Welcome back for another week of What's Next, where we report on the intersection of law and technology. Here's what we've got for you today:

>> New legal threats for an increasingly automated workforce.

>> Rick Hasen, and 25 other experts and scholars, have a plan for a fair election in November, pandemic or not.

>> What does the law firm of the future look like?

Let's chat: Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter at @a_lancaster.

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Littler Mendelson shareholder Natalie Pierce (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM)

America's Relationship with Robots Gets Serious

Right about now, it might feel like we're submerged in uncertainty. But one thing that seems absolutely certain is that the world probably won't look the same after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

To comply with social distancing and keep workers safe, some retailers are using robots to scrub floors, and recycling facilities are using robots to sort potentially contaminated items. On the frontlines, some hospitals are disinfecting patient rooms with robots that zap the virus with ultraviolet light, and treating patients with remote-controlled telehealth robots.

Natalie Pierce, a Littler Mendelson shareholder in San Francisco and co-chair of the firm's robotics, AI and automation practice group, said that even after the pandemic subsides, employers might see the benefits of collaborative robots, or cobots, and other automated tools to help socially distance their workforce. But as employers adopt artificial intelligence and robots at a rapid rate, they have a new fresh set of legal hurdles to consider—and fast.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

➤➤ Where are you seeing an acceleration in the adoption of AI and automation? Minimizing touches is going to become a very big deal, I think even post pandemic, not just to increase safety levels for employees and customers, but I think the lesson learned will be that adoption is easy. The cost has really come down. These robots are able to work in tight spaces and around people. For example, we're seeing grocery stores take measures to comply with social distancing protocols by using robots for cleaning, scanning, stocking and even delivery. It's clear that the coronavirus has simply accelerated that trend, and we can expect to see greater adoption by grocers of all sizes post-pandemic. We already know they increase safety and efficiency and reduce laborious work during a time when it's often scary and exhausting to be an essential worker.

➤➤ Are our legal frameworks ready for more automated workplaces? We really cannot expect that regulations will keep up with technology, and I'm not sure we really want it to, because it can stifle innovation. What we see across the globe increasingly is an effort to standardize principles—whether they be legal, ethical or safety principles—around the adoption of AI. We're certainly seeing that with some of the supply chain issues we're having. There are efforts to try to onshore, or at least local shore, more of the operations, so as to avoid these global supply chain breakdowns. What end users sometimes see is, "Oh, well we have these different local standards for how we can deploy this cobot for this particular function." Now that we've gone through this, and see how difficult it is, there will be greater calls for standardization of robotics as well. We have organizations working together, such as the Robotics Industries Association, OSHA, ANSI the ISO in coming up with those guidelines and standards. You will also see more certification of integrators, who go between the manufacturer and the end-user to deploy robotic solutions.

➤➤ What legal implications do you expect to see with accelerated adoption of AI and robotics? If it's organized labor, you're always going to have the issues around: Do we need to bargain with the union? There are other obvious issues like making sure there isn't a protected category of employees who is excluded. You're going to want to avoid a tendency to think if you weren't born in a digital, native generation you're going to have a tougher time becoming a robot supervisor or working with this specific kind of technology. The educational opportunities and training opportunities are going to become really important. As we replace the mundane, repetitive tasks, we will need employees who have collaborative skills and who are capable of gaining different technical skills and are creative. Historically, we don't see that automation of jobs leads to loss of jobs. What we see is more efficiency and productivity that leads to different kinds of jobs. It's tough, because things are accelerated and everything is upside down right now. I think everyone realizes that, post-pandemic, things just won't be the same.

Fair Elections During a Global Crisis

This week, a couple dozen legal experts and scholars led by Rick Hasen, chancellor's professor of law and political science at the University of California Irvine School of Law, published a call to "immediate" action for journalists, legislators, tech companies and thought leaders to promote fair elections. "Rather than despair over American's current low opinion of the election system," the guidelines are meant to "minimize the chances of an election meltdown in November," according to the report.

Four of the 14 recommendations were aimed at election tech and included:

>>The use of paper ballots or electronic machines that produce a voter-verifiable record of their selections.

>>Election administrators should create resilient election infrastructure and anticipate high turnout with additional ballots and machines.

>>Election officials should obtain a .gov domain for authentication purposes and verified accounts on social media.

>>Election officials should monitor and audit state voter registration databases.

Heinan Landa is the CEO and Founder of Optimal Networks and author of "The Modern Law Firm: How to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Technological Change."

Reading List: How to Build the Law Firm of the Future

Heinan Landa, the CEO and Founder of IT services firm Optimal Networks has created a roadmap for a high-tech legal industry in his first book, "The Modern Law Firm: How to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Technological Change."

Heinan has been working with law firms for three decades, and said he's seen the rate of technological change "go bananas." When talking about this book, he thought he'd have to spend most of his time defining what he meant by exponential growth of technology, but he said "apparently the coronavirus is doing that for me."

He said the pandemic has led to what's been called one of the largest "work from home experiments" ever, and he said it's likely been a wake up call for much of the legal industry.

The first step to welcoming technological change, he said, is to "stop worrying about technology and looking at it as a drag on the business, and start thinking about how you can see it as a driver." He said the book helps law firms focus on how technology can provide better client or customer-service.

Here's what a law firm of the future might look like, according to Landa:

"A law firm whose technology works very smoothly, so the actual technology they were using did not have glitches or downtime, software that's nicely tailored for their needs, but that they also have an eye to the future, whether that's a tech committee or CIO or outsourced, they always have someone keeping an eye on what's coming down the pike and what would make their technology lives better or how they can help their clients better with technology."

On the Radar

'Massively Spoliated': Judge Issues Terminating Sanctions in Fight over Self-Driving Cars U.S. District Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California issued terminating sanctions against Greenberg Traurig client AllRide for what he termed "massively spoliated" evidence in a brutal trade secrets fight between two autonomous vehicle companies. "AllRide's mass destruction of email has irredeemably prejudiced WeRide's case against AllRide," Davila said. "AllRide's conduct demonstrates both willfulness and bad faith." Read more from Jenna Greene here.

Judge Warns Facebook in Approving Record $5B Fine for Alleged Privacy Violations U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly of the District of Columbia approved the Federal Trade Commission's $5 billion settlement and sharply criticized Facebook's alleged conduct, which stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Kelly wrote in the opinion that "the unscrupulous way in which the United States alleges Facebook violated both the law and the administrative order is stunning … And these allegations, and the briefs of some amici, call into question the adequacy of laws governing how technology companies that collect and monetize Americans' personal information must treat that information." Read more from Jacqueline Thomsen here.

Amazon France Strikes Out In Appeal of Worker Safety Ruling Over COVID-19 "This will be a relief to workers who are worried that they have to go to work because they perform essential services, but are afraid their conditions are unsafe. And it reminds companies that, in France, you have an obligation to consult employees—and that means you have to come to the table and listen to them and work with them," said Judith Krivine, a partner at the French employment law firm Dellien & Associés. Read more from Anne Bagamery here.

Thanks for reading. We will be back next week with more What's Next. Stay safe and healthy, everyone!