Futurelawyer

A New Blog By Kevin O'Keefe - AI In Publishing.

AIInPublishing. Kevin O'Keefe, the Godfather of blogging, has a new blog about the use of generative AI in blogging and other professions that deserves attention. Kevin introduced the FutureLawyer to blogging in 2005, and has been a leading light in technology for many years. He has recognized, along with the rest of us who have been around a long time, that ChatGPT from Open AI, and its competitors, including the heavyweights, such as Microsoft and Google and Amazon, that this will be a sea change in the way humans interact with computers and the Internet. In his words:

"AI is a tool, no different than a PC marking the advance from typewriters, which marked the advance from pen and a paper. Perhaps just a more uncomfortable advance."

But, oh, what a tool it is, and will become. The human like responses from a computer interface will change the way we interact with computers; and already is. I have added a step to my computer research in many areas. I am able to judge the responses; just as I would a very smart human colleague. I can amplify, direct, seek additional facts, make corrections, and otherwise act as an author/editor, before I put my final touches on a blog post, or article, or pleading, or list of questions or issues. Publishers of all kinds will find their work enhanced by these very intelligent computer assistants. In future decades, this advance will be looked upon as a natural successor to the beginnings of the creation of an alphabet. I plan to follow Kevin's blog. Will you?

RV Lawyering - The Next FutureLawyer Book Is On The Way.

I am putting the finishing touches on the remote lawyering book, and I hope every one of you buys a copy. Not really. I may just give it away. Not. But, I will share the last paragraph, which should give you an idea of the theme. I discuss, in some detail, many of the gadgets, devices, and software applications that am using these days to be able to be a lawyer wherever I happen to be. Driving around Florida in an RV is a great way to see the beauty of our State in my declining years. I have come a long way from the days of being tied to a desk and a physical office location. 

"The current debate about the use of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence bots in many industries is no different in general than the debates over the use of technology in law practice that I have lived with since my first computer in the 1980s. Every new development is resisted by lawyers afraid of change, and arguing that the future of lawyers is dim. But, 50 years later, here I am, still going to work every day, and using my experience and judgment to assist other humans with legal problems and tasks. I just do it better than I used to do it, armed with new technology. Dictating into a cassette recording, typing documents on typewriters, using handheld telephones, sending documents over fax machines, creating my own documents on a computer, which keep getting smaller, thinner and lighter, sending documents and pleadings to courthouses over telephone and data lines, and doing research by typing a query into a computer that has access to all of human knowledge; all these are just tools to be used. What is human about us will always be human. Our experiences and abilities can be enhanced by technology. They cannot ever be replaced. Now, get out there and help another human with their legal problems."

 

Pay Attention, Lawyers And Everyone. The AI Wars Have Begun.

Are you paying attention? The AI Wars have leapt into our consciousness this past month, and it will only get messier from here on. AI in a conversational computer is a game changer for Internet search, and the two biggest players, Microsoft and Google, have been duking it out for some time. The real beginnings were in 2017; but, the admission of the rest of us late in 2022, has exploded in the past month. You must get familiar with this stuff. It is already changing the way I use the Internet. I chose ChatGPT, from OpenAI, which has a basic, non judgmental model available for $20 a month, which is already saving me a lot of research time with fact finding and data retrieval. I can take its results, and make it mine, by applying my skills and knowledge and writing ability to its results. Microsoft has incorporated a more advanced version into Bing; but, its model has an attitude problem. According to Microsoft, that is because its language model is more sophisticated; but, I prefer just the facts, Ma'am, and ChatGPT, although it seems to have a left leaning political bent, is working for me so far. Google is late to the game, and its version, awkwardly nicknamed "Bard" is typical of Google. I predict Google will advance quickly, as it has the deepest bench, and has led Internet research for a long time. But, you need to educate yourself, no matter who you are. If you are a lawyer, this is essential knowledge if you intend to practice law in the future. Watch this short video, and then scour everything you can find on generative AI. You heard it here. Now, do something about it.

 

I Asked ChatGPT How It Could Help Me. Here's The Answer.

Chat GPT. Everyone is worried about the implications of AI chatbots; but, my view is that they will enhance the practice of law, and many other professions. I asked ChatGPT how it could help me, as a practicing lawyer, and I got a cogent response that is quite accurate:

"As a language model, I can assist you with various tasks related to language and information. Here are some ways I can help you as a practicing lawyer:

1. Legal research: I can help you find relevant case law, statutes, and legal articles on a specific topic or issue.

2. Writing and drafting: I can assist you in writing legal documents, such as briefs, memos, and contracts, by providing suggestions on sentence structure, grammar, and legal terminology.

3. Proofreading and editing: I can help you proofread and edit your legal documents to ensure they are free of errors, such as spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

4. Fact-checking: I can help you verify the accuracy of the facts and information presented in your legal documents.

5. Translation: If you need to translate legal documents from one language to another, I can provide assistance with translation and suggest appropriate legal terminology.

Please let me know how I can assist you further."

It occurs to me that AI can become a starting point for the things I do as a lawyer. Legal research, drafting documents, fact checking, and translation. It feels like the early days of document and word processing. Create a base document with a computer, and then apply your legal skills to improve it, and make it yours. This is going to save a lot of lawyers a lot of time and effort. But, it won't replace the legal judgment honed from decades of experience with real people. What do you think?

Publishers Aren't Banging Down My Door, So I Will Do It Myself.

Get ready, grasshoppers. My new book, RV Lawyers, The Use Of Technology For Remote Lawyering, is coming. Since nobody seemed to want to publish it, I am doing it myself. It will be a little while; but, I hope some of you are interested. I will keep you up to date on my progress.

Should Lawyers Embrace Or Fear ChatGPT?

Should Lawyers Embrace Or Fear ChatGPT? The latest Legal Rebels podcast, linked to here, considers the meteoric rise of interest in AI Chatbot, ChatGPT, which is a conversational chatbot that seems to be able to provide cogent answers to just about any question, and which some are saying could revolutionize many industries. Of course, in my day, we had Cliff Notes, which summarized books in bite sized pieces that savvy students could use in studying, and writing papers. Chatbots, however, can sound like graduate theses, and are much tougher to identify. For lawyers, what if a client could get their legal answers from a chatbot, and bypass the lawyers? Scary thought, if you're a grunt lawyer. Of course, human lawyers and advocates will always be needed, if only to put a human face on a client's problem. I think these things will be more of a tool for lawyers to do efficient legal research, which can then be used to enhance our ability to represent clients. I have always considered the advances in AI to be an enhancement, and not a replacement. But, the technology is advancing at such a rapid pace, these questions must be asked and answered, and the progress of AI must be closely watched. Enhanced humans might evolve into something we don't want to be.

Should Lawyers Embrace Or Fear ChatGPT?

Should Lawyers Embrace Or Fear ChatGPT? The latest Legal Rebels podcast, linked to here, considers the meteoric rise of interest in AI Chatbot, ChatGPT, which is a conversational chatbot that seems to be able to provide cogent answers to just about any question, and which some are saying could revolutionize many industries. Of course, in my day, we had Cliff Notes, which summarized books in bite sized pieces that savvy students could use in studying, and writing papers. Chatbots, however, can sound like graduate theses, and are much tougher to identify. For lawyers, what if a client could get their legal answers from a chatbot, and bypass the lawyers? Scary thought, if you're a grunt lawyer. Of course, human lawyers and advocates will always be needed, if only to put a human face on a client's problem. I think these things will be more of a tool for lawyers to do efficient legal research, which can then be used to enhance our ability to represent clients. I have always considered the advances in AI to be an enhancement, and not a replacement. But, the technology is advancing at such a rapid pace, these questions must be asked and answered, and the progress of AI must be closely watched. Enhanced humans might evolve into something we don't want to be.

Florida Bar Annual Tech Symposium Taking Shape.

Annual Convention Tech Symposium Taking Shape. Kevin Johnson, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Technology of the Florida Bar, of which I am a member, is sponsoring the annual tech symposium at this year's coming Convention in Boca Raton. There will be some great presentations, covering cybersecurity, and other subjects. I will be presenting about the new technology allowing remote access, including the satellite and cellular technology I am using to post this from Walt Disney World in Orlando today. I have been experimenting for decades with the use of technology to free the lawyer from her desk, and practicing law from wherever I happen to be in a given moment. Tech has risks as well as rewards, and the Committee has been providing Florida lawyers with help using it for a long time. I will also be speaking about Eink, and the current tablets that make lawyer note taking and document use a paperless process. As we predicted years ago, technology competence has become essential to the practice of law. Florida lawyers can learn more about it from the lawyers who are using it. 

LexBlog Aggregates The Smartest Lawyers In The World, And Provides Their Content For Free.

LexBlog. My friend, Kevin O'Keefe, owns and operates the largest aggregator of online legal content in the world. He maintains and publishes blogs for the leading legal lights in just about every area of law you can name. But, more than that, he aggregates and highlights the blog content, and provides them free, via email, to anyone who chooses to subscribes. This link is what I got today in my email box, and covers current developments in the Corporate Transparency Act, current cases in facial recognition, antitrust, and ESG legal areas, and much more. These blog posts are a detailed and current discussion of cases and statutes by the legal experts in their field. It is a win win, because lawyers and consumers get the benefit of learning what is currently going on, and the lawyers who post get visibility for their firms and websites. LexBlog content is a great place to start in any legal research project, and, along with Google Scholar, Anylaw, and other free legal research sites, provides an amazing archive that has more value every single day. If you are a practicing lawyer, you need to go to LexBlog and subscribe to the email service. Thanks, Kevin, and thanks, LexBlog. You are the cutting edge of legal research on the Internet.

 

Solo Lawyer, Small Firm Lawyer, BigLaw Lawyer...We All Need Help.

Florida Bar Tech Help Line. One of the lesser known services provided by the Florida Bar to its members is the amazing Tech Help Line that exists for one purpose: to help our members navigate the complex and ever changing world of technology and its impact upon the practice of law. Law Tech Partners, headed by Adriana Linares and Liz McCausland, handles the service for the Bar, and, while they might refer you to your software provider for answers, they can take care of many basic tech questions. It's your Bar. Use it.