal industry.
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ILTACON 2016: Looking into the Future & Building the Exponential Law Firm
At ILTACON 2016, Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future, spoke about the disruption in the legal industry occurring around us and more precisely which technologies will have the largest impact on law firms in the near future.
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Law Firm and Corporate Cybersecruity Presentation – UMB
By Joseph Raczynski Recorded at the University of Maryland, Baltimore during the “Cybersecruity and You” morning session. Discussed is the current landscape of cybersecurity at law firms and corporations, the primary issues these organizations are finding and general awareness of what is happening.
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Blockchain White Paper
By Joseph Raczynski Abstract: This white paper discusses the history, inner workings and applications of blockchain, an online public ledgering system, and how it will soon significantly impact many aspects of the legal industry. The first part of this paper will show the marvels and the pitfalls of Bitcoin and its underlining blockchain technology. The second part will describe what…
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Wall Street Lawyer – Securities in the Electronic Age Wall – June 2016 ▪ Volume 20 ▪ Issue 6
By Joseph Raczynski An article of mine on blockchain published on the Wall Street Lawyer: Wall Street Lawyer
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Blockchain Has Arrived in Legal: Important Observations from Consensus 2017
By Joseph Raczynski Originally published in The Legal Executive Institute NEW YORK — There was a real moment of inflection recently for me in how I think about the coupling of the legal industry and Blockchain. Having been involved in Bitcoin since 2011 and an evangelist on the topic with dozens of talks in the U.S.…
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LegalSEC: Email Security is Priority One for Law Firms
By Joseph Raczynski BALTIMORE, Md. — “Three strikes and you are out of the firm.” This is the mantra of one law firm when dealing with employees who click on spear-phishing emails, according to Mounil Patel, Strategic Technology Consultant at Mimecast, an email and cloud security firm. Patel’s comments came at the recent gathering of…
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LegalSEC: Shedding Light on the Dark Net
By Joseph Raczynski The importance of law firms understanding the dark web Your very sensitive private client data could be available for all to see on the Internet right now. Technically this data would be on the Dark Net or Dark Web. It is the portion of the World Wide Web that is hidden or…
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State of the Cloud at Law Firms: The Interstitial Phase of Law Firm Cloud Philosophy
By Joseph Raczynski The word “Cloud” can be a divisive word at law firms. Recently uttering the term during technology meetings with East Coast-based law firms with between 50 and 3,000 attorneys elicited starkly differing responses based on firm size and practice dominance. Most of the midsized firms with whom I have met over the…
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ILTA’s 2015 Annual Technology Survey Security Highlights
By Joseph Raczynski Security weighs heavily on this year’s survey It’s out! The 2015 International Legal Technology Associations Annual Survey is stocked with insightful legal technology industry knowledge. This is always an exciting time of the year for me as I get to compare and contrast the stories I heard during the year from law…