Twenty twenty-one has been a year of uncertainty for the legal profession, as we have wrestled with the question of returning or not returning. Whether it has been to the office, the courtroom, or legal conferences, we have been unsure whether to go back or not.

Perhaps that explains why my most-read post of the year was one I wrote in August, just a week before ILTACON, explaining why I had decided to reverse course and not attend in person. This was the International Legal Technology Association’s return to a live event, and I had fully intended to be there in the flesh. But, amid a new surge in COVID cases, I had evaluated the risks and rewards and came down on the side of caution.

Every year since 2010, I have compiled a list of my most-popular posts. Last year, I was surprised to see that, in a year dominated by the onset of the pandemic, my top-read stories had nothing to do with the pandemic. Rather, they were about ransomware attacks, regulatory reform, industry news, and new legal research tools.

Similarly this year, although the ILTACON post was my most read, the others had nothing to do with the pandemic. Instead, they were about technology competence, regulatory reform, and an assortment of mergers, acquisitions, investments and IPOs.

California’s adoption of the duty of technology competence was the second most-read story, followed by the merger of legal research services Fastcase and Casemaker – news I equated to a wedding announcement jointly issued by the Hatfields and the McCoys – and MyCase’s quiet acquisitions of case management platform CASEpeer and document automation software Woodpecker.

One episode of my LawNext podcast made the top-15 list: My interview with Coca-Cola GC Bradley M. Gayton, on dramatic measures he adopted to increase diversity among outside counsel. Two months later, Gayton was out at Coca-Cola, just eight months into his tenure there.

How I List These

Note that I have two lists here. First, I list the 15 most popular posts of 2021, listing only posts first published during 2021. After that, I list the most popular posts of the year, without regard to the year the post was originally published. In both cases, the rankings are based only on 2021 traffic, not all-time traffic.

Neither ranking includes two static pages that are consistently in the top 15, my list of legal tech startups and my tally of the states that have adopted the duty of technology competence. I have also excluded any posts relating to ballots and voting for the Startup Alley at ABA TECHSHOW, as those posts receive inflated numbers of hits.

For somewhat of a time capsule of the past decade in legal technology, see my prior years’ lists of my most-popular posts: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010).

Top 15 of 2021 – First Published in 2021

  1. Why I’m Pulling My Chips Out Of Attending ILTACON In Las Vegas (Aug. 18, 2021).
  2. California Becomes 39th State To Adopt Duty Of Technology Competence (March 24, 2021).
  3. Longtime Competitors Fastcase and Casemaker Merge, Reshaping the Legal Research Landscape (Jan. 5, 2021).
  4. MyCase Quietly Makes Two Key Acquisitions Of Legal Tech Companies (July 6, 2021).
  5. No-Code Legal Automation Startup Josef Raises $2.5M (May 17, 2021).
  6. LawNext: Coca-Cola GC Bradley Gayton On His Dramatic Demand for Diversity (Feb. 8, 2021).
  7. The Ethics of Working from Outside Your State: PA Bars Adopt ABA Rule (March 3, 2021).
  8. In Latest Litigation Gambit, ROSS Files Antitrust Claim Against Thomson Reuters, Alleging Research Monopoly (Jan. 25, 2021).
  9. Former Legal Tech Founder Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison For Fraud, Forgery (April 17, 2021).
  10. And Now Another Legal Tech IPO: LegalZoom Files To Go Public (June 6, 2021).
  11. Intapp, Tech Provider to Legal and Financial Firms, Files Papers for IPO (June 6, 2021).
  12. Ontario Court Lays Down the Law on Technology Competence and Video Proceedings (Dec. 10, 2021).
  13. Arizona Licenses First Three Alternative Business Structures for Delivering Legal Services (May 7, 2021).
  14. New Clearbrief Finds The Best Evidence To Strengthen Your Legal Writing (March 23, 2021).
  15. Fastcase Names Its 11th Annual Class of Fastcase 50 Innovation Honorees (July 12, 2021).

Top 15 Posts of 2021 – First Published in Any Year

  1. CDC Says Lawyers and Judges A Priority for Coronavirus Vaccine (Dec. 23, 2020).
  2. Price Wars in Legal Research Mean Deals for Small Firms; I Compare Costs (May 23, 2019).
  3. The 20 Most Important Legal Technology Developments of 2018 (Dec. 26, 2018).
  4. The Decade in Legal Tech: The 10 Most Significant Developments (Jan. 1, 2020).
  5. Why I’m Pulling My Chips Out Of Attending ILTACON In Las Vegas (Aug. 18, 2021).
  6. 20 For 2020: The Legal Tech Trends that Defined the Year (Dec. 30, 2020).
  7. California Becomes 39th State To Adopt Duty Of Technology Competence (March 24, 2021).
  8. Longtime Competitors Fastcase and Casemaker Merge, Reshaping the Legal Research Landscape (Jan. 5, 2021).
  9. MyCase Quietly Makes Two Key Acquisitions Of Legal Tech Companies (July 6, 2021).
  10. New ‘Redact Assistant’ Easily Redacts Word and Excel Files (Feb. 25, 2015).
  11. The Best Commencement Speeches by Lawyers (May 27, 2014).
  12. Casetext Brings AI-Driven Brief Drafting to Employment Law (Sept. 17, 2020).
  13. No-Code Legal Automation Startup Josef Raises $2.5M (May 17, 2021).
  14. Arizona Is First State To Eliminate Ban On Nonlawyer Ownership Of Law Firms (Aug. 31, 2020).
  15. LawNext: Coca-Cola GC Bradley Gayton On His Dramatic Demand for Diversity (Feb. 8, 2021).

What will be next year’s top stories? That, I can say with great certainty, is anyone’s guess.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.