Oh how the mighty have fallen

Intel is out and Nvidia is in on the S&P Dow Jones Industrial Average. S&P wrote, "The index changes were initiated to ensure a more representative exposure to the semiconductors industry." It's not been good time for Intel. "Intel's stock has dropped 54 percent this year, making it the worst performer on the Dow, and the company now holds a market value of under $100 billion for the first time in three decades, Reuters reported. Analysts expect Intel to post its first annual net loss since 1986." Read more at ars technica: Nvidia ousts Intel from Dow Jones Index after 25-year run

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Today? What leverage?

Trudy Knockless is giving Aaron Boersma's Law.com Pro Fellows report, "Keeping Pace: Law Firms in the Era of AI-Driven Business," more press. I highlighted this on 10/29 and pondered what was in his report. A pinion was kind enough to forward me a copy and frankly I was very surprised. I write back asking, "Is that all there is?" I guess I was expecting something more substantial and not completely dependent on a hypothetical case study. It was full of "mays" and "mights," nothing substantial and no hard numbers. Trudy spoke to several people for her post. David Simon, chief legal affairs officer of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, told her, "I expect outside counsel to do everything they can to be as efficient as possible." Andrew Woods, general counsel of the digital advertising company PubMatic, makes a great point about law firm efficiency and the billable hour. Ken Callander, founder of the legal department consultancy Value Strategies, chimes in with "If AI can do the same work in a fraction of the time, firms will need to start thinking about value pricing, charging for the value of what they're delivering, not just the time spent," which is also true to a point. But that leading IF is a key point. We aren't there yet with AI. And one might argue we aren't there yet on value billing. The billable hour is as much an issue with corporate lawyers being comfortable with it as it is for law firms. As law firms AND their corporate counterparts come up to speed on generativeAI and how it can be properly integrated into the practice, AND how to bill for it, there may well be leverage and demands made from both sides. Until we get there, this just unfortunate hype. Read more at Corporate Counsel: AI Gives Legal Departments New Leverage to Demand Speed, Efficiency From Law Firms

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a bAg of potpourrI

I don't have time this morning to do just to each of these posts, but I wanted to make one comment about each. Dentons' "Laws of AI Traction" talks about an "ambiguity trap" (great term!) "created by a changing and fragmented legal and regulatory landscape." Aaron Boersma might want to read Doug Austin's post about how thousands of people in Dublin turned out for an AI hallucinated Halloween parade. Stephen Abram links to a post from Jeremiah Owyang on AI agent predictions. I think his fifth prediction requires more than an open mindset, but each one will make you think. I'll take the opening sentence from folks at Complex Discovery on AI, "As the legal industry braces for a wave of transformation..." and remind everyone that we've been bracing for multiple transformations that were mere ripples and not waves. And lastly from Marcel Lang, Bart van Wanroij, and Helmer van Maarschalkerweerd of epona we have some great examples of the AI FOMO. It's a little salesy but my favorite line comes early, "Garbage in, garbage out-if you don't pay attention to your data, AI won't give you valuable insights either." Firms with dedicated KM teams may be ahead of others, but if your DMS efforts focus on just collecting documents and information, you need to heed Marcel's warning. Be sure to read more at:
legalit insider: Dentons report: AI investment trapped by regulatory uncertainty
eDiscoveryToday: AI Promoted a Halloween Parade That Didn't Exist: Artificial Intelligence Trends
Stephen's Lighthouse: Five AI Agent Predictions
Complex Discovery: Legal Industry on the Brink: Generative AI Ushers in a New Era
epona blog: Stop FOMO, start thinking

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Jeffrey Brandt, Editor

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ILTA Strategic Partner Liaisons - NetDocuments