Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Grover Cleveland , the author of Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks: The Essential Guide to Thriving as a New Lawyer , who provides practical skills webinars for associates and summer associates. We discussed how firms navigated summer associate programming in 2020 and how they will do so in 2021, his playbook for virtual summer programs, and how legal professionals can develop better h...

I spoke with Jason Boehmig , the co-founder and CEO of Ironclad , a digital contracting platform used by companies around the world. We discussed the genesis of Ironclad, the transition from large firm lawyer to legal tech entrepreneur, the popularity of the CLM sector, the emergence of digital contracting, and the alignment between CLM and the growth of legal operations.

I spoke with Andrew King , the New Zealand-based founder of Legal Innovate , E-Discovery Consulting , and the LegalTechHub , as well as the producer of the LawFest conference. We discussed how he navigated the uncertainty in the planning process for LawFest, surprises from the event, what conference organizers should know when planning events in a post-COVID era, and how legal events will evolve.

I spoke with Margaret Burke , the managing director at Kolibri Law Support Solutions , a subscription-based suite of legal management and business services for law firms with a focus on helping them improve profitability by reducing overhead and enhancing operational efficiency. We discussed how the needs of law firms have changed in the pandemic, the advantages of outsourcing, and building trust...

I spoke with Michael McIlwrath , an attorney, who spent more than two decades leading international litigation for General Electric’s oil and gas division, and until March of 2021, for Baker Hughes Company. He is the co-author of a new book for lawyers working internationally called Negotiating International Commercial Contracts: Practical Exercises . We discussed his inspiration for the book, the...

I spoke with Debbie Foster , the managing partner of Affinity Consulting , a company focused on optimizing law firm performance. We discussed how successful law firms have maintained their operations in the pandemic, ways that they have automated and digitized their workflows, whether working remotely will remain a permanent component of legal practice, and best practices for firms that are return...

I spoke with Jackie Schafer , the founder of Clearbrief , a platform that uses AI to improve the accuracy of legal writing and the experience of the reader. We discussed how Clearbrief works, the technology behind Clearbrief, how this software is impacting the legal profession, and how this technology could change the way law schools teach legal writing.

I spoke with Nicolas Leroux , the founder and CEO of Kalexius , an alternative legal services provider. We discussed the genesis of Kalexius, the difference between an ALSP and a legal technology company, how in-house legal teams can incorporate an ALSP into their portfolio of service providers, and ways that law department leaders can persuade other stakeholders to adopt their approach.

I spoke with Ram Vasudevan , the founder and CEO of QuisLex , a provider of alternative legal services. We discussed the genesis of QuisLex, how the company has enhanced client service in the remote environment, managing the return to in-person activities, and where the ALSP market is headed.

I spoke with Jim Leipold , the executive director of NALP, the National Association for Law Placement , which is an organization focused on career counseling and planning, recruitment and retention, and the professional development of law students, lawyers, and its members. We discussed how the organization’s mission has changed over the past half-century as it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2...

I spoke with Tobias Heining , the Berlin-based director of business, clients, and strategy for Osborne Clarke Germany . We discussed new ways that professionals are approaching business and client development, best practices for engaging with clients and prospects remotely, changes that law firms have made that will remain permanent when legal professionals return full-time to their central office...

I am speaking today with Andrea Cannavina , the founder of LegalTypist , a virtual assistant service focused on the legal profession that is celebrating its 20th anniversary. We discussed the genesis of LegalTypist, the increasing levels of self-sufficiency among lawyers during the pandemic, projects that are best-suited to a virtual assistant, and advice for those interested in building a busines...

I spoke with Jerry Ting , the founder and CEO of Evisort , an AI-powered CLM software platform. We discussed the difference between an AI-powered CLM platform and CLM, how Evisort will leverage its recent investment , the need for legal tech companies to prove their claims in this climate, and how the expectations of clients have changed in the remote environment.

I spoke with Janet Falk , the founder of Falk Communications and Research , which provides public relations and marketing communications guidance to solo practitioners and small law firms, as well as to business executives and consultants. We discussed the value of media relations for attorneys, how they can introduce themselves to reporters as authoritative sources, what legal professionals can d...

I spoke with Patricia LeBel-Lasse , a litigation paralegal and litigation support professional with Pullman & Comley , a law firm with offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She is a member of the global advisory board for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists . We discussed the advantages for paralegals who become adept in e-discovery, why paralegals are best-suited to translate...

I spoke with Tony Donofrio , the chief technology officer for Veritext Legal Solutions , a company that provides deposition and litigation support solutions. We discussed pre-pandemic impressions of remote depositions, challenges that legal professionals needed to overcome when conducting remote depositions early in the pandemic, the experience between remote and in-person proceedings, and where t...

I spoke with Kenya Parrish-Dixon , the general counsel and chief operating officer for Empire Technologies Risk Management Group , a cybersecurity, information governance, e-discovery, and managed review consulting company. She is also a member of the global advisory board for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists . We discussed how the pandemic has impacted the perception of cybers...

I spoke with Brian Schrader , the president and CEO of BIA , a provider of e-discovery services and digital forensics. We discussed 2021 trends impacting the e-discovery sector, permanent changes from the pandemic, the challenges that collaboration platforms pose to litigants, and the shifting regulatory landscape for data privacy.

spoke with Rick Hellers and Bill Bice , the co-founder and CEO, respectively of nQ Zebraworks , formed from the merger of Zebraworks and nQueue, which provides scanning and routing, print management. cost recovery technology, and cloud-based integration tools for the business and practice of law. We discussed legal industry surprises during the pandemic, how firms should manage their return to a p...

I spoke with Esther Cho , a shareholder and the chair of the executive committee at Keesal, Young & Logan , who also serves on the firm’s diversity and inclusion committee. We discussed balancing firm leadership with an active legal practice, how the firm is managing the transition from remote to in-person activities, maintaining firm culture in a virtual environment, and facilitating meaningful c...

I spoke with Dean Sappey , the president and co-founder of DocsCorp , a software company that develops a range of document productivity and security tools for law firms. We discussed DocsCorp’s global strategy, its acquisitions of Docuble and Verowave Technologies , features that clients are requesting, and strategies for approaching growth in an uncertain business climate.

I spoke with Rick Merrill , the founder and CEO of Gavelytics , a litigation analytics company. We discussed why research into litigation analytics has become so attractive, how the approach to gathering and sharing data has changed, and the challenges associated with transitioning from practicing as a large firm lawyer to starting a legal tech company.

I spoke with Matt Kunkel , the co-founder and CEO of LogicGate , a SaaS platform that operationalizes regulatory, risk, and compliance programs. We discussed the genesis of LogicGate, the risk and compliance challenges that organizations are facing as a result of the pandemic, the impact of automation on risk and compliance, and how the regulatory landscape will change in 2021.

I spoke with Varun Mehta , the CEO of Factor , an organization focused on performing complex legal work at scale. We discussed the challenges that Factor helps clients solve, the competitive landscape in managed services, opportunities and challenges in the current distributed workplace, and the pandemic-induced developments that could remain permanent.

I spoke with Chris Dahl , the executive vice president of product development and advisory services at Lighthouse , a provider of e-discovery and information governance technology and services. We discussed Lighthouse Prism , the company’s new artificial intelligence and big data analytics platform, the biggest e-discovery review challenge clients are facing now, how the legal community is general...