Law Technology Now Podcast - Legal Talk Network

Redefining the Hub

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 15:00:49 +0000

While legions are hopeful for a return to normalcy as soon as possible, the pandemic’s legacy will be felt for decades. The impact is already sure to prompt change from tech adoption to what defines an entity’s business hub.

Ralph Baxter, Daniel Rodriguez, and Dan Linna use their final episode as hosts of LTNow to discuss life before and during the pandemic, and what they predict is next in their respective fields of expertise.

Linna references disruptive innovation theorist Clayton Christensen in considering a different way for law firms to think, plan and talk about technology. Instead of choosing between prioritizing disruptive tech vs operational innovation, Linna says firms need to balance both to keep pace with an evolving industry.

Rodriguez reviews the pandemic’s impact on law schools, already struggling with decreased enrollment, law school finances, and student debt. He discusses regulation of law schools, the shift to all online early in the pandemic, grading changes, and how remote and hybrid learning is creating opportunities for improving teaching during precious hours in person and via technology while remote.

For law firms, Ralph Baxter expects the pandemic will have game-changing ramifications. Specifically, he believes the disruption shared globally created a gateway for change for an industry on the precipice of progress. Years of talking gave way to sudden action by necessity.

Baxter predicts changes and improvements beyond travel and space, down to the fundamental concept of how the workplace hub is defined. A brick-and-mortar space was the hub of activity pre-pandemic. But the new hub is information and the technology that connects people and processes to that information.

Ralph Baxter served as Chairman & CEO of Orrick for nearly a quarter-century and is a member of Intapp’s board of directors.

Daniel W. Linna Jr. has a joint appointment at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and McCormick School of Engineering as the Director of Law and Technology Initiatives and a Senior Lecturer.

Former dean Daniel B. Rodriguez is the Harold Washington Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

The Case Against Facebook

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 15:00:11 +0000

Northwestern’s Jim Speta speaks with fellow law professor and host Dan Rodriguez about the suit against Facebook filed by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 state attorneys general.

Speta, an internet law expert and interim dean of the law school, gives an overview of the case, and delves into the history of the FTC and Department of Justice that enables both entities to enforce antitrust laws. Speta and Rodriguez discuss whether the Biden administration will shift gears with the suit and whether breaking up the social media giant would benefit the three billion consumers who use the platform. Speta also shares his take on best possible outcomes and how they would protect consumer data and assure competitors have a fighting chance in the market.

Jim Speta is interim dean and the Elizabeth Froehling Horner Professor of Law at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Black Lawyers in Major American Law Firms: How to Make More Progress

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 17:48:28 +0000

Getting a job at a large firm and becoming a partner is vastly different than it was even in the 1990s. Where there once was a school-to-firm process and pipeline, Harvard Law’s David Wilkins tells host Ralph Baxter that hiring is dominated by lateral moves and recruiting of proven talent. Where young associates were given a long lead time to show their potential, metrics begin year one. And where achieving partnership was once akin to achieving tenure for professors, partners now have to prove their worth at every step. The current culture for partners, Wilkins says, is “What have you done for me lately?”

Wilkins, who asked in his writing in 1996 and then in 2016 why there are so few Black lawyers in law firms, and Baxter, former chairman and CEO of Orrick, talk about the lack of substantial progress yet sincere intentions on the part of law firm leaders to achieve diversity.

But both agree that having good intentions isn’t enough.

Wilkins notes he will continue the conversation with his brother, Freshfields Partner Timothy A. Wilkins, during an Oct. 14 webinar, “Race, Sustainability, and Social Justice” hosted by Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession.

Prof. David Wilkins is the faculty director of Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for AI?

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:00:53 +0000

Research Prof. Maura Grossman has long studied the effectiveness of machine learning and its implications for the delivery of legal services. She learned early on that machines were better than lawyers at many tasks, especially in the ediscovery process. But she recognized right away that to adopt and implement new technologies, lawyers needed to see proof that the new tools worked.

In this episode, host Dan Linna talks to Grossman about what questions lawyers should be asking when evaluating tools purporting to use artificial intelligence to solve problems with legal services delivery.

Grossman tells Linna that until there’s some sort of consumer consortium for AI, something like a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval or Consumer Reports for algorithms, lawyers will need to be smart about evaluating the tools entering the market.

She and Linna discussed eight questions that should guide a lawyer’s evaluation of AI tools.
Grossman says lawyers should be asking pointed questions about:

The problem or pain point the tool is trying to solve
How much data cleanup has to happen before the tool can be used
What training needs to be done for the tool to be implemented
Whether the tool has been validated

On that last point, Grossman says the buyer doesn’t want to be a beta tester for the AI tool.

Professor Maura R. Grossman is a research professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, and principal at Maura Grossman Law.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Model for Change: Utah’s Data-Driven Approach to Closing the Justice Gap

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 23:36:12 +0000

When the Utah Supreme Court started studying the access to justice gap, justices and bar leaders were alarmed to learn that 93% of those using adult courts in the state’s largest jurisdiction were showing up without legal assistance. Let that sink in: 93% were coming to court without a lawyer. It’s a figure host Ralph Baxter’s guests say is common across North America.

With news still fresh of Utah’s groundbreaking order creating a regulatory sandbox to address the crisis involving the delivery of legal services, Baxter discusses the order’s rationale and significance with three key leaders behind Utah’s move: Economics and Law Professor Gillian Hadfield, Utah Justice Deno Himonas, and Utah Bar immediate Past President John Lund.

There’s something wrong when the current legal model serves just ten to fifteen percent of the population, Hadfield tells Baxter. She says Utah’s approach is on solid ground because the bench and bar are cooperating to collect data that will inform its shifting legal regulatory framework.

The four discuss how the model rules of professional conduct, developed for an older and dated model of law practice, are less about ethics and more about controlling business operations. Utah’s sandbox removes many of those barriers while keeping consumers protected.

Hadfield and Lund also note that despite pushback on rule changes — such as relaxing rules on non-lawyer ownership and creating licensing routes for paraprofessionals — the remaking of the rules is bound to increase opportunities for lawyers. Finding ways to better serve that 80% to 90% who need but don’t have lawyers will open up the market, they tell Baxter.

Gillian Hadfield is the inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Deno Himonas is a justice of the Utah Supreme Court.

John Lund is a Salt Lake City lawyer and immediate past president of the Utah Bar.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Pros & Cons: Data Privacy’s Role in Advancing Legal Tech

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:34:11 +0000

Legal tech in the U.S. is pressing forward with data privacy playing catch up. In Europe, the trend is largely reversed. Host Dan Rodriguez and his guest, German lawyer and consultant Markus Hartung, talk through each approach’s pros and cons and address legal innovation’s status on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hartung explains how, with good reason, Europeans are skeptical of embracing big data even with the promise of greater efficiency and modernization. At the same time, he says, there is too much confusion over the role of technology and the threat of technology. Notably, Hartung asserts that the impact of artificial intelligence is wholly overstated. “We look at software and AI in a completely irrational manner,” he says.

German lawyer Markus Hartung is an advisor with the consultancy The Law Firm Companion.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Hotshot: 21st Century Training for New Lawyers and Law Students

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:06:45 +0000

From early on, host Ralph Baxter knew co-founders Ian Nelson and Chris Wedgeworth were onto something when they developed a legal training model with proven educational techniques pioneered by Coursera, Khan Academy, and Duolingo.

In this episode, Baxter talks to Nelson about the development of Hotshot and its practical uses by law schools and law firms. Since its early pilots more than eight years ago, Hotshot has developed a library of 200 topics in corporate practice and business acumen.

Hotshot hires experienced lawyers to develop the substantive content for training and hires professional actors for the video presentations, which are generally delivered in short, easily digestible segments.

Guest Sara Dana shares the perspective of Harvard Law, which gave early feedback about the product and has used Hotshot to provide students added learning resources since 2017.

Morrison Foerster partner Rick Jenney shows how his firm has used Hotshot to train new lawyers and boost training resources for junior attorneys. Especially valuable is the ability to use the on-demand library to flip the classroom. Before a firm-led training, lawyers get video homework so everyone is on the same page. Jenney says this approach has improved in-firm training.

Similarly, Dana notes that the students using Hotshot are familiar with video tutorials and have embraced the product because, like so much of what makes on-demand culture popular, “It’s really well done; it’s exactly what they need; they can access it when they need it.”

Ian Nelson is co-founder of Hotshot.

Sara Dana is the communication director for career services at Harvard Law School.

Rick Jenney is a partner at Morrison and Foerster.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

The Spanish Flu to Covid-19: How this Pandemic is Pushing Courts to Modernize

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 21:34:03 +0000

Even before the global pandemic, Michigan courts were moving more quickly than many others to modernize. Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack talks with host Dan Linna about accelerating the state’s plans to offer online hearings, online dispute resolution, and to continue efforts to establish e-filing statewide.

Not everything is going smoothly, but McCormack notes some judges are almost current on their dockets. And importantly, she believes that many temporary quick fixes will lead to permanent changes that improve access to justice statewide and increase public trust in the judicial branch.

Bridget Mary McCormack was named chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court in January 2019.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Complex and Significant Matters in the Legal Profession

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 15:00:59 +0000

Host Dan Rodriguez welcomes Jeff Kelly to discuss his experience with complex litigation and why he chose it as his professional focus. Jeff explains how his practice has been impacted by COVID-19 and what skills he’s refined and utilized to resolve problems arising from this pandemic. He also shares ways he leverages all 24 hours in his day in order to catch up to his more senior colleagues as well as finding and leveraging legal technology to improve his practice. Additionally, hear what it’s like for Jeff to be working as the chair of a law reform commission in North Carolina and what he’s been working on.

Jeff Kelly is a complex litigation attorney at Shanahan Law Group, PLLC.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

Reinventing Law

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:00:09 +0000

Law Technology Now welcomes Gillian Hadfield to the show to talk with host Ralph Baxter about the idea of reinventing the law. She starts off by explaining how she became interested in changing the way law works through personal experience and then touches on access to our justice system and how it doesn’t give the ordinary person the legal resources they need. Gillian discusses how reinventing the law will necessitate thinking big, embracing diversity, and being responsive to feedback, not to mention the considerable financial investment needed to implement new solutions. She also explains why the legal industry lacks innovation and what we should do to help expand our knowledge.

Gillian Hadfield is the inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society, Professor of Law, and Professor of Strategic Management.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Logikcull and Acumass.

COVID-19’s Impact on the Legal Ecosystem

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:07:53 +0000

What’s going on in the legal industry during COVID-19? Host Dan Rodriguez welcomes returning guest Mark Cohen of LegalMosaic to talk about the changes the pandemic has brought to the legal industry. They discuss how the traditionally tech-averse legal community has begun adopting new tools, such as Zoom, and how, for young lawyers and law students, learning business skills beyond the traditional scope of legal practice can be valuable. At the end of the episode, Mark speaks to the current cultural climate by driving home the importance of diversity and how legal professionals can contribute to making the community better through inclusion.

Mark A. Cohen is the CEO of LegalMosaic, a legal business consulting company.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote, Logikcull and Acumass.

Data-Driven Legal Services: Pricing and Cost Prediction, with Catherine Krow

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 27 May 2020 23:23:24 +0000

Tune into this episode with Dan Linna and Catherine Krow as they discuss her company Digitory Legal, a cost analytics platform that brings data-driven pricing and cost prediction to law, and also explains why data is important for litigators to understand. Catherine breaks down how to predict costs, review data correctly, and acquire it for her practice. She also explains what law firms should do to provide the best quality value and services to their clients. She also discusses how data is being used to evaluate and improve diversity and inclusion efforts. She ends by letting our listeners know where she believes data will go in the legal industry and how those new developments will impact law firms and their clients.

Catherine Krow is the founder of Digitory Legal.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote, Logikcull and Acumass.

Smart Collaboration in the Time of COVID

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:06:06 +0000

In this Law Technology Now episode with host Ralph Baxter, Ralph welcomes Heidi Gardner to talk about her research into collaboration and her work furthering the concept of Smart Collaboration. Heidi defines the meaning of Smart Collaboration, and gives her thoughts on the impacts COVID-19 is having on collaboration throughout the industry. She also discusses her time at Harvard Law School, how she developed a passion for studying collaboration, and why she’s devoted her career to improving how we work together.

Heidi Gardner is the distinguished fellow & lecturer on law at Harvard Law School.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Wrongful Convictions, Making a Murderer, and Social Media with Laura Nirider

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 20:46:37 +0000

Law Technology Now host Dan Linna welcomes Laura Nirider to the show to talk about her wrongful conviction work with a focus on social media. Laura discusses her work as Co-director at Northwestern’s ‘Center on Wrongful Convictions’, her regulator appearances on ‘Making a Murderer’ with Steven Drizin, and how vital it is to use social media to get more people discussing justice and the rule of law. They also talk about how law schools should train their students to use social media effectively in their practices

Laura Nirider is a clinical assistant professor of law and co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Leading and Managing Through the Coronavirus Crisis

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:00:15 +0000

How should law firms react during these turbulent times? Law Technology Now host Ralph Baxter sits down with Mitch Zuklie, CEO of Orrick, to discuss how attorneys can lead and manage their law firms during a pandemic. Mitch explains how it’s important to pay attention to how you respond internally as well as the impact your clients will face while delivering services to them that are relevant to the crisis. He suggests law firms should develop plans and be prepared for uncertain times, but not to overlook the opportunities these moments provide, like permitting your firm to accelerate client relations and prioritize innovation. Times like these are tough to deal with, but Mitch reminds listeners that when the market is back up, there will still be work for everyone.

Mitch Zuklie is the chairman and CEO of Orrick.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Design & the Law with Margaret Hagan

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 16:58:11 +0000

Margaret Hagan joins host Ralph Baxter in this episode of Law Technology Now to talk about what design is doing for the legal industry and what it is like being the lab director at the Stanford’s Legal Design Lab. They discuss how Margaret got involved with the Stanford Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, her free online book ‘Law By Design’ and its uses cartoons, and how design can apply to legal professionals. She also talks about Stanford’s Legal Design Lab, how it came to be, and the lab’s mission.

Margaret Hagan is the director of the Legal Design Lab and a lecturer at Stanford Institute of Design (the d.school).

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Evaluating Legal Technology Applications

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:38:17 +0000

Have you ever considered creating a legal technology application for your practice? Law Technology Now host Dan Linna sits down with Marc Lauritsen and Quinten Steenhuis to talk about evaluating legal tech applications and their article ‘Substantive Legal Software Quality: A Gathering Storm.’ They discuss what prompted them to write their article, how we can assess the quality of legal applications, and how to create a baseline by evaluating the work lawyers currently perform. Additionally, Marc and Quinten give our listeners tips on how we can get more people engaged in the conversation and provide best practices for lawyers to improve the apps they create. They end the episode by encouraging law schools to get their law students more engaged and exposed to the growing role of technology in legal work.

Marc Lauritsen, president of Capstone Practice Systems, is a lawyer and educator with over twenty years of pioneering leadership in advanced legal software.

Quinten Steenhuis is a senior housing attorney, systems administrator, and developer at Greater Boston Legal Services.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Understanding the CCPA with James Snyder and Timothy Blood

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 23:45:16 +0000

On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, informally known as the CCPA, went into effect. Considered one of the most significant pieces of privacy legislation in the United States, many questions exist as to how this law will affect businesses and consumers within California and beyond. Law Technology Now host Dan Rodriguez speaks with attorneys James Snyder and Timothy Blood about this impactful new legislative act. Together they examine the CCPAs origins, its reach beyond the boundaries of California, what it and Europe’s GDPR mean for technology companies, and what penalties can arise from violations.

James Snyder is senior counsel with Klinedinst PC.

Timothy Blood is the managing partner at Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Mary O’Carroll: The Legal Operations Role and Its Growing Importance

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 21:09:03 +0000

As a leading tech company, Google has, through its services and products, well earned its reputation as an innovator. But how does that extend beyond tech and into its legal department. Ralph Baxter sits down with Mary O’Carroll, Google’s director of Legal Operations, to discuss her work with Google, the factors leading to more corporations bringing on legal operations positions, and, through her presidency at CLOC, how Mary and her peers are working to develop and define the legal operations role throughout the industry.

Mary O’Carroll is the director of Legal Operations at Google and the president of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (“CLOC”).

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

The Partnership of Fastcase and Ross Intelligence

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 23:09:10 +0000

On December 13, 2019, Fastcase and Ross Intelligence, two innovative and leading companies in the legal research space, announced a new partnership. By sharing their respective technology tools and data, these two companies are aiming to facilitate rapid innovation to better serve their customers. On his first episode as co-host of Law Technology Now, Daniel Rodriguez sits down with Fastcase’s Ed Walters and Ross Intelligence’s Andrew Arruda to discuss what this new partnership means for their respective companies and customers, how technology will continue to give attorneys better access to the information they need, and how the innovations they are pursuing can increase access to justice.

Ed Walters is CEO and co-founder of Fastcase.

Andrew Arruda is chief executive officer and co-founder of ROSS Intelligence.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Steven Brill: Entrepreneur, Attorney, and Best-Selling Author

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 23:48:06 +0000

Over his career, Steven Brill has had a major impact on both the practice of law and the public’s perception of law. His monthly magazine The American Lawyer changed the ways lawyers and law firms approach the business of practicing law through its journalism and features like the Am Law 100. Through Court TV, the cable TV network he founded in the 90’s, Brill helped to provide greater transparency and insight into legal proceedings for the general public. Law Technology Now host Ralph Baxter sits down with Steven Brill to discuss his career, the motivations that brought him to the companies he’s started, and his take on future developments in the law.

Steven Brill is the founder of The American Lawyer and Court TV, an attorney, an author, and a journalist.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Dorna Moini, Founder and CEO of Documate

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 01:43:59 +0000

Lawyers have the power to do a lot of good for their clients, but oftentimes too much of their efforts go into time draining projects like filling out forms. Obstacles like these not only can be a nuisance for attorneys, but a barrier to legal services for those with the greatest need. To explore this subject and more, Dan Linna welcomes Dorna Moini, founder and CEO of Documate. Together they cover the path that led Dorna to starting her company, the impact she’s striving to make with her company, and why software tools like hers can make a huge difference for those in need of legal assistance and for those able to provide it.

Dorna Moini is the founder and CEO of the document automation platform Documate.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Logikcull.

Richard Susskind – How Technology Will Change Justice

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 20:43:12 +0000

Law Technology Now host Ralph Baxter sits down with Professor Richard Susskind OBE, one of the foremost experts and advocates for the implementation of technology with legal services delivery. They discuss Richard’s latest book, Online Courts and the Future of Justice, the limited or nonexistent access to justice problem for most of the world, and how the adoption of AI and online courts might look, might alleviate the pain points, and could change the practice of law altogether.

Professor Richard Susskind OBE is an author, speaker, and independent adviser to major professional firms and to national governments.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Welcoming New Host Dan Rodriguez

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 00:20:19 +0000

Host Dan Linna welcomes Dan Rodriguez to the team as the newest co-host of the Law Technology Now podcast. They discuss Dan Rodriguez’s work within the legal education sphere, including his drive towards innovation and his efforts to facilitate connections between legal education and the broader legal community before turning the conversation more broadly to the future of legal innovation, the need for regulatory changes, improving access to justice, the fear of robot lawyers, and the impediments that the industry has to overcome to facilitate meaningful change.

Dan Rodriguez is a professor and former dean at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and is the former host of the Planet Lex: The Northwestern Pritzker School of Law podcast. Dan is also the chair of the ABA Center for Innovation.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

How to Run a Modern Legal Department: Avoiding Irrelevance and Pursuing Reinvention

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 21:34:49 +0000

Even though they may be a small part of large corporations, legal departments play a vital role in supporting business objectives and guarding the company’s reputation. With many years of experience in general counsel roles, Jeff Carr offers a wealth of knowledge on best practices for modern legal departments. Jeff joins Law Technology Now host Dan Linna to discuss strategies for building innovative systems to support the cultural, financial, and service delivery goals of your legal department.

Jeffrey Carr recently retired from his role as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Univar Inc.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

ABA Projects and Pursuits: A Conversation with President Judy Perry Martinez

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 20:44:24 +0000

In this edition of Law Technology Now, Ralph Baxter hosts an in-depth conversation with President Judy Perry Martinez on the many ongoing projects at the American Bar Association. The ABA is committed to improving the practice of law through collaboration and innovation. Ralph and Judy discuss the many issues of concern at the ABA, including the efforts of the Commission on the Future of Legal Services, current recommendations for improving access to justice, projects at the ABA Center for Innovation, voter rights, law student debt, and more!

Judy Perry Martinez of Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn in New Orleans is president of the American Bar Association.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Exploring the Benefits and Impacts of Online Dispute Resolution

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 22:29:45 +0000

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the judicial system isn’t ripe for disruption. Law Technology Now host Dan Linna is joined by Shannon Salter, the Chair of the Civil Resolution Tribunal in British Columbia, to discuss the impacts and benefits of the Online Dispute Resolution system they’ve rolled out and the broader implications of rethinking how claims get resolved. Together they explore why the CRT’s rollout of this system has been successful, why we can’t just throw technology at the problem without rethinking the culture, and how the idea of Online Dispute Resolution is gaining support in more jurisdictions.

Shannon Salter is the Chair of the Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada’s first online tribunal resolving small claims and condominium disputes. She is also an adjunct professor at the UBC Allard School of Law, teaching administrative law and legal ethics and professional regulation.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Innovations in the Future of Law Practice with Bill Henderson

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 22:26:12 +0000

Law Technology Now host Ralph Baxter welcomes Bill Henderson to discuss his career and current work as co-founder of the Institute for the Future of Law Practice (IFLP). Bill shares highlights from his professional journey from blue collar worker to law professor and legal researcher and writer and then discusses the motivation behind the founding of IFLP. In today’s quickly changing legal landscape, IFLP facilitates programs and internships that help both law students and practicing lawyers develop skills that complement traditional legal education.

Bill Henderson is a professor and Stephen F. Burns Chair if the Profession at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, editor of Legal Evolution, and co-founder of the Institute for the Future of Law Practice.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

US Companies Operating in the UK – Are you ready for Brexit?

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 21:57:25 +0000

In this edition of Law Technology Now, host Ralph Baxter talks with a panel of guests from London-based law firm Bird & Bird about the implications of Brexit for US businesses operating in the United Kingdom. They begin by offering listeners an overview of Brexit basics and discuss what may happen if no deal is made before the UK’s withdrawal. Ralph then drills down on four time-sensitive issues: immigration law and new work requirements for EU nationals, changes in privacy law and GDPR, fundamental changes to trade laws and practices, and export control rules related to software exports. Each panelist offers recommendations for US companies regarding these key issues.

Panelists:

- Roger Bickerstaff is a partner at Bird & Bird and a leading technology lawyer and advisor on tech infrastructure and outsourcing projects.
- Yuichi Sekine is head of Bird & Bird’s business immigration team in the UK and a member of Bird & Bird’s international HR services group.
- Elizabeth Upton is legal director of Bird & Bird’s privacy and data protection practice in the UK.
- Richard Eccles is a partner at Bird & Bird advising on competition law (EU and UK), telecommunications regulation, and trade and customs matters.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Welcoming New Host Ralph Baxter

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 14:30:18 +0000

In this edition of Law Technology Now, Dan Linna welcomes Ralph Baxter, who joins Dan as a new host of the podcast. Dan and Ralph take a deep dive into trends and changes in the legal industry and consider the outlook of the profession. They also discuss Ralph’s career as the longtime Chair and CEO of the Orrick law firm, his run for Congress in West Virginia, and his continuing efforts to bring innovative business strategies and technology to legal services.

Ralph Baxter advises legal technology companies, law firms, corporate legal departments, and law schools, to help modernize the way legal services are delivered.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Proactive Law: Improving Your Legal Service Delivery

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 21:02:05 +0000

What exactly is proactive law and how do lawyers use it? Law Technology Now host Dan Linna talks to Helena Haapio and George Siedel about how proactive law’s principles help lawyers practice both preventive and promotive law. They outline how this future-oriented approach uses legal knowledge to create value, strengthen relationships, and manage risks. To help listeners better understand, Helena and George give real-world examples illustrating its benefits and give strategies for bringing proactive law principles into any law firm or business.

Check out Helena and George’s two co-authored books:

Helena Haapio is a lawyer, a contract innovator at Lexpert Ltd, an Associate Professor of Business Law at the University of Vaasa, and a pioneer of the proactive approach where contracts and the law are seen as enablers rather than obstacles.

George Siedel is the Williamson Family Professor of Business Administration and the Thurnau Professor of Business Law at the University of Michigan.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

From Judiciary to Private Practice with Judge Andrew Peck

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 15:00:44 +0000

In this edition of Law Technology Now, host Sean LaRoque-Doherty talks to Judge Andrew Peck about his post-retirement career shift from the judiciary to private practice. Judge Peck discusses how he moved into his new role as senior counsel at DLA Piper in New York City. Together, they examine how some of his former rulings on eDiscovery affect his practice on the other side of the bench as senior Counsel at DLA Piper in New York, and how, through his wealth of experience, he works to develop better practices through mentoring and training of young lawyers.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Re-Regulating Lawyers: Updating Rules for Modern Law

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 16:44:01 +0000

State regulations for lawyers are meant to serve two main purposes: protecting the public and increasing access to justice. But with an estimated 50-80% of Americans unable to obtain legal help when needed, many regulations are in the crosshairs for reform. Dan Linna welcomes Jayne Reardon to discuss current trends toward updating regulations for legal-services delivery. Jayne describes some of the changes proposed in California, Utah, Arizona, and other states and offers insight into the drivers behind new recommendations.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Practicing Modern Law—Using Innovation to Deliver Superior Legal Services

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 22:00:34 +0000

How can firms define and measure their innovative efforts? In this edition of Law Technology Now, host Dan Linna talks with Lucy Dillon and Nick Long of Reed Smith LLP about how to practice law with modern tools and in-depth metrics. They discuss how they approach new projects within their firm’s innovation program and stress the importance of listening to clients’ needs. They touch on how Reed Smith’s Summer Technology Associate Program works to equip new lawyers with tech skills needed to practice modern law and also discuss possible changes in technology regulations for lawyers.

Lucy Dillon is chief knowledge officer at Reed Smith LLP.

Nick Long is senior director of legal operation at Reed Smith LLP and director at Gravity Stack LLC.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Ingrained Innovation: Creating a Resilient, Efficient Law Firm

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:23:32 +0000

The legal industry is not immune from the basic economic trends affecting every other business. Firms must get better, faster, and more efficient to keep up with modern demands for legal services. Stephen Poor of Seyfarth Shaw LLC joins Law Technology Now’s Dan Linna to discuss how implementing beneficial thinking methodologies can help law firms ingrain innovation into their culture. They explain the process firms should go through when choosing the methodology that best suits their needs, and Stephen particularly recommends Six Sigma, Lean, and Design Thinking. Together, they highlight ways the most innovative firms exhibit natural resilience in the face of industry changes. Later, they discuss how technology solutions create more value for clients and allow lawyers to practice with greater efficiency and accuracy.

Stephen Poor is chair emeritus at Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Access for All: How Justis Connection Brings Lawyers and Clients Together

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 20:58:31 +0000

Kisha Brown’s goals are twofold—empowering communities with access to justice and enriching the practice of law for attorneys of color. Kisha joins Monica Bay and Sean La Roque-Doherty to discuss the challenges minorities face in the legal system. She describes what led her to develop Justis Connection, a platform for connecting lawyers of color to new clients, and together they explore how new legal technology is increasing access to justice for all.

Kisha A. Brown is CEO and founder of Justis Connection.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Innovation: Legal Industry Trends and Opportunities

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 16:24:53 +0000

Some think the word ‘innovation’ has become a meaningless buzzword, but Dan Linna and David Curle believe its meaning simply needs to be more clearly defined. In this episode, they discuss the scope of current innovation practices in different areas of the legal industry. Together, they survey trends in the legal space and give their take on the most effective and profitable ways firms can pursue innovation. Later, they discuss the landscape of data-driven practice, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics—outlining trends and talking about the tremendous opportunities for growth in these areas of the industry.

David Curle is the director of enterprise content in the technology & innovation platform at Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote.

Innovating on a Global Scale

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 31 May 2019 22:37:30 +0000

Sometimes innovation is born in someone’s garage. Other times, it takes the resources of a huge multinational law firm. Baker McKenzie senior associate Danielle Benecke joins Law Technology Now host Dan Linna to discuss the innovation strategy Baker McKenzie employs to evaluate and address legal and tech issues today and anticipate those of the coming years. They also cover the impact AI will have on the legal practice, what law students should think about when choosing a firm, and how working with clients instead of just for them can lead to powerful insights.

Danielle Benecke is a senior associate in Baker McKenzie’s IP and Technology practices.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Headnote and Thomson Reuters.

Closing the Gap: Innovating in a Fast Paced World

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 10 May 2019 21:22:24 +0000

Law firms have a reputation for being slow to adapt, but clients operate in a world of rapid change. As the gap between expectations and practice threatens to widen, law firms are being pushed to develop ways to catch up with their clientele. In this Law Technology Now, host Dan Linna talks with Wendy Butler Curtis, Chief Innovation Officer at Orrick and the Financial Times 2018 Most Innovative Lawyer of the Year. Wendy discusses the work she and her team are doing at Orrick, the role of data driven decision making in a legal practice, and how law firms are failing to keep up with the expectations of their clients.

Wendy Butler Curtis is the Chief Innovation Officer at Orrick.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

How AI Streamlines Daily Operations for Lawyers

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 23:57:26 +0000

Too many lawyers have cumbersome business processes that could be automated to save time. In this episode of Law Technology Now, hosts Sean La Roque-Doherty and Monica Bay talk to Ryan Steadman and Alex Babin of Zero about how lawyers can streamline daily operations with AI. Ryan and Alex talk about their background and what led them to develop AI email management. They emphasize the importance of having a deep understanding of legal business processes and describe how firm morale gets a boost when mundane tasks are handed over to AI.

Alex Babin is the founder and CEO of Zero, a company that applies artificial intelligence and smart automation to the most pressing operational challenges of the legal industry.

Ryan Steadman is the chief revenue officer for Zero, leading vision and ensuring a world-class customer experience.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

2019 Am Law 100: Trends and Insights

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 17:58:51 +0000

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Dan Linna discusses The American Lawyer 2019 Am Law 100 data with Gina Passarella and Nick Bruch. They dig into the survey data and give an overview of how various firms ranked—discussing their insights on new trends, looking at what drove growth, and talking about how this data can be strategically applied in law firms. They follow this with comments on their expectations for the Am Law 200 and how it may differ from 100 data. To close, Gina and Nick give their predictions for trends they expect to see in the future and talk about how the legal marketplace is affected by tech innovations.

Gina Passarella is editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer and Global Legal Brands at ALM Media.

Nicholas Bruch is the director of Legal Market Intelligence at ALM Media.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Legalweek 2019: The Life Of The Director Of Legal Project Management

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 17:36:24 +0000

In this episode of Law Technology Now from Legalweek 2019, host Dan Linna speaks to Casey Flaherty about what it means to be the director of legal project management and if the community has been successful. They discuss relationships inside a law firm and whether attorneys should be coached and mentored to improve the community. They also talk about if project management helps solve proper allocation in work and diversity with law firms.

Casey Flaherty is the director of legal project management at Baker McKenzie.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Legalweek 2019: LegalMation’s AI for Litigation

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 20:11:34 +0000

LegalMation has taught AI to speak legalese — how can lawyers use this in litigation processes? In this episode of Law Technology Now from Legalweek 2019, host Dan Linna talks to James Lee and Thomas Suh, co-founders of LegalMation, about how artificial intelligence can transform the practice of law. Their AI tackles the tedious tasks of litigation to free up attorneys for higher level work. They discuss the continuing growth of the system in more complicated areas of the law for innumerable applications in the legal industry.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Legal Innovation: Imagining Creative Solutions for Clients

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 19:49:50 +0000

Sometimes new legal solutions can be developed by reframing the way lawyers look at a problem. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Dan Linna talks to Katie DeBord about how her role as chief innovation officer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner helps the firm stay aggressively relevant in solving problems for their clients. They talk about how her multidisciplinary innovation team works to provide resources and training to lawyers to help them improve their legal service delivery. Coupling innovative technology with legal expertise brings law practice to a higher, more competitive level.

Kathryn DeBord is Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s (BCLP) global chief innovation officer and co-leader of Cantilever, BCLP’s legal operations consulting group.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

What’s Going On At LegalWeek New York 2019?

Legal Talk Network — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 01:20:35 +0000

LegalWeek New York is just around the corner and we want to know everything that’s going on. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Sean La Roque-Doherty and Monica Bay welcome guest Zach Warren, to talk about what Legaltech News will be focusing on at the show, what’s different about this years Legaltech and if LegalWeek has improved in the last couple years. Additionally, they talk about what technologies they are excited to see on the exhibit hall floor.

Zach Warren is the editor-in-chief of Legaltech News.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Achieving Success at Law Firms through Technology

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 17:21:17 +0000

Do we have to change the way we think about transformation and innovation in law firms? On Law Technology Now, co-hosts Monica Bay and Sean La Roque-Doherty are joined by TJ Johnson, to discuss what technology projects law firms are implementing today, whether or not law firms are generally successful with new technology, and how firms can dress their non-lawyers for success.

TJ Johnson is the practice development lead – professional services for Olenick, global leaders in software quality engineering and vice president of conference and events for the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) .

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

How Microsoft Promotes Legal Innovation

Legal Talk Network — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 01:16:08 +0000

Microsoft’s Trusted Advisor Forum was designed to ask this question: Do clients need to actively engage with their law firms to drive innovation in legal service delivery? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Dan Linna talks to Jason Barnwell about the Trusted Advisor Forum and how his team at Microsoft is working to build the practice of the future. They discuss the many aspects of Jason’s role and give insight into how innovation, diversity, and use of technology in the processes of law can lead us into the future.

Jason Barnwell is assistant general counsel, legal business, operations, and strategy at Microsoft Corporation.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Inside the Growing Platform of Hiring Lawyers Online

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 18:04:55 +0000

With technology consistently on the rise, the hiring of lawyers online has become a big part of the legal industry. On Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay and co-host Sean La Roque-Doherty are joined by Raad Ahmed to discuss the growing platform of hiring attorneys online, assisting small business owners with attorney hiring, and take a look at LawTrades as a marketplace, a platform, and a network.

Raad Ahmed is founder and chief executive officer at Law Trades, the fastest growing platform for hiring top-notch lawyers online.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Integrating Technology and Encouraging Innovation

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 22:37:00 +0000

In this episode of Law Technology Now, new host Dan Linna talks to Connie Brenton about her experience as a legal innovation expert who integrates technology into Corporate Legal Departments. They discuss the benefits of having a multidisciplinary team, creating a culture that accepts mistakes as opportunities to improve, and the different aspects of data-driven lawyering. She also shares advice for successful collaboration between legal departments and law firms.

Connie Brenton is chief of staff and sr. director of Legal Operations at NetApp and the CEO of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC).

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Harnessing Innovation for the Legal Industry

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 19:52:38 +0000

Real change in the industry will happen with commitment and discipline, not just good ideas. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Dan Linna about how lawyers should think about technology and innovation. He shares his experience demystifying technology for students and what lawyers should think about when they approach the idea of innovation.

Daniel W. Linna Jr. is a visiting professor of law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. His teaching and research focus on innovation and technology.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Managing Your Legal Marketing

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 17:31:59 +0000

Marketing can be intimidating for lawyers, but companies exist that can help practices manage their communications department. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Christy Burke about what drove her to start her own legal technology marketing company. She discusses her involvement with the Legal Technology Media Group, her experience running a company as a mother, and her advice for other legal tech companies like hers.

Christy Burke founded Burke & Company LLC in 2004, deciding to focus the firm specifically on legal technology communications.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Using Technology to Balance your Workload

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 21:16:14 +0000

Working at a law firm doesn’t have to be all-consuming; technology can help you balance all your tasks. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Jeffrey Brandt about how he manages to write a daily newsletter while working full-time with a firm and the automation that allows him to be efficient. They also discuss the Association of Legal Technologists (ALT) conference, the types of content the conference covers, and what differentiates it from ILTA conference.

Jeffrey Brandt is the chief information officer at Jackson Kelly PLLC in Charleston, West Virginia.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Technology that Drives the Legal Industry

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 23:13:49 +0000

What drives someone to leave a job they love in order to start their own company? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Lucy Endel Bassli about the impact she wants to have on the legal industry and how she’s using her company, InnoLegal Services, to accomplish this. She shares her belief that lawyers should be using technology to delight clients and develop their own innovative practices and how she wants to set an example for others.

Lucy Endel Bassli is the founder of InnoLegal Services PLLC, a modern solution provider that offers legal advice and consults on operationalizing the practice of law.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

The Life of a Startup Part 2: Prepping for Acquisition

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 18 May 2018 20:13:24 +0000

Bringing a legal technology startup into today’s market comes with its own set of unique challenges. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Haley Altman about what it takes to grow a legal tech company and position it for acquisition in today’s market. Haley also describes her experience building her own company, Doxly, and how she balances being a professional with fostering a healthy family.

Haley Altman is the CEO of Doxly. She has over a decade of experience working on complicated transactions in the corporate, private equity, and venture capital verticals.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Client-First Technology for Client-First Firms

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 07 May 2018 17:20:24 +0000

Could efforts to make the legal industry more client-based really make this the best time to be a lawyer? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Larry Bridgesmith about how law is shifting to a client-first business model and the technology that will enable lawyers to run their firms better, faster, and cheaper. They also discuss productivity management, blockchain, and the Vanderbilt Law School Summit.

Larry Bridgesmith is the co-founder and CEO of Legal Alignment and the mastermind behind DASH, the world’s first interoperable, AI-powered platform for aligning people, projects, and processes for optimum results.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Moneyball for Lawyers: Changing the Game with Analytics

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:18:34 +0000

The use of analytics has permeated into various industries, from baseball to banking, but could it be invaluable to lawyers as well? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Josh Becker from Lex Machina about legal analytics, machine learning, and the impact these new technologies will have on the legal industry. They discuss the various uses of data analytics and machine learning for lawyers including showcasing expertise, determining strategy, and mining data.

Josh Becker is the CEO of Lex Machina, a company that provides intellectual property litigation data and analytics to companies and law firms.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

The Life of a Startup: From Idea to Sale

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 19:34:35 +0000

Starting a startup is only the beginning. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Alma Asay about how she started and sold her legal technology startup and her experience working with lawyers as clients. She also discusses working as a woman in the male-dominated industry of legal tech and shares what she believes will bring more women into the business.

Alma Asay is the chief innovation officer at Integreon and was formerly the founder and CEO of Allegory, a cloud-based litigation management tool.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Encouraging Collaboration at the ALT Conference

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 22:17:15 +0000

On February 11, the Association of Legal Technologists (ALT) held a conference called ctrl-ALT-del: Networking Rebooted. The ultimate goal of the event was to promote collaboration within the legal tech community via networking and workshops. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Richard Hellars about the goals of the conference and how ALT worked to achieve these goals through various speakers, workshops, and social events. They also discuss why the conference is important and the role it plays in a changing legal technology landscape.

Rick Hellers is the founder and executive director of the Association of Legal Technologists and the president and CEO of nQueue.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Thomson Reuters.

Mastering Deadlines with LawToolBox

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 23:17:39 +0000

Missed deadlines are the number one cause of attorney malpractice claims. Fortunately, LawToolBox, a cloud based deadline management system, has the support and know-how to help. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to the co-owners of LawToolBox, Jack and Carol-Lynn Grow, about what problems LawToolBox solves and what sets them apart from their competition. They discuss the importance of their integration with various practice management platforms (like Clio, Rocket Matter, and PracticePanther) and future improvements that are in the works.

Carol-Lynn Grow is the co-owner and VP of marketing and sales at LawToolBox where she manages strategic partnerships with platform companies like Microsoft as well as legal software companies.

Jack Grow developed and delivered Law Toolbox, a product to help lawyers automate deadlines based on rules promulgated by the courts in which they practice.

What’s Happening at Legalweek 2018

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 22:11:04 +0000

On Monday, January 29, 2018, legal professionals will flood New York for Legalweek 2018, a conference featuring workshops, networking opportunities, and hundreds of exhibitors all designed to address key issues in the legal industry. In this Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Zach Warren about the details of the conference and how newbies can attend without getting overwhelmed. Their discussion includes hot topics that will be covered at the event, like blockchain and cybersecurity, and speakers they’re excited to hear from.

Zach Warren is the editor-in-chief of Legaltech News, a publication that features law technology updates, articles, and technology company press releases for the legal profession.

2017 State of U.S. Small Law Firms Survey from Thomson Reuters

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 21:07:43 +0000

For the second year in a row, Thomson Reuters released the 2017 State of U.S. Small Law Firms, a survey with input from over 300 small and solo law firms. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Bill Josten about the results of this survey including the common challenges facing small and solo firms, their biggest sources of competition, and how they are investing in technology to improve efficiency. They also discuss how these firms measure success and tips for improving client intake.

Bill Josten is the senior legal industry analyst for the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute and consults with law firms nationally on issues related to law firm profitability, pricing and cost recovery.

Law Firm Intellectual Property

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 16:41:53 +0000

Intellectual property plays a big role in your law firm even if you’re not an intellectual property lawyer. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Nicole Shanahan, CEO of ClearAccessIP, about why intellectual property is important to a law firm and how her company is working to reduce the cost of producing assets like patents. They also discuss some of Nicole’s recent projects, like the Stanford OpenData Initiative, and her trip to the White House.

Nicole Shanahan is the founder and CEO of ClearAccessIP and a 2014-2016 Residential CodeX Fellow.

How Legal.io Aims to Close the Access to Justice Gap

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 16:49:12 +0000

“The access to justice gap is huge — something like 80% of low-income people who seek legal help do not get that help. We see this as a technology infrastructure challenge.” – Tony Lai

As the legal industry continues to strive towards providing access to justice for all, companies are emerging that aim to solve this specific problem. One of these companies is Legal.io, a legal technology company that provides referral management and legal empowerment systems to legal organizations. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Tony Lai, CEO of Legal.io, about the company and how it’s working to close the access to justice gap including its partnership with large firms, legal aid networks, and bar associations. Tony also shares his predictions for which technologies will most impact the future of the legal profession.

Tony Lai is a lawyer, entrepreneur and evangelist for processes and systems that support openness and innovation, engagement, and sharing.

Changing the Legal Game with Blockchain

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 19:12:19 +0000

Blockchain has recently emerged as one of the technologies that will most change the way lawyers practice law and yet a lot of people still don’t fully understand what blockchain is. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to David Fisher, CEO of Integra Ledger, about what blockchain is and its application in the legal industry. They discuss the benefits to using blockchain including having data security, your own digital identity, and maintaining integrity in documents like contracts, signatures, and more.

David Fisher is the founder and CEO of Integra Ledger, a permissioned blockchain for the global legal industry that facilitates secure and efficient interoperability among law firms and their clients.

Revolutionizing the Procurement of Legal Services

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 22:17:26 +0000

Legal procurement is the entire process of buying legal services including the decision to purchase, the selection of which services, and paying the supplier. Working as a legal procurement professional is a relatively new concept, but when properly utilized, procurement professionals can contribute to decreased spending and well-managed relationships with legal services providers. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Silvia Hodges Silverstein about legal services procurement, including what it is and how it changes the way legal services are bought and sold. They discuss managing the relationships between legal services suppliers and clients, as well as why companies invest in legal procurement professionals.

Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein is the executive director of the Buying Legal Council, the international trade organization for legal procurement, and adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and Fordham Law School.

How Axiom is Using AI to Modernize Legal Services

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 20:31:26 +0000

We keep hearing “artificial intelligence (AI) won’t take the jobs of lawyers.” But the growing field of AI is bound to affect the legal industry in other ways. The tech-enabled legal service company Axiom recently announced their own AI and, according to Paul Carr, president of global strategic projects, this technology and AI in general could be transformative for the legal industry. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Paul Carr about how Axiom uses technology, including AI, to modernize legal services and streamline processes which enables them to better serve their clients. They also discusses how to broach the topic of using AI and other newer technology with their corporate clients.

Paul Carr is the president of global strategic projects at Axiom. Axiom is the leading alternative legal services provider.

A Sneak Peek at the Clio Cloud Conference

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:35:20 +0000

The 2017 Clio Cloud Conference is fast approaching, taking place September 25 and 26 in New Orleans. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Joshua Lenon, lawyer-in-residence for Clio, about the conference including who will be speaking and special announcements like the Legal Trends Report. He also shares what makes his position at Clio unique and what makes Clio stand out as a law practice management software company.

Joshua Lenon is an attorney who currently serves as lawyer-in-residence for Clio, providing legal scholarship and research skills to the cloud-based practice management platform.

Brian Cuban on Overcoming Addiction and Stress

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 22:58:40 +0000

The responsibility and pressure of the legal profession can often leave lawyers feeling overwhelmed and hopeless, but there are healthy ways to face this stress. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Brian Cuban about his own experience as an addict and how he now works to help those with similar struggles. Whether it’s through speaking or writing, Brian aims to share healthy alternatives to drug and alcohol use.

Brian Cuban is an attorney, author, activist, and brother of Mark Cuban. His most recent book, “The Addicted Lawyer,” is about his struggles as a law student and attorney with depression, alcohol and drug addiction.

What lawyers can learn about practice management from MyCase

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 16:58:46 +0000

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Tracy Stevens, VP of Product and Design at MyCase, about cloud based practice management software, product design, and what sets MyCase apart from the competition. They also discuss MyCase’s client portal and why this technology is valuable to lawyers.

Tracy Stevens is the vice president of Product and Design at MyCase, where she works directly with the development teams to ensure that they’re building software that will delight customers.

Technology and Innovation in Legal Education

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 19:03:20 +0000

Lawyers don’t have to be tech geniuses to understand that technology is changing the practice. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks with Chris Bentley about the legal innovation program at Ryerson University and the importance of weaving technology courses into legal education. They also discuss how even lawyers who don’t consider themselves tech savvy can still embrace the benefits of innovation in law.

Chris Bentley is the executive director of the Law Practice Program (LPP) at Ryerson University.

Startup Bootcamp for Lawyers

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 30 May 2017 19:02:52 +0000

Jay Mandal saw a problem with access to legal information so he sat in a Starbucks for hours until he figured it out. This was how his startup was born. He now helps law firms solve their own problems (minus spending hours in Starbucks). In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Jay Mandal about his own startup experience and how his startup bootcamp for lawyers helps students learn cross-disciplinary skills that can make their legal businesses thrive.

Jay Mandal is an entrepreneur, executive, and lawyer. He was co-founder and CEO of LawPivot, an online legal Q&A solution, which the team sold to Rocket Lawyer.

Legal Information Institute: Access to Legal Information for All

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 15 May 2017 20:26:03 +0000

There are a surprising number of nonlawyers who want to know more about the law. While Google may have made access to legal information easier, it hasn’t completely solved legal information availability. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Tom Bruce, co-founder of the Legal Information Institute (LII), about what the LII is and how it has adapted to changing technology, including using natural language processing techniques to identify defining terms in regulations and statutes and linking together related subjects. They also discuss who the LII serves today and what resources the group offers, including a complete archive of the Supreme Court’s oral argument audio.

Thomas Bruce is the co-founder and director of the Legal Information Institute. An internet and web pioneer, he developed the first web browser for Microsoft Windows.

5 Ways to Adopt Technology and Improve Access to Justice

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 21:57:13 +0000

The legal industry has always been the last to catch up with innovation. Technology, however, may help with one of the industry’s biggest problems, access to justice. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to James Sandman about the ten barriers he sees that block the adoption of technology, five strategies to this issue, and how the adoption of technology will help get legal aid to those that need it. He also talks about the Trump Administration’s budget plan which aims to cut the Legal Services Corporation funding.

James Sandman has been president of the Legal Services Corporation since 2011.

ImmigrationJustice.us: How Lawyers can Respond to Trump’s Immigration Laws

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 16:03:31 +0000

The new Executive Orders on immigration introduced by the Trump Administration have pushed some lawyers to act on behalf of immigrants in need of legal help. But many lawyers who want to help don’t know where to start. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to Chad Burton and Ed Walters about the creation of ImmigrationJustice.us, a website built to organize legal professionals who are seeking ways to volunteer their services. They discuss how the website was built in a single night for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the team involved in its creation, and the template that they hope can be used for similar issues in the future. They conclude the episode by saying how important groups of active trendsetters, like the ABA Center for Innovation, will drive change within law.

Ed Walters is the CEO and co-founder of Fastcase, an online legal research software company based in Washington, D.C. Under Ed’s leadership, Fastcase has grown into one of the world’s largest legal publishers, currently serving more than 800,000 subscribers from around the world.

Chad Burton is the CEO of Curolegal and is a former litigator who developed one of the nation’s first “new model” law firms, leveraging cloud-based technology and modern business practices to develop a lean virtual law firm. He also serves on the Governing Board for ABA’s Center for Innovation.

What’s Happening at ABA TECHSHOW 2017

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 18:29:38 +0000

Excited for this year’s ABA TECHSHOW? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Adriana Linares, the chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2017, about what legal professionals can expect at the conference this year. Adriana talks about the keynote address, legal hackathon, and Taste of Techshow dinners. They also discuss what’s new about this year, the academic track, and the effort to bring more diversity into the event.

Adriana Linares serves as a technology consultant to the Florida Bar, is the Chair of the ABA TECHSHOW 2017, and serves on the board of the Florida Justice Technology Center. She hosts both the New Solo podcast on Legal Talk Network.

The American Immigrant Representation Project with the Honorable Shira Scheindlin

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:53:17 +0000

While the Trump administration has brought about a significant number of changes, perhaps the most notable are the policies regarding immigration. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to former United States District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin about the American Immigrant Representation Project (AIRP). This non-profit organization was created by a group, including Scheindlin, in order to allow those facing deportation access to counsel. In their discussion, they talk about the driving reasons that motivated this project and how listeners, especially young lawyers, can help.

Former United States District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin is a member of the Litigation Practice Group at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and serves as an arbitrator/mediator under the auspices of JAMS.

The Origin of Rocket Matter: What Makes Web-Based Legal Software Successful

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 18:50:01 +0000

In 2007 there was no web-based software for law firms. This drove Larry Port to create Rocket Matter, the first cloud-based legal practice management software company. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi interviews Larry about Rocket Matter, its competition, and its investors (or lack thereof). In their discussion, they cover Rocket Matter’s competition with Clio, third party integration, and having a market-driven approach to product development. Larry closes out the episode with advice for those starting their own legal technology company.

Larry Port has worked with thousands of law firms worldwide since 2008 when he started Rocket Matter. Rocket Matter has since remained a leader in the industry, boosting law firms’ revenues by more than 20%.

Legalweek 2017: Expanding the Conference Beyond Tech

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:45:18 +0000

Every industry needs a week dedicated to them. Fashion has Fashion Week, technology is celebrated at Tech Week, and there’s even a Social Media Week. For legal professionals, Legalweek is an opportunity to learn new skills, stay updated on the latest trends, and meet other legal professionals. In this episode of Law Technology Now, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Monica Bay chat with John Stuttard, Senior VP of Global Events at ALM Media, and Nick Bruch, Senior Analyst at ALM Legal Intelligence, about about Legalweek 2017 and their roles in putting the conference together. Originally, Legalweek was focused on technology but has since broadened its scope to include the whole legal industry. Guests John and Nick discuss this transition as well as other changes taking place at the conference, including the introduction of a fee for the expo hall. They conclude with the sentiment that, while there is a lot to be said about legal technology on its own, the new mission of the conference is to bring together all aspects of law.

John Stuttard has been Senior Vice President of Global Events at ALM Media Properties, LLC since April 2016. Mr. Stuttard joined ALM from Seven Point Equity Partners, where he served as an Operating Partner focused on investments in companies in the trade show industry.

Nicholas Bruch is a Senior Analyst at ALM Legal Intelligence. His experience includes advising law firms and law departments in developing and developed markets on issues related to strategy, business development, and market intelligence.

The Influences and Advantages of Legal Tech

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:00:00 +0000

Young lawyers often seek examples of successful attorneys in their prospective field to get an understanding of the path and work ethic required to be advance. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks with LegalMosaic CEO Mark Cohen about his work history, how tech is transforming the delivery of legal services, and what he sees on the horizon for 2017.

Mark A. Cohen is the CEO of LegalMosaic, a legal business consulting company, a Distinguished Lecturer of Law at Georgetown University, and a regular contributor to Forbes.

Fails and Sales: Lessons in Legal Entrepreneur from Gary Sangha

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 23:21:39 +0000

As new or established lawyers venture out into the legal marketplace, it can be daunting establishing your own firm or promoting your unique business. How should savvy entrepreneurs promote their brand and what skills do they need to be successful? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay and guest host Adam Camras talk with lecturer and entrepreneur Gary Sangha about his keynote speech at the Above the Law Academy for Private Practice conference, his personal journey toward success, and his tips to help new entrepreneurs thrive.

Gary Sangha is a serial entrepreneur, attorney, and academic who is at the forefront of incorporating modern technology into the legal services sector. He is the founder and CEO of Lit IQ, which uses advances in computational linguistics technology to help lawyers draft precise and error-free legal documents, such as patents, contracts and regulations.

The Benefits of Litigation Management Applications

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 22:11:55 +0000

Many attorneys who focus on litigation can find themselves sifting through hundreds of documents that are relevant and vital to the success of their case. Can legal technology improve efficiency and the practice of law for these lawyers? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi speaks with Allegory Founder and CEO Alma Asay about litigation management and how new software can greatly improve the litigation process.

Alma Asay began her career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where her practice focused on complex commercial litigations, primarily in the fields of media, entertainment and technology. Alma managed and successfully litigated high profile cases, including cases that were part of Gibson Dunn’s winning submissions in 2010 and 2012 for The American Lawyer’s “Litigation Department of the Year.” She was the go-to second chair for Orin Snyder — named by Chambers USA as one of the six best lawyers in the country in the category of “Litigation: Business Trial Lawyers.”

The Growth of Legal Tech Entrepreneurship

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 16:55:56 +0000

With more and more lawyers embracing technology the legal tech sector continues to grow and thrive. What makes this sector different for technologists looking to develop products for the legal marketplace? How can law firms of all sizes leverage this technological boom? In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks with serial entrepreneur Gary Sangha and Above the Law Editor Joe Patrice about the upcoming Above the Law Academy for Private Practice Conference, legal tech entrepreneurship, and how law firms can leverage new tech to better tell the story of law.

Closing the Gap Between Law School and the Legal Industry

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 13:00:02 +0000

When first entering the legal profession, young lawyers can sometimes feel ill prepared for the everyday rigors of working at a law firm and practicing the law. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks with Professor Daniel Martin Katz about the industry’s need for law school curriculums to better reflect the demands of the legal marketplace and his efforts to change the profession by creating a different type of lawyer.

Professor Katz is a scientist, technologist, and law professor who applies an innovative polytechnic approach to teaching law to help create lawyers for today’s challenging legal job market. Both his scholarship and teaching integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Bringing Innovation to the Practice of Law

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:00:34 +0000

It is common within the business world for companies to take inventory of innovations happening within other industries and to adopt the most successful practices to help strengthen their own. However, the legal profession is a sector of the market that has a stigma for being resistant to change and late to adopt new things. In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay speaks with Air Canada Labour and Employment Law Assistant General Counsel Fred Headon about the benefits that adopting successful procedures from other industries could bring to the practice of law.

Fred Headon is a past president of the Canadian Bar Association. He serves as chair of the CBA Legal Futures Initiative and is the assistant general counsel in-house for the labour and employment law team at Air Canada.

The Evolution of the Digital Courtroom

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 16:50:30 +0000

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks with Opus 2 International, Inc. CEO Graham Smith-Bernal about his career and the evolution of the electronic courtroom. Graham recalls his early interest in becoming a court stenographer and how at the age of 23 he had the opportunity to establish his company Smith Bernal International. At that time he noticed that the legal industry was driven heavily by precedent and tradition and that he could use technology to establish his company as a service differentiator. Graham was also aware that a lot of lawyers are technophobic, so any software he developed had to be easy to use and with the advent of real time transcription he came up with the idea for LiveNote. He shares that there was a lot of pushback and reticence in the early days, but by exercising the ease of use, increase in efficiency, and leveraging end user feature requests the product became mature as a piece of tech. Graham states that success in any business is about timing and your process and the increase in processing speeds and maturity of the stenography systems availability at the time put his company slightly ahead of the technological curve. He discusses the success of LiveNote and explains how he developed the Opus 2 magnum platform. He closes the interview with an analysis of electronic courtroom evolution and the trends he is currently seeing in tech assisted litigation.

Graham Smith-Bernal started his career as a court reporter in the UK, and founded Smith Bernal International, where he created the LiveNote software. Smith Bernal International went on to become the world’s largest international court reporting company and LiveNote became the most widely used litigation support software prior to Smith-Bernal selling LiveNote to Thomson Reuters in 2006. He then founded Opus 2, where he is currently CEO, to continue his work in this area.

How Law Firms and Lawyers Can Improve Their Productivity

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:00:57 +0000

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay speaks with reporter and author Charles Duhigg about his new book, “Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business.” Charles emphasizes that a lawyer’s career is predicated upon making choices about how they spend their time and for that reason efficiency is incredibly important. The most productive people, he reveals, are the ones who create routines that allow them to differentiate between busyness and productivity. He encourages leaders to create mental models or visualizations of how any daily transaction will unfold and to make small directed company improvements, or changes to what he calls keystone habits. He continues by providing examples of how this approach, combined with carefully phrasing your proposed change, can lead to greater companywide advancements in the long term. Charles also discusses the importance of having an agile company and explains that the best way to create this culture is to empower your co-workers to make great choices. He states that empowering others to solve problems as they occur allows those individuals who can solve the problem best and who are often the closest to the issue the ability to handle these concerns as they occur. Charles closes the interview with an analysis of how crisis facilitates flexibility and provides tips on how attorneys can create the perception of potential crisis to help facilitate change.

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter for “The New York Times” and the author of “The Power of Habit.” He is a winner of the National Academies of Sciences, National Journalism, and George Polk awards. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale College, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

LegalX: Innovators from MaRS

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 14:55:36 +0000

If you think the legal industry’s future depends on small and big firms working together, you might be from MaRS. By MaRS, we mean the Canadian-based MaRS Discovery District (originally named Medical and Related Sciences) and its recent project to innovate the legal profession.

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay interviews Aron Solomon and Jason Moyse, the co-founders of recent MaRS startup LegalX. Together, they talk about today’s transition from the big firm model of yesterday in favor of more nimble practices traditionally found in smaller firms and startups. Although there will always be a need for Biglaw on large, highly profitable matters, 80% of the U.S. market is priced out of legal services. That unmet need has become a primary driver in sweeping change to the legal industry.

So, what do these driving forces mean for the future of law? Monica, Aron, and Jason take turns answering that question with their forecasts of the legal market for the next 2-5 years. Not only will this near future continue to see big firms receding, but it will also usher in an era of innovation. Legal solutions made on one side of the globe will be solving problems on the other. Even more surprising, it is predicted that Biglaw will collaborate with small firms to produce more comprehensive offerings at lower prices. Tune in to hear more about the future of law as seen from MaRS.

Aron Solomon is the innovation lead at LegalX, a startup from MaRS Discovery District that specializes in connecting technologists, designers, engineers, and lawyers to drive innovation in the legal sector. Prior to that, he was ED at Ed, entrepreneur in residence at i.c. Stars, and co-founder and vision holder at SVBstance. In addition, Aron has served as Global Managing Partner at Futurlogic, CEO at Think Global School, and founder for The Mission Group.

Jason Moyse is the industry lead at LegalX, a startup from MaRS Discovery District that specializes in connecting technologists, designers, engineers, and lawyers to drive innovation in the legal sector. Prior to that, he was the manager of legal business solutions at Elevate Services, director of innovation execution at Cognition LLP, and director of service delivery at McCarthy Tétrault. In addition, Jason has been legal counsel and program manager to Xerox Canada.

How Bloomberg is Changing Legal Annotation

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 17:12:07 +0000

As the body of law continues to grow, so does the consumer demand for cost effective and efficient legal services. What resources do large law firms and corporations have to help them harness technology to keep pace with this growing trend?

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi speaks with Bloomberg BNA Legal Division President David Perla about his career, Bloomberg Law, and how their Smart Code^SMis changing traditional legal annotation. He states that ultimately the company hopes to help lawyers grow their businesses, be better counselors to their clients, and help them be more profitable. David provides an overview of his career, starting with his early days at a large Manhattan law firm, and shares his thoughts on how his particular combination of work experiences prepared him for his current role as Bloomberg BNA Legal Division President. He reflects on how Bloomberg’s ability to leverage technology to help lawyers and law practitioners has improved over the last 5 years and uses their current Smart Code^SM legal annotation tech as an example of this. He closes the interview with an explanation of how this code works, how it can enhance the lives of lawyers, and how it compares to the speed and efficiency of human editors.

David Perla is the president of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg BNA Legal. He plays a key leadership role in the continued growth of the company’s legal business, which includes legal, legislative, and regulatory news analysis, and the flagship Bloomberg Law® legal and business intelligence research system. He drives the growth strategy for Bloomberg BNA Legal and oversees the development of distinctive content and products characterized by Bloomberg BNA’s renowned editorial excellence and Bloomberg’s reputation as a technology leader.

Before joining Bloomberg BNA, Perla served as chairman and CEO of Matterhorn Transactions and co-CEO and co-founder of Pangea3, the globally known legal process outsourcing provider. Prior to forming Pangea3, he was vice president of business and legal affairs for Monster.com. Perla received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He began his legal career as a corporate lawyer at the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

10 Ways to Accelerate the Adoption of Legal Tech

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 19:10:57 +0000

The effects of technology on the law can be seen throughout the profession as these innovations are slowly integrated into the legal marketplace. However, has the union of new tech and the practice of law been significantly transformative for lawyers and clients? What factors have hindered the adoption of new technology in the legal sector and what catalysts might be implemented to accelerate the pace of change?

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay speaks with Legal Services Corporation President and CodeX FutureLaw keynote speaker Jim J. Sandman about his 10 reasons the law has been slow to adopt technology and the “levers of power” that might be engaged to accelerate that rate. Jim opens the interview with a brief summary of his time as managing partner at Arnold & Porter LLP, the general counsel for the District of Columbia Public Schools, and his five years of tenure as the president of Legal Services Corporation. He reflects on his CodeX 2016 FutureLaw Conference keynote speech and expresses that his intention was to provide an overview of where the profession stands with technology in law today. Technology, Jim explains, has made a number of improvements in law but hasn’t transformed service delivery in the same way it has in other industries and professions. He shares that 80% of the civil legal needs of low income people go unmet and analyzes statistics from legal aid organization studies that show that between 50% to 67% of individuals who can’t afford a lawyer are denied legal services because of inadequate resources. Jim then presents his list of 10 impediments to the adoption of technology in the legal profession, such as a sluggish lawyer administered regulatory system, and discusses changes made in the UK and Australia to approve non-lawyer ownership of law firms. He closes the interview with his list of the 10 agents of change, such as the legal media and state legislatures, that can aid in increasing efficiency for attorneys through the adoption of new technologies.

James J. Sandman has been president of the Legal Services Corporation since 2011. He practiced law with Arnold & Porter LLP for 30 years and served as the firm’s managing partner for a decade. From 2007 to 2011, he was general counsel for the District of Columbia Public Schools.

How Artificial Intelligence Will Influence the Future of Legal Practice

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 03 May 2016 17:34:53 +0000

“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” – HAL 9000

It’s been a long time since 2001 Space Odyssey portrayed HAL (Heuristically ALgorithmic computer) as the sentient machine who locked crewman David Bowman out of the spaceship to prevent being shut down. Since that movie debuted, artificial intelligence has become a reality and, with it, so too have many fears. From piloting planes and driving cars to playing chess and winning on Jeopardy, it appears that AI is actively participating in human endeavors. But what does that mean for us carbon-based lifeforms and our professions?

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi discusses artificial intelligence, its uses, and the potential impact on the legal industry with Thomson Reuters Corporate Segment Director and Legal Managed Services General Manager Eric Laughlin. According to Eric, AI will revolutionize the practice of law and provide greater access to it for the masses. He described the upcoming revolution as gradual, with changes going from being novel and labeled as AI to becoming routine and regarded as additional tools on various devices.

Stay tuned to hear about predictions for legal jobs in the future, why many attorneys and firms support the development of artificial intelligence, and the exciting developments at Thomson Reuters’ Cognitive Computing Center of Excellence, where they are teaming up with IBM Watson to create exciting new products to support the legal industry.

Eric Laughlin is the managing director of the Corporate Counsel Segment and general manager for the Legal Managed Services at Thomson Reuters. In addition to heading their IBM Watson initiative, he is responsible for their information, software, and service offerings for corporate legal departments as well as their technology and service offerings in e-discovery, contract management, and compliance domains. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant in Thomson Reuters’ Global Strategy Function.

Upcoming 2016 CodeX FutureLaw Conference

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 02 May 2016 20:09:53 +0000

As technology continues to permeate society more and more, companies are exploring how advancements in tech can improve the legal profession. Many of these institutions are researching ways to make the legal system more efficient for all stakeholders through information technology. Where can lawyers who are interested in this growth industry learn about the progress being made from thought leaders in the field?

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay speaks with Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology Executive Director Roland Vogl about the upcoming 2016 CodeX FutureLaw Conference. Roland reflects on his time as a student in The Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS) and how that path led him to work as an intellectual property lawyer and ultimately a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School. He then explains the creation of The Stanford Center for Computers and the Law – CodeX, their growing interest in big data law, machine learning, and natural language processing in the law, and their aim to facilitate legal empowerment through information technology. The conversation then shifts to the upcoming 2016 CodeX FutureLaw Conference and the panels, such as “Moot Court 2020: Legal Tech on Trial,” that will be presented. Roland wraps up the interview with a discussion of diversity in the profession, the lack of women presenting at conferences, and the efforts CodeX is making to ensure greater diversity at theirs.

Dr. Roland Vogl is currently the executive director of the Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology (LST) and is a lecturer in law at Stanford Law School. He also researches international technology law through the Transatlantic Technology Law Forum (TTLF) and focuses his efforts on legal informatics work carried out in the Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX). Roland holds both a Dr.iur. (JSD) and a Mag.iur. (JD) from Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck, Austria, as well as a JSM from Stanford Law School.

Working Abroad: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Global Travel

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 23:46:02 +0000

Many large companies have global business interests that require employees to travel to multiple countries within the same year. However, several of these same companies find it difficult to navigate the shifting rules pertaining to business visas as they cross national boundaries. How can these businesses continue to have a global presence while avoiding the potential pitfalls that can come with frequent international travel?

In this episode of Law Technology Now host Monica Bay sits down with Tracker Corp. and Pearl Travel Tech Founder Julie Pearl to discuss how tech can improve the business travel and immigration process. Julie begins by giving insights into her background and why she created her law firm and tech company. This exploration of her history gives way to an analysis of several key issues, such as communicating in real time and understanding requirement differences between countries, that global employers have relating to immigration. Julie then wraps up the conversation with an explanation of her work with, and her passion for, helping women get involved in science, technology, engineering and math.

Julie Pearl – Since founding her global immigration law firm two decades ago, Julie Pearl has pioneered service enhancements and received top honors for her contributions to the business immigration field. Julie also co-founded two software companies (Tracker Corp. and Pearl Travel Tech), which offer immigration case management and compliance systems to other law firms, Fortune 1000 companies, hospitals, and universities. Chambers Guide to Leading Lawyers names Julie the only “Star Individual” immigration attorney regionally and HR Executive Magazine consistently ranks her among the nation’s Top 20 Immigration Attorneys. She also received a 2013 Stevie^®Award as “Woman of the Year – Business Services.”

Other awards for Julie’s firm, Pearl Law Group, include a Stevie^® Award for Most Innovative Company, the Super Lawyers National Pro Bono Award (one of only two firms nationwide awarded), and a global mobility industry award as Immigration Provider of the Year – Americas. Additional accolades include a Cisco Systems Growing with Technology Award (Customer Service Category) and a chapter in The Moral Advantage, Getting Ahead in Business by Doing the Right Thing (Stanford University Project on Good Works) for following the “Golden Rule” with clients.

Julie has lived in five countries and speaks three languages. She received degrees from Stanford and Harvard Universities, and the University of California, Hastings Law School.

Data Analytics: The Art of The Win

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 23:57:24 +0000

“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” – Sun Tzu

In the time leading up to litigation, many attorneys grapple with the pros and cons of litigation for their clients. It is often difficult to quantify the probability of success or what it will take to get there. In the intellectual property world, an expensive victory can be as devastating as a loss. Fortunately, data analytics are making this process more predictable by offering insights to future results based on information from the past.

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay interviews Lex Machina CEO Josh Becker. Together, they discuss the value of data analytics when it comes to making decisions in litigation. Organizations like Becker’s are able to collect data points that show, among many other things, the historic instances of judges ruling on certain motions, wins vs. losses of opposing counsel, and the length of proceedings. From the perspective of lawyers, this information can help craft arguments to conform with successful past efforts and help in the prediction of success. From the perspective of clients, this information can be used to hire counsel, make business decisions on prospective patents, and much more. Stay tuned for Becker’s tips for being a successful upstart in the legal industry.

Josh Becker is the CEO of Lex Machina, a company that provides intellectual property litigation data and analytics to companies and law firms. He is also the founder of The Full Circle Fund and co-founder of New Cycle Capital. Prior to that, he was on the founding team at Redpoint Ventures. His previous employment includes Brentwood Venture Capital, Netscape Communications, and McKinsey & Co. Josh was the second employee at EarthWeb Inc. and formerly one of youngest press secretaries on Capitol Hill.

Legal Research Software: Mapping Data to Save Time and Improve Access

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 23:41:43 +0000

It is an exciting time for legal research. The text-based searches of yesterday are giving way to the interactive visualization of data. What this means is that lawyers will have more control over and increased awareness of their research projects. The visual ability to map out information empowers researchers to understand when enough is enough, thus saving time and reducing the cost of providing legal services

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi talks shop with Fastcase founder and CEO Ed Walters. Together, they share exciting new developments in legal software and how it’s developed as well as how it can create jobs for lawyers rather than take them away. With the majority of people doing their computing through mobile devices, there is enormous opportunity to provide valuable legal services in new ways.

Ed Walters is the CEO and co-founder of Fastcase and currently teaches Law of Robots at Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to that, he worked at Covington & Burling in Washington D.C. and Brussels, where he advised clients such as Microsoft, Merck, SmithKline, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League. From 1991-1993, Ed worked in the White House for the Office of Media Affairs and the Office of Presidential Speechwriting. Walters also clerked for the Hon. Emilio M. Garza on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fourth and Fifth Circuits.

Law Technology Now Returns

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 23:32:12 +0000

Law Technology Now returns as Monica Bay and Bob Ambrogi bring the show back to the air in an exciting new format. By alternating hosting duties back and forth, the show is designed to provide a different perspective episode to episode.

Catch up with our hosts as they discuss their predictions for 2016, ideas for future show topics, and why it’s an exciting time to be practicing law. Despite their shared belief that legal technology is generally good for the industry and increases access to justice, both Monica and Bob recognize that there are pros and cons. Monica warns that lawyers who can’t keep up with innovations may be forced into early retirement whereas Bob debates the liberating versus enslaving effects of constant connectivity. Now that some 20 states are conforming with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct by requiring lawyers to be competent in technology, it looks like the only way to go is forward. Welcome back listeners!

Discussed on this episode:

Updates to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Lex Machina and LexisNexis
Avvo
Rocket Lawyer
Legalzoom
Empowered or Enslaved: Technology’s Effect of the Legal Profession by Bob Ambrogi

Getting to Yes: Advice for Legal Entrepreneurs from a Venture Capitalist

Legal Talk Network — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:43:03 +0000

In the September edition of Law Technology Now, attorney Monica Bay, editor-in-chief of ALM’s Law Technology News, interviews Robert Siegel, general partner at Xseed Capital about how Silicon Valley is becoming a hot bed of legal technology startups. With two major Bay Area universities — Stanford and the University of California Berkeley, both with strong synergies among their law schools and computer, engineering, and design departments — innovative law firms and venture capitalists are ready to collaborate, and the sky is the limit, says Siegel.

He explains how these dynamics combine to create opportunities for legal technology lawyers and vendors, and financiers, and how collaborations can result in companies like Lex Machina. They are creating technology products that ultimately help not just the legal community (lawyers, government, academia, and business) do better, faster, and cheaper work, but benefit consumers and businesses, as well. And for innovators and entrepreneurs, he offers concrete advice about how to best approach venture capitalists to successfully get them to yes.

G-Harmony: Motorola Mobility’s Law Department Embraces Google Culture

Legal Talk Network — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:51:15 +0000

Last year, Google bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. As usually happens in such a merger, the law department went though a significant re-organization. Of the law department’s 250 people, 150 departed post-merger — some to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., others left the company. The MM law department took Google’s instructions to better use technology to heart, and not only “ate the dog food,” (i.e., used Google technology) but became a “skunkworks” operation — actually developing new technology tools and apps to help the legal team streamline processes and deliver faster, better, cheaper, and transparent legal services.

Law Technology Now host Monica Bay, an attorney and editor-in-chief of ALM’s Law Technology News, interviews David Kenzer, Motorola’s vice president of law, and Elizabeth Jaworksi, director of legal operations, about how the MM law department embraced Google’s culture.

Law Librarians at the Front Lines of Change

Legal Talk Network — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:50:53 +0000

In the June edition of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay, an attorney and Editor-in-Chief of ALM’s Law Technology News invites her American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) co-presenters, Steven Lastres and D. Casey Flaherty to chat about the recent and upcoming changes in technology affecting law librarians and legal research. Bay, Lastres, and Flaherty will be presenting at AALL’s annual conference this month in Seattle. Learn how librarians are leading the charge for faster, better, and cheaper legal services!

• Lastres, an attorney, is director of library and knowledge management for Debevoise and Plimpton. He is responsible for the firm’s information and knowledge management initiatives. He is the co-founder of the OnFirmerGround blog — a collaborative effort of international law library associations seeking to promote the value that law firm librarians bring to the business and practice of law.

• Flaherty is corporate counsel of Kia Motors America. He manages all legal matters from transactional to litigation. Before moving in-house he worked at BigLaw where he focused his practice in commercial litigation and e-discovery. Flaherty is known for his meticulous auditing system made specifically for law firms, on which he regularly speaks and writes about.

Tune in for a sneak preview of their upcoming presentation and the future of legal research.

Code X: Stanford Law’s Hotbed of Legal Technology Startups

Legal Talk Network — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:24:53 +0000

In the Law Technology News June cover story, “Silicon Startups,” reporter Tam Harbert describes how Stanford University’s Law School has become the “vortex” for entrepreneurship in legal technology. The law school has joined forces with the University’s engineering and computer science departments to create the Center for Legal Informatics laboratory — dubbed Code X. Among the results is Lex Machina, a startup offering a rich database of intellectual property litigation information that helps law firms, corporate counsel, and the government refine their trial and settlement strategies. The company just completed a second round of funding, infusing $4.8 million into its war chest. Law Technology News Editor-in-Chief Monica Bay welcomes attorney Roland Vogl, executive director of Code X, to discuss this exciting project on the June edition of Law Technology Now.

Here Comes the Next Round of E-Discovery Rules

Legal Talk Network — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:02:47 +0000

In this May edition of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay, editor-in-chief of ALM’s Law Technology News, invites Mark Michels, a director in Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, and Henry Kelston, senior counsel at Milberg, to discuss the proposed changes in federal e-discovery rules. Kelston’s article, “Are We on the Cusp of Major Changes to E-Discovery Rules?“, was recently published in Law Technology News.

Mark Michels is a director at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. As a former in-house counsel, he specializes in advising on electronic discovery management. Mark has more than 13 years of experience in devising multi-faceted corporate discovery programs, including developing discovery compliance processes and requirements, evaluating and implementing solutions for collection, processing, review, and production of diverse corporate data, and applying continuous process improvement methodologies.

Henry Kelston is senior counsel at Milberg, specializing in complex litigation and electronic discovery. Henry is a member of the firm’s e-discovery practice group and The Sedona Conference’s Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production. He is a frequent writer and speaker on e-discovery issues.

Listen in on the roundtable discussion of the future of e-discovery.