Author archives

Sabrina I. Pacifici - Editor, Publisher, Founder , Owner - LLRX.com® – the free web journal on law, technology and research for Librarians, Lawyers, Researchers, Academics, and Journalists. Established in1996. See also the LLRX Twitter feed updated daily with unique resources to support effective, timely subject matter resource sharing. Sabrina I. Pacifici is also the solo Researcher/Author, beSpacific® - Accurate research and knowledge discovery of documents and resources focused on law, technology, government reports, civil liberties, justice and emerging technology issues - with a global perspective. Updated daily since 2002 with a searchable database of over 45,000 postings. See also the beSpacific Twitter feed. ABA Top 100 Law Blogs 2016-2017.

LLRX February 2023 Issue

Articles and Columns for February 2023

  • The expanding role of technology in the law firm business model – The premise of this article by COO and legal technologist Kenneth Jones is that individual capabilities and excellence (either legal or technical) standing alone are not enough to ensure long-term, sustainable success. No superstar technologist or lawyer is equipped to do it all, as there are too many specialties and functional roles which need to be filled. Rather, a better approach is to construct team-based, cross-functional units that offer greater operational efficiency while building in layers of redundancy that reduce the potential for surprises, errors, or disruption. This comprehensive and actionable guide validates deploying the cross-functional team approach across the enterprise.
  • Satellite data: The other type of smartphone data you might not know about – Subject matter experts Tommy Cooke, Alicia Sabatino, Benjamin Muller and Kirstie Ball used critical code and documentary research methods to identify that raw satellite location measurement data are perpetually created in our devices all the time. Because satellite data are building blocks used by our phones to determine where we are, they don’t always get turned off — nor are they collected and treated the same way as location data. The collection and use of these data are a significant risk to our privacy.
  • Book Review: Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools – Attorney and legal tech expert Jerry Lawson’s positive review of this new book states: “It’s the best way to spend $100 I can imagine for any lawyer looking to improve their bottom line. Any lawyer who wants to lead the way (or at least avoid being crushed by inevitable changes) needs this book.”
  • The Efficacy of ChatGPT: Is it Time for the Librarians to Go Home? – In preparation for a presentation about race and academic libraries, Curtis Kendrick, formerly Dean and currently Binghamton University Libraries Faculty and Staff mentor, tried ChatGPT (Jan 9 version) to see what it (they?) had to say. He was curious about how it worked and how accurately it responded to queries. For our consideration, Kendrick offers his analysis of this interaction.
  • What the First Amendment really says – 4 basic principles of free speech in the USLynn Greenky, Associate Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University delves into Elon Musk’s claim that he believes in free speech no matter what. He calls it a bulwark against tyranny in America and promises to reconstruct Twitter, which he now owns, so that its policy on free expression “matches the law.” Yet his grasp of the First Amendment – the law that governs free speech in the U.S. – appears to be quite limited. And he’s not alone.
  • ChatGPT: What It Is And Why It Matters To Lawyers – Attorney and legal technologist Nicole Black cautions user that ChatGPT is a great start, but that’s all it is. No matter what you’re using ChatGPT for, whether for personal or professional reasons, you’ll need to have a full understanding of the topic at hand and thoroughly review, edit, and supplement the draft language it provides you.
  • ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare. If you’ve ever posted online, you ought to be concerned – ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Within two months of its release it reached 100 million active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application ever launched. Users are attracted to the tool’s advanced capabilities – and concerned by its potential to cause disruption in various sectors. A much less discussed implication is the privacy risks ChatGPT poses to each and every one of us. Just yesterday, Google unveiled its own conversational AI called Bard, and others will surely follow. Technology companies working on AI have well and truly entered an arms race. Uri Gal identifies a significant issue not discussed in the current hype – this technology is fuelled by our personal data.
  • The new climate denial? Using wealth to insulate yourself from discomfort and change Hannah Della Bosca, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney addresses a distinct form of emerging climate denial. You may have experienced it and not even realised. It’s called implicatory denial, and it happens when you consciously recognise climate change as a serious threat without making significant changes to your everyday behaviour in response.
  • Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 26, 2023Four highlights from this week: These 26 words ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them; Global internet connectivity at risk from climate disasters; Zelle fraud claims surge. How can you protect yourself?; and Email security still has a forwarding problem.
  • Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 18, 2023Four highlights from this week: GAO Cybersecurity High-Risk Series: Challenges in Protecting Privacy and Sensitive Data; Now for sale: Data on your mental health; How to Prepare for a Lost, Stolen or Broken Smartphone; and ChatGPT Amendment Shows the EU is Regulating by Outrage.
  • Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 11, 2023Four highlights from this week: How to safely use payment apps; NY attorney general forces spyware vendor to alert victims; Welcome to the Era of Internet; and Does Big Brother Microsoft see you on Windows 11?
  • Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 4, 2023Four highlights from this week: Have a Conversation (Not a Lecture) About Fraud With Older Adults; List of consumer reporting companies; Cybersecurity High-Risk Series: Challenges in Securing Federal Systems and Information; and NIST debuts long-anticipated AI risk management framework.

LLRX.com® – the free web journal on law, technology, knowledge discovery and research for Librarians, Lawyers, Researchers, Academics, and Journalists. Founded in 1996.

Subjects: KM

LLRX January 2023 Issue

Articles and Columns for January 2023 2023 Healthcare MiniGuide – Marcus P. Zillman’s guide addresses the challenging landscape of healthcare information that proliferates on the internet. A large measure of the information hosted on self described authoritative health and healthcare sites is grounded in speculative, e-commerce drive subject matter. Search engines drive traffic to these …

Subjects: KM

LLRX December 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for December 2022 Inventing the Dark Web – This paper by Thais Sardá, Simone Natale, and John Downey examines how the deep Web, i.e., Web sites that are not indexed and thus are not accessible through Web search engines, was described and represented in British newspapers. Through an extensive content analysis conducted …

Subjects: KM

LLRX November 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for November 2022 10 fatal traps that explain why law firm strategic plans are DOA – Patrick J. McKenna is an internationally recognized author, lecturer, strategist and seasoned advisor to the leaders of premier law firms. McKenna’s deep dive into law firm strategic planning delivers a detailed guide on the major errors to …

Subjects: KM

LLRX October 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for October 2022 Presenter’s Guide Series Part III: The Many Benefits of Question Forms – In the third in his series on presentations, Jerry Lawson recommends a simple yet powerful tool that presenters can use to improve presentation quality, especially in some special situations: Requiring audience members to submit all questions in …

Subjects: KM

LLRX September 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for September 2022 Fenced-off culture, the privatized Internet, and why book publishers lean on a 30-year-old doctrine – The Internet Archive (IA) “is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies & music, as well as 624 billion archived web pages.” The IA offers users unrestricted access to its …

Subjects: KM

LLRX August 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for August 2022 Data Mining Resources 2022 – Data mining and knowledge discovery is a quickly evolving field that is part of the portfolio of CI, BI and KM professionals, law librarians, research analysts, infopros, data scientists, data journalists and students in college and graduate programs. This expansive bibliography by Marcus P. …

Subjects: KM

LLRX July 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for July 2022 Policing Reimagined – The thesis of Albert Chang’s paper is the metaverse presents a unique opportunity for effective police reforms. Developers, data scientists and legal sector experts working within the metaverse may be able to implement changes more efficiently than Congress as they are not subject to constitutional constraints. …

Subjects: KM

LLRX June 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for June 2022 2022 Link Guide to Healthcare Resources – The pandemic and long COVID health issues have created heightened awareness and a growing need for factual online health information. This guide by Marcus P. Zillman identifies sources providing access to vetted health related research, tools for tracking and monitoring emerging issues …

Subjects: KM

LLRX May 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for May 2022 If the Democratic Party is serious about preserving America as a constitutional republic, they better act fast – Thom Hartmann is a podcast personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. He untangles the history of the Electoral College and unequal representation in the U.S. Senate to starkly …

Subjects: KM