Claude Shannon, the father of information theory, calculated “that the information content of any event was proportional to the logarithm of its inverse probability of occurrence.” On the off chance that quote leaves you with any doubt, the Economist, April 24, 2010 at 82, says that it means “an unexpected,…
Marc Lauritsen’s new book, The Lawyer’s Guide to Working Smarter with Knowledge Tools (ABA 2010) at 64-65 lists several artificial intelligence topics. Those most applicable to law (not robotics, for example) pushed to me to find out which of them have a blog post here that discusses the topic (See…
“The field of neuroeconomics was born out of the realization that the physical workings of the brain place limitations on the way we make decisions.” Gregory Berns, iconoclast: a neuroscientist reveals how to think differently (Harvard Bus. Press 2008) at 6. We all struggle with biases that undermine good decision-making.…
Writing is a crucial skill of in-house lawyers (See my post of Feb. 5, 2009: writing with 6 references.). Software can analyze a person’s writing and suggest how to improve it. One common method describes a document in terms of the school level need to understand your prose. Seven tools…
Michael Mauboussin, Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition (Harvard Bus. Press 2009) at 4-6, describes three particular delusions which stymie our efforts to reach good conclusions. We over-rate our own abilities, prospects, and influence, which makes us more difficult to reach objective decisions. One delusion is the illusion of…
Michael Mauboussin, Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition (Harvard Bus. Press 2009) at xix, counsels us not to overdo information gathering. “Indeed, typical decision-makers allocate only 25 percent of their time to thinking about the problem properly and learning from experience. Most spend their time gathering information, which feels…
Thomas Davenport, in the Harvard Bus. Rev., Vol. 86, Nov. 2009 at 116, suggests that organizations can improve decision making in four steps. Put in terms of a legal department, they are: “Managers should begin by listing the decisions that must be made and deciding which are most important.” So,…
Someday soon, in-house counsel might wear an emotion-sensing system designed to help them keep a cool head when negotiating, litigating, or dealing with obnoxious people. The Rationalizer, still under development by Philips, consists of a bracelet that measures the wearer’s galvanic skin response. This response measures the electrical resistance of…
This blog aspires to bring more understanding to the art of legal department management. To that end, I have tried to define relevant terms, sketch applicable concepts, and organize the 4,900 posts in ways useful to general counsel. The hill is steep, however, and I have wondered often whether the…
A few offices nestled in law departments ooze the serene contemplativeness of a Japanese rock garden: calm, ordered, soothingly lit, an oasis in chaos. As you relax, you notice it isn’t incense burning, or the Monet poster, or even the indirect lighting with a tinted bulb, not even the lulling…