Happy Birthday, Chuck: The Evolution of Law and Technology
Today (according to the art surrounding my google search box) is Charles Darwin's birthday. Much has evolved in the intervening 200 years, including the practice of law. Yesterday, I attended the ABA's Techshow Roadshow in Boston and was pleased with what is emerging in legal technology. I'm always looking for ways to practice law both better and smarter while delivering innovative solutions to peoples' problems (I'll be speaking on this topic at a CLE seminar for lawyers in the spring and I'll post the details once they are finalized.)
While I haven't read it yet, lately, there's been a good deal of talk about Richard Susskind's new book, The End of Lawyers?: Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services. Richard will be the Keynote speaker at ABA Techshow 2009 in Chicago this April. I look forward to his talk and the talk about his talk that will follow. What does the future hold for law, lawyers, and society?
I'm hoping the law and lawyers practices continue to evolve by making better use of technology. I hope this advancement results in benefits not just for lawyers, but for their clients and for society as a whole. Making the protections of law available to more through better uses of technology is possible. On the practical side, development and better use legal technology can also lead to attorneys who are more efficient and satisfied with their careers. Perhaps we're in the midst of a sort of adaptive evolution occurring within law and technology. Are legal blogs and lawyers on twitter the equivalent of Darwin's ecological niches in biology? Time will tell. Just like Darwin's contributions to our understanding and debates, there remain many doubters. Regardless (aka Irregardless in Boston), Happy Birthday, Chuck.
