Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
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In a recent blog post, Canadian lawyer and legal technology blogger Nathaniel Russell defined Lawmageddon as “the imminent confluence of events that will change lawyers’ lives forever.” This most likely includes technologies such as cybersecurity, cloud-based systems, encryption, and social media, which influence the legal sphere in a way that lawyers cannot opt out of. Why are lawyers as a profession so hesitant to adapt to these changes in technology, what will it take for the legal profession to eventually come around, and how are different jurisdictions effecting the necessary changes? It is important to discuss these questions, even if we can only hypothesize answers.
In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview Nathaniel Russell about his definition of Lawmageddon, what the legal profession needs to embrace these changes, and the consequences lawyers face if they fail the tests of Lawmageddon. In the second half of the podcast, Russell discusses what can happen if lawyers ignore the presence of social media as evidence and the ethical responsibility all lawyers have to their clients with regard to social media and due diligence.
Topics include:
- The difference between legal market change, anxiety or panic, and Lawmageddon
- How lawyers do or don’t securely store their files and communicate
- The psychology of plodding lawyers
- How a cataclysmic event might be required for true change
- The lack of collusion in different jurisdictions
- Ethical and legal standards for practice in social media
- The fun case of Beattie v. Beattie
- Useful social media evidence tools