Nothing new under the sun (and legal design is no different)
If you think legal design and human-centred law is a modern innovation, think again. In his keynote opening at the Legal Design Summit in Helsinki, Marco Imperiale took us back to the Byzantine era. And now I can’t stop thinking about the Codex Justinianus. Thanks, Marco. Could legal design [...]
When AI and privacy governance collide
Lately, you can’t swing a cat without hitting an article or post about AI (especially those posts where someone asked ChatGPT to write a letter/poem/limerick in the style of x). Snooze fest, right? Nevertheless, AI is here to stay; and it’s here to use our personal data to learn [...]
Billables & Burnout
Most legal businesses still run on the billable-hour business model. Here are five reasons why this approach has passed its sell-by date. 1. TAKING CARE OF YOUR ASSETS There are many ways to skin a cat, figuratively speaking, of course. There’s no one size fits all when it comes [...]
Making the case for legal design
You know when you’ve been merrily doing a particular thing for years and then an influencer gives it a new name, brings it into popular consciousness and suddenly it’s trendy? (Not wearing make-up, being a ‘girl boss’, running in the rain or … going for a walk?) That seems [...]
The Rehabilitated Lawyer: Join us online!
Are you a sad lawyer? Hello, hi. *Hug* You’re not alone. The statistics are staggering: lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to be depressed compared to people in other jobs, while the landmark 2016 American Bar Association and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation study found that 28% of licensed, employed [...]
Read: White paper on the impact of POPIA on cookies, advertising, marketing and privacy (with some cats thrown in)
While we were creating our white paper on cookies, adtech, martech and privacy, we became obsessed with cats. Why did we take things so far? (Cat scrotums are pretty far.) Because writing a white paper on the impact of #POPIA on the use of cookies is boooooring! We figured [...]
Alright stop – POPIA time!
Okay, maybe it’s not MC-Hammer-pants-level exciting, but we’ll be damned if we aren’t going to make it fun! If you feel like you need a refresher – or perhaps a fresh perspective? – on POPIA, join us for our crash course on 8 June and 9 June 2022. (Here's [...]
Marketers vs Lawyers: Why can’t we all just get along?
Ever seen a toddler on one of those child leashes? They’re straining as hard as their little sausage legs allow, desperate to run free, talk to strangers and create a crayon masterpiece on the nearest wall (or lick a squirrel – one never can tell). That’s kind of how [...]
#Funlaw Challenge: 30 Posts in 30 Days
There’s a lot of clutter online. We know. We’re as addicted to the infinite scroll as you are. But instead of being passive observers, Novation decided to take on the challenge to contribute – meaningfully – to the noise. The only rule? Share frequent, thought-provoking, #funlaw content around POPIA, data [...]
Much ado about f*ckall
Warning: the following article contains explicit language. That should be fairly apparent by the title but we’re legally obliged (we think) to put it into plain language. If you’re easily offended or don’t have a sense of humour, we suggest skipping this one. Consider yourself warned. If you’ve spent any time [...]
How to be funny AF
Okay, we fibbed. While we will be sharing the theories of how jokes work, we can’t actually promise to teach you to be funny. Because, despite the hypotheses, philosophies, rules and formulas, a joke shared between two brains, much like love, is essentially intangible. It’s hidden alchemy. The truth [...]
Introducing… The Last POPIA Book You Will Ever Need
There is no better way to introduce our book, Over-Thinking the Protection of Personal Information Act: The Last POPIA Book You Will Ever Need, than by reciting the Dunning-Kruger* prayer: ‘Let me be smart enough to know how dumb I am and give me the courage to carry on [...]
5 things information officers and octopuses have in common
The octopus has become something of a theme here at Novation since we put one on the cover of our new POPIA book. This got us thinking about how information officers (IOs) and octopuses have more in common than you might imagine. Here are the top 5 ways IOs [...]
Why it’s okay to be funny about serious things
“Humour is a superpower in business, now more than ever,” says Naomi Bagdonas, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in her class on the benefits of leading with laughter. It’s not a new concept to Novation; we’ve had years of practice honing our funny bones and [...]
Info Wars Episode IX: The Information Regulator Strikes Back
The Information Regulator’s doomsday clock hit 0, life as we knew it changed. 1 July 2021 finally came. The re-consent pigeons were sent out and organisations joined in the communications assault with their weaponised bulk emails telling us that they respect our privacy. Oh, but the irony...as many people [...]
Do you need a POPIA crash course (or something a little stronger)?
30 June 2021. Unless this is your birthday, this date probably fills most of you with some trepidation. No need – let’s turn the anxiety into excitement that POPIA is finally here (after TEN. YEARS). If you still feel like you’re lagging behind, stop panicking and be cool. Get [...]