Foresights & Friends: Recent Episodes
LAC Group
A series of exclusive interviews with LAC partners and how they use onward knowledge to take action today.
Small to medium firms face an increasingly complex competitive landscape — the race for talent and new clients, navigating rising costs, time pressures, and limited resources. Adding to these pressures are growing administrative burdens and demands to scale up through consolidation. This ever-changing environment requires new strategies and ways of winning.
If your firm is pursuing innovation and transformation, or is fighting harder just to maintain its position, hear from leaders that are transforming the way their firms evolve and stay relevant.
With nearly 25 years of professional services marketing experience, Kramer Levin CMO Jennifer Manton tells us how the legal marketing industry has transformed over time and the influence marketing now has inside law firms.
COO Jane Koehl shares her experience navigating the merger between Faegre Baker Daniels and Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Initially starting out as a librarian, Fiona has held various sales and marketing positions throughout CN and is now responsible for the organization's government and media affairs as well as corporate communications. We discuss her career development from librarian to senior executive and her optimistic view on information services and its impact in the corporate world.
Gain an insider’s view on how competitive intelligence (CI) and foresight can contribute to building a dynamic, winning strategy for a multifaceted national organization. David Wickenden, Senior VP of Corporate Strategy & Strategic Impact at AARP talks about the role that CI can play in building a world-beating strategy.
Clients have many legal services options but changing providers can be a challenge - Mar 13, 2020 by LAC Group
- Ransomware attack forces Epiq to take their system offline
- Calif. task force approves eight recommendations to expand access to legal services
- CLOC to recognize law firms' legal operations progress at the 2020 Vegas Institute
- Law firms may find it difficult turning Big Four into tech customers
- Kennedys unveils AI-powered platform to manage the claims process
- DocuSign expands CLM capabilities with the acquisition of Seal Software
- New survey finds that UK in-house teams feel unprepared for upcoming tech challenges.
- Law firms are proactively seeking ALSP collaborations to create holistic client offerings.
- The Big Four’s growing presence in the Asian legal market shows they are no longer fringe players.
- Corporate clients that are asking law firms to work with ALSP can lead to conflicts.
- LOD Legal has expanded into the UK to challenge traditional offer models.
- Casetext has introduced a solution that automates legal brief drafts.
- ABA passes resolution encouraging states to explore innovative approaches to legal services
- As differences between traditional and new law firms fade, some look to drop ALSP label
- Bloomberg Law launches AI-powered brief analysis tool
- Survey finds the influence of legal ops professionals grew in past years
- Westlaw Edge introduces AI-powered Legislative Insights tool
- Deloitte Legal partners with Conception X to mentor Ph.D. students to identify the potential use of new technologies
- Axiom acquires flexible lawyers service Bliss Lawyers
- Legalweek panel: In-house counsel should leverage data to show value to C-suite
- Arizona launches pilot to train nonlawyers to offer limited legal advice
- NY Bar report finds in-house teams leading a push for regulatory guidance
- Trustpoint.One partners with NexLP to launch AI consulting group
- Evershed Sutherland's Konexo partners with Grant Thornton, DXC to consult the City of London on LIBOR
- Survey finds as the volume of on-site litigation work continues to rise, firms are expected to turn to outsourcing
- Bloomberg Law expands Docket Key scope to cover all federal district courts
- PwC legal introduces program encouraging EU lawyers to build legal tech apps
- Arizona officials submit a petition to Supreme Court calling for changes to law firm ownership rules
- LOD hires legal ops specialist to lead innovation and design
- Reed Smith introduces free eDiscovery app
- Axiom managed solutions spin-off rebrands as Factor
- Fastcase relaunches legal news service
- Hogan Lovells, Elevate partner on document review center
- Law firms lagging other industries in the adoption of automation tech
- Thomson Reuters: Alternative business models becoming the norm in U.S. legal market
- CLOC launches directory to help in-house teams find service providers
- ROSS Intelligence founder calls for changes to law firm ownership regulations
- Lawyers on Demand launches second German office
- Survey finds in-house teams unprepared for privacy regs
- Conn. forms task force to explore changes to legal regulatory reform
- Atrium co-founder confirms the company is moving away from legal services
- Ill. passes legislation legalizing blockchain contracts
- Bloomberg Law launches a resource for litigation finance
- Survey finds law firms will focus on ALSP partnerships and enhancing in-house capabilities to reduce legal spend
- Polsinelli partners with UnitedLex to launch litigation solution center
- Report forecasts big risks for law firms that fail to adapt to changing legal industry
- Opinion: AI-powered software expected to bring fundamental change to the legal industry
- Legal operations services provider Legility acquires eDiscovery provider Inventus
- EY Law expands with the hiring of legal team from Belgium
- Clifford Chance offering technical training to new trainees
- ACC: Outside counsel guidelines help firms boost profits
- Analysis: Legal Innovation is more significant than technology
- Wolters Kluwer launches Kluwer Arbitration module to support different stages of the arbitration process
- KPMG launches Shanghai firm in expansion of Chinese operations
- LexisNexis: Data mining offers firms the opportunity to leverage data for products, insights
- All encompassing compliance solutions require RegTech firms to thread a number of needles
- UnitedLex CEO warns AI could lose its meaning by being overhyped
- Danish firm Bech-Bruun launching a legal tech company
- ROSS Intelligence and Fastcase unveil content, research, and development partnership
- Analysts say law firms fooling clients with false AI claims
- Head of A&O Fuse says legal market reaching a tipping point with new tech
- Survey: Legal market digital revolution adding increased pressure to GCs
- Ashurt and UnitedLex partner to launch compliance, discovery and investigation services in Germany
- Separate reports paint different outlooks for legal spending
- Kennedys introduces KLAiM virtual lawyer platform to Latin American market
- Epiq expands Canadian footprint with an enhanced offering and additional location
- Brightflag introduces a peer-led learning series to accelerate innovation within the corporate legal services community
- Wolters Kluwer launches Passport update with AI-powered predictive insights module
- Report finds law firms reluctant to embrace changes to business models amid positive growth outlook
- Ashurst partners with Cognia Law and Elevate to launch flexible resourcing platform
- KL Technology and IDLA partner to introduce risk analysis service
- Quinn Emanuel begins accepting cryptocurrency payments
- Irish firm, Mathesons, unveils digital legal services group
- Reed Smith obtains ABS license to broaden client services
- KPMG appoints former Law Society of England and Wales president as legal services ambassador
- Young lawyers should be aware of LPOs impact on the legal industry
- Quislex GC says acceptance of outsourcing in the legal market is growing
- Utah piloting initiative to allow nonlawyers to offer legal services
- Neota Logic launches a beta version of the Canvas application builder
- Legal operations advocates push for diverse training backgrounds
- Casetext expands research platform with product focused on the patent market
- Law firms form consortium to develop technology to facilitate automation in financial markets
- Thomson Reuters wins long-term DOJ contract for legal research tools
- Law firms want to use tech to cut costs but work is needed to identify, implement the right solutions
- LAWCLERK introduces duplication and notification features to help attorneys outsource projects
- Ashurst launches Fintech accelerator program
- Thomson Reuters and OpenLaw create automated, blockchain-driven smart contracts solution
- KPMG Legal absorbs Romanian law firm as part of EU expansion
- Latham & Watkins introduces mobile app to help investors navigate the regulatory landscape
- Catalyst founder launches nonprofit to promote open-source legal software
- EY leads the pack as Big Four continue to top ALSP rankings
- Pre-execution contract market a big opportunity to legal tech vendors
- Integreon and Seal Software partner to enhance managed services with AI
- Infinnium and Relativity unveil product integration to enable mass redaction and anonymization of native files
- iManage and Cognia Law partner to offer AI solutions
- And a report states that legal firms are paying more for IT due to risk aversion and limited tech talent
- Amazon enters the legal services industry with the launch of IP Accelerator
- Survey finds businesses increasingly turning to ALSPs
- Seal Software launches Seal Now contract negotiation product
- Oregan bar initiates actions to expand access to justice
- NetDocuments integrates Kira and SeeUnity to expand content understanding
- Law Society of Scotland introduces legal technologist accreditation
- Corporations looking to bring more eDiscovery tasks in-house
- Baker McKenzie unveils Disputes Clause Finder offering tailored arbitration clauses
- Small to midsize legal departments avoiding legal operations over uncertainty
- Eversheds, Harbour Litigation Funding partner to offer clients access to funding solutions
- Ashurst opens Brisbane office to extend reach of Ashurst Advance
- Integreon introduces cyber incident response service to allow for timely, compliant responses
- Epiq rolls out information governance services to help clients manage sensitive data
- Luminance introduces advisory board to accelerate Big Law's adoption of AI
- ShelterZoom unveils Contract of Things, making all contract elements fully digital, interconnected, interoperable
- Fastcase adds calendaring feature to Docket Alarm
- Reed Smith unveils innovation seats as part of the London training contract program
- U.K. Law Commission validates the use of e-signatures
- Pactum launches AI-powered negotiation tool
- Fastcase expands form filing capabilities with the acquisition of NextChapter
- Pinsent Masons introduces Spark Board to bring new perspectives to strategic decision making
- ThoughtRiver unveils Tableau integration in an effort to become a contract review platform
- Travers Smith debuts email management tool MatMail
- Despite failure of UnitedLex, LeClairRyan partnership, Big Law and New Law still have a future together
- Gartner: Majority of cost-effective legal departments invest more strengthening in-house capabilities
- Legal tech startups having trouble standing out in increasingly crowded market
- Deloitte Legal launches graduate training program
- Hogan Lovells innovation partner aims to define what innovation means for clients
- Utah Supreme Court approves working group recommendations, to pilot non-traditional legal services (update on the story from last week)
- Wolters Kluwer expands Cheetah Labor & Employment Law portfolio
- Opinion: Collaboration a key component of contract lifecycle management vendors overlook
- Clio raises $250M to develop cloud-based solutions for law firms
- Lex Machina adds Consumer Protection Litigation module to Legal Analytics platform
- Utah task force recommends changes to how legal services are regulated
- Survey finds ALSPs failing to show potential clients how they can solve business challenges
- Reed Smith appoints Innovation Engagement Manager to implement, develop efficiencies
- Clyde & Co. partners with AI startup to offer global threat assessments
- Opinion Minion app uses mobile phone camera to read citations then deliver the case
- Compliance moves to flat fee solution for transactional eDiscovery
- Class action alleges Burford manipulated metric to mislead investors
- Deloitte launches 'Blockchain in a Box' mobile demo platform
- Oasis, CloudNine partner to deliver eDiscovery software in the cloud
- Legal tech vendors too focused on fixing problems that don't exist: Report
- Nextpoint offers unlimited data processing, hosting in cloud eDiscovery software
- State Bar of California flooded with responses opposing changes to ethics rules
- Dentons launches risk consulting business to provide an integrated offering
- Opinion: ALSPs are disrupting the legal industry but to the benefit of traditional firms
- ABA approves a resolution calling on courts and lawyers to address ethical and legal issues associated with AI in the law
- Wolters Kluwer integrates NITA titles into Cheetah research platform
- SingleFile Technologies raises $3.3M to automate compliance
- As California considers nonlawyer ownership, other jurisdictions could follow
- Firms developing legal tech solutions can benefit from non-legal designer input
- ABA proposes the creation of a group to define legal and ethical guidelines for AI use
- Document management tops the list of most impactful lawyer tools as AI and blockchain rank at the bottom
- Thomson Reuters survey reveals lawyers' attitudes toward technology adoption is changing
CLOC launches community for law firm legal operations professionals https://cloc.org/about-us/cloc-in-the-news/cloc-announces-launch-of-law-firm-community/
CLOC's Law firm Community is in response to the growing number of law firms creating legal operations roles and recognizes the need for increased collaboration between law firms and corporate legal operations. The community is open to legal professionals who dedicate the majority of their focus to legal operations or business management and who are employed at a private law firm. Those employed by companies who provide goods and services to the legal market aren't eligible to participate.
Survey finds a third of U.K. consumers access legal services online https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/one-in-three-legal-consumers-using-online-services
The Legal Services Consumer Panel's annual tracker survey found one in three legal consumers use online services. The proportion of consumers using online services has grown at a steady rate in the last eight years and rose from 30% to 33% in the last year. Those seeking legal services by phone dropped from 14% to 12%, while those seeking face-to-face advice was at 45%. Satisfaction levels depended on the delivery method with 95% satisfied with face-to-face service, followed by online (79%) and by telephone (74%).
ASEAN LegalTech Association launches to promote regional legal tech ecosystem https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/new-group-promotes-growing-southeast-asian-legal-tech-ecosystem
The Southeast Asian group wants to take advantage of the legal tech industry in Singapore and nearby countries by building and nurturing a regional legaltech ecosystem. Members of the ASEAN LegalTech Association include legal tech startups, law firms, legal departments and regulators in the region.
Diligen introduces self-training system to quickly learn new contract clause types https://www.legaltechnology.com/latest-news/diligen-launches-ml-based-self-training-system/
Diligen Prodigy is a self-training system that allows legal departments and law firms to train Diligen to recognize new clause types in contracts. The system offers data for users to classify, removing the need to dig through documents to highlight relevant text.
Clyde & Co partners with AI company NVT to develop machine learning offering https://www.clydeco.com/firm/news/view/clyde-co-to-use-innovative-visual-search-tool-in-development-of-machine-lea
The firm's Data Lab will leverage Neural Vision Technologies' (NVT) visual search engine, NVT VISTA, to speed up the search and retrieval of records and documents. Data Lab will be able to automate record retrieval and perform analysis of large document collections. The firm says the partnership with NVT will allow it to identify data more efficiently and use it to provide insights and more value to clients.
KPMG appoints Stuart Fuller as global leader of legal services business https://www.australasianlawyer.com.au/news/australian-legal-heavyweight-tapped-to-lead-kpmgs-global-legal-business-264756.aspx
Fuller, who will be based in Australia, succeeds Swiss-based Juerg Birri, who will retire from the firm at the end of the month. Fuller joined KPMG from King & Wood Malleson in 2018 to lead KPMG Law in Australia. Partner Kate Marshall will be promoted to head of KPMG Law in Australia once Fuller assumes his new role.
- LAC Group acquires ShiftCentral to add depth to research and competitive intelligence services
- Law firm's launching subsidiaries as clients embrace alternatives
- Thomson Reuters expands suite of cloud-based offerings with acquisition of HighQ
- LexisNexis forms contract management joint venture with Axiom subsidiary Knowable
- Simmons & Simmons acquires Wavelength to introduce new client services, solutions -Bloomberg Law unveils automated brief analyzer with beta testing planned this fall -Neota Logic partners with Repstor on automation of matter intake, creation