Hold on to your hats - we've finally made it.  Welcome to the 400th Episode Spectacular - recorded live at the LegalWeek Leaders in Tech Law Awards show.

This year's LegalWeek conference, hosted by ALM Media and Law.com, was held in New York City from March 24th through March 27th.  More than 6,000 of the biggest names in the industry gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown for the four-day conference.  And yes ... Legal Speak was there conducting live interviews with some of the industry's biggest names - including this special celebratory show.

We put together an amazing lineup of six guests to commemorate this milestone.  Joining Patrick Smith and Cedra Mayfield were ALM Global CEO Bill Carter, Emily Lipincott, Senior Legal Futurist at Filevine and a Monica Bay Award Winner, Stephen Poor, Chair Emeritus at Seyfarth Shaw and a Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Gina Passarella, Senior Vice President of Content at ALM, Bridget McCormick, President and CEO of the American Arbitration Association, host of the AAAi podcast and a Monica Bay Women in Legal Tech Award Winner and Vanessa Blum Vice President of Legal Product Innovation at ALM.

Enjoy !!!

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Guests: Bill Carter, Emily Lipincott, Stephen Poor, Gina Passarella, Bridget McCormick & Vanessa Blum 

Producer: Charles Garnar

Just when you thought you couldn't get your fill of Legal Tech  ... we're back !!

This year's LegalWeek conference, hosted by ALM Media and Law.com, was held in New York City from March 24th through March 27th.  More than 6,000 of the biggest names in the industry gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown for the four-day conference.  And yes ... Legal Speak was there conducting live interviews with the best and brightest.

In this episode, hosts Patrick Smith and Cedra Mayfield sat down with Josh Upin, a partner at Royer Cooper Cohen & Braunfeld.

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Guest: Joshua Upin

Producer: Charles Garnar

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Patrick Smith talks with author and small-firm guru RJon Robbins about the history of law as a business, whether that has become more of a focus lately and whether, regardless of what attorneys say, the law has always been a business like any other.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Judge Josh Thacker, who presides over the Spalding County State Court in west central Georgia, opens up about a tradition he engages in every Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day to help ensure he remains unbiased on the bench.

Mentoring. On a macro level, mentorship should be helpful in any profession, but when it comes to the legal arena, it is more critical than most. Attorneys stress being able to learn from those who came before, helping younger attorneys shape their lives and careers in a demanding environment.

Sue Light is a partner and co-head of the broker/dealer regulatory practice at Katten. An attorney with more than three decades of legal acumen, Light joined Katten five years ago after close to 30 years at the New York Stock Exchange Group, where she was held several senior leadership roles. It is also where she started mentoring younger attorneys decades ago. Light has continued those mentorship efforts at Katten, where she recently won the firm’s 2024 John P. Sieger Excellence in Mentoring Award, which is given annually by the firm to one attorney and one business professional. 

In an interview with Legal Speak's Patrick Smith, Light discusses the award itself, the motivations she has for spending her time and resources assisting others and why she feels mentorship is important.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Dan Wolfe, the senior director of jury consulting at Magna Legal Services in Chicago, Illinois, teamed with Philly-based litigation reporter Aleeza Furman of The Legal Intelligencer to test out how the firm develops prospective juror profiles.

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Eric Wall, the Executive Vice President at Syllo.

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Katie Dugan, the VP of Global Labor and Employment at Match Group and Carol Goodman, a Partner, Co-Chair of Litigation and Chair of Employment at Herrick

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Virginia Griffith, the Director of Business Development for OutsideGC,

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Bill Tanenbaum, Chair of AI & Data Law Practice at Moses & Singer LLP.

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Chris Correnti, the President, CEO & General Counsel at AGC America, Inc.

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Julie Cantor, Associate General Counsel at Studs,

This year's Legal Week conference hosted by ALM Media and Law.com kicks off in New York City on Monday, March 24. When more than 6,000 of the biggest names in the industry gather at the New York Hilton Midtown for the four-day conference,  Legal Speak will be there, too, conducting live interviews!

Ahead of the conference, Legal Speak is giving its listeners a sneak peak at the panel entitled, "The State of AI in the Legal Industry."  In this week's Legal Speak episode, co-hosts Cedra Mayfield and Patrick Smith chat with panel Moderator Jeff Reihl, Chief Technology Officer at LexisNexis about the insights they intend to impart to conference attendees.

The hour-long Legal Week panel discussion will take place Monday, March 24, beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST. To learn more about the panel discussion, click here. To learn more about the Legal Week conference, click here.

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield and Patrick Smith

Guest: Jeff Reihl

Producer: Charles Garnar

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Marc Mandel, Senior Vice President & General Counsel at EXOS.

It has returned!  More than just a legal event, the General Counsel Conference East empowers today’s legal leaders for growth, innovation, and excellence. Designed specifically for general counsel, legal executives, and industry professionals, the GCC East is the premier gathering that offers unique opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development.  With a description like that, how could Legal Speak not be there doing live episodes … especially when it’s right up the street from the home office at the luxurious Mariott Marquis in Times Square, New York.  In this episode, host Patrick Smith sat down with Avery Pollard, Compliance Counsel at Verizon.

In this week's episode, Joseph Moreno, who currently serves in the Army  Office of General Counsel at the Pentagon, joins Legal Speak to discuss the implications of President-elect Donald Trump’s win on his pending criminal cases.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Jen Patton, the chief talent officer for Foley & Lardner in Houston, and Leigh Riley, a Milwaukee partner and member of the firm's management committee, speak with ALM senior business of law reporter Brenda Sapino Jeffreys about how the firm's new partner training program can help benefit lawyers throughout their careers.

It's time for a Legal Speak Spotlight ... where we turn back the clock and revisit a previous episode you may have missed.  And considering how close the Presidential Election is ... this still feels timely.  

In a conversation with The American Lawyer’s Patrick Smith, Skadden's Ki Hong describes how his practice came to fruition, how things have changed in the political climate over the last 20 years, how Harris’ entry into the fray creates some confusing donor situations and what changes might make the whole apparatus a bit easier to understand.

It's time for a Legal Speak Spotlight ... where we turn back the clock and revisit a previous episode you may have missed.  And considering how much the current administration is in the news cycle, this still feels timely.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, ALM litigation reporter Emily Saul joins hosts Cedra Mayfield and Patrick Smith for a roundup discussion of the first criminal trial for President Trump.  This was the final in the ongoing series "Sidebar with Saul".  Emily was one of the small handful of reporters with access to the trial.

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Guest: Emily Saul

Producer: Charles Garnar

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Cravath, Swaine & Moore tax partner Len Teti discusses the firm's only podcast, "On Tax", which he hosts. Teti has been doing the show for eight seasons, and the podcast has been a hit. Here, Teti explains its genesis, why he does it on top of his practice and why he feels it is an effective recruiting tool for the firm.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Megan Ryan, the  CEO & President, General Counsel, and the Chief Compliance Privacy & Ethics Officer at the Nassau Health Care Corp.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Nicole Gill, the Chair and Managing Member of CODISCOVR.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with returning guest Liz Lugones who now is the VP of Professional Services at Mitratech.

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Earamichia Brown, the Senior Corporate Counsel of Compliance at Match Group.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Michelle Perrin-Steinberg, the Chief Legal Counsel - Export Control & Sanctions for SAP America.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with returning guest Carolyn Burbrink, a Director and  Senior Counsel at Uber.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Sonya Sigler, the Founder of PractiGal.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Dawn Reynolds Pettit, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Rush Street Gaming.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Michele Miller, the Chair of West Coast Labor and Employment for Cozen O'Connor.

The Trump administration has used legally questionable but economically credible threats to cow Big Law. Will it push back?

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Guest: Vivia Chen

Producer: Charles Garnar

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Dimple Manghnan, the Vice President & General Counsel at [solidcore].

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Taffi Schurz Jaso, Managing Director of the North Central Region for Consilio.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Lakeshia Ekeigwe ... Leadership Coach & Consultant ... CEO and Founder of LeaderThinking Global LLC ... AND 3-Time Returning Champion on our show.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with our very own Isha Marathe the Legal Technology Reporter for Legaltech News.

WIPL is back!  

Described as one of the “most inspiring and empowering women's conferences in the legal space,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) offers an opportunity for unprecedented exchange with women in-house and outside counsel. 

This premier legal event, gathering 700+ senior female legal leaders for top-notch networking with peers and mentors, is being held in Chicago .. and Legal Speak is there once again for interviews with speakers and moderators from the amazing panels.

In this episode, Host Cedra Mayfield sat down with Sheila Robinson-Kiss, the Founder and CEO, Mental Health Educator
Rebalancing America and Beyond.  Sheila was the Opening Day Keynote speaker.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Maslon partner Erica A. Holzer breaks down how she leveraged existing law to secure an appellate reversal of a paternity suit launched by a known sperm donor against a pair of same-sex parents.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, New York City-based Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes associate attorney Samantha Bennett details how she and several fellow associates secured asylum status for a pro bono client as time ticked down to President Trump and his administration resuming federal office.

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Guest: Samantha Bennett

Producer: Charles Garnar

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley Shareholder Rosalyn "Sia" Baker-Barnes opens up about her journey toward becoming the first Black woman to serve as President of the Florida Bar Association.

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Reporter: Lisa Willis

Guest: Rosalyn Baker-Barnes

Producer: Charles Garnar

The expansion of private credit and increased private equity hold times have led to a surge in creative solutions to get capital back to investors.

In this week's Legal Speak episode, Stacey Dougan, an Atlanta-based lawyer-turned-therapist, expounds on the current state of mental health in the legal profession following a recent string of widely publicized national tragedies and divisive politics.

TRU Staffing Partners' Jared Coseglia on the evolving legal tech talent market, where it is headed, which jobs will likely be 'in demand' and which, perhaps against current belief, won't.

In this week's episode, Quinn Emanuel partner Christopher D. Kercher reveals why he's been coined his firm's "AI evangelist."

In addition to sharing how he has helped colleagues implement AI into their current workloads and the steps they take to mitigate hallucination risks, the New York City-based litigator sat down with Legal Speak co-host Cedra Mayfield to discuss what he predicts is next for AI use in the legal industry.

Hosts - Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Guest: Christopher Kercher

Producer: Charles Garnar

In this week's Legal Speak episode, we're kicking off a series where we get to know litigators outside the courtroom through their hobbies. With Texas Lawyer litigation reporter Laura Lorek at the helm, we're sharing inside feedback about what litigators love, starting with Dallas-based commercial litigator Tom Walsh of Winston & Strawn.

In addition to litigating, Walsh has spent 27 years as a radio play-by-play announcer for Jesuit College preparatory school football and more than three years has performed in community theater with his daughter. In his one-on-one with Laura, he'll break down why he finds it important for legal professionals with high-pressure jobs to maintain hobbies.

In addition to outlining his work-life balance, Walsh peels back the curtain on how the culture at Winston & Strawn supports his hobbies.

Hosts: Cedra Mayfield & Patrick Smith

Reporter: Laura Lorek

Guest: Tom Walsh

Producer: Charles Garnar