Sui Generis--a New York law blog

Surf Smarter: 10 Extensions to Upgrade Your Web Browser

Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

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Surf Smarter: 10 Extensions to Upgrade Your Web Browser

Like it or not, you probably spend several hours each day online. Nowadays, the internet serves as our lifeline, offering immediate access to whatever we need, whenever we need it. Whether on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop, the online world offers a window into the world of limitless information.

We've come to rely on—and often take for granted—the tool that grants us instant access to cyberspace: the web browser. While not necessarily an exciting piece of technology, it’s nevertheless a reliable workhorse that we use daily. Browsers are highly functional on their own, but adding browser extensions can make your online experience both more productive and secure.

Browser extensions are typically available regardless of the tool you’re using, and many are accessible across multiple platforms. To add them to your browser you need to locate the extension “store,” usually located within your browser’s settings. The store includes categorized add-ons, and you can also search for specific ones. 

I take advantage of a host of different extensions that enhance and improve my online experience and regularly add new ones as I discover them. Below you’ll find my top ten most-used extensions, along with an explanation of how each one adds to my daily workflow.

AdBlock: This browser extension serves as a digital shield, filtering out intrusive advertisements from web pages and enhancing your experience by reducing page load times and conserving bandwidth.

ChatGPT for Google: This add-on integrates GPT-based conversational AI into Google search, providing you with enhanced search capabilities, contextual assistance, and even real-time language translation, making Google's ecosystem more interactive and intuitive.

Consent-o-Matic: This extension automates the often cumbersome process of managing GDPR cookie consent forms across various websites, and streamlines your navigation by automatically selecting or declining cookies based on your preferences.

DuckDuckGo: More than just a search engine, this extension offers a comprehensive privacy solution by blocking third-party trackers, encrypting connections, and providing a private search functionality that doesn't store your data.

Grammarly: Grammarly is a comprehensive writing assistant that scrutinizes your text for grammatical errors, offers stylistic improvements, and even employs algorithms to detect the tone and suggest revisions to enhance the readability of your writing.

PayPal Honey: This shopping assistant extension goes beyond finding and applying coupon codes at checkout; it's integrated with PayPal to offer a seamless transaction experience, and even provides price tracking and alerts.

PrintFriendly: This extension transforms cluttered web pages into clean, print-ready versions by stripping away ads, navigation bars, and other non-essential elements, making it easier to print the page or save it as a PDF.

Search the current site: This browser extension streamlines your web navigation by enabling focused, site-specific search queries directly from your browser's toolbar, eliminating the need to navigate through a website's own (often cumbersome) search function or manually search a page by entering site:URL into a search engine.

Trim: This extension enriches your streaming experience by embedding IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic ratings directly into Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming services, enabling you to make informed choices about what to watch next.

WOT (Web of Trust): This extension serves as a real-time sentinel by evaluating the reputation of websites you visit and warning you about potential security risks, scams, or phishing attempts, based on community reviews and machine learning algorithms.

Install any or all of these extensions and reap the rewards of a more streamlined, ad-free, and data-rich browsing experience. Gone are the days of unsafe websites, paying full price, or blindly choosing movies. Instead, you’ll be armed with grammatically correct documents, instantaneous ChatGPT search results, and the best online deals in town. What more could a sophisticated internet traveler ask for?

Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and the Head of SME and External Education at MyCase legal practice management software, an AffiniPay company. She is the nationally-recognized author of "Cloud Computing for Lawyers" (2012) and co-authors "Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier" (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors "Criminal Law in New York," a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Sharing space, not secrets: Office sharing insights from ABA Formal Opinion 507

Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

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Sharing space, not secrets: Office sharing insights from ABA Formal Opinion 507

The landscape of our lives looks very different now than it did before the pandemic struck. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the workplace. Remote work is more common than ever and increased technology usage has enabled more flexible and creative work arrangements. Because five-day in-office work weeks are less common, office-sharing arrangements have become more palatable for lawyers. Less office space is required due to hybrid work schedules, thus allowing more people to work from one office and divide rental costs while also sharing resources. 

However, with more office-sharing by attorneys comes the need to carefully balance the convenience with the potential risks this type of arrangement can pose. Fortunately, there is guidance available in the form of a recently released ethics opinion, ABA Formal Opinion 507.

Handed down in July, this opinion addresses the ethical issues that arise when lawyers participate in office-sharing arrangements. The Standing Committee on Ethics and Responsibility concluded that it is generally permissible for lawyers to share offices with others, but when doing so there are a number of ethical issues to keep top of mind.

First, the Committee cautioned that it’s essential to take steps to protect client confidentiality. Lawyers must ensure that the physical arrangement of the shared office space does not expose client information to other office-sharing lawyers or their staff. Safeguards that should be considered include maintaining separate waiting areas, installing privacy screens, and using technology to provide secure storage for client files 

The Committee discussed the importance of using separate telephone lines and computer systems, along with providing staff training to protect client information: "(L)awyers can also restrict access to client-related information by securing physical client files in locked cabinets or offices and using separate telephone lines and computer systems. Lawyers, however, may overcome confidentiality concerns with shared telephone and computer systems with appropriate security measures, staff training, and client disclosures." 

While keeping client information secure is paramount, it's not the only ethical obligation lawyers need to consider. Clear communication was also emphasized. According to the Committee, lawyers have an ethical obligation to clearly communicate the nature of their relationship to the public and clients to avoid misleading impressions. There are a number of ways that lawyers sharing office space can ensure compliance, including using separate business cards, letterheads, and directory listings.

The Committee also opined on the importance of taking steps to avoid conflicts of interest, explaining that attorneys “should pay particular attention to (1) avoiding the imputation of conflicts of interest, (2) taking on potential new matters that are adverse to clients represented by other office sharing lawyers, and (3) consulting with fellow office sharing lawyers.” 

Another area to approach with caution is when sharing staff with other lawyers. 

If lawyers decide to share support staff, they must instruct all employees regarding their confidentiality obligations and should take steps to supervise them appropriately. 

Finally, the Committee addressed issues that arise when lawyers who share office space consult with one another about their cases. According to the Commitee, lawyers should avoid disclosing client-identifying or privileged information during informal consultations, and discussing issues through hypotheticals is recommended. Notably, these consultations can sometimes lead to unexpected conflicts of interest that could limit a lawyer's ability to represent current or future clients. Therefore, a standard conflict check should be conducted before any informal consultation discussion in order to mitigate this risk.

The pandemic and technological changes have upended traditional legal practices. As a result, we now have an unprecedented array of options for how and where to conduct our work. But as this opinion reminds us, with this newfound flexibility comes a heightened ethical burden. In a landscape that's shifting almost as quickly as technology itself, this opinion provides much-needed guidance for lawyers seeking to take advantage of the many benefits offered by hybrid work arrangements like office-sharing.

Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and the Head of SME and External Education at MyCase legal practice management software, an AffiniPay company. She is the nationally-recognized author of "Cloud Computing for Lawyers" (2012) and co-authors "Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier" (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors "Criminal Law in New York," a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Decoding ILTACON 2023: Key Takeaways on AI's Impact on the Legal Profession

Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

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Decoding ILTACON 2023: Key Takeaways on AI's Impact on the Legal Profession

Last month I attended the International Legal Technology Association Conference (ILTACON). This year’s conference was full of excitement about the potential of legal technology and its impact on the practice of law. Particularly noteworthy was the focus on generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, a rapidly evolving field that will have significant implications for the legal profession as a whole.

This year's event was more than just a chance to network and exchange business cards; it was a deep dive into the seismic shifts that generative AI is causing in our industry. Whether the topic of conversation was ChatGPT, Bing Chat, or generative AI tools built into legal platforms, the anticipation in the air was palpable, and the enthusiasm for the possibilities was unprecedented.

The data disseminated during the conference supported the bold claims that we're on the cusp of revolutionary changes, despite some of the current challenges faced when integrating generative AI into legal processes, including confidentiality issues and inaccurate results. What follows are some of the key takeaways derived from two reports released at the conference.

First, there’s the 2023 LexisNexis Global Legal Generative AI Survey, which targeted an international audience and asked respondents to weigh in on their familiarity with this emerging technology. According to the report, an impressive 89% of legal professionals are acquainted with generative AI, while consumer awareness lags at 61%.

The survey results also showed that the majority of lawyers worldwide recognize the potential of generative AI, with 65% citing research as the main possible application for generative AI tools, which is a somewhat surprising outcome given the recent negative news headlines about the false case citations derived from ChatGPT. Other important use cases cited by survey respondents include drafting documents (56%), document analysis (44%), and automating email correspondence (35%).

Survey data also showed that in the legal community, the current generative AI adoption rate for legal-specific tasks is only 15%. Nonetheless, a more optimistic 43% are either already employing or intend to employ generative AI in their legal workflows. A strong majority—77%—anticipate that these tools will enhance the efficiency of legal professionals, including lawyers, paralegals, and law clerks.

For those legal professionals who are already using generative AI tools, the survey results showed that the majority are using it for research (62%), while nearly half (46%) utilize it for document drafting, 42% rely on it to assist with email drafting, 29% for understanding new legal concepts, and 23% for document analysis.

Finally, close to half of all legal practitioners surveyed (47%) predict that generative AI will bring about significant or transformative changes in the field of law. A near-unanimous 92% expect the technology to exert at least some level of influence on legal practice.

In contrast, the Everlaw 2023 eDiscovery Innovation Report, also shared at the conference, offers a less favorable outlook. A mere 6% of those surveyed believe that the legal field is ready for the advent of generative AI, with more than 72% either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with that sentiment. A smaller subset of 21% of those surveyed remained neutral. The leading concern among respondents was the accuracy of these AI tools, cited by 46%. Despite these reservations, a noteworthy 40% are either: 1) already implementing (12%) generative AI tools in their firms or 2) have plans to implement them in their firms (28%).

The data released at ILTACON 2023 provides evidence of the increased interest in generative AI and the impact that it will have on the legal industry. It’s clear that these technologies are not simply supplementary tools and instead have the potential to redefine the very nature of legal work. Whether you're an attorney in a large firm, a boutique practice, or a solo practitioner, the question isn’t if, but how quickly and strategically you can adopt and implement these advancements into your firm, with the end result being a more efficient, profitable, and client-centric practice.

Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and the Head of SME and External Education at MyCase legal practice management software, an AffiniPay company. She is the nationally-recognized author of "Cloud Computing for Lawyers" (2012) and co-authors "Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier" (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors "Criminal Law in New York," a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Never fear, AI guidance for lawyers is near

Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

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Never Fear, AI Guidance for Lawyers is Near

You may have noticed that generative AI tools like ChatGPT are making waves lately. However, in their current iteration, when these tools are used by legal professionals, it’s not necessarily smooth sailing.

If you’re worried about ethics and security, rest assured you're not alone. The promised efficiencies of these tools are tempered by genuine concerns about the accuracy of results, confidentiality, and ethical compliance. Since this technology is both new and rapidly changing, implementation in law firms is a challenging task, and innovative lawyers are forced to navigate the uncharted waters of generative AI in the absence of clear guidance.

Fortunately, help is on the way. In a number of different jurisdictions, plans have been announced that are designed to address many of the thorny issues presented by generative AI, either through the issuance of ethics opinions or the formation of committees dedicated to tackling these challenges.

For example, in July the New York State Bar Association announced that it was forming a task force to address emerging issues related to artificial intelligence. The Bar explained that the task force would “address the benefits and potential dangers surrounding artificial intelligence and make regulatory recommendations for this powerful and fast-developing technology.” The task force plans to “develop policies for bar association adoption and suggest legislation to govern effective and responsible AI use.”

Similarly, a few weeks later, the Texas State Bar also announced the formation of a workgroup that would “examine the ethical pitfalls and practical uses of AI and report back within the year.” The ultimate goal is for the workgroup to provide recommendations on the policies related to AI that should be implemented by the state bar.

Finally, in May, the California Bar created a committee tasked with examining the impact of AI on the profession. The goal is to draft an advisory ethics opinion for release in November that would address the risks and benefits of using AI in legal practice and provide guidance on how to do so while complying with ethical obligations.

In the meantime, because generative AI technology is evolving so fast, you may as well learn as much as you can about it. That way, when the time comes, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about whether and how to use it in your law firm.

The guidance offered by the various state bars will help, but you’ll need to have a foundational knowledge of AI technology in order to make an educated choice that complies with the findings and determinations of the appropriate committee.

This course of action not only makes sense, it also ensures compliance with the duty of technology competence.

To get started, there are three sites with sections devoted to AI that will enable you to easily track the latest generative AI news: Above the Law, Legaltech News, and ABA Journal.

And if you’re really interested in a deep dive into ChatGPT and best practices for using this tool in your law practice, there’s a course available that is offered by New Orleans attorney and legal technology consultant, Ernie Evenson. It’s a free course called “Using ChatGPT in Modern Practice."

So whether you’re a legal tech geek or a curmudgeon, never fear: the technological and ethical assistance that the legal community has been seeking will arrive soon. While you’re waiting, embracing these changes and preparing for the new regulatory landscape is a great way to chart an innovative course while continuing to serve your clients effectively. The intersection of law and AI is a journey, and with the right roadmap, it’s one that promises to be both rewarding and impactful.

Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and the Head of SME and External Education at MyCase legal practice management software, an AffiniPay company. She is the nationally-recognized author of "Cloud Computing for Lawyers" (2012) and co-authors "Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier" (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors "Criminal Law in New York," a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at [email protected].