We’re back for our sixth year and what a year it has been for legaltech, AI and innovation!

If 2023 was the year to figure out what generative AI was all about, then 2024 was most definitely the year for pilots, experimentation, and strategies for data and AI. Well, that was how it went for some, but not everyone…

In this, our annual year in review, we discussed what happened and where the dust settled in 2024 with Caryn Sandler, Partner and Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer at Gilbert + Tobin and Co-chair of the CLI Advisory Board; Graeme Grovum, Head of Legal Technology and Client Services at Allens and Host of CLI’s Legal Ops Clinic in 2024; and Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader at Moores and member of the CLI Advisory Board.

We started this session by discussing the discernible shift in mindset during 2024 from questioning if the legal industry should engage with generative AI, to embracing it as well as understanding and learning how to manage its issues – we collectively reached a new level of AI maturity! 

As we dug deeper on impacts, we identified some key changes enabled by AI, particularly generative AI, to the business and practice of law this year, including:

• Non-negotiable “must haves” for the tech – easy to use, convenient, clearly identifiable benefits.
• New levels of tech engagement – GenAI creates a space where “personal life meets professional life” and consequently its uptake has been faster and at an unprecedented scale. 
• Redefining collaboration – different partnerships, different interactions, different client engagements, emerging coalitions of competitors working and learning together, all focused on building a strong legal ecosystem that delivers on the potential, promises, and opportunities of generative AI but also knows how to manage its challenges.
• Redefining legal work - from conception to delivery and everything in between.
• Redefining value – what matters most, authenticity or efficiency and, are they the only choices? Where does pricing and billing by the hour fit into all of this?
• Redefining capabilities for practice – meeting people where they are so they can work out where they need to go together and individually.
• Redefining metrics – are we measuring impact or use or something else? Are metrics the same for this tech for all its uses? We need to know if the investment in the tech is moving us forward, or not, but it may be well into 2025 before we work this one out.
• Redefining employment and workforce – employees are now in search of digitally enabled employers and employers in search of digitally and data literate employees. Is going to a law firm or legal department that is not tech-enabled now a career-limiting move? What will that do to the legal workforce?
• Embracing capabilities where you find them, not where you expect them – making the tech available to everyone can result in an expansion of roles, new roles, and uncovering tech-related capabilities that enhance careers and your workforce where they may have otherwise remained hidden.
• Understanding that the pace and scale of change is now a constant and must be proactively managed. We need to understand the human consequence of this i.e., unparalleled change fatigue and the need to focus on human wellbeing more than ever before.

And, Graeme demonstrated his interactive avatar too – we all want him to build us one!

We wrapped with what will come next in 2025. Will ops teams lead the way? Will our humanity and creativity be best explored through play? Will a growing sophistication in how we use GenAI, especially by clients, reinvent the B2B, B2C and D2C markets?

Thank you sooooo much Caryn, Graeme and Tessa – this is a session we look forward to every year and we’re certain you will too – don’t miss this one! 

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video here.

About the Future 50 Series

In the Future 50 Series, we’re chatting with legalpreneurs who, through their ideas and actions, are challenging and transforming legal BAU all around the world.

If you would like to recommend people for this Series, please contact us at: CLI@collaw.edu.au.

In this session, we spoke with Mark Williams, a Founding Co-Director of the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab (VAILL) and a Professor of the Practice of Law at the AIGP.

Mark has come to AI via journalism, law, sometime in the political world and knowledge management. In many respects, his work now draws on that rich professional and personal life experience.

Today, Mark is deeply immersed in working with and educating future generations of lawyers through the AI Law Lab. The Lab is a hands-on, multidisciplinary, experiential learning opportunity at Vanderbilt Law School (VLS).

The VLS AI Law Lab is preparing law graduates for the next generation of legal practice and leadership. It’s modelling a different way of teaching and learning in partnership with industry - one that is comfortable with experimentation and supports students in understanding the tech, its limitations and opportunities, from the ground up.

VLS’s has a long history in transformative legal education, especially in the tech/AI space. We chatted with Mark about that too i.e., what drives VLS’s leadership, mindset, and comfort with embracing new, different, and supporting their graduates to do that too…their secret sauce!

We wrapped this conversation by discussing the broader impact of AI education in the legal industry - the importance of digital and data literacy and, if we have arrived, or still edging towards, a different type of legal practice. 

Don’t miss this spotlight, if you haven’t engaged with AI before now, this will be your catalyst to start your journey today!

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video here.

About the Future 50 Series

In the Future 50 Series we’re chatting with legalpreneurs who, through their ideas and actions, are challenging and transforming legal BAU all around the world.

If you would like to recommend people for this Series, please contact us at: CLI@collaw.edu.au.

In this session, we spoke with Jean Yang, the VP and Co-founder of Onit’s AI Center of Excellence. The Center is a note-worthy offering from a software vendor. Jean’s journey to Onit seems like it was a natural progression. A former practising lawyer from New Zealand, she has spent most of her career so far (there’s lots more still to come) at the leading edge of AI in legal and, that has now taken her to Onit in Austin, Texas.

Our discussion focussed on the application of AI in legal - how much that has changed this past year; emerging trends in AI uptake; whether it’s realistic to expect definitive use cases right now; and the challenges, opportunities, needs, expectations and reality of the tech becoming pervasive/BAU in the legal world next year or maybe later - it’s hard to look too far ahead in this space right now but we did a little AI crystal ball gazing!

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video here.

About the Future 50 Series

In the Future 50 Series, we’re chatting with legalpreneurs who, through their ideas and actions, are challenging and transforming legal BAU all around the world.

If you would like to recommend people for this Series, please contact us at: CLI@collaw.edu.au.

In this podcast, a session in our ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) chatted with Sarah Rey, Managing Partner and Melissa Scadden, Partner at Justitia Lawyers and Consultants.

Justitia is a workplace law and consulting firm founded in 2005 by two intrepid female lawyers who had a vision of a different way of practicing law. They established a forward-thinking firm that valued flexibility, diversity, a non-hierarchical structure, and prioritised relationships over billable hours. Sixteen years later, the firm continues to evolve, leading with empathy and collaborating with clients and like-minded organisations to build healthy and dynamic workplaces where people can thrive.

Topics covered in this session included:

• How the firm determines and applies its market differentiators
• The importance of vision and mission in building culture and agility
• How the firm ensures employee health and well-being remain at the core of its practice
• The importance and application of empathy in practice and its connection to client centricity
• How the firm recognises challenges, deals with them, and the importance of sharing lessons learned
• How law firms can reimagine the pricing of legal services/products and the opportunities that brings for different and better client communications
• New and emerging opportunities for client engagement – through collaborations, partnerships, events, Just Ask Justitia, Justitia Connect, social media and beyond!
• How boutique law firms manage things like recruitment, size of engagement, and succession planning

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast, Ben Gouldson, Director at Clifford Gouldson Lawyers and Schellie-Jayne (SJ) Price, Senior Legal Counsel at Chevron Australia; and Chair, Legal Technology and Innovation Committee (LTIC), Association of Corporate Counsel, Australia shared their experiences and practical mini case studies in how to choose the right ROI/metrics for a legal innovation project.

Topics covered in this session included:

• Why and how to choose the right project, goals and metrics
• The connection and difference between project goals and metrics
• The role and function of project metrics
• Different types of metrics
• How metrics add value and the important role they play in legal innovation projects
• The connection between tech, data, metrics, ROI and decision making in contemporary legal practice  

You’ll find details about the other episodes in this series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Resources referred to in this episode:

• HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers, Harvard Business Review Press, 2018 is available here

In this podcast, Jan Christie, Director, Capability + Organisational Development at Gilbert + Tobin shared her experience, provided practical mini case studies, and discussed the importance of communication for legal innovation projects.

Topics covered in this session included:

• Understanding preferred communications styles
• Getting clear on your project so you can communicate it effectively
• Identifying and understanding the different communication needs of all stakeholders
• Understanding what needs to be communicated (the right information, not all the information all the time)
• When to communicate – formal vs informal and structured vs unstructured
• How to communicate – the optimal mix of digital and in-person and different tools for different communication style and stakeholders
• The importance of structuring and determining the best type of communication for your project team (including establishing a psychologically safe environment)

You’ll find details about the other episodes in this series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast, , Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) (CLI) and David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel previewed a new FREE webinar and podcast series on Legaltech Around the World.

The series is being offered by CLI in collaboration with InCounsel. It kicks off in February 2022 with David acting as the series host/facilitator. Faculty for the series compromises 25 amazing legaltech gurus – designers, developers and consumers - from 7 regions around the world.

In this session Terri and David discussed:

• What viewers/listeners can expect from the series
• Where there may (or may not be) differences between countries and regions
• Why understanding and exploring tech from a global perspective makes sense especially right now
• Their aspirations for the series – connecting people and creating opportunities for building great tech for the legal ecosystem.  

You’ll find details about the episodes in this series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Additional resources:

• CLI Bi-Monthly Newsletter – subscription details here.
• InCounsel Weekly – subscription details here.

In this podcast, , Michael Morrissey, Managing Director + Founder, Morrissey Law + Advisory shared his experience in building buy-in for your project inside and outside your legal organisation.

Topics covered in this session included:

• Know your mission
• Measuring buy-in
• Garnering buy-in: Communication; Training; Culture building; Taking your team on the journey
• Maintaining buy-in
• Reporting: Celebrating the wins; Acknowledging the losses; Recognising the team

You’ll find details about the other episodes in this series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Resources referred to in this episode:

• Melissa Lyon – CLI Legal Design Thinking and Doing series
• Melissa Lyon - Building a user centred approach to innovation projects: video and podcast
• Maya Markovich - Leveraging the entrepreneurial mindset in your legal practice: video and podcast
• Brene Brown website  

In this podcast, Melissa Lyon, Executive Director & Experience Designer at Hive Legal shared her experience in building a user centred approach to legal innovation projects.

Topics covered in this session included:

• What “a user centred approach” means
• Why a user centred approach is important and impactful in contemporary legal practice
• How and what it takes to build a user centred approach in innovation projects: mindsets, processes and tools

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Additional resources referred to in this session:

• CLI Legal Design Thinking and Doing Series is available here.
• Information on the Stanford Legal Design Lab is available here.
• The Legal Design Book is available to purchase here.

In this podcast, innovation and legaltech guru Maya Markovich, Startup Advisor, discussed how an entrepreneurial mindset acts as a catalyst for legal innovation.

Topics covered in this session included:

• What is an “Entrepreneurship Mindset”?
• Why is change in the legal space so challenging?
• Why is a different mindset necessary in advancing legal innovation?
• What are the benefits of thinking differently?
• What does it take to think differently?
• What are the opportunities through and after transformation?

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Additional resources referred to in this session:

• CIOF Working Group - Innovation Professionals Capabilities Survey Report  is available to download here.
• Clio 2021 Legal Trends Report is available to download here.
• Mosaic Personality Tasks are available here.

For this podcast, the Centre for Legal Innovation was delighted to collaborate with ACC Australia’s Legal Technology and Innovation Committee for a discussion on how law firms and in-house legal departments are innovating through knowledge management.

Katrina Gowans, National Legal Operations Lead at Origin Energy and CLI Advisory Board Member and Carolyn Austin, Director, Knowledge and Practice Support, Australia at K & L Gates shared their experience and discussed the critical role that knowledge capture, management, and timely deployment plays in an increasingly volatile and dynamic legal marketplace.

Topics covered in this session included:

• What Knowledge Management is and isn’t (Hint: it’s more than precedents!)
• The business case for KM – why, when, where and how to capture this critical asset
• Why it’s important to have a KM plan for your in-house team
• The relationship between KM, digital transformation, and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement and innovation
• Practical tips and a roadmap for implementing your KM plan as part of your innovation strategy

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Are law firms REALLY innovating? It’s a question that is being asked more often now, sometimes with hope, other times with scepticism, but always with a follow up that resembles show and tell!

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is a law firm that can SHOW and TELL – it’s a fabulous innovation story and journey. HSF has a lot going on locally, nationally, and globally. Innovation for them is about changing mindsets, changing culture, and creating the places and spaces where the workforce of the future can thrive – it’s a workforce predicated on the seamless integration of digital and human resources and so, so much more…

In this podcast, we chatted with Danielle Emerson, Innovation Lead at HSF and her colleague, Catherine Adamson, Legal Ops Lead about all of this AND a couple of their fabulous new initiatives too!

Topics covered included:

• Whether or not there is a compelling argument for law firms to do things differently
• What’s driving the legal ops movement in law firms
• The ins and outs of HSF’s new Clerkship Innovation Lab
• The ins and outs of HSF’s membership of a law firm consortium that has developed a new program to train legal ops graduates
• What’s next on the legal change/transformation agenda

Thanks sooo much Danielle and Catherine – you are doing amazing work that is moving the legal transformation needle forward – woohoo!

In this podcast, the final episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) facilitated a discussion about the series and the impact of legal automation now and in the future.

Terri was joined by an amazing panel of highly experienced specialists in legal automation:

• Sam Flynn, COO and Co-founder, Josef
• Giles Thompson, Head of Growth, Avvoka
• Gene Turner, Managing Director, LawHawk
• Mark Tyndall, VP, Markets & Growth, APAC, Neota Logic
• Evan Wong, CEO & Co-Founder, Checkbox

Topics discussed in this session included:

• Whether or not (and how) legal automation has changed the cost-speed-quality triangle
• If legal businesses can survive and thrive today without automation
• The importance of viewing and implementing legal automation in the context of a bigger picture i.e., people, process/systems, and tech
• Who is/should be responsible for leading legal automation in law firms and legal departments
• Whether or not the rise in no code automation options is THE game changer for legal practice
• The next big thing in legal automation and how it will impact legal businesses

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who address a number of different but related topics in legal automation. You’ll find details about the mini series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this session, we spoke with Michele DeStefano about how we can approach change, manage it and leverage it for the benefit of lawyer and allied legal professional wellbeing, for our clients, and legal businesses. 

Michele knows a thing or two about this from her many roles as law professor, business founder, educator, consultant, and serial entrepreneur. Her work is visionary tempered with a strong dose of reality and, getting stuff done! Michele has been building the foundations, paving the road, and walking the talk of legal ecosystem transformation for many years and, helping others to do that successfully too.

We discussed what it will take to change the legal industry, the BIG pieces of the change puzzle - lawyer mindset, human-centred design, multidisciplinary collaboration and culture. We also chatted about how to combine the pieces in a way that creates sustained agility in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world, it can be found in her most recent book (one of many already published with more to come), The Leader Upheaval Handbook: Lead Teams on an Innovation & Collaboration Journey with the 3-4-5 Method.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video here.

About the Future 50 Series

In the Future 50 Series, we’re chatting with legalpreneurs who, through their ideas and actions, are challenging and transforming legal BAU all around the world.

If you would like to recommend people for this Series, please contact us at: CLI@collaw.edu.au.

In this podcast, Adj. Assoc. Prof Peter Dombkins, Director, PwC Australia, NewLaw took us through the A-Z of Legal Project Management fundamentals.

Topics discussed in this session included:

• Planning and estimating the scope, costs and duration of your legal work
• Communications and team management - including how to delegate and provide feedback
• Crisis management

If you would prefer to watch rather than rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Additional Resources

A PDF of the Legal Project Management Foundations session PPT slides is available here.

In this podcast, the sixth episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Mark Tyndall, VP, Markets & Growth, APAC at Neota Logic and his guest presenter Adj. Assoc. Prof Peter Dombkins, Director at PwC Australia, NewLaw worked through a case study that illustrated the nature of and relationship between legal workflow automation and data.

Topics covered in this session included:

• defining clear metrics
• designing automation solutions to ensure the capture of data needed to assess impact
• communicating your findings in a way that your team and others can easily understand and track over time

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who address a number of different but related topics in legal automation. You’ll find details about the mini series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

We often think about legal innovation and legal education as being separate and distinct but, what if they weren’t? What if students, not just law students, could pursue their passion for change in a way that led to more people, in more places, having access to justice?

That’s the question that the Innovation4Justice (I4J) Lab asked and is answering today.

Our guest for this podcast is Stacy Butler, the Director of the I4J Program. Stacy has a deep history in community advocacy and expanding the reach of civil legal services for under-represented populations. It’s that experience, her passion and drive, that led to the establishment of the I4J Lab and, is evident in all the amazing I4J Lab team members and those with whom they collaborate too. The I4J Lab is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Arizona, the University of Utah, staff, students, the legal ecosystem, many other industries, and communities.

It focuses on creating tools that provide empirical data where that’s been missing in policy formation/deployment and, solutions that enhance access to justice through user centred design and implementation. The I4J Lab is producing outcomes that make a difference. It’s also creating frameworks, models and adopting different ways to solve complex problems in a holistic way. Because the work is also scalable, it has practical application for the entire legal system and marketplace.

There are elements of this work that are familiar but, there are many others that are new, and some would not have even been possible until quite recently.

Thanks so much for the outstanding work you and the team at the I4J Lab are doing, Stacy – walking the talk and making a difference – it doesn’t get much better than that!

In this podcast, the fifth episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Gene Turner, Managing Director of legal automation specialists LawHawk shared his experience working initially as a lawyer and now in his own automation/tech solutions focused consultancy about how to choose the right automation solution for a legal practice.

In this session, building on the first four sessions in the series, Gene discussed key considerations including:

• What you need to do to start and when you need to end your automation journey
• What to consider when identifying the type of automation solution you need
• How to leverage solutions you already have available
• What you need to consider for business continuity and security
• Identifying users and why it’s important to craft a user friendly solution
• What the solution should look like - P2P or E2E - and what customisations might be needed too
• The importance of training and ongoing support
• What to think about if you need to migrate information
• Document automation and workflow specifics

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who address a number of different but related topics in legal automation. You’ll find details about the mini series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast, the fourth episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Evan Wong, CEO and Co-founder, Checkbox and his guest presenter Alex Rosenrauch, Manager, PwC NewLaw discussed building a business case for legal automation.

Getting budget for legal technology is notoriously difficult and is often a breaking point in a legal team's quest to improve the way they work and deliver legal services to the business. The key is knowing how to build an effective business case.

Topics covered in the session included:

• how to properly frame and communicate the value of legal automation;
• how to structure and present a winning business case; and
• how to handle common objections and pushback to new investments in automation.

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who address a number of different but related topics in legal automation. You’ll find details about the mini series here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast, Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Gilbert + Tobin, shared her significant experience in taking numerous legal innovation projects from conception through to implementation and, everything in between!

Topics covered included:

• Guiding your projects with an innovation pipeline
• How do ideas enter your innovation pipeline?
• Managing your innovation pipeline with guardrails to keep you on track; and
• Prioritising the right projects through your innovation pipeline.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Alternative legal careers in innovation and legaltech – are they still alternative or have they become mainstream? And how, if at all, is the evolution of new and different career opportunities reflecting a permanent change to the business and practice of law?

In this podcast, we explored these questions and many more with our guest Kerry Westland, a Partner with Addleshaw Goddard in the UK and the lead for its Innovation and Legaltech function.

Addleshaw Goddard have been doing some amazing things in the careers in innovation and legaltech space, not least of which is its recently launched Innovation & Legal Technology Graduate Scheme, we chatted about that too.

Topics discussed included:

• The new BAU in law firms – what it is and what it isn’t
• The new, different and emerging role of multidisciplinary teams in legal practice
• The role and career path of Legal Technologists at Addleshaw Goddard
• How and why the Addleshaw Goddard Innovation & Legal Technology Graduate Scheme is breaking new ground
• The new war for legal talent – it’s not just about lawyers anymore!
• How new mindsets are supporting the development of new capabilities and an innovation focussed culture in contemporary law firms
• How legaltech and innovation continue to reshape the practice of law in the UK

Thank you Kerry for an amazing discussion and congrats again on the launch of the Innovation & Legal Technology Graduate Scheme – fabulous!

In this podcast, a session in our Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group 2021/22 series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia- Pacific) facilitated a panel discussion that explored all things tech for digital legal businesses!

This super practical and candid session started by exploring if you need tech at all, then moved on to discuss questions you should ask of vendors; how to make the best choices for your law firm or in-house legal department or consultancy; how you should approach tech purchases from identifying the right requirements through to connecting new tech with legacy tech, your systems, your business strategy and, managing the change management piece in all of this too!

Terri was joined by a unique panel of legal, tech and knowledge practitioners and gurus from law firms, in-house, tech and legal consultancies:

• Sylvia Hands, Head of Legal, Medibank Private Ltd
• Katherine King, Chief Executive Officer/Dazychain Co-Founder, Yarris Technologies
• Fiona McLay, Principal Lawyer & Consultant, McLay Legal and CLI Legalpreneurs Lab Geeky Guru
• Nikki Shaver, Co-founder, Legaltech Hub

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Additional Resources

Dr Katherine King (Dazychain), The 5 steps to choosing legal tech is available here.

Fiona McLay:

• Reinvent Legal Business Series: Getting Started with Legal Tech Projects is available here
• Tech Talks: Tech tools that changed my legal world – Session one is available here
• Tech Talks: Tech tools that changed my legal world – Session two is available here
• For members of the Legalpreneurs Lab, don’t forget Fiona is also a Geeky Guru and available to consult with you

Nikki Shaver, Legal Techy Tuesday Series: Global Developments in Legal Technology with Legaltech Hub is available to Watch Here and Listen Here

In-house lawyers might like to connect with the Legal Technology and Innovation Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia.

In this podcast, a session in our ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) chatted with Bronwyn Eynon-Lewis and Allison Warburton, Co-founders and Gemma Cawrey, Business and Content Developer from Lacuna Legal Providers.

In March 2019, Allison and Bronwyn launched Lacuna to help lawyers outsource business and operational services and allow them to focus on what they do best – delivering legal advice.

Lacuna’s services comprise a full suite of essential marketing, business development, management and business administration offerings including growing your client base, executive coaching, guidance for starting and building a law firm, referrals and network development, bids and proposals, and personal and business profiling.

Lacuna offers a flexible and transparent subscription model for a fixed fee and on an as needed month to month basis.

Lacuna supports lawyers through all seasons of their lives and supports them in maintaining careers, retaining their skills, developing and keeping key client relationships. This all helps to keep their options open to a variety of possibilities for the future.

A participant in CLI’s Inaugural Innovation Incubator 2020/21, Lacuna was also a finalist for Innovator of the Year (Firm) at Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2020 and a finalist for Innovator of the Year (Company) at the Australian Law Awards in 2020 and 2021.

Bronwyn, Allison and Gemma, thanks so much for so candidly sharing your insights and experience – wonderful to see dreams turn into reality through resilience, perseverance and the support and friendship of amazing colleagues!

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Digital learning – sounds exciting, maybe a little scary, but it’s definitely already here and thriving no matter how we feel about it!

In this podcast we explored the world of digital legal learning with our guest Ian Nelson. Ian together with Chris Wedgeworth Co-founded Hotshot, a digital learning platform focussed on teaching practical legal and professional skills to legal professionals.

Ian has lived and breathed digital learning in the legal ecosystem for more than two decades. He and Chris built Hotshot from the ground up, based on a deep understanding of the legal industry coupled with a passion and love of legal education. It’s this history and approach that has earnt them both well-deserved global reputations for thinking out of the box, applying user centred design to Hotshot’s products, and building collaborative partnerships that provide just in time legal education.

Topics we discussed included:

• What digital learning is and is not (with some help from Wikipedia)
• How digital learning has become a catalyst, a bridge, and blurred the siloed approach (academic, practical and ongoing) to legal learning
• The new and emerging role of digital learning from knowledge and skill transfer to changing mindsets and supporting business agility, collaboration and a deepening of internal and client relationships
• Where digital learning is happening and how it’s rolling out in law schools, law firms and legaltech fuelled platforms
• What to expect from and with digital legal learning in the next few years

Ian, thanks so much for leading the way and doing legal learning differently, the digital way – we love your work, it’s amazing!

It’s easy to get all caught up in the shiny new tech. It’s exciting and even a little mesmerizing, but the change it brings, demands and expects has a very real and human face too.

In this podcast, Isabel Parker, Legal innovator, author and LawTech UK panel member closed out the Summit with her timely, important and candid reminder of the need to keep an unwavering focus on our humanity in a human+ legal world.

This podcast was on Day Two of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 25 October.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free Resource Hub here.

Legal education is being redefined in just about every place it’s happening and its moving VERY fast in the on demand space.

The catalysts are many and varied – they range from wanting legal education like we want everything else – on our phone, anytime and anywhere – to new, innovative, and more convenient ways for clients to comply, and report on their compliance with, regulation based education mandates.

It’s this piece – legal education providers working, collaborating and delivering differently in the on demand space – that we focus on in this podcast with our guest Steve Gluckman, CEO and Founder of Skillburst Interactive. Steve’s deep history in legal education and his ground breaking work in the on demand learning space provided a rich history, reality check, case studies and the opportunity to discuss where on demand learning might go next in the legal industry.

Topics we discussed included:

• What on demand learning is (and isn’t)
• How the on demand learning space has changed…a lot!
• How the pandemic has impacted and accelerated on demand learning
• Where the legal industry is placed compared with other industries in this space
• How the role of on demand learning is being reimagined inside and outside law firms
• How new ways to learn have turned into new revenue streams for law firms
• The role of law firms as alternative legal education providers
• How on demand learning is being used in education related industry compliance
• How this space will continue to change over the next few years

Steve, thanks so much for continuing to redefine and shape the future of on demand learning – amazing!

In this podcast, the third episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Tom Dreyfus, CEO and Co-founder from Josef asked and, together with his guests answered, the question for legal practitioners  – “What should I automate?”

Tom was joined by guests Anna Golovsky, Executive Manager, Legal and Company Secretariat Operations from IAG and Gary Adler, Chief Digital Officer from MinterEllison - legal operations and digital gurus - who shared their experience, provided practical tips and case studies from their automation journeys from in-house legal departments and law firms.

Topics covered in the session included:

• identifying automation opportunities in your day-to-day work
• process mapping to isolate sticking points as you move forward
• analysing successful case studies for experience sharing and inspiration as you progress (analogous inspiration)
• the importance of identifying and addressing definitions, team, scope, transparency, challenges and obstacles
• emerging areas of legal automation: automated guidance or legal advice; document automation; workflow & process automation; intake & triage tools; and education & inspiration
• how to get everyone (inside and outside your legal business) involved, energised and focussed on automation (and more broadly, innovation)

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who will address a number of different but related topics in legal automation. You’ll find details about the mini series and upcoming episodes here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast, a session in our ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) chatted with Catherine O'Connell, the Principal and Founder of Catherine O'Connell Law (COCL) in Tokyo, Japan.

Catherine hails from New Zealand and, as a foreign lawyer in Japan, leads a boutique law practice that provides flexible legal services to law firms, legal departments and businesses, on a project and needs-specific basis, delivered by bilingual in-house experienced lawyers - a unique legal resource in Japan - areas of focus include:

• Support for Japanese and foreign law firms in Japan, as well as New Zealand-based law firms
• Determining how, when and where a full-time, in country legal counsel might best contribute
• Setting up systems and workflows
• Localising global templates
• Introducing general commercial contract governance to business

COCL combines bilingual capability and deep in-house counsel experience, to act as the lead on all the in-person and written contract negotiations for client’s BAU and project work.

COCL is a multiple award winner in entrepreneurship, excellence and being a trailblazer.

COCL also provides an Associates Academy where Japanese in-house legal staff (and law firm associates) can upskill in their English business communication skills.

Catherine also recently launched her podcast, Lawyer on Air, focusing on the life and work of women lawyers in Japan.

Catherine, thanks so much for an excellent session – love seeing how passion, creativity and pursuing opportunities can lead to thriving legal businesses all around the world!

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this session, the Centre for  Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia- Pacific) launched its Young Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group with a panel discussion on “Building the Next Legal Practice – Yes, YOU Can!”

The session was facilitated by the Centre’s Executive Director, Terri Mottershead, and brought together six intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs – all of whom are legalpreneurs, who discussed how they have taken their ideas, experiences, different approaches, different mindsets and focussed on what matters most to them and built the next legal practice, their way!

Terri was joined by:

• Elizabeth Aitken, Partner and National Head of Workplace Relations & Safety, SLF Lawyers
• Sheetal Deo, Principal, Shakti Legal Solutions
• Tom Dreyfus, CEO and Co-founder, Josef
• Perveen Maan, Legal Counsel, LOD; Co-Founder & Director, Anika Legal
• Simon Playford, Lawyer, Law Squared
• Dennae Smith, Analyst, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Asia, Microsoft

Topics discussed included:

1. The differences between traditional and the next legal practice.
2. How the legal marketplace is changing.
3. How early career professionals can identify and pursue opportunities.
4. The importance of knowing your strengths and playing to them.
5. The new, different and emerging capabilities for the next legal practice (and why they matter).
6. How early career professionals can effect change.
7. The next or first step on the path to building your legal practice, your way!

Thank you so much Elizabeth, Sheetal, Tom, Perveen, Simon and Dennae for an outstanding and inspiring session!

We’re approaching that point in legal innovation and tech adoption where we can pause, think about the contemporary legal market place, ask and answer some critical questions.  There are few people whose experience in, understanding of, and dedication to legal practice, makes what they have to say important – important because they know what works, what doesn’t, what change needs to happen and why…but more, they’re committed to making “different” work not just to be different but because it’s essential for lawyers to remain relevant…..one of them is Christina Blacklaws, Managing Director, Blacklaws Consulting and former President of the Law Society of England & Wales.

In this episode, we discussed how the legal ecosystem is transforming in the UK and why. It’s a jurisdiction where doing legal practice differently has been at the forefront of a change agenda for a decade or more. There’s lessons to learn, reasons to understand, and the benefit of hindsight, as similar transformation takes hold around the world.

Topics we discussed included:

• The work of LawtechUK and the Legal Schema Project in showcasing legaltech and innovation in the UK (and beyond)
• Who or what is driving the legal change agenda in the UK and why it is different
• The changing focus, depth and breadth of regulation of legal practices and practitioners
• The transformation of legal services and products - globally
• If law schools are doing enough to prepare the next generation of lawyers for contemporary legal practice
• The role of diversity, equity and inclusion in legal innovation

Inspiring from the start to the end - thanks so much, Christina – you do amazing work with amazing dedication and YOU are an amazing human!  

Resource: The Technology and Innovation in Legal Services: Final Report for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (2021) referred to in this episode can be found here.

In this podcast, in CLI’s Legal Techy Tuesday Series  Nicola Shaver and Chris Ford, Co-founders at Legaltech Hub discussed global developments in legal technology and provided a demo of the Hub too. Nikki and Chris also shared insights gleaned from undertaking the research underpinning Legaltech Hub which included how to identify regional legaltech maturity, what signs indicate a region is about to boom, how to identify market opportunity and, for buyers, how to fill the capability gaps in legaltech portfolios by using Legaltech Hub.

Legaltech Hub launched in October 2020. It provides a means for legal professionals across the world to easily find the legal technology tools that suit their environment. It combines a comprehensive directory of global legal technology with nuanced and powerful search functionality.

Legaltech Hub allows users to search across solutions and apply filters for linguistic efficacy, jurisdiction, practice area, and target demographic. In doing this, it provides a resource for corporate in-house departments, mid-small law firms and other entities to find comprehensive lists of all solutions that specifically address their environment, and for regional lawyers to find the tools that will work in their language.

Legaltech Hub also seeks to democratize legal technology by providing an equal playing field and side-by-side promotional opportunities for start-ups alongside major industry players, allowing users to discover new solutions each time they perform a search.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast, the second episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Gene Turner, Managing Director at LawHawk and Mark Tyndall, VP, Markets & Growth, APAC at Neota Logic guided us through the process of using automation to create value across your legal business.

Topics covered in this episode included:

• how to look at the full process, and identify the business outcomes that need to be achieved;
• how legal automation can link multiple processes, extending across and outside the organisation; and
• the broader range of benefits lawyers can now deliver to their business clients using design and technology.

While this episode had particular relevance to in-house legal teams, law firms will also find it helpful in identifying where they can add the most value in this joined-up world.

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who will address a number of different but related topics in legal automation. You’ll find details about the mini series and upcoming episodes here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Legal education has come under fire, been going through a transition, and inevitably will end up looking a lot different. Why? Because who, how, where and when legal services and products are delivered has changed and, continues to change, so it stands to reason that the capabilities and profile of the legal workforce needs to be changing too.

While legal educators are just one part of the legal ecosystem, they’re potentially a big part of this change agenda but, it’s unlikely this agenda will pick up pace without a compelling case being made for change, or people thinking and doing differently, or educators being willing to lead and challenge the status quo – but, is that possible and/or where is that happening in our law schools (and outside our law schools in Alternative Legal Education Providers) today?

To discuss all this within the context of legal education in Canada, we welcomed Aaron Baer, a Partner and the Director of Training and Development at Renno & Co AND the Co-founder of the 4L Academy to the podcast. Aaron has been an proactive thinker and doer in this space for some time and has channelled that into a new way of thinking about and delivering legal education through the 4L Academy.

Topics covered in this episode included:

• The legal education system and process in Canada
• The changing emphasis in legal education from acquiring only knowledge to combining this with experience as well
• Who can or should lead legal education transformation
• How the 4L Academy is creating a new model for conceptualising and learning the business and practice of law

Thanks so much for an amazing discussion, Aaron and congrats on leading the way in doing legal education differently!

In this podcast, the first episode of seven in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: Automation Mini Series, Giles Thompson, Head of Growth at Avvoka and guest presenter Mark Ford, Director of Knowledge & Innovation Strategy at echo.legal guided us through the basics of legal automation.

Topics covered in this episode included:

• What legal automation actually is (and what it isn’t)
• If and why you should care about it
• How to tell if you should launch your own automation project
• What your aims should be if you do embark on your own legal automation journey

This mini series brings together a unique collaboration of leading legal automation specialists who will address a number of different but related topics in legal automation.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Orrick is a global leader in innovation in the legal industry and not just at the level of process or system improvement – that’s where we see lots of legal innovation initiatives start and end – at Orrick, they are doing much, much more.

They have created new enterprises, products and education opportunities, to name a few things - these collectively point to an innovative culture founded on client centricity, agility, continuous improvement and purpose.

We had an amazing conversation about all of this (and lots more) with: Wendy Curtis, Chief Innovation Officer; Kate Orr, Senior Innovation Counsel; and Daryl Shetterly, Director of Orrick Analytics.

Topics covered in this session included:

• What legal innovation is and is not
• A deep dive into some of Orrick’s innovation initiatives like Orrick Labs;  their tech fund; Orrick Analytics; and The Observatory
• The importance and use of data in legal practice
• The importance of multidisciplinary teams and collaboration in innovation and how these are hallmarks of innovative legal practices and critical to them
• How to create a culture of innovation
• Whether or not an innovative mindset is a case of nurture or nature
• Why law firms should feel compelled to innovate
• Where legal practitioners and practices can start on their innovation and change journeys

Thank you so much, Wendy, Kate and Daryl for leading by example and contributing so significantly to creating a new, different and better legal industry!

So much has happened in tech/AI and the legal world in a year! Will 2024 see GenAI being more impactful, less impactful, the same? And where, what, how and when will it impact?

In this podcast, Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Gilbert + Tobin and CLI Advisory Board Co-Chair gazed into the crystal ball to help you get prepared, and discussed what’s next with these legal industry gurus:

• Stuart Fuller, Global Head of Legal Services and Asia-Pacific Regional Leader for Legal Services, KPMG
• Hilary Goodier, Partner and Co-Head, Ashurst Advance, Ashurst and CLI Advisory Board Member
• Uwais Iqbal, Founder, simplexico
• Rajesh Sreenivasan, Head, Technology Media and Telecoms Law Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, Director & Co-Founder of Rajah & Tann Technologies Pte Ltd and Rajah & Tann Cybersecurity Pte Ltd, Board Member, Mediacorp Pte Ltd and CLI Advisory Board Member

This podcast was on Day Two of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 25 October.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free Resource Hub here.

Bolter is a start-up law firm brought to life by Clifford Gouldson Lawyers and led by Ben Gouldson.

In this podcast, a session in our ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) chatted with Ben about:

• The variety of solutions and pricing structures the firm offers to help navigate the maze of forms, contracts and questions that new businesses encounter when they are starting out
• How the Bolter team applies its understanding of the unique challenges of building a start-up or small business from the ground up, to provide a better way for clients to engage with lawyers
• The advantages and disadvantages of establishing a disruptive business unit or initiative in a law firm
• If it is possible for work to flow from a more traditional practice to a disruptive business entity and vice versa
• The importance of experimentation, continuous improvement, listening, an open mindset, encouraging and including different thinking, and being future focused in legal transformation
• How more traditional law firms can expand the lessons learned from their disruptive businesses to transform all aspects of all businesses

Ben, thanks so much for an amazing session – the work you're doing is a fabulous example of innovative legal practice in action!

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this session, the Centre for  Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia- Pacific) launched its Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group with a panel discussion on “Thinking Like a Founder – Nature or Nurture?”

The session was facilitated by the Centre’s Executive Director Terri Mottershead, and brought together seven outstanding women working in the legal ecosystem in Australia. The panellists shared their backgrounds and experience about what it takes to conceive, develop and run a legal business today - the experiments, failures and successes.  They also discussed the importance and power of things like collaboration, empathy, listening, curiosity, resilience, well-being, diversity, inclusion, equity, and the role these play in great decision making and transformative leadership. The panel comprised:

• Genevieve Collins, Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers
• Fiona Craig, Founder, Fiona Craig Consulting
• Sacha Kirk, Co-Founder & CMO, Lawcadia
• Riz McDonald, Founder and Director, Foundd Legal
• Schellie-Jayne Price, Inaugural Chair of ACC Legal Technology Committee; Senior Legal Counsel at Chevron Australia
• Sarah Rey, Founder and Managing Partner, Justitia Lawyers and Consultants
• Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin

Topics discussed included:

1. The meaning of the term “Founder”
2. The importance of recognising and running with business opportunities
3. How to overcome business challenges
4. Separating hype from reality – the real opportunities offered by tech for legal businesses today
5. The importance of networks, relationship building, and strong personal connections in building a business
6. The answer to the question…is it nature or nurture?

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In the legal world, the delivery of services and products is no longer a single profession pursuit (if it ever was) – it’s too complex and the depth and breadth of client and employee needs and expectations too extensive to expect any one human to do it all! That aspect, the people bit, remains unchanged and has been emphasised even more with the advances in tech and AI.

Having noted that, there are still many questions to be asked and answered about multidisciplinary teams in law firms and that’s where our guest for this podcast, Sarah El-Atm, General Manager at August, comes in. Sarah spent the past 12 months as a CLI Distinguished Fellow investigating answers to these questions (and many more)  -  we chatted about her experience as a Fellow too.

Topics discussed in this episode included:

• Can multidisciplinary teams ever truly form and be successful in the legal world?
• Are their discernible characteristics for successful multidisciplinary teams in law firms? If so, what are they? 
• What’s holding the legal world back from understanding the benefits of a multidisciplinary team and embracing them in their workplaces?
• What are the benefits for law firms of multidisciplinary teams?
• Where do we start in developing and engaging a high performing multidisciplinary team?

Congrats on completing your Fellowship, Sarah – there’s no doubt your amazing work will move the needle forward in a hugely important area!

With many of our guests we’ve discussed how technology is driving change at a pace that is as overwhelming as it is pervasive. We no longer work or live the same way we used to - change is challenging and shaking the foundations of who we are and what we do. These are big and small questions. They are as frightening as they are exhilarating.

In this episode we discussed Professor Gillian Hadfield’s ground breaking work in identifying and finding answers to these questions (and many more). Her most recent book, Rules for a Flat World: Why Humans Invented Law and How to Reinvent It for a Complex Global Economy, is a case in point. Gillian is  the Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society, Professor of Law and Professor of Strategic Management. She is also the Director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law.

Topics discussed in this episode included:

• What’s is AI, really?
• How is the interdependence/co-dependence of humans and tech/AI changing and shaping a different set of questions to answer?
• What is the role of and how do we build or maintain the rule of law? Should we?
• How can a legal system, in many countries built on precedents, an adversarial approach to dispute resolution and risk aversion, stay relevant and protect consumers when the structure and rules it was built on are being challenged and redefined daily?
• Can we find answers to the big and small questions other than through inter or multidisciplinary collaboration?
• In our world today, how do we understand and manage all this complexity?
• What is the role of lawyers in all of this?

Thank you so much for an exhilarating discussion, Gillian  – we love your work!

Tech and data are shaping and driving service and product purchases all around us. Client/customer expectations are increasingly based on their best purchasing experience everywhere, for every service/product, in every industry. Failing to embrace this reality and the increased competition from those inside and outside the legal industry points to a grim future for those in legal practice but, it doesn’t have to be a worst case scenario….

That’s where our guest, Rudi Kesic, CEO of Advantage Consulting, comes in. A lawyer and legalpreneur based in the UK, he and his team have developed not only cutting edge and innovative legal services/products but are also paving the way for a different approach to them too – client centric, tech fuelled, and data driven!

We discussed two of Rudi’s recent innovations:

• Lawyer365 (L365) – a legaltech platform but much more. L365 provides clients with a place to find information (documents or short bursts of free legal advice from lawyers) that helps them when they need it (on demand and outside working hours) and how they need it (using video, text, etc.). It brings lawyers into the legal problem early, and, if the client needs more in-depth assistance and the matter then falls outside the scope of the initial free engagement, L365 has introduced the client to someone who will be able to help.  From the lawyer/provider viewpoint, while they pay to be there, they also have access to all sorts of amazing data that will help them be more effective and efficient lawyers.
• Verify365 – an aggregation of sources of identity (personal and big data related) that not only meet UK local and soon global legal requirements, but do so in a way that focuses on client convenience, user friendly tech and a ready to access/immediately usable report too. It’s defining and redefining digital id all at the same time!

We could have but didn’t stop our discussion there. We also chatted about the world of legaltech in the UK, the changing expectations of legal clients, and the challenges and opportunities for lawyers in contemporary legal practice.

Thank you so much, Rudi – congrats on all you are doing to bring the law to clients – you’re a trailblazer and a true legalpreneur! 

In this podcast for CLI’s ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) chatted with Fiona Kirkman, Principal of Kirkman Family Law about her work and her businesses in family law.

Fiona’s vision is to empower families to obtain more amicable, efficient and cost-effective resolutions without court. Her passion is finding ways to utilise legal technology and dispute resolution processes to craft new ways to practise law. After working for over 15 years in traditional family law firms, Fiona brought her vision and passion together by starting her own family mediation firm - Kirkman Family Law - and a legaltech start-up with her techy husband Tim.

In this session, Fiona discussed how the legaltech products that they’ve developed - LawSwitch & FamilyProperty - work in her dispute resolution practice. If you would also like to see a demo of their FamilyProperty platform, you will find it here.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In this podcast for CLI’s ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Riz McDonald, Founder and Director of Foundd Legal discussed how she turned her dream about being her own boss into a reality and combined her passion for small business with her knowledge and understanding of the law to make Foundd the go-to legal service provider for businesses in the creative sphere.

Since its inception, Foundd has grown into a practice that is known for putting its clients first, supporting the growth of small businesses, and delivering an outcome-focused service that stays in touch with the needs of its clients. Essentially, Riz is a part of each client's team, as an in-house lawyer of sorts - except in her own house!

Foundd operates entirely online, and offers comprehensive contract templates, custom services for the tailoring and review of legal documents, and short courses geared towards like-minded entrepreneurs who are ready to learn how to make their business legally legit.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here

Don't forget to also check out and save the date for the other fabulous FREE ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies webinars - you'll find the details and registration links as we add them here.

Do we know what our clients really want from us? Is it the same as what it used to be and if not, how do we know and what’s changed? Should the client experience of our legal practices differ in the B2B or B2C market or, are there some things that every client wants? Are we providing legal services and products that best suit lawyers or those that truly cater to clients? What have we learnt from working with clients differently during COVID-19? What can we learn and emulate in the world of client experience from other industries?

In this session, Howard Wilbury, Managing Director, Dutch Uncle, facilitated a discussion with those who “walk” this “talk” every day in the legal world of client experience:

• Justine Lamond, National Marketing and Business Manager, Nexus Law Group
• Melissa Scott, Senior Legal Counsel (Global), Megaport
• Carl White, Chief Experience Officer and Director, CXINLAW

This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 11 February 2021.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Can we profile today, the next legal services or products client? What do we know? What don’t we know? What are the key factors to consider? Do things like geography matter in a tech based, borderless world? How will we communicate and what tools will we use? How far ahead should we go – a year or a decade? What do we know today that MUST influence our clients’ choices tomorrow? What can we learn from other industries?

In this podcast, Melissa Lyon, Executive Director and Experience Designer, Hive Legal and CLI Advisory Board member, facilitated a panel discussion focused on developing a profile of the next legal services/products client:

• Debra Filippin, Head of Business Development Asia Pacific, Pinsent Masons
• Michael Morrissey, Managing Director, Founder, Principal, Morrissey Law + Advisory
• Marlo Osborne-Smith, Director, NewLaw, PwC
• Carolyn Reynolds, General Counsel, Vicinity Centres

This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 11 February 2021.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

Don’t think social media marketing is important in the legal world? Well, it might be time to think again! 

In this podcast, digital marketing gurus Kaitlyn Gillies and Hayley Peters, Co-Founders, Oh My Digital Agency stepped us through the dos and don’ts of social media marketing. They were joined by  Adriana Giometti, Chief Marketing & Client Relations Officer, Holman Webb Lawyers and Rizwana McDonald, Founder and Director, Foundd Legal, who discussed how they have used social media as an integral part of marketing their firms and connecting with their clients.

This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 11 February 2021.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

We don’t have the capabilities we need to deliver legal services/products or solutions in a digital world. So what are legal educators doing about this and how quickly can they individually/collectively bridge the gap?

In this podcast, Courtney Blackman, Head of Partnerships at Lander & Rogers discussed how legal education is changing in the face of GenAI with these leading academics and pracademics in law: 

• Aaron Baer, Co-Founder and Corporate Law Instructor, 4L Academy
• Stephen Colbran, Head of the College of Law, Criminology and Justice, Dean of Law, CQUniversity
• Ann-Maree David, Executive Director, College of Law Queensland
• Tania Leiman, Professor & Dean of Law, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University

This podcast was on Day Two of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 25 October.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this episode, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free Resource Hub here.

What’s the connection between innovation, legaltech and business performance – people! As we fast approach a marketplace where legaltech is widely available and affordable, legal practice will be less about what you know or can do with that tech and all about how you work collaboratively and leverage your experience through it. In this world, the dots between the engagement of your people and business performance are inextricably interconnected – it’s not people versus profit, its great people or no profit!

In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), facilitated a discussion exploring how connecting the dots between people and business performance is  influencing and impacting strategic talent management in the legal industry, and every industry, from recruitment to succession planning and everything in between.

Terri was joined by people centred thought leaders and doers:

• Jason Elias, Chief Executive Officer/Specialist Legal Recruiter, Elias Recruitment and Australian Recruitment Leader of the Year 2020
• Emily Mortimer, Director Human Resources, Piper Alderman
• Deborah Stonley, Director of People & Culture, Maddocks
• Natasha Winton, Senior Director HR, Asia Pacific, The Boston Consulting Group

This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 10 February 2021.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In 2017, Thomas Friedman challenged us to reflect on how we would all work differently in the age of technology. In 2021, it’s time to ask the tough questions and…act! So, if machines can do what lawyers used to do, better, cheaper, and faster, why do we need lawyers? How will lawyers continue to add value? How do we define that value? Could it be, at a time when there is so much focus on technology, that ethical responsibilities, humanity, and purpose, our “hearts,” will be our most enduring and endearing asset? 

In this podcast, Karen Finch, CEO, Legally Yours Pty Ltd, facilitated a discussion with the people who are re-shaping the future of legal work and, consequently, supporting the evolution of a new and different legal workplace culture:

• Martine Barclay, Principal Psychotherapist, Leadership Coach & Wellbeing Expert, Redefine Your Edge
• Tom Dreyfus, CEO & Co-Founder, Josef
• Sarah El-Atm, General Manager, August
• Louise Ferris, Chief People Officer, McCullough Robertson

This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 10 February 2021.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.

In 2020, the legal workplace changed, permanently! Remote work became the norm. Flexible work, for a long time a reality, became a necessity. Work was disaggregated, reaggregated and turned into something completely new. In between, legal businesses scrambled to engage in this new global proof of concept and found along the way that remote and flexible working really did…work!

In this podcast, Emma Heuston, Founder & Principal Lawyer, The Remote Expert and Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers, discussed how and why people are now, and will continue to work, differently. They also shared their experience on turning today’s best practices into next practices, for the benefit of your people, your clients, and your organisation.

This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 10 February 2021.

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.