I spoke with Richard Tromans, founder of Tromans Consulting and Artificial Lawyer, which is the co-producer of the Legal Innovators Conference Series, including  Legal Innovators California in San Francisco on June 11th and 12th. We discussed the genesis of Artificial Lawyer, the inspiration for the Legal Innovators Conference, the importance of facilitating complementary conversations for law firm and legal department leaders, and best practices for balancing discussions of the practical and the promising aspects of emerging technology.

I spoke with Tom Chapman, the Co-Founder of Iceberg, a specialist recruitment firm focused on cybersecurity and e-discovery. We discussed how the demand for cybersecurity and e-discovery talent has evolved, the challenges companies face when hiring for these roles, and how AI and automation are impacting hiring in cybersecurity and e-discovery.

I spoke with Katya Fisher, CEO of Aracor, a software platform to streamline M&A, private equity, and venture capital transactions. We discussed the evolving M&A lifecycle, the changing relationship between in-house counsel and outside counsel, and how AI has changed M&A and corporate transactions.

I spoke with Rich Hale, the Chief Technology Officer of ActiveNav, a data discovery and governance software provider that serves various sectors, including legal. We discussed Zero Dark Data, how ActiveNav leverages AI, and the way the company uniquely approaches data discovery and governance.

I spoke with Bill Potter, the Vice President of Presales Engineering at Nuix, a leading provider of investigative analytics and intelligence software. We discussed the whitepaper Burnout to Breakthrough: The Role of Technology in Reshaping Legal Wellness, the factors that contribute to burnout among legal data services professionals, ways that teams can address this, and why e-discovery professionals should advocate for automation and AI-driven solutions.

I spoke with Karl Chapman, the CEO of Kim Technologies, a no-code, patent-protected SaaS solution that generates and operates enterprise applications from content, including large language models. We discussed advice for chief technology officers facing the opportunities and challenges presented by generative AI and LLMs.

I spoke with Jonathon Fishman, the CEO of LeanLaw, a timekeeping and billing platform for small and midsize law firms. We discussed how midsize law firms can leverage financial data to improve operational efficiency and profitability, the challenges they face in managing financial operations, and where AI can enhance their ability to monitor the status of legal matters and predict financial outcomes.

I spoke with Travis Hoechlin, CEO of RizeUp Media, a digital marketing agency focused on website design, SEO, Google pay-per-click ads, and social media for law firms. We discussed how law firm marketing teams should allocate investments in website design, SEO, Google pay-per-click ads, and social media, ways that law firms can assess the return on their online marketing, and common pitfalls that law firms should avoid in digital marketing.

In this 28th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed unicorns, enthusiasm for legal tech, and moving from the era of wonder to practicality in generative AI.

I spoke with Steve Reynolds, the Chief Strategy Officer for Emburse, a travel and expense management technology company. We discussed the release of Air Contract Audit, which analyzes and audits business travel contracts with airlines, best practices for measuring contract performance and highlighting underperforming terms, and how corporate counsel and legal operations leaders can assess contract value leakage.

I spoke with Francesc Muñoz, Chief Information Officer at Cuatrecasas in Barcelona. We discussed the most important technology issues that law firms in Europe face, the success of Cuatrecasas Acelera, the advantages of law firms creating new models of supporting clients, and how law firms will continue to reimagine their services and business models.

I spoke with Adrienne Lester, the Senior Director of Business Services at ShareFile. We discussed the trends driving the need for more content collaboration and real-time engagement, how ShareFile's solutions help law firms keep pace with changes in the practice of law, where legal professionals are leveraging technology to support their compliance requirements, and how lawyers are taking advantage of virtual data rooms and client portals.

I spoke with Andrea Miskolczi, the Founder and Director of InterAlia Consulting, a strategy and transformation advisory boutique for legal leaders. We discussed best practices for promoting the adoption of new tools in a legal organization, how lawyers are adopting AI, and whether there is a fear of AI in legal.

I spoke with Danny Thankachan, the Head of Partnerships at CaseGuild, an AI-powered platform that finds key evidence in litigation. We discussed how legal teams can use artificial intelligence to find crucial evidence, ways that lawyers are currently trying to solve this problem, and the ideal users of this technology.

In this 27th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed litigation trends, AI applications, self-service training, and ILTACON.

I spoke with Steve Orrin, the Federal Chief Technology Officer for Intel Corporation, where he leads Intel's Federal and Public Sector Solution Architecture, Strategy, and Technology engagements. We discussed how public and private sector organizations are dealing with the rise in cybersecurity attacks, how they can enhance their security controls with Zero Trust, and how those in regulated industries or working with sensitive data should apply AI and machine learning.

I spoke with Nicolas Leroux, the Founder and CEO of Odyssey, a global corporate governance services provider. We discussed how the demand for in-house legal services has changed, the benefits of outsourcing legal entity management, and good governance practices for international subsidiary management.

I spoke with Sean West, a co-founder of Hence Technologies, a strategic legal management platform. We discussed how geopolitical and economic factors influence the need for legal risk management, ways that legal tech empowers risk management, and the connection to legal operations.

I spoke with Chris Egan, president and founder, and James Bickley, managing director of Celeritas Recruiting, a specialized recruiting firm representing leading organizations and professionals at the intersection of law and technology. We discussed the roles and skills in greatest demand today, the challenges associated with talent acquisition in the current market, and how employers and candidates should react to the FTC's ruling on noncompete agreements.

In this 26th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed Lexpo, ILTACON, ConnectLive, LegalTechTalk, and the conference renaissance.

I spoke with Sandra Aldi, the Chief Marketing Officer at Neota Logic, Michael Powers, the Global Director of Product Marketing at iManage, and Thomas Suh, the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for LegalMation. The three companies are part of a consortium that supported a newly released report called: Legal Operations at a Crossroads - Understanding How Corporate Legal Teams are Driving Innovation and Navigating Digital Transformation in Unique Ways, featuring the perspectives of 30 legal operations leaders from various companies. We discussed the results and what they indicate about how law departments are leveraging AI, automating how they provide legal services, and empowering self-service.

I spoke with Danette Shaifer, the founder and Chief Empowerment Officer at Florishion Consulting and Coaching, LLC. We discussed how leaders in legal align digital transformation with personal growth, creative ways to train leaders to reinvent the workplace, and how coaching in legal is evolving.

I spoke with Aaron Lee, the co-founder and CEO of Smith.ai, a company that provides 24/7 answering services through phone or chat for small to midsize businesses using a combination of AI and human support, including law firms, among others. We discussed why the legal industry has embraced AI, ways to make lawyers more comfortable with AI, balancing AI with human talent, and where the use of AI in legal is headed.

I spoke with John Scott, an accounting partner with Anders CPAs and Advisors and the Legal Niche Leader at Summit VCFO Services by Anders. We discussed the most important financial metrics for growing a law firm, best practices for maximizing the leverage model, and how law firms take advantage of dynamic forecasting.

In this 40th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed bringing back boring, legal operations trends, and embracing automation.

In this 25th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed changemakers, talent, legal transformation, and tracking the trajectory of technology.

I spoke with Josh Aaron, CEO of Aiden Technologies, a provider of modern, intelligent software packaging and deployment for Microsoft Windows. We discussed how law firms can improve their security posture and operational efficiency and how the IT security paradigm is shifting.

I spoke with Taylor Willingham, the owner of Willingham Law Firm, an estate planning, probate, and elder practice, and WG Title, a title company, both based in McKinney, Texas. We discussed the most compelling issues in elder law, common mistakes people make in retirement planning, and how the field of elder law is changing.

I spoke with Rich Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of New Era ADR, a technology company that increases predictability in the legal dispute process. We discussed the emerging technologies affecting the dispute resolution process, the role that chatbots and generative AI applications serve in ADR, and the skills required of modern neutrals.

I spoke with Todd Miller, the CEO of TRĒ, an AI-powered customer relationship management platform. We discussed what lawyers should know about CRM, how TRĒ differs from traditional CRM, and how CRM is evolving.

During the 2024 Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) Annual Conference, I had the privilege of speaking to the following leaders for this #ALA2024 #Mixtape: ⭐ Jonathon Fishman, CEO, LeanLaw - Legal Billing Software ⭐ Debbie Foster, CEO, Affinity Consulting Group ⭐ Laura Leopard, Founder and General Manager, Leopard Solutions ⭐ Patricia Ann Nagy, Chief Strategy Officer, Proxy PR ⭐ Alaa Pasha, CEO, Maptician ⭐ Jeroen Plink, Co-Founder, LegalTechnology Hub ⭐ Jennifer Sherman, Chief Product & Experience Officer, CARET ⭐ Eric Thurston, CEO, SurePoint Technologies ⭐ Andre Wouansi, CEO, Accurate Legal Billing

In this 24th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed the British Legal Technology Forum, deploying copilot, and consolidating legal technology.

I spoke with Nicki Kastellorizios-Lee, an IT Communications Manager at Perkins Coie in Chicago. We discussed best practices for approaching digital transformation in law firms, the technology messaging challenges and ethical considerations for attracting the attention of modern legal professionals, and how IT leaders can empower the communications strategy of their teams.

I spoke with Dr. Collin Starkweather, the Chief Data Scientist at Luminos.AI, a spinoff of Luminos.Law, where he was formerly Director of Data Science, and Dr. Izzy Nelken, a financial mathematician and the founder of Super Computer Consulting, which develops tools for securities pricing and valuation. We discussed how lawyers can determine whether their expert witnesses are using best practices and secure protocols with generative AI, guardrails law firms should implement, and how generative AI will affect expert services. Learn more about their work here and here.

I spoke with Dru Armstrong, the CEO of AffiniPay, a leader in payments and software for legal and other professionals. We discussed the intersection of fintech and legal tech, how generative AI can support legal payments, best practices for incorporating different tools into a holistic platform while maintaining customer satisfaction, and how the legal payments sector is evolving.

I spoke with Ciprian Şaramet, Managing Director of Modular Services, a Romanian company focused on providing technical support and business services to global law firms. We discussed how law firms can strengthen their cybersecurity posture, the influence of AI on law firm security, vulnerability management, and the value of continuous education for safeguarding client data and firm operations.

During the 2024 Corporate Legal Operations Consortium Global Institute, I had the privilege of speaking with the following industry leaders for the #CGI2024 mixtape. 😀 Thanks to participants: Jon Bartman of the Law Tech Consultancy Andy Burtis of Axiom Ryan Frye of ModeOne Technologies Heather Jacobson of Axiom Advice & Counsel Christopher Kruse of Casepoint Matt Rasmussen of ModeOne Technologies Dan Ruderman of LexisNexis CounselLink® Eric Wangler of BigHand Andy Wishart of Agiloft

I spoke with David Stanton, a Litigation Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. We discussed the rapid pace of digital transformation, use cases for generative AI, the challenges associated with deploying emerging technology, creating a generative AI timeline, and whether generative AI and LLMs will replace technology-assisted review workflows.

In this 23rd episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed CLOC, legal administrators, law firm tech labs, and aligning client expectations.

In this 22nd episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed the connection between generative AI and e-discovery, revisiting remote work, and the future of the billable hour

I spoke with Ian Campbell and Emily Johnston, the Chief Marketing Officer and Product Manager for Incident Response, respectively, for iCONECT, a developer of e-discovery software. We discussed the convergence of e-discovery and cybersecurity, best practices for adapting e-discovery software to support adjacent disciplines, and how development teams can stay ahead of the rapidly changing technology landscape.

I spoke with Aaron Crews, the Chief Product and Innovation Officer and Head of Enterprise at UnitedLex, a provider of alternative legal services. We discussed UnitedLex's unique approach to e-discovery, the evolution of AI in legal, where law firms and legal departments are succeeding with innovation, and how leadership is changing.

In this 21st episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed tracking trends in the general counsel’s office, studying new standards in legal, and events.

I spoke to FX Leduc, co-founder and CEO of davinci, an AI tool that uses generative AI to draft patents and office action answers. We discussed how davinci improves the process of drafting patents and office action responses, best practices for law firms interested in leveraging AI, and how the application of AI in legal is evolving.

I spoke with Matthew Veale, a European Patent Attorney with Patsnap, an AI-enabled patent analytics platform. We discussed how Patsnap supports legal professionals, how legal professionals can responsibly innovate by leveraging AI, and how intellectual property protection is evolving.

I spoke with Milan Bobde, the co-founder and CEO of Oddr, an AI-powered invoice-to-cash platform for law firms. We discussed how law firms manage their billing and collections, ways to leverage artificial intelligence to facilitate payments, and how law firm finance is evolving.

I spoke with Matt Tait, the CEO of Decimal, a tech-enabled services firm focused on bookkeeping, tax filings, and tax preparation. We discussed how the economy is affecting the way law firm leaders manage their practices, the business mistakes they are making, ways to balance the application of technology and talent, and best practices for leveraging technology to maintain books and records.

I spoke with Rob Millard, the Director of Cambridge Strategy Group, who advises law firms and similar businesses. We discussed his research focused on the drivers of success across 73 large US and UK law firm mergers that took place between 2002 and 2017, how to measure the success of law firm mergers, and lessons for growth-oriented law firm leaders.

I spoke with DeAngelo Smith, the CEO of Driven, a payment solutions provider that offers installment loans and digital payment plans. We discussed Driven’s mission, its transformation from Ticket Avengers, why it started in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and how digital payments are evolving.

In this 20th episode of Charting Change in Legal, Caroline Hill, Editor and Publisher of Legal IT Insider, and I discussed collaborating as a community, planning for Q2, and the changing expectations of technology in legal.