I’m old enough to remember when floppy disks were really floppy!

In the world of legal tech, we’ve come a long way from floppy disks—those iconic, bendable storage devices that held a whopping 1.44 MB. If you’re old enough to remember their flexibility, you’ll appreciate how far we’ve progressed. Today’s 12-year-olds might think they’re 3D-printed “Save” icons, but for us, they were the cutting edge of data storage.

For lawyers who’ve navigated the evolution from floppy disks to cloud-based systems, this is a reminder of how adaptable our profession has been. While we embrace modern tools like e-discovery platforms and AI-driven legal research, let’s not forget those humble beginnings when saving a document meant inserting a disk and praying it didn’t corrupt.

So, as you tackle your Monday workload, take a moment to appreciate the simplicity of “floppy tech” and how it paved the way for the robust legal technology we rely on today.

Meet Cat Moon, Co-Director of the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab, legal educator, and a leading innovator in legal tech.

Today, Cat shares strategies to encourage lawyers and students to embrace innovation, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, collaboration, and experimentation. She discusses handling resistance to technology, cultivating critical tech mindsets, and tailoring tools to individual needs. Cat highlights her favorite platforms, such as ChatGPT and Slack. She also explores emerging technologies such as generative AI and quantum computing and underscores lawyers' ethical responsibilities in using tech.

Join Cat and me as we discuss the following three questions and more!

What are the top three strategies that you have found most effective for encouraging lawyers and law students to embrace technological innovation?
Based on your experience working with both practicing attorneys and law students, what do you think are the most critical tech skills lawyers need to develop today to stay competitive in the future?
Given your prior and extensive experience, what are your top three emerging technologies you see having the biggest impact on legal, education, and practice in the next five years?

In our conversation, we cover the following:

[01:08] Cat's Tech Setup

[02:58] Cat's Tech Devices and Accessories

[07:35] Strategies for Encouraging Technological Innovation

[10:20] Handling Resistance to Technology

[14:26] Critical Tech Skills for Lawyers

[17:58] Favorite Tech Tools and Tips

[25:11] Emerging Technologies in Legal Education and Practice

[29:36] Ethical Obligations and Technological Reliability

[33:19] Contact Information

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