Legal Ethics & Malpractice Reporter, Vol. 6, No. 6

EDITED BY:

Professor Michael H. Hoeflich, PhD, Editor-in-Chief
Carrie E. Parker, Legal Editor
Luzianne Stafford, Design & Publishing Editor

PUBLISHED BY: Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC

PUBLICATION DATE: July 4, 2025

READ & DOWNLOAD FULL-TEXT PDF OF LEMR Vol. 6, No. 6

Introduction to a Special Edition on Legal Technology

During the years that the team behind the Legal Ethics & Malpractice Reporter has provided related continuing legal education programs, it has become quite apparent that one of the most popular subjects in our legal community is legal technology and its relationship to ethics and to law practice. Our CLEs on legal technology routinely have high participation and result in some of the most engaging questions and discourse. Thus, we here at LEMR have decided to devote this special issue to legal technology.

For this special edition, the lead article is written not only by Mike Hoeflich, but also by several co-authors. Katie Hasty and Russ Fischer are artificial intelligence experts and principals in the legal tech advisory firm of Prima Vista. Professor Steve Sheppard is Dean Emeritus and professor at St. Mary’s Law School in San Antonio, Texas.

This special edition also includes lists of important and useful books and articles regarding technology and law. While they are not necessarily new, they are of sufficient importance to warrant a read by every lawyer with an interest in legal technology.

FEATURE ARTICLE: Five Phases of Technological Adoption¹

There are five phases to every technological adoption. We pay particular focus to the last two:

1. Introduction
2. Innovation
3. Adaptation
4. Disruption
5. Transformation

Each phase is dependent on the phase before it in order to succeed. That means no technology can become transformative without causing disruption — upheaval to “the usual order.”

. . .

¹This section of this month’s lead is drawn from a paper which Mike Hoeflich will present at the 0225 Legal AI Forum in London on July 11, 2025.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Selected Bibliography on Legal Technology

1. Elting E. Morison, Men, Machines, and Modern Times (50th Anniversary ed. 2016).
2. Richard E. Susskind, The Future of Law: Facing the Challenges of Information Technology (1998).
3. Richard E. Susskind, Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future (2d ed. 2017).
4. Richard E. Susskind, How to Think About AI: A Guide for the Perplexed (2025).
5. Michael H. Hoeflich, Law & Geometry: Legal Science from Leibniz to Langdell, 30 Am. J. Legal Hist. 95 (1986).
6. Michael H. Hoeflich, From Scriveners to Typewriters: Document Production in the Nineteenth-Century Law Office, 16 Green Bag 2d 395 (2013).
7. Michael H. Hoeflich, Law Blanks & Form Books: A Chapter in the Early History of Document Production, 11 Green Bag 2d 189 (2016).
8. Michael H. Hoeflich, The Craft of the Law: An Essay After Forty Years as a Law Teacher, 70 U. Kan. L. Rev. 483 (2022).
9. Delphine Gardey, Écrire, Calculer, Classer: Comment Une Révolution de Papier a Transformé Les Sociétés Contemporaines [Write, Calculate, Classify: How a Paper Revolution Transformed Contemporary Societies] (1800-1940) (2008).

ETHICS & MALPRACTICE RESEARCH TIP: Selected Important ABA Rulings on Legal Tech

1. A.B.A. Comm. on Ethics & Pro. Resp., Formal Op. 477R (2017).
2. A.B.A. Comm. on Ethics & Pro. Resp., Formal Op. 512 (2024).

A BLAST FROM THE PAST: Profiles of the Future

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

— Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible 21 n.1 (1962).

READ & DOWNLOAD FULL-TEXT PDF OF LEMR Vol. 6, No. 6

About Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC

Joseph, Hollander & Craft is a mid-size law firm representing criminal defense, civil defense, personal injury, and family law clients throughout Kansas and Missouri. From our offices in Kansas City, Lawrence, Overland Park, Topeka and Wichita, our team of 26 attorneys covers a lot of ground, both geographically and professionally.

We defend against life-changing criminal prosecutions. We protect children and property in divorce cases. We pursue relief for clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries or the death of a loved one due to the negligence of others. We fight allegations of professional misconduct against medical and legal practitioners, accountants, real estate agents, and others.

When your business, freedom, property, or career is at stake, you want the attorney standing beside you to be skilled, prepared, and relentless — Ready for Anything, come what may. At JHC, we pride ourselves on offering outstanding legal counsel and representation with the personal attention and professionalism our clients deserve. Learn more about our attorneys and their areas of practice, and locate a JHC office near you.