In this edition of the Priori Digest, a weekly look at what’s happening in law and technology, we delve into, among other things, the history of quartz, the controversial practice of dog cloning and the success of companies run by CEOs with law degrees. Enjoy!
What we’re reading
- Companies run by CEOs with law degrees experience less corporate litigation than companies run by CEOs without legal backgrounds
- Tech behemoth Alibaba is reforming its controversial legal structure, particularly the use of a legal device known as a “variable interest entity"
- The fascinating history of quartz and how it gets from the Appalachian Mountains into your computer, tablets and smartphones
- An inside look into the murky world of dog cloning
- Check out these robotic limbs that can be controlled remotely using VR
- There are many ethical issues that will arise out of the increasingly blurred boundaries of the human self caused by our reliance and integration with technology. This piece touches on some of the risks, as well as the potential benefits
- How Nicole Bartow and Randall Haimovici transformed Uber’s U.S. litigation team (also read our interview with Mateo Sanchez, Uber's Head of Legal Operations, about how he thinks about legal technology at Uber)
What in the weird
- Police in Germany had to rescue a man being chased by a baby squirrel
- A woman in Slovakia was recently detained after playing Verdi’s “La Traviata” from morning until night non-stop for 16 years
By the numbers
- 40.8: The financial services industry is the world’s largest user of legal services, accounting for 40.8 percent of the global total
- 55: July saw 55 venture deals of $100 million or more around the world, an all-time monthly record
- 87: The percentage of U.S. households with at least one smartphone
