The Atlanta Lawyer February / March 2019 | Page 13

context, machine learning is an
application of AI that is becoming
more well known with the surge of
big data and legal analytics.
What Is Happening In Atlanta?
If you are an in-house attorney,
you are probably already well
aware of data privacy as the new
regulations apply to many com-
panies with a domestic and inter-
national presence. Further, many
of the big players in legal research
including LexisNexis, WestLaw
and Bloomberg Law have recently
released new legal analytics tools.
If you are in the world of eDiscov-
ery, there are advances in machine
learning to help facilitate accurate
searches of expansive troves of
electronically stored information.
However, for a few sectors, this
new buzz is old news as they were
already under the scrutiny of data
privacy and security regulations
including healthcare (HIPAA) and
finance (Gramm- Leach- Bliley
Act).
Many law firms have included or
expanded practice groups to cover
areas of data privacy, data security
and AI. Specifically, according to
Nola Vanhoy, Senior Director of
Legal Technology Innovation,
Alston & Bird has created a “cross-
practice area team that focuses on
emerging technologies, including
AI, and privacy.” A partner with
a broad base in technology and
privacy leads this group. Further,
they “assist clients in IP ownership
matters relating to AI, including
drafting and prosecuting patent
applications in AI, blockchain,
and other technologies through
our Patent Prosecution Group.”
Additionally, they have a Privacy
& Data Security Group “which ad-
vises clients ranging from start-ups
to Fortune 100 companies in all
phases of their privacy programs
worldwide, including the signifi-
cant implications relating to the
use of AI.”
On the academic side, Georgia
State University College of Law is
partnering with the GSU Robinson
College of Business and local busi-
ness partners for a Legal Analytics
program. This program currently
offers an interdisciplinary class for
law students and Masters of Sci-
ence in Analytics students to work
together on complex legal and
technical projects. During the fall,
under the direction of Nicole Iann-
arone and Charlotte Alexander,
students looked through 55,000
arbitration documents from the
Financial Industry Regulatory Au-
thority (“FINRA”) to pull together
a corpus to analyze. Students tried
to create machine learning algo-
rithms that either explained past
results or tried to predict future
results. For example, one team
looked at arbitration awards trying
to determine if the background of
the arbitrator would influence the
outcome for one side or the other.
tablished) lawyers who are ready
for the technology that is inevita-
bly going to be part of their future
legal careers.
L AWYER R EFERRAL
I NFORMATION S ERVICE
&
LRIS
REFER CALLS TO
Remember, if your firm
receives those occasional
calls regarding legal
issues that you do not
handle, refer them to the
Lawyer Referral and
Information Service.
404-521-0777
atlantabar.org
Overall, GSU’s College of Law
program, law firms and in-house
legal departments are all pushing
the development of new (and es-
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association THE ATLANTA LAWYER
13