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Artificial intelligence is finally jumping off the pages of sci-fi novels and into reality – and we’re not just talking about the Roomba. Tech companies are starting to make real advances into AI, really quickly. Now, some of them are applying those advances to the legal industry, in IBM’s ROSS platform and the Microsoft-backed contract reviewing software, Beagle. So… The robots are coming? The robots are coming! Getting Smart About Artificial Intelligence...

In many states, the bar association will provide the public with referrals to qualified attorneys within a specialty. Often, these lawyer referral services are outsourced to local, regional bar associations, and/or certified groups. This allows clients to connect with attorneys more local to them, as well as to minimize the costs, burden, and ethical dilemma for the state-wide organization. For firm lawyers, personally being a part of a referral network can be an avenue to generate clients for the firm....

H.B. Rowe Co. Inc. v. Tippett, 09-1050, concerned a contractor’s suit challenging a North Carolina statute that requires prime contractors to engage in good faith efforts to satisfy participation goals for minority and women subcontractors on state-funded construction projects. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the district court’s judgment that the statutory scheme is constitutional both on its face and as applied. The court held that the State has met its burden of producing a strong basis in evidence for its conclusion that minority participation goals were necessary to remedy discrimination against African American and Native American (but not Asian American or Hispanic American) subcontractors....

The Fifth Circuit decided two criminal matters and one immigration case. Wooten v. Thaler, No. 07-70044 was a capital habeas matter involving late-arriving DNA evidence used by the state to strengthen its case. The court of appeals affirmed the denial of the petition, holding that 1) when the actual physical evidence is in full view, there is no constitutional demand that the prosecution warrant any analyses of that evidence as final – as the best and last attempts; and 2) there was no loss of effectiveness under the Sixth Amendment as the strength of the state’s case grew, just a lessening of the defendant’s chance to prevail....

Wiretaps are not the legally preferred first tool of federal law enforcement, but federal law does allow applications for wiretapping in cases where it may be warranted. On the other hand, the Fifth Circuit in U.S. v. North analyzed a situation in which the authorities did not apply for a wiretap in the correct court or use the proper safeguards to ensure protected conversations were not surveilled. Turns out that little things like jurisdiction really do matter....

With the likely confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, his opponents have been looking for chinks in his armor. Most of them fear the conservative judge will rule against their interests if he is confirmed. Hundreds were protesting outside the Supreme Court even before the president nominated him. But as others watched from the sidelines, some tech types saw something that was there all the time. It looks like Kavanaugh hates net neutrality....

Last week we discussed tips and considerations for hiring your first employee. Suppose you already cleared that hurdle and you have a team of administrative staff and paralegals. What if you’re ready for the next hurdle – adding attorneys to your team? A good way to test the waters is by hiring a contractor. So, here are five reasons why you should consider hiring a contract attorney to grow your small practice....

For Star Wars Day (May the Fourth – get it?), we’re focusing on The Dark Side of the Force and how lawyers shouldn’t be tempted by it. Sure, it comes with cooler costumes and Force Lightning, but at the end of the day, it’s the good side that always wins. Or it should, anyway. You might not think that in the moment, though. A young Anakin Skywalker thought that the Dark Side was a super-good deal, and look where it led him?...

If we were a record company, the last person we’d pick a fight with would be Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig. With four degrees from Ivy League Schools, clerkships with Judge Posner and Justice Scalia, and a noted copyright expert, he seems like the last person you would accuse of copyright infringement. But that’s precisely what Australian company Liberation Music did, reports The Boston Globe. At a 2010 Creative Commons conference in Seoul, Korea, Professor Lessig gave a presentation called “Open,” which talked about the “call and response” phenomenon as it plays out online, reports The Daily Online Examiner....

Paul Evans was indicted and convicted on one count of first-degree murder stemming from a murder-for-hire scheme in Florida. As is the practice in the Sunshine State, the indictment did not charge a sentencing stage aggravating circumstance. After the jury convicted Evans of first degree murder, the trial court conducted a separate sentence proceeding in front of the jury to determine whether sufficient aggravating circumstances justified the death penalty, and whether sufficient mitigating circumstances outweighed those aggravating circumstances....

The potential legal pitfalls of a company’s social media presence are matched only by the seemingly endless variety of social media platforms about which to worry. Facebook and Twitter should certainly be in your wheelhouse by now, but you may or may not be familiar with Instagram, a mobile-based video and photo sharing platform. Even if you’re not entirely up to speed on social networking, you may remember Instagram as the company Facebook purchased in 2012 for a cool $1 billion....

The two men on trial were African American – but no member of their jury was, after the prosecution had dismissed all of the black, potential jurors in voir dire. And while that’s typically something the defendants and their attorneys might take issue with, a recent Nashville jury raised objections over the lack of diversity as well. At the beginning of a recent criminal trial in Nashville, one juror complained to the judge that he did not think it was fair for two black defendants to be tried by a jury without any black members, according to the Tennessean....

A Tennessee appeals court has affirmed a defense lawyer’s contempt conviction, rejecting his claim that he was exempt from the state’s ethics rules. Paul Whetstone, whose in-court temper tantrum was reprinted verbatim in the appeals court’s ruling, will probably now face a disciplinary hearing. The drama unfolded in February 2010, when Whetstone got into a spat with a judge and a prosecutor. The exchange included threats and a remark about panties....

If your firm is a TEFRA partnership – and most partnerships are – your tax game could be in for a change. Without much fanfare, new partnership audit rules were passed last December as appropriations riders. And though they don’t go into effect until 2018, lawyers should understand their implications today – because if you’re not prepared, you might be liable for past partners’ unpaid taxes. So, here’s what you need to know about TEFRA’s new partnership audit rules....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. The Congressional mid-term elections are coming up. There is ample current discussion about whether the Republicans can hold onto majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Many Democrats believe that they have a strong chance of taking over as the majority party in the House, and some think that they may even take the Senate majority, but that latter potential achievement will be far more difficult, as many more Democrat Senators are up for reelection than Republican Senators....

It seems the federal judiciary has a case of summeritis, as we’re not seeing that many ground- breaking cases being decided lately. We’ll blame it on the snowy winter. That said, there are new developments in the traffic stop video taping case, and the First Circuit breathed new life into quid pro quo sexual harassment. And while those cases were decided, we’re still waiting to see how the court will rule on an extradition case....

Starting a law firm can be surprisingly simple – the main costs are really your license and insurance. Fundamentally, a law firm is just you (the licensed attorney), a computer, a printer and a law library. The good news is that you already (presumably) have your license and have paid your dues; and you already have a computer and a printer. All you need is access to a law library. That too isn’t too bad as most major cities are equipped with one of these....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. While we regularly should practice gratitude, it is that time of year to be especially thankful. So, as we are gathered with family and friends eating turkey and all the trimmings, we think about those aspects of our lives as to which we are most grateful. And how about technology?! As we race and dash from one thing to another to keep up with our frenetic schedules, it is easy to forget about how we benefit from technology that supports almost everything we do....

So the British are coming, but this time to American law firms. The last time – if you exclude the Beatles’ invasion – the English came to crush the colonies. We all know how that ended, but what about the latest rush of barristers and solicitors? What are they doing, invading our law firms? Isn’t it bad enough with the robots taking our jobs already? Excess of Success? Above the Law, the ever skeptical ezine, blames it on money....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Many people use the same password for all of their accounts. Why? Because it is easy to remember just one password across all accounts. But is that a good idea? Nope. If that password were to fall into the wrong hands, it potentially could be used more pervasively to the disadvantage of the true password holder....