At first blush, you might ask what a bionic arm catching objects in mid-flight has to do with the practice of law. I assert: “Everything.”

Who are the lawyers who represent these evolutionary products? Clearly, there will be lots of intellectual property involved, but I say that the list goes on.

Here are just three legal areas that could relate to technological advances:

• Lobbying: Just like Google trying to get approval to put its driverless cars on the road, legislation may be required for many applications of a robotic arm.
• Liability: If these arms replace humans in various situations, what if they miss? What if someone is injured?
• Labor and Employment: What if these arms are going to replace workers who are the subject of a collective agreement?

Somebody in your law firm needs to be thinking about how the evolution of technology is going to impact both existing and prospective clients – and the practice of law. Most firms will ignore this, leaving the spoils for the forward-thinking firms who get their hands (human ones – not robotic ones) around all this and leave their competitors in the dust.

I invite your thoughts on this and all topics relating to the practice of law, either through the comments section or directly by email.