The Newsletter from Neota Logic for Summer 2017: Covering AI in law and compliance, legal tech news, Neota Logic product updates, and more…
IN THIS ISSUE
- From the President & COO: A better way
- Top Story: Cool Vendor, hot space
- News Briefs: Liberty Mutual, CLOC, ACC, ICAIL, ELTA, ILTA
- Congratulations: Fastcase 50 Honorees
- New White Paper: Legal services engineering
- Next Generation: Law students solve with systems
- Jobs Created by AI: New staff at Neota Logic
- New In the Training Center: Learning by example
FROM THE PRESIDENT & COO: A better way
Dear Neota Logic clients, partners, and friends:
I hope this finds everyone well as we head into Q3 of an exciting year.
Recently, Neota Logic has participated in a lot of legal tech conferences globally, including CLOC, ACC Legal Ops, ICAIL, ELTA, and ILTA Tech Fest. From these meetings, one thing has become very clear:
Legal and compliance professionals are looking for a better way to handle routine professional services work. Reinventing the wheel for common professional tasks is no longer acceptable. This change has resulted in a new openness to leveraging expertise through AI applications, which can convert inefficient services into maintainable products that deliver value (for users and experts) over and over again.
Another sign of the increasing influence of AI on professional services is that last month, Gartner published its first report on AI for Legal Affairs – and we’re pleased to be one of a handful of companies awarded Gartner’s distinction of “Cool Vendor” in this important space. More on this story below.
In the News Briefs below, we’ve gathered resources that we hope you find helpful, including an article by Neota Logic’s Patrick Fuller summarizing the takeaways from this year’s CLOC meeting in Las Vegas where Mary O’Carroll, head of legal operations at Google, addressed the delegation of legal and compliance professionals. Ms. O’Carroll concluded: “Challenge yourself to do something bold, … take the leap, and push the boundaries” to meet the world’s growing need for professional services.
All of us at Neota Logic are here to help you to do something bold – and essential – in the digital age of professional services. There is a better way – and we can help you execute it. Please feel free to email me at shimek@neotalogic.com to discuss your goals for leveraging expertise through technology.
All the best,
Andrew
Andrew Shimek – President & COO, Neota Logic
TOP STORY
Gartner names Neota Logic a Cool Vendor in Legal AI
Every year, the research firm Gartner identifies “Cool Vendors” in key technology areas and publishes reports that describe the selected vendors and their significance for business decision makers. For the first time, Gartner has recognized vendors in legal Artificial Intelligence (AI). And Neota Logic is among the small group of companies to be named a “Cool Vendor” in this new area of technology.
Gartner’s report on legal AI notes that “Enterprises are seeking to automate legal document processing, especially contract processing… and that traditional legal service delivery is increasingly becoming inefficient. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions can move many services in-house, with improved cost and results.” The report also emphasizes that “new legal AI technologies bring to the market solutions that aim to further automate legal service delivery and provide new insight for better decision making.” Andrew Shimek, President and COO of Neota Logic, said “We’re very proud of this recognition from Gartner, and we’re pleased that the Gartner analysts have highlighted the importance of using AI to leverage professional expertise – which is the purpose of Neota Logic.”
Gartner subscribers can access the Cool Vendors in AI for Legal Affairs, 2017 report. If you’re not a Gartner client, Neota Logic can provide you with a complimentary download of the report for a limited time.
Please note this message from Gartner: Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
NEWS BRIEFS
CLOC eyes ’round-the-clock guidance
In May, the second annual Corporate Legal Operations Consortium convened to focus on industry goals and solutions for in-house legal teams, including the use automated advisors that provide guidance to employees 24/7. Neota Logic VP of Business Development Patrick Fuller shares his takeaways from this key industry conference here.
LAST MILE is targeted by legal professionals
Bill Henderson, Professor of Law and Stephen F. Burns Chair on the Legal Profession at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, is an expert on the legal profession’s “last-mile problem,” which can be a big challenge to those trying to improve in-house legal operations. Henderson spoke at an event hosted by Neota Logic in conjunction with Akerman and Thomson Reuters during the ACC Legal Operations Conference in Chicago in June. Read Bill’s piece here.
ICAIL is common ground for lawyers and data scientists
Rick Seabrook, Managing Director for Neota Logic in Europe, spoke on applying AI to law practice at the 16th International Conference for Artificial Intelligence and Law (ICAIL) at King’s College in London in June. The conference focused on the extensive common ground shared by lawyers and data scientists. A recap of the conference by David Curle of Thomson Reuters is here.
ILTA AU TECH FEST points to seven success factors for the new era
In Australia in May, Neota Logic participated in the Legal Innovation & Tech Fest, which is produced by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA). The event attracted legal professionals and technologists from Australia and other regions to share ideas on how law firms and legal businesses can operate more efficiently and effectively in the rapidly changing new world of professional services. A summary of the 7 main topics (success factors) covered at the conference is here.
CONGRATULATIONS FASTCASE 50 HONOREES
Each year, legal research service, Fastcase, honors exceptional legal tech professionals for innovation and industry leadership. This year’s distinguished Fastcase 50 class includes two legal tech leaders who make Neota Logic part of their innovative solution sets: Kathryn DeBord, Chief Innovation Officer at Bryan Cave, and Jeffrey Sharer, Co-Chair of the Akerman Data Law Center. Neota Logic is proud to support these forward-thinking and results-focused professionals.
WHITE PAPER on NEW PROFESSION
Practice Engineering for 21st Century Legal Services
Written by Neota Logic’s Michael Mills and published by Neota Logic client Thomson Reuters through the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, this new white paper addresses the need for legal practice engineering to bridge from process and technology to more effective delivery of legal services. The paper is organized in three parts:
- Part I: The growing importance of law-degree-not-required professional roles
- Part II: How legal services are delivered today
- Part III: How practice engineering can improve legal services
LAW STUDENTS BUILD SYSTEMS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
This spring, teams of law students at Georgetown University, University of Melbourne, and Thompson Rivers University built Neota Logic applications to support nonprofit organizations. At each school, the semester-long Neota-based course enabled the students to analyze real-world legal problems and build technical systems to solve those problems on an ongoing basis. At the end of the semester, the student applications were judged by a panel of experts who awarded honors based on technical quality, user experience, and other factors. At right are screenshots of two applications by Melbourne law students from this semester.
This fall, Cornell Law School will join the professional schools that teach Neota Logic to prepare their students for 21st century professional work.
More on the Neota Logic university courses is here. Links to example student-built Neota applications are here.
NEW JOBS CREATED BY AI
We’re pleased to announce that the Neota Logic team has been expanded. These professionals are here to support you as you use Neota Logic to leverage expertise and increase efficiency:
- Prince Abebe, Director of Client Services – New York
- Naveed Dhada, Solutions Architect – London
- Jackson Liu, Manager, Client Solutions – Sydney
- Isabel Munoz, Marketing Coordinator – New York
- Catherine Ostheimer, Senior VP of Marketing and Communications – New York
- Jacky Oulton, Solutions Architect – Melbourne
- Anthony Salamone, Senior Director of Business Development – New York
NEW IN THE TRAINING CENTER
Catalog of Example Applications
Among the new additions to the Neota Logic Training Center is the Example Catalog presenting at-a-glance diagrams to show authors how to design and build common types of applications. Shown at right are some of the new examples in the Expert Advisors category.
The Neota Logic Example Catalog is a cook book for authors: select an example application and then follow the recipe. The catalog includes images, videos (sample here), and completed Neota Logic applications, which together show authors how to:
- Define the application at a high level
- Prepare content to support rapid development
- Structure the application in Neota Logic Studio for maintainability and scalablity
- Build and test the application effectively and efficiently
You can take a closer look at the Example Catalog here (login required) or contact us at sales@neotalogic.com for a guided tour.
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