Pardon the 2014 Legal Technology Interruption

As we reach the end of 2014, it’s time to look back at the world of legal technology and some of the best advancements, worst fails, popular trends, and developments of the year. Using this information, trends and events can be predicted for 2015. What are the odds that two or more state bar disciplinary groups will issue rules about lawyers using technologies that will baffle lawyers that actually use that technology? It’s time to answer this and other questions about the way lawyers are interacting with new technology.

In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell adopt the ESPN “Pardon the Interruption” approach to take a fast-paced, broad-based look at the past year, contribute a few thoughts on 2015, and give lawyers some ideas of what they can be doing with legal technology.

Toss Up

In their first section, “Toss Up,” Kennedy and Mighell each take opposing sides of such debates as:

• Phones or Phablets?
• Passwords or Advanced Security Techniques?
• To Cloud or Not to Cloud?
• Is more/better innovation coming from outside or within the legal service provider market?
• Was 2014 a big year for new technologies?

What’s the Word

In the second section, “What’s the Word,” the hosts analyzes the way lawyers are interacting with technology. They consider subjects such as human document review versus predictive coding, how lawyers use social media, the impact of the Windows Surface Tablet, bring your own device (BYOD), and lawyers facing technology choices.

Odds Makers

The third section of the podcast, “Odds Makers,” is about the predictions of legal technology stories in 2015. Kennedy and Mighell hypothesize the chance that certain events will happen over the next year. The following questions are approached:

• How many lawyers will discuss their appreciation for WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS?
• How likely is it that a lawyer’s next computer will be a Mac?
• What are the odds that a lawyer will attend a conference about legal technology?
• Will the new “killer app” for lawyers appear in 2015?

Play along with the hosts as they give their predictions and let them know your take on legal technology for 2014 and 2015!

As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots, that one tip, website, or observation that you can use the second the podcast end.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Serve Now.