Ron Chichester, Author at Computer & Technology Section

Author: Ron Chichester Archives

5th Annual Technology and Justice for All Webinar (Friday, February 11, 2022)

Ron Chichester on January 24, 2022

Dear Colleagues:

The past two years have been an unprecedented time for the adoption of technology by lawyers. From the use of Zoom and other video communication tools by courts, businesses, and individuals to the importance of disaster recovery planning, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the practice of law demands a new level of competence in technology for attorneys to meet their duties under Texas Rules of Professional Conduct 1.01 cmt para 8.

Start the new year with a better practice by joining the Computer and Technology Section for our 5th Annual Technology and Justice for All CLE webinar, and earn up to 4.75 hours MCLE credit, including 1.75 hours of ethics credit.

This seminar will be presented by law and technology experts bringing perspectives from a diverse range of practices including cyber law, litigation, government, in-house counsel, and IP. This program will be archived and available for replay for the next 30 days, until March 13, on the CTS Section website. BUT YOU MUST REGISTER AND PAY NOW to take advantage of the archived presentations.

Use the links below to register and view the program agenda.

5th Annual Technology and Justice for All CLE Webinar

When:

Friday, February 11, 2022
9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CST

Registration

Section members: $75

Non-section members: $100

Legal Aid Providers/Justice Incubators: FREE

Up to 4.75 hours of MCLE credit, including 1.75 hours ethics

Join the Computer and Technology Section for $25 here and receive the section member price of $75!

Register

Program Agenda

Description:

From using software for automation and efficiency, to privacy and free speech in a digital world, to reaching and ethically representing clients when businesses and individuals are embracing a remote-friendly, on-demand economy and workplace, this course will advance your legal technology skills to make a tech-forward 2022 work for you and your firm. Attendees will learn:

How to think like an engineer and work smart, not hard, to harness technology for a more efficient practice
What it means to meet your ethical duties to your clients in the Zoom-enabled, smartphone-friendly, cybercrime-ridden practice environment of 2022
The latest developments in U.S. and global cybersecurity requirements impacting your firm and your client’s businesses
How to use the Texas Bar’s new, attorney-friendly Advertising Review Portal for faster guidance on how to market ethically and effectively
Key recent holdings on the application of the First Amendment to social media platforms like Snapchat and Twitter
60 Apps to make your practice and life easier and more successful

Attend live streaming via Zoom on Friday, February 11 and ask presenters questions live via chat OR watch on-demand at your convenience for 30 days after.

A great value: Registrants for this seminar can earn up to 4.75 hours of MCLE credit, including 1.75 hours of ethics credit. It is only $75 for Section members, and $100 for others, including one year of free Computer and Technology Section membership.

Supporting Access to Justice: Registration is FREE for Legal Aid Providers or Justice Incubators.

Register now! Click HERE to register. Whether you’re a digital native or the PEBKAC, this CLE course will leave you better equipped for 2022.

We hope you will be able to join us!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rogers, Chair
Computer and Technology Section
State Bar of Texas

Previous Issues of Circuits

Ron Chichester on December 18, 2020

The Council of the Computer & Technology Section has released some of the older versions of its Circuits eJournal to the public. You no longer need a password to enjoy issues of Circuits. Links to some of the previous versions are below:

2018 Strata Data Conference

Ron Chichester on September 16, 2018

Google saw fit to bestow a free ticket to a member of the Council to attend the Strata Conference (https://conferences.oreilly.com/strata) in New York City. The Strata Conference is all about Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science, as well as some attendant topics. Size-wise, this conference is on a par with LegalTech and the International Legal Technology Association (“ILTA”) Conference . However that is about where the similarity ends. As far as I could tell, I was the only attorney in attendance. They were curious to know why I was there, but when I described e-discovery, data breach situations and the like — they got it. A very welcoming lot. Here are some observations:

1. As with the legal conventions, AI was all the rage. Not surprising, however, because the Strata conference is all about data, so Data Science (aka “Big Data”) plays an more important role. AI is used to analyze Big Data. There is just so much data that only a machine could cope with it.

2. Open source software applications dominate the field. In fact, there was one presentation entitled “Commercial Software in an Increasingly Open Source Ecosystem.” Large companies now insist on open source applications (for a variety of reasons). So much so that when they go looking for solutions, they turn to the open source versions first. Even Microsoft was touting how well you could run Linux and other open source applications on Azure. Microsoft knows that it has a credibility problem in this area, but they are truly making an effort to make amends with the open source community (and by extension, corporate America).

3. AI and Data Science are quickly being institutionalized in corporate America. Corporate networks are being modified to capture company data for use in AI-based applications (which have an insatiable thirst for data).

4. The pace of AI development is exponential, and that pace won’t slow down anytime soon. Indeed, the pace of infrastructure modifications to take advantage of AI development will ensure that that exponential rate of GPU (graphic processor units) growth continues for the near term.

5. Moore’s law is officially dead — kind of. The current rate of growth of *CPU* capability is 1.1:1, rather than the 1.5:1 during the heyday of Moore’s law. Don’t despair. The growth rate for *GPU’s* (favored by AI applications) is currently 1.5:1. Moore’s law isn’t quite dead yet, but it has shifted a bit.

6. AI is getting easier to develop and use. Software is being developed to abstract the process of creating AI. This abstraction process is intended to insulate normal people from the nitty-gritty of developing AI. I saw one Microsoft engineer build an AI-based chat bot in less than 5 minutes (he timed himself, right in front of us). The point is, AI is getting easier to develop and use all the time. Soon, even a lawyer will be able to do it. What this portends is hard to fathom, but people would be wise to monitor the developments. Even better, AI has now hit the “hobby” level, in that the tools to start developing AI are free (from a software royalty standpoint) and the hardware costs to do it (beyond a snail’s pace) are modest.

Cybersecurity: Ethically safeguarding your clients’ data and your law license

Ron Chichester on June 23, 2017

Materials by Al Harrison (Houston) and Ron Chichester (Tomball) at the State Bar of Texas 2017 Annual Meeting: Cybersecurity: Ethically Safeguarding Your Clients’ Data and Your Law License.