Company News

2019 Predictions from Sensei Officers and More

January 15, 2019

David Bilinsky, a friend and colleague of Sensei, authors the blog Thoughtful Legal Management. He recently did a post where he asked his thought leader friends their predictions of what is in store for legal technology in 2019. Sharon Nelson and John Simek were among those thought leaders and here are their predictions…

Blockchain & Smart contracts:
• Bitcoin became a household name over the last year as front-page news reports tracked its meteoric rise and analysts speculated whether the “Bitcoin bubble” was about to burst. The recent roller-coaster ride in bitcoin value, peaking at an all-time high of just under $20,000 per bitcoin, demonstrates that digital currencies have real-world value. Unsurprisingly, the financial and legal sectors are paying close attention because cryptocurrencies now are replacing some bank functions.
• The advent of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology that powers it heralds a new period of disruption — and opportunity — for the legal profession. Lawyers will need to become familiar with these technologies work in order to remain competitive as the practice of law continues to evolve. We have seen great strides in the use of smart contracts based on blockchain this year and that trend will certainly continue.

Online Justice/Online Dispute Resolution/Access to Justice:
• In August 2018, the American Bar Association released a report titled, “Access to Justice Commissions: Increasing Effectiveness Through Adequate Staffing and Funding,” available at https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_aid_indigent_defendants/ls_sclaid_atj_commission_report.authcheckdam.pdf. The report’s major findings and recommendations included:
• Expand the stakeholders in the A2J effort beyond the judicial and legal community to include participants from business, civic, social services, and community groups; 
• Adequate and effective staffing is necessary to provide A2J Commissions with support, continuity, communications, and continued momentum;
• Leadership provided by the Conference of Chief Justices and individual Chief Justices in expanding access to justice cannot be overstated; and
• Private philanthropy through contributions from private foundations have played a key role in expanding A2J and accessing such financial support should be continued and encouraged.
• Our own state of Virginia is studying and adopting some of these recommendations and we expect many other states to do the same.

Cybersecurity:
• Since 2016, many solo/small/mid-sized firms began adhering to the Center for Internet Security’s (CIS) Controls. In March 2018, CIS released CIS Controls Version 7, the newest (and free) iteration of its original 20 important cybersecurity recommendations. The CIS Controls are a prioritized set of actions any organization can take to improve their cybersecurity posture. 
• The controls are now separated into three categories: basic, foundational, and organizational:
• Basic (CIS Controls 1–6): These are key controls which should be implemented in every organization for essential cyber defense readiness.
• Foundational (CIS Controls 7–16): The next step up from basic – these technical best practices provide clear security benefits and are a smart move for any organization to implement.
• Organizational (CIS Controls 17–20): These controls are different in character from 1–16; while they have many technical elements, CIS Controls 17–20 are more focused on people and processes involved in cybersecurity.
• The new CIS Controls, which may be found at https://www.cisecurity.org/controls/, align better with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and map directly to it. Think of the NIST framework as the “what” and to the CIS Controls as the “how.” Together, these resources are concise and easily understood. Both are valuable free resources and we expect an increasing number of law firms to work with both of these standards to enhance their security posture in 2019…