December 31, 2013

Dear Readers,

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present its first issue of the 2013-2014 academic year.  First published in 1995, JOLT is the world’s first exclusively online law review.  JOLT strives to discuss new and emerging issues that fall squarely at the intersection of technology and the law.  Today, with the publication of Issue One of its Twentieth Volume, JOLT aims to continue this tradition by providing relevant, insightful, and well-written articles that will drive discussion on these topics.

In our first article, “Not-So-Open Access to Legal Scholarship: Balancing Stakeholder Interests with Copyright Principles,” Christopher J. Ryan, Jr. discusses the role that open access plays and should play in academic legal scholarship.  Specifically, Ryan defines the Open Access Movement and the benefits of open access to scholarship, describes the current methods of accessing academic scholarship, discusses issues related to ownership of scholarly works and the interests of authors, and provides recommendations for ensuring open access to legal scholarship.  In particular, he identifies elements of existing solutions that should be combined to create a policy that can provide open access to such scholarship while handling the interests of scholars, institutions, publisher, and the public.

In our second article, “Inviting Scrutiny: How Technologies Are Eroding the Attorney-Client Privilege,” Philip J. Favro examines the erosion of the zone of protection provided by the attorney-client privilege, particularly for in-house counsel.  Favro charts the evolution of the privilege and its application to in-house counsel, discusses the increased scrutiny applied by courts to privilege claims, illustrates issues created by evolving technologies such as e-mail, social networks, cloud computing, and bring-your-own-device policies on the privilege, and offers actionable proposals for these issues.  He proposes actions companies should take to enhance in-house counsel’s privilege claims, including technological solutions, training, enforcement of policies relating to e-mail and BYOD devices for employees, and particular steps in-house counsel can take to limit the privilege log.

In the final article, “When Autonomous Vehicles Take over the Road: Rethinking the Expansion of the Fourth Amendment in a Technology-Driven World,” Rachael Roseman illustrates how jurisprudence related to search and seizure of automobiles will apply to and be affected by autonomous vehicles.  Roseman details the history and regulations for autonomous vehicles, describes existing Fourth Amendment jurisprudence related to automobile stops and searches, and explains how these laws may apply to autonomous vehicles.  She weighs expanding officers’ ability to stop and search autonomous vehicles against individuals’ privacy interests, ultimately concluding that further expansion would constitute an unreasonable governmental intrusion.

On behalf of the entire 2013-2014 JOLT staff, I extend our sincerest thanks for your continued readership.  JOLT also appreciates the continuing support from the University of Richmond School of Law community, particularly the guidance we receive from our faculty advisors, Professors Chris Cotropia and Jim Gibson.  Finally, I would like to recognize last year’s Editorial Board, who transitioned the website to its current format and provided indispensable direction and support.

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome at jolt.richmond.edu.

Best Regards,

Benjamin R. Fox

Editor-in-Chief

Volume XX

 

1. Not-So-Open Access to Legal Scholarship: Balancing Stakeholder Interests with Copyright Principles, by Christopher J. Ryan, Jr.

2. Inviting Scrutiny: How Technologies Are Eroding the Attorney-Client Privilege, by Philip J. Favro

3. When Autonomous Vehicles Take over the Road: Rethinking the Expansion of the Fourth Amendment in a Technology-Driven World, by Rachael Roseman