The Kennedy-Mighell Report

Virtual reality is one of the most intriguing and highly anticipated technological advancements on the horizon. With companies like Facebook spending billions of dollars to invest in such tech, could there be applications for VR within the legal profession? How could immersion in virtual worlds improve the practice of law? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss virtual reality, the current tech on the market, and how this tech could be used in the courtroom. Tom and Dennis first provide a definition of what virtual reality is (mainly using technology to create a simulated three dimensional world that you can interact with) and explain how this technology differs from augmented reality. They both then take a look at early forms of the technology, such as Epcot Theme Park’s centrifugal motion simulator Mission: Space, and compare those experiences with current tech options like The Oculis Rift and the HTC Vive. Tom and Dennis end the first half of the show with an analysis of the best use of virtual reality for lawyers, courtroom applications, and common concerns about this technology. In the second half of the podcast, Dennis and Tom talk about their tips to follow when using public wifi. Dennis reveals his dislike for airplane wifi and gives his suggestions, such as tethering your phone to create a wifi hotspot and using a virtual private network, to make using these services more enjoyable. Tom also gives his advice on things you should never do, like personal banking, when using public wifi. As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More and more lawyers and business owners are noticing and implementing the new collaboration tool Slack, described by its founder as “a messaging and search platform that creates a single unified archive accessible through powerful search.” But why is this particular application gaining traction among all other options including Facebook, LinkedIn groups, or even email? Furthermore, why should lawyers pay attention? Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell noticed Slack gaining momentum in startups, nonprofit organizations, and even small and medium sized law firms, so they tried it. In their 2016 technology resolutions, Dennis and Tom both decided to learn to use Slack, and implement it in their management of this very podcast. So, after a couple of months, what was the result? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis and Tom discuss the rise of Slack, its advantages and disadvantages, and what lawyers need to know about this collaboration tool. Dennis talks about Slack’s different communication mediums including channels, direct messaging, and starring or pinning conversations and whether these mediums can actually replace email. Tom explains that Slack shines by integrating with other applications like your calendar, to-do lists, and Dropbox. But he finds issue with the pricing models and limited control over user restriction. The hosts end the segment by emphasizing that  litigators and those in records management can’t ignore Slack in discovery. In the second section of this podcast, Dennis and Tom lightly touch on the recent subject of back doors in Apple products, the FBI, and private encryption. How will Apple vs. the FBI affect data security and confidentiality? And why aren’t more lawyers using encryption today? As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The technology lawyers use at home can differ greatly from that at work, especially in medium or large law firms. This can result in two separate technology worlds that are at best difficult to manage. Many lawyers have multiple smart phones, calendars, computer operating systems, or even versions of Microsoft Office. For some, commingling systems can be the answer, but this can cause security and organization issues. So how can we effectively bridge the gap between our dichotomous technology lives? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss managing multiple tech personalities, how to bridge the gap (or not), and ways lawyers can organize their technology. Tom mentions how iPads and other popular home devices mean people have better personal hardware. Because of this, we might need more workarounds including bring your own device (BYOD) policies at law firms, but we need to be aware of the risks and benefits. Dennis talks about the three tech crossover scenarios: totally synced, partially synced, and independent systems. Dennis and Tom then discuss how partially synced lawyers can effectively organize their tech to reduce chaos in areas like passwords, contacts, calendars, and website bookmarks. In the second half of the podcast, Dennis and Tom talk about Twitter’s move away from reverse-chronological order. They talk about feed relevance, events playing out in real time, and whether they’re happy with Facebook and Amazon’s algorithm. As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Notifications and reminders are useful when they remind you about your daughter’s soccer game, an upcoming meeting, or a software update. But are lawyers (and everyone else) being bombarded with too many notifications all day long? There is a difference between a calendar alert and having Omnifocus remind you what you haven’t accomplished today. Furthermore, with the development of smartwatches, notifications can constantly distract you all day long. Are we as lawyers using reminders and notifications on our programs and devices as effectively as we can? Where do we draw the line? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the life-encompassing emergence of reminders and notifications, how to control them effectively, and their benefits to lawyers’ personal and professional lives. Dennis discusses personalizing notification settings and mentions that the default settings on most apps are overkill, yet many people never modify them. Tom talks about the changing mobile platform, how email notifications can distract and drain lawyers at work, and the difference between necessary reminders and optional notifications. They finish the section with recommendations for trimming down and properly filtering your notifications so that they work for you rather than distract you unnecessarily. In the second half of this podcast, Dennis and Tom go over the subject of application updates; should we install them the day they come out? They discuss the benefits (security) and downfalls (bugs) of automatically updating your apps and other software. Stay tuned for a Parting Shots segment with several useful podcast recommendations. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even lawyers start the new year with at least a few resolutions. Some are predictable, falling into the usual categories like exercise or diet. However, creating legal technology based resolutions can really help your practice and overall happiness. Have you been thinking about trying a new app or learning to use one you’ve already downloaded? Does the idea of starting a blog or finding a new podcast interest you? Do you need some ideas? To help listeners with some ideas, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss their 2016 technology resolutions in this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report. They contemplate the usefulness of resolutions in general, examine their 2015 goals and whether they were completed, and make a new set of legal tech resolutions for the upcoming year. Using a system of threes, Dennis and Tom set up general and specific resolutions including online content and engagement, learning to use new tools, digital organization and pruning, and collaboration with other lawyers. Tune in and compare your goals with theirs; maybe you’ll decide to add one more! In the second half of this podcast, Dennis and Tom recommend previous Kennedy-Mighell Report episodes that new listeners might want to try. Sometimes legal technology discussions don’t stand the test of time, but many of their previous podcasts are still applicable today. As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, we were introduced to a plethora of tools designed to make lawyers’ lives easier. However, not every legal professional has the same technological needs, and not every lawyer knows how to find the most useful tools for him or herself. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell ring in the new year by sharing their favorite apps, websites, gadgets, and technology advice of 2015. They cover their favorite task management tools, cloud and Dropbox service options, search tools, news sources, VPNs, password managers, polling software, and much more. Tune in for a debate on whether the Microsoft Surface Pen is better than Apple’s Pencil and website suggestions for any lawyer who wants to use technology better. In the second half of this podcast, Tom and Dennis discuss where they discover their best legal tech tips. Their sources include Twitter, panels they’ve attended like ‘30 Legal Tech Tips in 30 Seconds,’ and RSS feeds where they can get links from colleagues and friends in the legal tech world. The hosts wrap up their inaugural 2016 podcast with Parting Shots, the section that always includes tips that you’ll be able to start using as soon as you’re finished listening to the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the introduction of the iPad and other tablets and now touch screen computers like the Surface Pro and the Apple Pro, we seem to be moving further away from an exclusively keyboard/trackpad existence. Furthermore, with the introduction of Stylus Pens for tablets, is the keyboard on its way out completely? With an increase in the use of keyboard shortcuts and the average typing speed, maybe not. But with a new generation of children being raised with touchscreen devices, the keyboard-exclusive landscape of computer use is bound to change. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell speculate on whether the pen or the finger is mightier than the keyboard. Is using a keyboard and mouse trackpad “normal”? Do you have to be a good typist to use a computer efficiently anymore? Why hasn’t the stylus replaced the legal pad? Is dictation the inevitable replacement for the keyboard, stylus, and finger? Tune in for Tom and Dennis’s take on the future of lawyers' interactions with computers. In the second half of this podcast, Dennis and Tom discuss "cord cutting” or the practice of canceling cable subscriptions and replacing them with app consumption products like Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire. Although neither host has “cut the cord,” they analyze the benefits of individual subscription based networks like Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Now and whether they offer a replacement or simply a supplement to traditional television. As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Internet, content may be king, but monetization through advertising runs a close second. But today’s ads seem more aggressive, intrusive, and annoying than ever. We’ve recently seen a return to a category of tools long known as ad blockers. What are the implications of ad blockers to lawyers and will they change the consumer’s Internet experience? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the return of ad-blocking technology, whether advertisements are still important in the online marketplace, and what this might mean for lawyers. They discuss the different types of ads from full page overlays, hard to find automatic sounds, Twitter or Facebook promotions, and the many pop-ups that are easy to accidently click on and hard to close. In the past, Dennis says, pop-ups became excessive and many people were using ad-blocking technology, but as browsers adapted, the need for ad blockers was reduced. Dennis also talks about the effect on bloggers, malware and security, and the alternatives he would like to see in the increasingly personalized Internet of 2015. Tom explains how YouTube, Google, and Apple are effectuating change and how he would like the option to pay for no advertisements, like in free versus paid apps. Finally, they discuss significance for lawyers with regard to ethical rules and technology competence and potential evidence for court. In the second half of this podcast, Tom gives an early report on his new Windows Surface Book. Dennis chimes in to mention the similarities and differences of his Macbook. As always, stay tuned for Parting Shots: that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell examine the features of the iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface Pro, leverage Tom’s expertise on both platforms, and help listeners determine which choice might make the most sense for them. Special thanks to our sponsor, ServeNow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2015 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey and the 2015 ABA Legal Technology Survey results are in! Listen to Dennis and Tom discuss key results from these important legal tech surveys, highlight the most interesting trends, and discuss ways that lawyers can use these results to inform and tailor their technology plans for the coming year. In the second half of this podcast, the hosts talk about their experiences with the Amazon Echo personal digital assistant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices