The Legalpreneurs Sandbox: Recent Episodes
Brisbane Centre for Legal Innovation
The legal industry is changing but to what, for whom, where, why and how? Join us each month to learn about the next best practices in legal practice and how it applies to your firm or organisation. Learn from the people who are “walking the talk.” Hear what they are doing and what has driven them to do things differently for their clients, their people, their organisations and themselves and, how they measure and learn from success and failure. We’re going to get candid, super practical and yes, we’re going to get legally innovative too!
This powerful closing plenary fireside chat with Terri Mottershead, Director, Digital Enablement, Ashurst Advance and Sue Keay, Director, UNSW AI Institute , Secretary and Board Member Women in Robotics and Chair of the Board of Directors, Robotics Australia Group discussed how women are making unique contributions to AI leadership while charting a path forward. The session delved into Sue’s work and experience, and it is a testament to women's leadership, collaborative, ethical, and human-centered approaches to reshaping the new world of work. of insight—but as a launchpad for long-term leadership, impact, and collective transformation.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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.
This forward-looking episode featured women who have successfully led workforce transformation initiatives, showcasing approaches to skilling, reskilling, upskilling, recruiting, and retaining AI talent.
Ann-Maree David, Executive Director, College of Law Queensland, Fiona Anson, Director of Enterprise Learning Strategy, University of Technology Sydney, Jan Christie, Director, Capability + Organisational Development, Gilbert + Tobin and Jemma Hirst, Head of IT Training, Grant Thornton explored how women leaders create learning cultures that embrace technological change while maintaining human-centered values. Participants developed personalised capability-building roadmaps they could immediately implement, ensuring their teams are prepared to excel in an increasingly AI-driven professional services landscape.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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 episode, women leaders in AI ethics, governance, and compliance Gabrielle Lyons, Deputy General Counsel, Gilbert + Tobin, Annie Haggar, Partner, Head of Cybersecurity, Australia, Norton Rose Fulbright, Dr Bernadette Hyland-Wood, Research Fellow, Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology and Ilona Meyer, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Nuix shared frameworks for responsible AI deployment that protect both organisations and clients.
The panel showcased women's leadership in developing ethical guidelines, governance frameworks, and risk mitigation strategies addressing data privacy, regulatory compliance, and ethical considerations that impact enterprise reputation. Attendees gained practical risk assessment and compliance insights tailored to professional services contexts, ensuring innovation remains principled.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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.
This implementation-focused episode moved beyond cultural readiness to explore the tactical execution of AI projects. The panel of women implementation and operations leaders Katrina Gowans, Legal Ops professional, Co-Chair CLOC Australia and CLI Advisory Board member, Helen Henderson, Director and Founder, Board Impact, Deborah Hook, Director, Legal Operations, University of Sydney, Robyna May, Chief Information Officer, McInnes Wilson Lawyers and Caryn Sandler, Partner and Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin and CLI Advisory Board Co-Chair, shared frameworks for project management, technical integration challenges, workflow redesign, and measuring outcomes.
Discussions highlighted women-led approaches to cross-functional team building, addressing technical debt, and managing the transition period between legacy and AI-enhanced systems. Participants left with practical models for phased implementation, staff transition planning, and ROI measurement frameworks they could apply immediately to their own AI initiatives.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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 episode, female technology leaders Kelly Addison, Director, Women in Technology, Kate Clark, CEO, eDiscovery Collab, Anna Golovsky, Executive Manager, Legal & Company Secretariat, IAG and Jaysee Sunapho, Data Architect, Magentus broke down complex AI purchasing and integration decisions through case studies highlighting both successes and instructive failures.
This episode emphasised women's collaborative approach to vendor assessment and how diverse perspectives lead to more holistic technology evaluations and lasting professional relationships. Participants worked through a decision matrix they can immediately apply to pending technology choices, ensuring strategic alignment with organisational goals and values.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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.
This foundation-setting episode focussed specifically on overcoming psychological and organisational resistance to AI, female leaders Kim Trajer, Chief Operating Officer at McCullough Robertson and CLI Advisory Board member, Orla Glynn, Data & AI Specialist, Liza Greenwood, Head of Innovation Services, Allens and Professor Selena Bartlett, Faculty of Health (Neuroscience and Neuroplasticity), School of Clinical Science, Queensland University of Technology shared strategies for addressing fear of change, combating misconceptions about AI, and building organisational buy-in at all levels. This interactive discussion explored how women's collaborative leadership approaches help create psychological safety, encourage experimentation, and shift traditional hierarchies to embrace innovation.
Participants developed targeted communication strategies to gain stakeholder support and create the receptive cultural environment essential for any successful AI initiative.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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 episode, Cat Moon, Professor of the Practice and Founding Co-Director of VAILL, the Vanderbilt AI + Law Lab, Vanderbilt University Law School opened the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 with a powerful invitation to step into our collective potential to shape the future of AI through intentional action, meaningful connection, and bold leadership. Grounded in the core mission of Women+AI—Action, Community-building, and Empowerment—this keynote explored what it means to lead with clarity and courage in a world where technology is evolving faster than our systems, norms, and imaginations.
Drawing from real-world examples across law, policy, education, and innovation, Cat illuminated how women are uniquely positioned to lead in this moment—not despite uncertainty, but because of our capacity to navigate it. Through a brief, participatory experience, each attendee began to articulate their personal “why” for being in the room and set an intention for the day ahead. This session laid the foundation for the conversations to come, framing the Summit not as a single day of insight—but as a launchpad for long-term leadership, impact, and collective transformation.
This episode was part of the Women + AI APAC Summit 2025 program on 29 July 2025 with Vanderbilt Law School in collaboration with Gilbert + Tobin.
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 many respects, generative AI has impacted few roles as directly as legal operations. These professionals sit at the epicentre of tech experimentation, deployment, adoption, evaluation and change. As the tech has evolved, so too has their role to right now, being part tech interpreter, teacher, multidisciplinary relationship builder, enterprise-wide and legal function collaborator, and connector. That’s been layered into what they have always done, practical problem solving to ensure the legal department responds to organisational needs with timely, measured, candid and practical solutions for the day-to-day business at hand.
With GenAI, some of the problems are new and/or have become more complex. Solutions have had to evolve as the tech has evolved at an unprecedented pace, scale, and level of pervasive impact not seen before. And, old issues have also remained and have changed too like corporate responsibilities for data governance, privacy, ethics, cybersecurity, all culminating in an expanding portfolio of compliance and risk management.
We discussed all of this and much more with CLOC Australia’s co-leads: Katrina Gowans, Legal Operations Professional; Anna Golovsky, Executive Manager Legal and Company Secretariat Operations, IAG; and Matt Duncan, Legal Operations, Australian Retirement Trust. In addition to their thoughts on the topics above, their passion for their work and for the community that CLOC has created globally and locally was clear. In their view the big impact of GenAI on the legal ops role is one of expansion – more opportunities to support, assist, and connect legal to what is happening in our ecosystem but also to the critical and changing role of legal departments within their own companies. There is a discernible opportunity, identified in this discussion, for digitally literate professionals with human skills in influencing, persuasion, adaptability, flexibility, relationship building and more than anything else, curiosity, to join and enhance a career in legal ops.
We concluded our chat with a preview of what those curious professionals can expect from two CLOC Australia amazing events in Sydney in August 2025:
- CLOC Academy (19 August) for new and immediate next level legal ops professionals – you’ll find registration details here; and
- CLOC Australia Summit 2025 (20 August) for everyone interested and working in legal ops – you’ll find registration details here.
If you want a glimpse into how GenAI is impacting legal ops today and in the future, you’ll want to spend a little time listening to this podcast or watching the video – 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.
Prompt engineering has captured our interest, been at the core of our frustration and continues to find its way into our new way of working in the post ChatGPT era. But like the tech it is so integrally tied to, generative AI, knowing you need to be good at prompting is not the same as being good at it – it requires context, application, refinement and education at a pace, scale and continuous engagement like we have never seen before.
The Centre for Legal innovation launched its Distinguished Fellowship in Emerging Technologies with this in mind. Our Fellow, Dr. Mitchell Adams, Senior Lecturer, Swinburne Law School, focussed his highly successful Fellowship on legal prompt engineering and, through the many discussions, clinics, research and significant amount of work that followed, collected together the learnings and experience sharing in an amazing publication – a comprehensive, free Legal Prompt Engineering Guide.
In this session, we spoke with Mitchell about his Fellowship: what he learned; the impact of the tech on the legal industry; how prompting has changed the way we work…forever; and how he is incorporating all of this into his work as a legal educator. It’s a journey best undertaken as part of an ever and rapidly evolving global community of generative AI fans who understand the strengths and limitations of the tech, but also know that what is coming next, is already in the pipeline!
This is a Spotlight not to be missed!
You’ll find your free copy of the Legal Prompt Engineering Guide ready for download here.
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.
On 7 May 2025, in the fourth podcast in CLI’s Legal GenAI Conversations Series Terri Mottershead, Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation was joined by three amazing guests to discuss The Lawyerless Law Firm – Myth or Reality in 2030?
- Miriam Rihani, Head of Transformation and Legal Operations (OGC), PwC Australia
- Laura Vickers, Founding Director, Nest Legal
- Dominic Woolrych, CEO and Co-Founder, Lawpath
Topics covered in this session included:
- Whether or not we are close – technologically, culturally, and commercially - to a truly lawyerless law firm and what key barriers stand in the way
- If we are likely to see lawyerless business models emerge in certain sizes of practices or areas of practice, while others remain lawyer-led
- If the promise of broader access to justice via AI can be reconciled with the safeguards lawyers have traditionally provided
- If the future of legal practice is less about lawyering, more about tech, or a complete redefinition of legal roles
- Where human lawyers can add the most irreplaceable value in a tech-enabled legal system
- Who should build and enforce the guardrails in a world where legal professionals are integrally intertwined with the tech and, how we guard against self-interest
- If the lawyerless law firm will be a positive or negative addition to the legal ecosystem
You’ll find details about the other topics we’ll be discussing in this 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.
Don’t forget to join CLI’s free Legal Generative AI Community here – it’s a lightly curated daily news feed on all things legal GenAI.
There’s little more fundamental to every business than revenue. In law firms, for a while now, that’s been measured by the billable hour.
In most law firms today, we still wrap up hours billed in the same parcel as expertise, performance, and value.
That’s a BIG problem and it’s getting bigger as AI and particularly generative AI is completing tasks faster, better, and cheaper AND starting to advance into complex problem solving too!
So, what does that mean for law firms? Can we/should we all immediately convert to fixed fees, subscriptions and/or value-based pricing or something entirely new? What happens if we do? What happens if we don’t? Where do we go to figure it out?
We chatted about all of that and more on 16 April 2025 in the third podcast in CLI’s Legal GenAI Conversations Series on Will GenAI kill the billable hour…ever? Terri Mottershead, Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation was joined by three amazing guests with a wealth of experience to share from Australia and New Zealand:
- Melissa Lyon, Executive Director & Experience Designer, Hive Legal and CLI Advisory Board member
- Gene Turner, Managing Director, LawHawk and CLI Advisory Board member
- Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader, Moores and CLI Advisory Board member
Topics covered in this episode included:
- Whether generative AI has put pressure on law firms to reconsider the billable hour, or if it is still mostly hype
- What are the most viable alternative fee models are and how if generative AI making these more attractive or feasible
- The key advantages and disadvantages of moving away from the billable hour toward alternative fee arrangements in a GenAI powered legal landscape
- How law firms have managed the impact of alternative models on lawyer and allied legal professional remuneration, bonuses, performance reviews and career progression
- The key focus for law firms to have in mind when deciding to move from the billable hour model
You’ll find details about the other topics we’ll be discussing in this 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.
Don’t forget to join CLI’s free Legal Generative AI Community here – it’s a lightly curated daily news feed on all things legal GenAI.
Every aspect of legal practice is transforming before our eyes with AI as the catalyst and the enabler. It’s a challenging time for law firm leaders - it’s definitely not a role for the faint hearted.
On 18 March 2025, in the second podcast in CLI’s Legal GenAI Conversations Series Terri Mottershead, Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation was joined by three law firm leaders from Australia and New Zealand to discuss this and much more in Legal leaders in the AI era – Are we there yet?
- Simon Newcomb, Partner, Clayton Utz
- Dan Proietto, Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers
- Prue Tyler, Founder and Director, SHIFT Advisory Limited
Topics covered in this session included:
- Whether law firm leaders need to think differently and lead differently in the AI era
- Whether AI demanded a fundamental rethink of law firm structures, billing models, and governance and if so, how?
- How you reskill lawyers, attract new talent, create multidisciplinary teams, and redefine roles to thrive alongside AI
- How you introduce and embed AI without overwhelming everyone in the process
- With AI democratising legal knowledge and making legal services/products/solutions more accessible, how law firms can stand out, create, and sustain unique value
- Where law firms need to be on the AI Maturity Scale in the next 12 months, why, and how they will know if they have hit the mark
You’ll find details about the other topics we’ll be discussing in this 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.
Don’t forget to join CLI’s free Legal Generative AI Community here – it’s a lightly curated daily news feed on all things legal GenAI.
Generative AI has created a critical role for educators. Everyone is learning something new, and educators know how to make that meaningful and stick. Whether the tech is forcing us to challenge traditional mindsets, understand a new context for our work, experiment with new ways to work, or embrace different ways to collaborate with different people so we find the right solutions to new issues, educators have a pivotal role to play.
In this session, we chatted with three professors in the US who took their individual experiences with generative AI, and their learnings in their respective disciplines, to create a resource and community for legal educators to learn, share, and do more with this tech – they called it The Law Profs GenAI Sandbox.
Our discussion with the fabulous founders of the Sandbox: Will Monroe, Assistant Director for Instructional Technology, LSU Law Library, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center; Tracy Norton, Assistant Professor of Law, Erick Vincent Anderson Professor, LSU Law Center; and Susan Tanner, Assistant Professor of Law, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, was enlightening and inspiring.
We kicked off with where generative AI is taking higher education; delved into how the Sandbox started and where it might go next; and concluded with benchmarking where and how educators can embrace the tech. But, what was also evident throughout the entire discussion was the joy, excitement, and passion these profs have for finding ways to use the tech so it enhances learning for students and supports their colleagues in using it effectively and efficiently too.
If you are working in education and particularly legal education, you will not want to 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
This podcast was recorded on 20 February 2025, as the inaugural session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Conversations Series. In this session, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation discussed The Lawyer Mindset with global superstar former lawyer, psychologist and legal industry consultant Dr. Larry Richard, Founder and Principal Consultant at LawyerBrain LLC.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Defining and understanding how the lawyer mindset is different
- How the lawyer mindset is impacted by, and impacts, continuous change
- How lawyers can best manage and cope with the GenAI enabled pace and breadth of change
You’ll find details about the other topics we’ll be discussing in this 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.
Don’t forget to join CLI’s free Legal Generative AI Community here – it’s a lightly curated daily news feed on all things legal GenAI.
This podcast was recorded on 5 February 2025, as the inaugural session in CLI’s Lex ExploreAI Series.
In this session host Courtney Blackman, Head of Partnerships and Program Director of the LawTech Hub & AI Clinical Placements at Lander & Rogers joined Terri Mottershead, Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation to discuss:
- The state of legal AI
- The work being done in AI at Lander & Rogers
- What you can expect from this series in 2025
You’ll find details about the other sessions in this 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.
Want to keep the legal AI fires burning? Please join CLI’s Legal Generative AI Global Community here for a free, lightly curated daily news feed on all things legal GenAI.
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.
This podcast was recorded on 22 July 2024 as the fifth session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with three amazing panellists from Africa and the Middle East:
- Peter Hall, Chief Operating Officer, Cognia Law
- Leah Molatseli, Founder, Contract Alchemists
- Katie Whang, Legal Counsel, Johnson & Johnson
Topics covered included:
- An overview of legal AI in Africa and the Middle East
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses, what’s driving/limiting adoption, and the importance of metrics
- The focus on education, capability development, and access to talent to deliver legal GenAI solutions
- The changing role of tech providers and how that is impacting adoption and implementation
- The focus on country/region wide AI strategy, regulations, standards and policies and how this is/is not/should not be influenced by global initiatives
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in Africa + the Middle East
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
In this session, we spoke with Colin Lachance, the Innovator in Residence at the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and the Principal of law firm coaching and consulting business, PGYA Consulting.
Colin has spent most of his career in the legal industry. He’s worked in publishing, consulting, and legaltech development just to name a few. In all that he has done, and it’s a lot, there’s been a consistent theme – he’s comfortable with challenging the status quo and doing things differently.
He’s been named one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers” by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, a “Legal Rebel” by the ABA Journal and is a member of the Fastcase 50 class of legal innovators and visionaries.
Colin’s amazing background both qualifies and recommends him for his role as Innovator in Residence at the OBA. It’s a unique role for legal member organisations. It was launched in 2018. Each innovator is appointed for 12 months and pursues a different focus area, always with a change agenda.
Colin’s focus area could not be more topical…it’s legal AI. His action plan is ambitious, critical, timely and compelling. It comprises a multi-pronged approach to supporting the digital literacy of OBA’s members at scale. His work will impact the 16,000 lawyers OBA represents and influence many, many more. It includes tech demos, weekly information sessions, establishing an interactive learning platform and…he is just getting started!
We spoke about all of this as well as the global and local context that led to Colin’s appointment i.e., how GenAI has become an enabler for significant change in the legal world; how the pace, depth and breadth of that change is reinventing legal practice; and how it is incumbent on us all to embrace that change.
Don’t miss this spotlight, it’s going to excite and inspire you!
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.
This podcast was recorded on 18 June 2024 as the fourth session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with four amazing panellists from Europe and the UK:
- Giulio Coraggio, Partner – Location Head of Italian Intellectual Property and Technology Department, DLA Piper
- Uwais Iqbal, Founder, simplexico
- Tanja Podinic, Global Legal Gen AI Lead, PwC
- Tara Waters, Partner & Chief Digital Officer, Ashurst
Topics covered included:
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses and what’s driving/limiting adoption
- LLMs, the impact of RAGs, and the case for/against the decision to build or buy
- What capabilities are needed to deliver legal GenAI solutions today, tomorrow, and how to bridge the gaps
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in Europe + UK
- How legal GenAI is likely to evolve in 2024
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
This podcast was recorded on 29 May 2024 as the third session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with three amazing panellists from the USA:
- Wendy Butler Curtis, Chief Innovation Officer and Chair eDiscovery & Information Governance Group, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
- Nikki Shaver, CEO and Co-Founder, LegalTechnology Hub
- Horace Wu, Founder and CEO, Syntheia Pty Ltd
Topics covered included:
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses and what’s driving/limiting adoption
- LLMs, the impact of RAGs, and the case for/against the decision to build or buy
- What capabilities are needed to deliver legal GenAI solutions today, tomorrow, and how to bridge the gaps
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in the USA
- How legal GenAI is likely to evolve in 2024
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
This podcast was recorded on 18 June 2024 as the fourth session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with four amazing panellists from Europe and the UK:
- Giulio Coraggio, Partner – Location Head of Italian Intellectual Property and Technology Department, DLA Piper
- Uwais Iqbal, Founder, simplexico
- Tanja Podinic, Global Legal Gen AI Lead, PwC
- Tara Waters, Partner & Chief Digital Officer, Ashurst
Topics covered included:
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses and what’s driving/limiting adoption
- LLMs, the impact of RAGs, and the case for/against the decision to build or buy
- What capabilities are needed to deliver legal GenAI solutions today, tomorrow, and how to bridge the gaps
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in Europe + UK
- How legal GenAI is likely to evolve in 2024
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
This podcast was recorded on 29 May 2024 as the third session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with three amazing panellists from the USA:
- Wendy Butler Curtis, Chief Innovation Officer and Chair eDiscovery & Information Governance Group, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
- Nikki Shaver, CEO and Co-Founder, LegalTechnology Hub
- Horace Wu, Founder and CEO, Syntheia Pty Ltd
Topics covered included:
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses and what’s driving/limiting adoption
- LLMs, the impact of RAGs, and the case for/against the decision to build or buy
- What capabilities are needed to deliver legal GenAI solutions today, tomorrow, and how to bridge the gaps
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in the USA
- How legal GenAI is likely to evolve in 2024
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
This podcast was recorded on 15 April 2024 as the second session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with three amazing panellists from India, Hong Kong and Singapore:
- Komal Gupta, Chief Innovation Officer, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (India)
- Sebastian Ko, General Counsel, DFX Labs (Hong Kong)
- Rajesh Sreenivasan, Head, Technology Media and Telecoms Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP; Co-Founder and Director, Rajah & Tann Technologies Pte Ltd and Rajah & Tann Cybersecurity Pte Ltd and CLI Advisory Board Member (Singapore)
Topics covered included:
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses and what’s driving/limiting adoption
- LLMs, the impact of RAGs, and the case for/against the decision to build or buy
- What capabilities are needed to deliver legal GenAI solutions today, tomorrow, and how to bridge the gaps
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in Hong Kong, India and Singapore
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
This podcast was recorded on 12 March 2024 as the inaugural session in CLI’s Legal GenAI Around the World Series.
In this session Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion with three amazing panellists from Australia + New Zealand:
- Matt Farrington, Senior Legal Counsel, Vice Chancellor’s Office, Victoria University of Wellington
- Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin and Co-Chair, CLI Advisory Board
- Dominic Woolrych, Co-founder & CEO, Lawpath
Topics covered included:
- How, where and why GenAI is being used in legal businesses and what’s driving the uptake
- LLMs, RAGs, hallucination and whether to build or buy
- What capabilities are needed to deliver legal GenAI solutions and the impact on legal businesses
- What’s unique about the legal GenAI market in Australia and New Zealand
- How legal GenAI is likely to evolve in 2024
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.
Please join CLI’s free Legal GenAI Global Community for a lightly curated newsfeed on how legal GenAI is transforming the legal ecosystem.
This session has become an annual event for us and, this was a BIG year to review the world of legaltech, AI and innovation. So much has happened since ChatGPT exploded onto the market in November 2022. Its impact has been pervasive, even in an industry like legal which would not, in the past, have been described as agile.
So, what changed in 2023? What stuck, what didn’t, and why? We welcomed back 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 Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader at Moores, to discuss this and, we wrapped with a little crystal ball gazing into 2024 too!
We started this session with identifying why GenAI has captured our attention, dominated every conference, meeting, and the media so completely. Then we moved into the nitty gritty of it all, identifying use cases, interrogating how tech stacks have changed, and how that is impacting the law firm business model (client relationships, billing, risk and value). And we spent a little time on the huge question around capabilities too – do we have them, what do they look like, and how we can bridge the gaps?
There’s a lot going on in legal businesses right now, in all these areas, so we also explored how these businesses are strategising and planning for/in a market that is changing so rapidly and dramatically. That discussion took us to the next, how leaders/leadership are/is being reinvented for a new legal world, and that for many, this will involve a steep learning curve.
We wrapped with what will come next, in the first month of 2024. While plans differed, one thing was certain, we all have to find the space to reflect, consider next steps, and find the calm in this AI storm.
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 Beth Patterson, the Founder and Director of legal industry-focused tech consultancy, ESPconnect and an Adjunct Professor (Industry) at UTS Faculty of Law.
Beth’s career has the distinctive hallmark of being groundbreaking. The depth and breadth of her experience in tech and legaltech, in tech companies and law firms, as a consultant and educator, means she has a highly practical, global and unique perspective on where AI in the legal industry is going today.
Our discussion began with context - placing generative AI in the broader AI continuum - and moved into its impact on the legal industry. We are all still experimenting (testing and investing) in every industry, legal included, and we should be because there are still major issues with the tech that need to be worked out. However, what was also clear from our chat is the need for us to engage with the tech NOW because it’s not going away, not ever! Senior management in law firms know this (as do our clients) and they’re driving the engagement with it, something that makes this tech journey different from others.
What AI will we end up with at the end of this journey? Beth opines it will be a portfolio - a combination of enterprise-wide tech and point solutions, with commercial models driving the selection of what you use, for what and when. But, integration will also remain key; data governance critical; and capabilities to identify pain points, choose and use/apply fit-for-purpose tech increasingly part of every solution and BAU.
The opportunities with AI in legal are plentiful for those who jump in – new roles, new responsibilities, new practice areas (or expanded), new revenue streams, increasingly refined LLMs that do more and do it better – it’s a brave old and new world which we will embrace with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) or JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) – you’ll definitely want to listen to or watch this session to see where you fall on the continuum!
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video here.
Resources:
- Thomson Reuters Institute, Edge International, and ESPconnect: 2023 Australia: State of the Legal Market Report
- Thomson Reuters, Tech & the Law 2023 Report: Perceptions and Priorities
- The conference referred to it this session is CLI’s Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 (24 and 25 October) – you will find the video and podcast recordings 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Gen AI has reinvented the legal workforce. We’re seeing old roles expand, new roles emerge and some disappear too. So how is the legal industry preparing for this? What are the new talent strategies, capabilities, perspectives, retrospectives and yes, everything in between?
In this podcast, Sam Burrett, Legal Optimisation Consulting at MinterEllison explored the new world of legal talent with these fabulous ‘people centred’ innovators:
- Jan Christie, Director, Capability + Organisational Development, Gilbert + Tobin
- Schellie-Jayne (SJ) Price, Partner, Stirling & Rose and CLI Advisory Board Member
- Nam Truong, Digital + Innovation, Law Squared
- Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader, Moores
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.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Harvard computer science course for lawyers
- OpenAI prompt engineering course
- An easier way to experience to functionality of semantic search
ChatGPT4 came after ChatGPT1 – getting from 1 to 4 and beyond took time, money, failure, frustration, resilience, agility, collaboration and multidisciplinary teamwork. These factors are all part of experimentation but they’re not typically hallmarks of the legal industry. So, how do we get from here to the new digital legal world?
In this podcast, Michelle Mahoney, Executive Director Innovation at King & Wood Mallesons got into the nitty gritty of what experimentation means in legal and how GenAI is encouraging its integration into legal BAU in discussion with this incredible panel of legal experimenters:
- Gary Adler, Chief Digital Officer, MinterEllison
- Danielle Emerson, Senior Legal Transformation Manager, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Elliot White, Head of Innovation & Legal Technology, Addleshaw Goddard
- Dominic Woolrych, Co-founder & CEO, Lawpath
This podcast was on Day One of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 24 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 is the new and emerging role of regulatory authorities in a GenAI world? Who should be regulated (lawyers and paralegals)? Should the provision of legal services/products/solutions remain a duopoly? Should tech/AI competency be mandated? What does legal professional responsibility mean in contemporary legal practice?
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation was joined by this outstanding panel and discussed the role of regulation and regulators:
- Matthew Dunn, General Manager – Advocacy, Guidance and Governance, Queensland Law Society
- Catherine Gleeson, Barrister, NSW Bar Council Member and Deputy Chair of the NSW Bar News Committee
- Jeannie Paterson, Professor of Law, University of Melbourne and Co-Director, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), University of Melbourne
- Jennifer Shaw, Partner, Bartier Perry Lawyers and Panel Member of the NSW Law Society’s Professional Conduct Advisory Panel
This podcast was on Day One of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 24 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.
We’ve heard the stats and see every day the increasing and critical need to improve access to justice. There is much GenAI can do to help but it’s not a perfect solution, or is it?
In this podcast, Maya Markovich, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Justice Technology Association and CLI Advisory Board member, analysed and discussed the impact of GenAI in A2J with an amazing panel of community legal sector, pro bono, and low bono specialists:
- Amy Burton, Head of Pro Bono, Mills Oakley and Managing Lawyer, Everyday Justice
- Laura Elliott, Pro Bono Senior Associate, DLA Piper
- Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor, UNSW Law & Justice
- Noel Lim, Co-Founder and CEO, Anika Legal
This podcast was on Day One of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 24 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.
Will Generative AI destroy law firms? Only if lawyers are too fixed in their ways to see the possibilities that lie beyond who we've always been and what we've always done.
In this podcast, globally renowned legal commentator Jordan Furlong, Principal at Law21, unpacked the challenges and opportunities of a GenAI-fuelled and human-centred legal world, one that is new, different and completely re-envisioned!
This podcast was on Day One of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 24 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.
Generative AI has dominated tech meetings, conversations, debates and demonstrations this year. We’ve been impressed, intimidated, inspired and disillusioned by the tech, so now almost a year since ChatGPT launched, is GenAI REALLY a game-changer? Is it the ultimate catalyst and influencer? Can it/should it sustain its impact on the legal world through pivotal roles like legal ops?
In this podcast, legal ops legend Mary O’Carroll, Chief Community Officer at Ironclad, Inc. and Co-Founder of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) shared her thoughts, experiences and use cases in response to those questions…as well as launching the Summit!
This episode was on Day One of the CLI Legal Generative AI Summit 2023 on 24 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.
It’s been almost a year since ChatGPT launched! For many of us, that opened the door to a new world – new concepts, new terms, confusion, frustration, exhilaration – a whole lot of stuff to understand, implement and manage. We needed guidance but the sort that shines a light on where to go and doesn’t require us to build the flashlight first.
It takes a special combination of capabilities to do that, not everyone has them but determining who does, who doesn’t, and asking the right questions to engage the right person to assist can be hard, especially in new and emerging areas of expertise. Get the match right, and it can jump a legal business ahead in leaps and bounds. Get it wrong, and it will do the opposite but worse, create a culture of inertia that can last for years.
We spoke with someone who knows all about that, Josh Kubicki, the Co-founder and Business Designer of Bold Duck Studio and author of The Brainyacts Generative AI Newsletter. Josh’s deep experience in the legal ecosystem most particularly in advising on, leading, and delivering legal services done differently, qualifies him as someone who knows what it takes to make a contemporary legal business work and who it takes to do that too.
Josh’s work in the legal generative AI space is outstanding. He has combined his passion for tech, design, education, writing, and innovation with an entrepreneurial flare to produce a powerhouse of resources (check out The Brainyacts website) - videos, blogs, newsletters, checklists - to help the legal world embrace generative AI.
We spoke with Josh about one of his many projects, the AI Expert Checklist – it’s like a mini-CV for your next AI presenter so you can be sure to engage someone who really knows their stuff. In so many ways it typifies the work Josh is doing in this space – pragmatic, thoughtful, insightful, user-friendly, cutting-edge, and ground breaking – we know you’re going to enjoy this conversation just as much as we did!
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.
The title of Marshall Goldsmith’s book (2007) “What Got You Here Won't Get You There,” has become a mantra for change and with good reason – it’s true – we can’t do things differently until we think about and approach them differently. That mindset shift, changing the way we think and do, has never had higher stakes or been more in demand than now, as the legal industry embraces AI.
Embracing change doesn’t come easily. It needs to start early. It often starts small and grows. It can be a team builder, collaboration opportunity, and produce unanticipated, positive outcomes. It can start as an idea over coffee. It will develop if it is given the space to breath and is supported by leaders with open minds and an excitement about experimentation. The Lander & Rogers AI Clinical Placement Program in collaboration with Monash University Law School (Dr. Jacqueline Weinberg) is the proof of that concept!
We spoke with Courtney Blackman, Head of Partnerships at Lander & Rogers in Australia and the firm’s lead for the Clinic – an experiment and pilot program from the outset, focussed on providing real world experience for law students in what AI can (and can’t do) in a law firm and, identifying use cases the firm could take forward in the process. It’s an amazing law school/legal industry collaboration in experiential learning that has created a unique experience for everyone involved and, we’re very certain, this will be the first of many more amazing AI clinics to come!
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.
Generative AI has changed the world of legal work forever! That’s a big statement but, we’re seeing proofs of concept daily in multiple services, products and solutions from all types of legal businesses.
Those engaging with the tech are building the bridges from concept to implementation. It requires work and, in some cases, lots of it. It starts with getting everyone involved and, it won’t end, ever – that’s the exciting, exhausting and amazing part about it, this tech is very much about ongoing change, transformation and improvement/experimentation.
In this session, in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Lisa Kozaris, Chief Innovation and Legal Solutions Officer at Allens in Australia about all things emerging tech and how to implement it in a law firm. Lisa’s background in law and curiosity about how it intersects with tech, has turned into a passion, dedication, and practical approach to inspiring others to embrace it.
We spoke about some of the important factors to consider in the tech implementation journey like the need for clear guidelines about how to use it; the benefits of encouraging everyone, everywhere to engage with it; the opportunity to showcase talent and outcomes using a multi-disciplinary team collaborative approach to solutions; making sure people feel empowered and excited about unlocking their creativity; then taking time to review and reflect on what to take forward.
Lisa and her team have established a blueprint for change, transformation and continuous improvement/experimentation for the firm. It’s an inclusive measured approach, founded on a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of tech but, at the same time, focussed squarely on next practices and creating a “new digital front door” for their clients. Airlie, Allens recently launched enterprise version of OpenAI's ChatGPT developed with Microsoft and built on Microsoft's Azure platform, is a recent case in point that we spoke about, and we’re sure it definitely won’t be the last!
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.
No matter what industry you put under the microscope or where you turn right now, there are gaps in digital literacy. Tech and AI are evolving at an unprecedented pace. Legal has and will come under increased scrutiny to keep up to remain relevant. And what that means is upskilling or reskilling on a scale we have never seen before. The legal world is not ready for this, not by a long shot.
We won’t close the digital literacy gap doing legal education the same way, in the same places – we need to do legal education differently and for a new generation - generation AI!
In this session in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Abdi Shayesteh, the CEO & Founder of AltaClaro. Abdi’s background as a teenage entrepreneur, lawyer, and innovator led him to think differently about legal education and then, with his team of education, tech, and subject area specialists, reinvent it!
AltaClaro is leading the way in a new type of experiential legal education – a collaboration with industry partners laser focussed on agile program development, leveraging tech and upskilling/reskilling in person, in small groups, at scale. In the example we spoke about, what started as a conversation over coffee has turned into a suite of programs aimed at bridging the gap in digital literacy for lawyers and allied legal professionals.
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
This podcast was delivered on 25 August 2023 and is the ninth and final session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Lisa Crosbie, Technology Evangelist and Amanda Fajerman, Engagement Manager, both at Barhead discussed Driving your business forward with Microsoft Copilot.
Topics covered included:
- What is Microsoft Copilot?
- Where will Microsoft Copilot be available?
- When will Microsoft Copilot be available?
- The need to be ready for Microsoft Copilot
- How to drive your business forward with Microsoft Copilot
- Reduce your digital debt
- Audit your context, knowledge and information sources
- Update your MS Knowledge and Governance Framework
- Prepare your workforce
- Embed ‘productivity efficiency’ mindsets
Resources
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 9 August 2023 and is the eighth session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Julian Webb, Professor of Law, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne discussed AI and Ethics in Legal Practice – What you need to know now!
Topics covered included:
- A brief background and context of legal AI
- ‘Old school’ expert systems
- Machine learning
- LLMs and LGAIMs (Generative AI e.g. ChatGPT)
- The ‘black box problem’
-
Accuracy, accessibility and transparency
-
AI and Legal Ethics
- Competence, care and skill
- Confidentiality and privilege
-
The duty to supervise – systems and users
-
Conclusion – A ‘duty’ to innovate?
Resources
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 2 August 2023 and is the seventh session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Joel Barolsky, Principal, Edge International discussed how Generative AI is changing law firm strategy and business models.
Topics covered in this session included how current generative AI will impact a law firm’s business strategy and business model for:
- Team structure, shape and composition
- Leverage, pricing margin and utilisation
- The dynamics and exchange of value between firms and their clients
- The role and offering of private law firms
- Marketing and business development
- Firm-wide capabilities and skill sets
- Risk and the cost of PI insurance
- New growth opportunities in advising clients on AI-related matters
- Industry structure and profitability
- Likely winners and losers
Resources
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 21 July 2023 and is the sixth session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Ab Saraswat, Chief Revenue Officer, Lupl and Founder, Fringe Legal discussed everything you need to know about ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Legal …. all the tips and traps.
Topics covered included:
- Prompt Engineering Basics
- Prompt Formatting
- Types of Prompting
- Techniques, Tips and Best Practices
- Ethical Considerations
Resources
- Best practices for prompt engineering with OpenAI API
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 19 July 2023 and is the fifth session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Patrick Fair, Principal, Patrick Fair Associates discussed Generative AI, ChatGPT and IP Rights.
Topics covered included:
- Generative AI overview
- Impact of GenAI on: Design Rights, Circuit Layout rights, Trade Marks, Patents and Copyright
- Compare and contrast the legal position outside Australia
- Review of recent cases
Resources
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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 final episode of eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation facilitated a discussion focused on the journey from Managing Partner to Founder and what it takes to build a legacy with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia:
- Kristen Podagiel, Co-Founder, UNIQ You
- Sarah Rey, Founding Partner, Justitia Lawyers and Consultants
- Allison Warburton, Co-Founder and Director, Lacuna Professional Solutions
Topics covered in this session included:
- Defining legacy – What is it? What does it mean to you? Is it ok not to focus on it, ever? Is it a solo or collaborative decision?
- Building a runway – What is a “runway”? How long is it? Why is it important?
- Is there an “ah ha” moment when it’s time to move on? What does it look like?
- How does the journey end, with a bang, a but, or a what’s next?
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.
This podcast was delivered on 11 July 2023 and is the fourth session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Krystal Jackson, eDiscovery Senior Manager, Ashurst Advance discussed data – what you need to know, what you need to do, and how you can get ready for the legal AI revolution.
Topics covered included:
- What data is (and is not)
- Data governance and storage
- On premise vs cloud storage
- Data collection and disclosure
- What data works best with AI
Resources
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 7 July 2023 and is the third session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session Stan Chua, Service Delivery Manager, Technology, Lander & Rogers discussed Large Language Models.
Topics covered included:
- Machine Learning, Large Language Model, Generative AI – What’s the difference?
- Large Language Model: How does it work? How does it learn?
- Transformer – the magic tool behind ChatGPT
- Impact, ethics and risk considerations
- Hallucinations
- Future of Large Language Models
Resources
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 27 June 2023 and is the second session in CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session, Ab Saraswat, Chief Revenue Officer at Lupl and Founder of Fringe Legal discussed ChatGPT Plugins – Why? Now? Next?
Topics covered included:
- The difference between APIs, Apps and Plugins
- How ChatGPT Plugins are solving some of the limitations of ChatGPT, enabling more dynamic, context-aware systems
- The risks and challenges associated with ChatGPT Plugins, including data security and reliability
- Predictions about the future of ChatGPT Plugins, including growth trends and advanced integration possibilities
- The potential for the development of legal-specific plugins and their implications for the legal sector
Resources
- Fringe Legal #82: Unveiling the Impact of ChatGPT Plugins on Legal Tech
- Fringe Legal: Law Tech Daily
- CLI Legal Generative AI LinkedIn Group
- CLI Generative AI Initiative
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.
This podcast was delivered on 20 June 2023 and launched CLI’s AI for Legal Series.
In this session, Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer and Mitchell Scott, Data and Delivery Manager, both from Gilbert + Tobin, discussed How to Use Generative AI and ChatGPT in Legal Practice.
Topics covered included:
- The changing AI landscape
- The legal generative AI toolkit
- What’s coming around the corner in legal AI
- The approaches taken to AI in the legal industry so far
- Risks and ethical considerations when using generative AI
- The do’s and don’ts of generative AI
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 seventh episode of eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Bronwyn Eynon-Lewis, Co-Founder, Lacuna Professional Services facilitated a discussion focussed on when a business idea doesn’t go to plan, what’s next, with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia:
- Kim Trajer, Chief Operating Officer, McCullough Robertson
- Phi Vo, Principal & Director, Catalyst Migration Law
- Alexandra Vost, Legal Optimisation Manager, MinterEllison
Topics covered in this session included:
- How to encourage and sustain creativity and innovative business ideas
- How to create a culture of experimentation vs pilots
- How to frame, communicate and create buy in for your idea
- The pros and cons of falling in love with your own idea
- How to identify that not all ideas have the same risk and how to manage the differences
- Is failure different, worse or the same for start-ups vs established businesses
- How to know when to stay or walk away if your idea fails
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 final of five sessions on Digital Contracting for Net Zero, CLI’s Distinguished Fellow, Natalia Crnomarkovic was joined by Bernadette Bulacan Starin to explore how emerging technologies are shaping the future of Climate Contracting and how leading organisations are looking to blockchain and other emerging technologies as key Net Zero enablers.
Bernadette Bulacan Starin is Chief Evangelist at Icertis, a Gartner Magic Quadrant CLM vendor, and 2021 Fellow of the World Commerce and Contracting organisation.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Digital contracting as a key enabler for Climate aligned contracting
- Contract Lifecycle maturity – the state of play and recent market shifts
- Key challenges in driving Net Zero across supply chains and how blockchain-enabled CLM technology promises to transform these challenges into a competitive advantage
- Top tips for organisations seeking to accelerate NetZero through supply chains using digital contracting
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series in the Digital Contracting for Net Zero Report 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 of five sessions on Digital Contracting for Net Zero, CLI’s Distinguished Fellow, Natalia Crnomarkovic was joined by Alishia Ballantine and Peter Moulton to explore the limitations of current CLM systems in enabling Net Zero and how Next Gen contracting (aka Smart Legal Contracts) will uplift climate metrics capture and reporting across supply chains.
Alishia Ballintine is a Legal Analyst with Stirling & Rose, a first-of-a-kind legal practice specialising in emerging technology and Peter Moulton is Co-founder and CEO of Sensand, an Australian Earth Tech company that is at the cusp of launching a blockchain enabled global carbon trading exchange.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Limitations of current state Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Platforms in supporting climate contracting, monitoring and reporting
- The evolution of contracts from static artefacts to dynamic Digital Assets (Smart Legal Contracts)
- How Smart Legal Contracts working with new platforms such as carbon trading exchanges promise to streamline the pathway to Net Zero
- How in-house lawyers can help prepare their organisations for DLT enabled Climate Contracting
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series in the Digital Contracting for Net Zero Report 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 third of five sessions on Digital Contracting for Net Zero, CLI’s Distinguished Fellow, Natalia Crnomarkovic was joined by Marko Misko to explore how lawyers are aligning Construction supply chains with NetZero and the growing importance of technology as an enabler in this space.
Marko Misko is a leading front-end infrastructure lawyer and partner with HWL Ebsworth Lawyers. He is chair of the sustainability policy chapter at Roads Australia and honorary General Counsel of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Climate as a key business risk and the duty of lawyers to address this risk
- How legal and procurement functions are aligning construction supply chains with Net Zero starting with pre-RFP planning
- The importance of creativity and collaborative cross-disciplinary delivery models to design and implement effective Net Zero programs
- Key challenges and opportunities for lawyers seeking to make a difference in Climate
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series in the Digital Contracting for Net Zero Report 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 second of five sessions on Digital Contracting for Net Zero, CLI’s Distinguished Fellow, Natalia Crnomarkovic was joined by Jessica Mottau and Tara Fontanilla to showcase how in-house and private practice lawyers are teaming to support NetZero across FMCG Supply Chains, through NetZero aligned contracting and explore the growing importance of technology in this space.
Jessica Mottau is a Partner in Allens’ TMT practice based in Sydney and Tara Fontanilla is Senior Legal Counsel NZ with Danone Oceania, based in NZ.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Danone’s approach to Net Zero
- How the in-house team works with external legal advisors on Net Zero
- How Australian procurement and legal teams are tackling Net Zero across the contract lifecycle from partner selection to KPIs and audit rights
- The role of technology and data to support decarbonisation benchmarking and reporting
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series in the Digital Contracting for Net Zero Report 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 first of five sessions on Digital Contracting for Net Zero, CLI’s Distinguished Fellow, Natalia Crnomarkovic was joined by Phoebe Roberts to explore how legal teams are jumping into action to propel NetZero through Climate adjusted risk allocation and Climate contracting.
Phoebe Roberts is a senior legal practitioner in MinterEllison’s Climate Risk Governance Team and Director of Implementation and APAC Co-lead at The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP).
Topics covered in this session included:
- The role of legal and contract management teams to secure the pathway to Net Zero
- The shift from traditional risk allocation to climate aligned contracting for climate impact
- Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as an invaluable resource for climate contracting
- Key challenges across the contract lifecycle for Australian Corporates in addressing climate
- The role of technology in securing a NetZero future
- Tips for lawyers seeking to align supply chains with Corporate NetZero aspirations
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series in the Digital Contracting for Net Zero Report 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 sixth episode of eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Melissa Lyon, Executive Director and Experience Designer, Hive Legal facilitated a discussion focusing on the journey from Lawyer to NewLaw Careerist with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia:
- Liz Fernando, Head of Legal Project Management, Allens
- Kate Greenwood, National Innovation Manager Family & Relationship Law, Lander & Rogers
- Katherine Thomas, Managing Director, Katherine Thomas Consulting and CEO, Free Range Lawyers
Topics covered in this session included:
- What is (and isn’t) a NewLaw career
- How different paths to NewLaw careers are possible, probable, and positive
- The need for and importance of diversity and inclusion in NewLaw careers
- What’s next for NewLaw careers – evolution, journeys, paths and capabilities
- How NewLaw careers are shaping/contributing to the transformation of legal practice
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 fifth episode of eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Sheetal Deo, Founder and Principal Solicitor, Shakti Legal Solutions facilitated a discussion focussed on Partnership or Sole Proprietorship and what to consider before you jump, with two outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia:
- Natasha Blycha, Managing Director & Founder Partner, Stirling & Rose
- Kelly Gatehouse, Principal Lawyer and Director, Nurture Law
Topics covered in this session included:
- How you know when you’ve reached a decision point in your career, the alternatives available to you, and how to compare/assess them
- The key differences and considerations between partnership and sole proprietorship
- The realities of starting and running a legal business: solo or a team; growing the business or not; home office or not; funding options; balancing doing the work and managing your business
- Why you need and how to create/integrate a multidisciplinary team inside/outside your firm, or both
- The importance of mentors, advisors and support – who you need, where to find them, and how you translate advice into actions steps
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 eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation, facilitated a discussion with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia on how they created a change agenda, led their firms (and clients) from A-Z, and what their plans are to sustain this in 2023:
- Genevieve Collins, Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers
- Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin
- Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader, Moores
Topics covered in this session included:
- How to define innovation and change (it’s different for everyone) AND how the two are intertwined
- The catalyst for and if there is a “secret sauce” that engages people in change/transformation
- Real-life examples of change/innovation projects/initiatives that worked or failed AND what happened next!
- How to value innovation and resource it at any time but especially in the face of a recession
- How do you know innovation/change has become your new BAU, part of your culture, and not just a project
- The importance of developing leadership capabilities in achieving and championing innovation/change
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.
This session has become a signature event for CLI – this is our fourth year of looking back, seeing what stuck and what didn’t in legal innovation and tech and why. We always wrap with a little crystal ball gazing into 2023 too!
This year we chatted with Caryn Sandler, Partner and Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer at Gilbert + Tobin and Co-chair of the CLI Advisory Board; Graeme Grovum, Head of Technology and Client Solutions at Allens; and Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader at Moores - we had lots to discuss, 2022 was a big year…
On the tech side, we spoke about tech stacks (the nice to haves vs not negotiable now in our post-COVID BAU world); the winners and the REAL, practical differences between platforms and point solutions; the outlook for legaltech start-ups in 2023 (the good, the bad and the ugly); and yes, ChatGPT too!
On the innovation side, we discussed the rate and distribution of REAL change in the legal world, where that was happening i.e., in legal departments vs law firms and why that mattered. We did a deep dive into capabilities – how these were changing and expanding to accommodate new law firm business models and meet/exceed client expectations – that inevitably led us to a discussion about NewLaw careers! We also chatted about the many practical, critical ways that firms were processing all of this and addressing that in an employment market increasingly typified by skills shortages, resignations, hybrid work, and with the threat of more economic challenges to come in 2023.
We wrapped with predictions for 2023…you’ll need to watch/listen to this session to find that out…no spoiler alerts here!
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.
Robots are going to replace lawyers! That’s the headline that often comes to mind when we think about AI in the legal world. But, it’s not realistic for a bunch of different reasons and in this session, we discussed why with Uwais Iqbal, the Founder of simplexico, a legal AI consultancy based in the UK and dedicated to serving the AI, ML and NLP needs of the legal sector. You’ll also find Uwais on Twitter here.
Uwais’ background as a machine learning engineer and data scientist and, the emerging need for those skills in the legal world, is what connected him to it. From that lived experience, he identified an opportunity to make AI understandable, user-friendly, and an integral part of the legal marketplace. It’s an amazing story and where we started this conversation.
We then jumped into some myth-busting and discussed where AI in legal lies today on the Gartner Hype Cycle and where we can expect that to go. We did a deep dive into the practical benefits of AI. We also discussed the challenges, especially those that relate to and have already pointed to the need for careful review, consideration, and determination in areas like ethics and bias.
We ended with a discussion about ChatGPT. Having been launched in November 2022, it was a hot topic in the media when we spoke and, subject to mixed reactions. We discussed how the real opportunity of this AI, and AI in general, was yet to be fully realised and we’ll likely get closest to seeing it when the data sets used to train AI to move from the public to private arenas.
This is a conversation everyone in the legal ecosystem should watch/listen to. AI is going to influence decisions and impact every part of the legal world. It won’t all happen at the same time but, one thing is for sure, it’s going to be harder and harder to catch up if we don’t get on board and at least follow the trajectory.
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, the third episode of eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation, facilitated a discussion about the when, how, why and what of funding for women-led businesses with two outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia and the USA:
- Jannaya James, Partner - Financial Advisory, Grant Thornton Australia
- Basha Rubin, CEO & Co-Founder, Priori Legal
Topics covered in this session included:
- How to think about and make fundamental choices for business funding
- Key sources of funding for legal businesses
- Whether or not legal businesses need to be more creative and cast the net widely/differently when it comes to funding
- What funders look for in a legal business and why
- When it’s desirable/undesirable for a funder to take a stake in the business
- The profile of and your checklist for a fabulous investor
- Why women-led businesses don’t fare as well in the funding stakes and what can be done about it
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.
Everywhere you look there's another launch, announcement, and even more discussion about legaltech! While there is DEFINITELY more tech to choose from today, the SAME critical question remains for you to ask and answer...what's the right tech for you and your law firm?
In this podcast, Fiona McLay, Principal Lawyer & Consultant at McLay Legal answered that question, revisited her popular original video from May 2020, and provided a practical framework for getting started and implementing your legaltech projects.
Topics covered in this session included:
- What’s changed since 2019 in the legaltech marketplace
- Common legaltech adoption challenges and how to solve them
- A five-step practical process for choosing the right legaltech
- How to kick start your legaltech projects today
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.
If you would like to revisit Fiona’s earlier video on Getting Started with Legal Tech Projects, you’ll find it here.
In this podcast, in the second episode of eight in the CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group, Courtney Blackman, Head of Partnerships, Lander & Rogers, facilitated a discussion about the journey from Start Up to Scale Up with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia:
- Riz Amin, CEO, Foundd Legal
- Renee Coman, Mergers and Acquisitions Relationship Manager, Jonas Software
- Kate McAlister, Lawyer & Co-Founder, Markster
Topics covered in this session included:
- The difference between a start-up and scale-up
- How to identify, read the signs, and make the business transformation from start-up to scale-up at the right time
- Determining, understanding, and prioritising your product market
- The importance of client relationships and client-based business growth
- How to sustain a scaled business – what it takes, what to do, and what it looks like
- Developing, managing and choosing the right talent for a growing business – capabilities; FT/PT/casual; insourcing/outsourcing
- Funding options – bootstrap/client investment/external funding
- The role, challenges and opportunities of tech
- Helpful tools and resources for growing start-ups
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 final session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI facilitated a panel discussion focussing on what we have learnt this year – the big themes, the big changes and what that’s telling us about where legaltech is heading.
Terri was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel
- Nikki Shaver, CEO & Co-Founder, Legaltech Hub
- Clinton Swan, International Operations/Co-Founder, Codelex Legaltech
Topics covered in this session included:
- What defines a legaltech ecosystem
- Whether or not the global legaltech market is in start-up or scale-up mode, or something entirely different, and why it matters
- What’s hot in legaltech right now
- Where the legaltech money is being spent and why
- The biggest challenges for legaltech development around the world
- The biggest opportunities arising from taking a global view of legaltech
- The impact of digital literacy on legaltech uptake
- The impact of and the difference between regulation of the legal profession vs regulation of tech
- What’s next for legaltech in 2023
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
So much has changed in the legal workplace. We’ve heard about the gig economy. We know people are working differently and from different places now. We also know that no matter what your profession, the digital ecosystem has disrupted it and will continue to do that for a long time to come. So, have these changes opened the door to a new way to conceive work for a different workforce? Is it possible to access the right amount of expertise (not all of it), at the right time, remotely, and at the right price? Debra Andrews has answered this question with an emphatic “yes” for the marketing world and calls it fractional marketing!
Debra is the President and Owner of Marketri LLC in the USA and, a marketing guru! She has worked in senior marketing roles in 3 of the 4 big global consulting firms and as a Fractional CMO, all before launching Marketri. Marketri is a strategic marketing consultancy that provides a slice (fraction) of expertise from a whole bunch of marketing specialists in strategy, execution, and analytics to B2B companies including law firms.
So, what exactly is fractional marketing? It means instead of expanding your internal marketing team (Chief Marketing Officer, Managers, creative directors, data analysts, PR professionals, project managers, writers, graphic designers, MarTech specialists) you outsource your marketing work to a team of these specialists who provide the slice (fraction) of expertise you need from them, when you need it. For a company like Marketri, that could mean providing one person to act as a fractional (not full-time) Chief Marketing Officer. At other times, it might mean selecting a team of experts in areas relevant to the engagement. And, because the fractional specialist/teams don’t work in just one industry, it also means they bring the best of all ideas, approaches, and initiatives from all industries to the engagement. It’s customised. It’s grounded in efficiency. Being able to access this depth of expertise allows mid-sized businesses to compete with those that are much larger.
We’ve seen the rise of fractional CEOs, now fractional CMOs and other specialists, it will be interesting to see if this idea evolves into a fractional C-suite and beyond!
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.
With this podcast, we launched CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group.
In this, the first of eight sessions in the series, we chatted with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia, Singapore and the USA who have taken the journey from Founder to CEO and candidly shared that experience:
- Sonja Ebron, Co-Founder, & CEO, Courtroom5
- Sacha Kirk (Facilitator), Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Lawcadia
- Cherilyn Tan, CEO & Founder, AsiaLawNetwork.com & Tessaract Technologies
Topics covered in this session included:
- What changes when you move from the role of founder to CEO
- The benefits of having a founder vs co-founder; how this evolves; and how/why roles and responsibilities are distributed
- How to build an effective team: in-sourcing vs outsourcing; what you continue to do vs what the team does; the challenges of scaling, hiring the right people, contractors, retaining mindset and culture
- The pros and cons of international expansion
- The relationship between investors and founders – who wants what and how to ensure interests are aligned
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.
With this podcast, we launched CLI’s Women Legal Business Founders and Leaders Series offered through our Legalpreneurs Lab, Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group.
In this, the first of eight sessions in the series, we chatted with three outstanding women founders and leaders from Australia, Singapore and the USA who have taken the journey from Founder to CEO and candidly shared that experience:
- Sonja Ebron, Co-Founder, & CEO, Courtroom5
- Sacha Kirk (Facilitator), Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Lawcadia
- Cherilyn Tan, CEO & Founder, AsiaLawNetwork.com & Tessaract Technologies
Topics covered in this session included:
- What changes when you move from the role of founder to CEO
- The benefits of having a founder vs co-founder; how this evolves; and how/why roles and responsibilities are distributed
- How to build an effective team: in-sourcing vs outsourcing; what you continue to do vs what the team does; the challenges of scaling, hiring the right people, contractors, retaining mindset and culture
- The pros and cons of international expansion
- The relationship between investors and founders – who wants what and how to ensure interests are aligned
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 Sarah Stoddart, Founder and Director and Michele Davis, Special Counsel at Vitality Law Australia.
Vitality Law Australia (VLA) was born from a desire to do law differently and to achieve true work-life integration. It’s a non-traditional law firm specialising in healthcare, small business, property and wills and estates matters.
The small and nimble VLA team works remotely and flexibly, demonstrating the firm’s strong commitment to its clients, its business AND life outside of business too.
Client convenience, comfort, and customisation of services are at the core of VLA’s business. This includes things like meeting online rather than in person and giving advice via slide decks and images rather than long letters. VLA has done away with legal jargon, daunting meeting rooms and dark suits – they are all about helping their clients grow, in business and in life.
Topics discussed in the session included:
- Why VLA is a “non-traditional legal practice”
- The importance of values, goals and how these shape and inform firm culture
- How client needs and expectations are changing and, consequently, how and why customisation is redefining legal practice
- How a mix of legal services and products supports and enhances the client and lawyer experience
- The pros and cons of flexible, remote and hybrid working for legal business owners and employees
- What NewLaw legal business founders need to focus on before and after they launch
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 Sarah Stoddart, Founder and Director and Michele Davis, Special Counsel at Vitality Law Australia.
Vitality Law Australia (VLA) was born from a desire to do law differently and to achieve true work-life integration. It’s a non-traditional law firm specialising in healthcare, small business, property and wills and estates matters.
The small and nimble VLA team works remotely and flexibly, demonstrating the firm’s strong commitment to its clients, its business AND life outside of business too.
Client convenience, comfort, and customisation of services are at the core of VLA’s business. This includes things like meeting online rather than in person and giving advice via slide decks and images rather than long letters. VLA has done away with legal jargon, daunting meeting rooms and dark suits – they are all about helping their clients grow, in business and in life.
Topics discussed in the session included:
- Why VLA is a “non-traditional legal practice”
- The importance of values, goals and how these shape and inform firm culture
- How client needs and expectations are changing and, consequently, how and why customisation is redefining legal practice
- How a mix of legal services and products supports and enhances the client and lawyer experience
- The pros and cons of flexible, remote and hybrid working for legal business owners and employees
- What NewLaw legal business founders need to focus on before and after they launch
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 seventh session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel facilitated a discussion about the local legaltech market in Latin America.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Andrés Jara, Co-Founder & CEO, Kea Technology Inc (Chile)
- Bibiana Martinez Camelo, Head of Legal Operations, Bancolombia (Colombia)
- Silvana Stochetti, Founder & CEO, Legalify Latam (Argentina)
- Maxime Troubat, CEO, Juridoc (Brazil)
- Agustin Velazquez G.L, Managing Partner, AVA Firm (Mexico)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Latin America
- The drivers/agents of change and impact of legaltech in the B2B and B2C markets (and how they are connected)
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech
- The impact of COVID on the legaltech market
- The importance of legaltech communities
- Who is funding legaltech development in Latin America and are tech developers staying, going, or returning
- What legaltech adoption REALLY looks like (separating the hype and hope from reality)
- The growing importance of digital literacy and the role of law schools in that education
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Additional Resources referred to in this session
- You’ll find the Legal Hackers website here
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
In this podcast, the seventh session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel facilitated a discussion about the local legaltech market in Latin America.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Andrés Jara, Co-Founder & CEO, Kea Technology Inc (Chile)
- Bibiana Martinez Camelo, Head of Legal Operations, Bancolombia (Colombia)
- Silvana Stochetti, Founder & CEO, Legalify Latam (Argentina)
- Maxime Troubat, CEO, Juridoc (Brazil)
- Agustin Velazquez G.L, Managing Partner, AVA Firm (Mexico)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Latin America
- The drivers/agents of change and impact of legaltech in the B2B and B2C markets (and how they are connected)
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech
- The impact of COVID on the legaltech market
- The importance of legaltech communities
- Who is funding legaltech development in Latin America and are tech developers staying, going, or returning
- What legaltech adoption REALLY looks like (separating the hype and hope from reality)
- The growing importance of digital literacy and the role of law schools in that education
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Additional Resources referred to in this session
- You’ll find the Legal Hackers website here
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
Neural nets…sounds exciting, perhaps a little scary, and a long way from anything to do with legal practice, right? Wrong! It has everything to do with how the legal ecosystem is being challenged to reconceive and deliver legal work differently from start to finish and…beyond!
It’s easy to get caught up in jargon in all of this stuff – AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and so the list goes on – that’s why we spoke with Pablo Arredondo, a Co-Founder & the Chief Innovation Officer at Casetext. Pablo works in this world every day, he really knows this stuff, understands legal practice, and seamlessly translates what he knows into the work he does with legal practitioners. That’s no doubt a big part of why Casetext is leading the way in this area with its outstanding, user-friendly products.
Our conversation in this session was a journey. We discussed what neural nets are and are not; how they apply to the legal ecosystem, especially when it comes to legal search; the difference between keyword searches, neural nets, and how you choose between them; some great practical applications of these tools in legal practice like e.g. Casetext’s product AllSearch; how neural nets promise to change everything in the legal world (and other worlds too); and, the benefits that have already emerged from implementing this AI for legal practitioners and, their clients too!
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.
Neural nets…sounds exciting, perhaps a little scary, and a long way from anything to do with legal practice, right? Wrong! It has everything to do with how the legal ecosystem is being challenged to reconceive and deliver legal work differently from start to finish and…beyond!
It’s easy to get caught up in jargon in all of this stuff – AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and so the list goes on – that’s why we spoke with Pablo Arredondo, a Co-Founder & the Chief Innovation Officer at Casetext. Pablo works in this world every day, he really knows this stuff, understands legal practice, and seamlessly translates what he knows into the work he does with legal practitioners. That’s no doubt a big part of why Casetext is leading the way in this area with its outstanding, user-friendly products.
Our conversation in this session was a journey. We discussed what neural nets are and are not; how they apply to the legal ecosystem, especially when it comes to legal search; the difference between keyword searches, neural nets, and how you choose between them; some great practical applications of these tools in legal practice like e.g. Casetext’s product AllSearch; how neural nets promise to change everything in the legal world (and other worlds too); and, the benefits that have already emerged from implementing this AI for legal practitioners and, their clients too!
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 2013, after many years working in large law firms and co-founding one of the first legal metrics start-ups, Caren Ulrich Stacy took time out to reflect on how she could bring together what she had done with what she had experienced to solve a problem that keeps knocking at her door – how do women who had left legal practice for a variety of different reasons, find their way back to it?
The answer was the OnRamp Fellowship, the first returnship program for law firms that later extended to legal departments. It grew into the Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ways of boosting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. The Lab ran a series of Women in Law Hackathons from 2016 – The Mansfield Rule was an idea from the first Hackathon that grew wings in US, Canadian and UK law firms and legal departments too. Named after the first woman lawyer in the US, Arabella Mansfield, its focus is on boosting and sustaining diversity in leadership and the pipeline to leadership.
The Lab also subsequently established the Move the Needle initiative, a wonderful collaborative experiment between the Lab and four founding law firms, resourced over 5 years, the outcome being to produce empirical data (which will include a Report) about diversity and inclusion in hiring, retention and advancement. The Report, when released, promises to provide a tried and tested blueprint for advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal industry.
What Caren has accomplished with the Diversity Lab and these two amazing initiatives (of many) we discussed, is remarkable and outstanding! What’s also critically important is that the work and outcomes are supported, every step of the way, with data, data analysis, and metrics – they provide an empirical and quantifiable foundation that differentiates these initiatives from others and, tells a story that is both deeply personal but also objectively verifiable!
Caren is the Founder & CEO of the Diversity Lab; the Founder of its On Ramp Fellowship; was recently appointed as the Lead Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Advisor to the USPTO; holds roles with the UN Women initiative, and holds Fellowships at The College of Law Practice Management and the Tory Burch Foundation.
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 2013, after many years working in large law firms and co-founding one of the first legal metrics start-ups, Caren Ulrich Stacy took time out to reflect on how she could bring together what she had done with what she had experienced to solve a problem that keeps knocking at her door – how do women who had left legal practice for a variety of different reasons, find their way back to it?
The answer was the OnRamp Fellowship, the first returnship program for law firms that later extended to legal departments. It grew into the Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ways of boosting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. The Lab ran a series of Women in Law Hackathons from 2016 – The Mansfield Rule was an idea from the first Hackathon that grew wings in US, Canadian and UK law firms and legal departments too. Named after the first woman lawyer in the US, Arabella Mansfield, its focus is on boosting and sustaining diversity in leadership and the pipeline to leadership.
The Lab also subsequently established the Move the Needle initiative, a wonderful collaborative experiment between the Lab and four founding law firms, resourced over 5 years, the outcome being to produce empirical data (which will include a Report) about diversity and inclusion in hiring, retention and advancement. The Report, when released, promises to provide a tried and tested blueprint for advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal industry.
What Caren has accomplished with the Diversity Lab and these two amazing initiatives (of many) we discussed, is remarkable and outstanding! What’s also critically important is that the work and outcomes are supported, every step of the way, with data, data analysis, and metrics – they provide an empirical and quantifiable foundation that differentiates these initiatives from others and, tells a story that is both deeply personal but also objectively verifiable!
Caren is the Founder & CEO of the Diversity Lab; the Founder of its On Ramp Fellowship; was recently appointed as the Lead Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Advisor to the USPTO; holds roles with the UN Women initiative, and holds Fellowships at The College of Law Practice Management and the Tory Burch Foundation.
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 in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Zach Posner, the General Partner and Co-Founder of The LegalTech Fund (TLTF). You can see why Zach does what he does. His 15+ years experience working with early-stage companies as a CEO and in the Venture and BOD space is layered into a background in finance, strategy, and business development – it’s hard to imagine a better set of capabilities for his role or more compatible with the work of TLTF.
The TLTF is unique in a number of ways and in the same ways, stands out in a crowded tech funding marketplace - it was established during the pandemic, it invests in start-ups (and beyond), and it's driven by a desire on the part of the founders and investors to proactively support all entrepreneurs (even if they don’t invest in them) and, importantly, it’s very focussed on building a collaborative community along the way. For TLTF, it’s not just about the money, it is about helping entrepreneurs and their companies succeed, supporting what they need, and being there at the beginning, middle, end, and back again!
We discussed TLTF; how investment and development of legaltech has progressed (or not) pre, during and now hopefully post COVID; what barriers have held it back; how these are changing but understanding that there is a lot of room for things to grow in the legal ecosystem, gain momentum, and catch up to where other industries find themselves; when we’ll know if legaltech has made a difference; and the future of the legaltech industry in the near future.
We also discussed TLTF’s inaugural Summit in Miami in December 2022. The Summit, like the Fund, is also unique – it will be a meeting of legaltech thought leaders, doers, and stakeholders who are looking to the future, want to play their part in it, and know the value and mutual benefit derived from working on that together. The Summit will also feature a start-up challenge with the focus again on sharing experiences and building community.
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 in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Zach Posner, the General Partner and Co-Founder of The LegalTech Fund (TLTF). You can see why Zach does what he does. His 15+ years experience working with early-stage companies as a CEO and in the Venture and BOD space is layered into a background in finance, strategy, and business development – it’s hard to imagine a better set of capabilities for his role or more compatible with the work of TLTF.
The TLTF is unique in a number of ways and in the same ways, stands out in a crowded tech funding marketplace - it was established during the pandemic, it invests in start-ups (and beyond), and it's driven by a desire on the part of the founders and investors to proactively support all entrepreneurs (even if they don’t invest in them) and, importantly, it’s very focussed on building a collaborative community along the way. For TLTF, it’s not just about the money, it is about helping entrepreneurs and their companies succeed, supporting what they need, and being there at the beginning, middle, end, and back again!
We discussed TLTF; how investment and development of legaltech has progressed (or not) pre, during and now hopefully post COVID; what barriers have held it back; how these are changing but understanding that there is a lot of room for things to grow in the legal ecosystem, gain momentum, and catch up to where other industries find themselves; when we’ll know if legaltech has made a difference; and the future of the legaltech industry in the near future.
We also discussed TLTF’s inaugural Summit in Miami in December 2022. The Summit, like the Fund, is also unique – it will be a meeting of legaltech thought leaders, doers, and stakeholders who are looking to the future, want to play their part in it, and know the value and mutual benefit derived from working on that together. The Summit will also feature a start-up challenge with the focus again on sharing experiences and building community.
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.
What will the legal team of the future look like and, do we have a blueprint for it? That’s the question Adam Curphey answers in his recently published book: The Legal Team of the Future: Law+ Skills. You can purchase Adam’s book here.
How, where and why the legal ecosystem is transforming is reflected in the new and different way legal work is now being conceived and the capabilities needed to deliver it better, cheaper and faster. It’s creating and driving a whole new war for talent! The workforce of the future, evolving now, is a celebration of the multis – multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-talented and much, much more!
In this podcast in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Adam about his book. We discussed the changing legal ecosystem and, in particular, his Law+ model – Law at the core but plus people, business, change and technology; the challenges and opportunities for law firms, legal departments, and law schools to be discovered and derived from the framework and blueprint in the book; the business case for change; and, where to start on the Law+ journey.
Adam is the Senior Manager of Innovation at Mayer Brown in the UK. He has an amazing history in innovation, legal education and capability development as a former practising lawyer, an academic, in law firms, and in advisory capacities for Lawtech UK and the O-Shaped Lawyer. This deep, lived experience is what makes this discussion and his book practical and candid…and his quirky sense of humour is what makes it fun!
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.
What will the legal team of the future look like and, do we have a blueprint for it? That’s the question Adam Curphey answers in his recently published book: The Legal Team of the Future: Law+ Skills. You can purchase Adam’s book here.
How, where and why the legal ecosystem is transforming is reflected in the new and different way legal work is now being conceived and the capabilities needed to deliver it better, cheaper and faster. It’s creating and driving a whole new war for talent! The workforce of the future, evolving now, is a celebration of the multis – multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-talented and much, much more!
In this podcast in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Adam about his book. We discussed the changing legal ecosystem and, in particular, his Law+ model – Law at the core but plus people, business, change and technology; the challenges and opportunities for law firms, legal departments, and law schools to be discovered and derived from the framework and blueprint in the book; the business case for change; and, where to start on the Law+ journey.
Adam is the Senior Manager of Innovation at Mayer Brown in the UK. He has an amazing history in innovation, legal education and capability development as a former practising lawyer, an academic, in law firms, and in advisory capacities for Lawtech UK and the O-Shaped Lawyer. This deep, lived experience is what makes this discussion and his book practical and candid…and his quirky sense of humour is what makes it fun!
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 Prue Tyler, Founder and Director of SHIFT Advisory.
SHIFT Advisory is a law firm and has been operating in New Zealand for 5 years.
SHIFT provides legal services, but also supports clients across corporate governance, risk, compliance and regulatory change by providing senior quality support to corporates, banks, fund managers, insurers and finance companies.
SHIFT offers expert capability and capacity to complement client teams, when and how they need it. They offer clients astute, experienced people, who integrate seamlessly into a client’s project, team and business, for better outcomes and ways of working.
SHIFT is a values driven business – Community, Authenticity, Empowerment, Freedom and Problem Solving are at the core of its business. These values also inform the firm’s commitment to customised, positive client and employee experience, continuous improvement, digitization (for and with clients), and the importance it places on long-term relationships.
The discussion in the session focused on:
- SHIFT’s journey from its launch as a niche legal business (compliance) to its expansion ahead of, in parallel with, and for its market
- The challenges and opportunities managed by the co-founders as SHIFT evolved
- The importance of and how SHIFT delivers its advisory services through multi-disciplinary teams
- How to approach and build a community for clients and employees
- How to identify, recruit and manage a flexible workforce
- How COVID impacted legal business and the permanency of those changes
- The importance of mentors for business owners
- The important role of law and lawyers in the evolution of RegTech
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 Prue Tyler, Founder and Director of SHIFT Advisory.
SHIFT Advisory is a law firm and has been operating in New Zealand for 5 years.
SHIFT provides legal services, but also supports clients across corporate governance, risk, compliance and regulatory change by providing senior quality support to corporates, banks, fund managers, insurers and finance companies.
SHIFT offers expert capability and capacity to complement client teams, when and how they need it. They offer clients astute, experienced people, who integrate seamlessly into a client’s project, team and business, for better outcomes and ways of working.
SHIFT is a values driven business – Community, Authenticity, Empowerment, Freedom and Problem Solving are at the core of its business. These values also inform the firm’s commitment to customised, positive client and employee experience, continuous improvement, digitization (for and with clients), and the importance it places on long-term relationships.
The discussion in the session focused on:
- SHIFT’s journey from its launch as a niche legal business (compliance) to its expansion ahead of, in parallel with, and for its market
- The challenges and opportunities managed by the co-founders as SHIFT evolved
- The importance of and how SHIFT delivers its advisory services through multi-disciplinary teams
- How to approach and build a community for clients and employees
- How to identify, recruit and manage a flexible workforce
- How COVID impacted legal business and the permanency of those changes
- The importance of mentors for business owners
- The important role of law and lawyers in the evolution of RegTech
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 sixth session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel facilitated a discussion about the legaltech market in Asia.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Komal Gupta, Chief Innovation Officer, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (India)
- Sebastian Ko, Managing Director, AI Vermont (Hong Kong)
- Maurice Rabb, Founder & Managing Editor, LegalTechJapan.com (Japan)
- Rajesh Sreenivasan, Head, Technology Media and Telecoms Law Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and CLI Advisory Board Member (Singapore)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Asia
- The drivers/agents of change in legaltech in Asia
- Who and what is driving the leaders in legaltech adoption – in-house vs law firms
- What legaltech adoption REALLY looks like (separating the hype and hope from reality)
- How law schools are preparing the next generation of lawyers
- The evolution of NewLaw roles like legal engineers and their impact on legal practice
- How regulation and evolution of next-gen legal practice are intertwined
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech in Asia
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
In this podcast, the sixth session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel facilitated a discussion about the legaltech market in Asia.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Komal Gupta, Chief Innovation Officer, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (India)
- Sebastian Ko, Managing Director, AI Vermont (Hong Kong)
- Maurice Rabb, Founder & Managing Editor, LegalTechJapan.com (Japan)
- Rajesh Sreenivasan, Head, Technology Media and Telecoms Law Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and CLI Advisory Board Member (Singapore)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Asia
- The drivers/agents of change in legaltech in Asia
- Who and what is driving the leaders in legaltech adoption – in-house vs law firms
- What legaltech adoption REALLY looks like (separating the hype and hope from reality)
- How law schools are preparing the next generation of lawyers
- The evolution of NewLaw roles like legal engineers and their impact on legal practice
- How regulation and evolution of next-gen legal practice are intertwined
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech in Asia
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
Mediation has an important role to play in family law matters. It provides clarity and support through an emotional and difficult situation. A mediator’s role is central to facilitating an amicable outcome where at all possible. These capabilities require specialist training and, coupled with the use of dedicated technologies, combine to provide increased convenience for clients, a new and different way to resolve conflict, and a unique integration of human and digital skills.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI chatted with Fiona Kirkman, Principal of Kirkman Family Law and the CEO and Legal Co-Founder of FamilyProperty, about how the role of a family law mediator has evolved, is still evolving, what family law mediators do, and how people can develop capabilities for the role.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
Mediation has an important role to play in family law matters. It provides clarity and support through an emotional and difficult situation. A mediator’s role is central to facilitating an amicable outcome where at all possible. These capabilities require specialist training and, coupled with the use of dedicated technologies, combine to provide increased convenience for clients, a new and different way to resolve conflict, and a unique integration of human and digital skills.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI chatted with Fiona Kirkman, Principal of Kirkman Family Law and the CEO and Legal Co-Founder of FamilyProperty, about how the role of a family law mediator has evolved, is still evolving, what family law mediators do, and how people can develop capabilities for the role.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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 this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation explored whether or not it is possible to create a Data Driven Legal Practice with data gurus David Adason, Head of Innovation, Senior Lawyer, Aptum Legal; Denise Doyle, Legal Operations Consultant; and Matt Farrington, Lawyer + Legal Technologist, Juno Legal.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Why legal data is so much more than process – mining the data gems for true added value
- How legal organisations can start (and end) the process of demystifying data
- How data and metrics are related and why the connection matters
- The emerging gap in data application in law firms vs in-house legal departments and why it matters
- What the future will look like for legal organisations that don’t embrace data
If you would prefer to listen rather than watch this episode, you’ll find the podcast in our The Legalpreneurs Sandbox podcast series here.
If you are interested in learning more about the use and application of data in legal practice, please listen to our podcast with Denise Doyle (Episode 141) on The Use of Data in Legal Practice – What’s happening in law firms right now? here.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director at the Centre for Legal Innovation explored whether or not it is possible to create a Data Driven Legal Practice with data gurus David Adason, Head of Innovation, Senior Lawyer, Aptum Legal; Denise Doyle, Legal Operations Consultant; and Matt Farrington, Lawyer + Legal Technologist, Juno Legal.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Why legal data is so much more than process – mining the data gems for true added value
- How legal organisations can start (and end) the process of demystifying data
- How data and metrics are related and why the connection matters
- The emerging gap in data application in law firms vs in-house legal departments and why it matters
- What the future will look like for legal organisations that don’t embrace data
If you would prefer to listen rather than watch this episode, you’ll find the podcast in our The Legalpreneurs Sandbox podcast series here.
If you are interested in learning more about the use and application of data in legal practice, please listen to our podcast with Denise Doyle (Episode 141) on The Use of Data in Legal Practice – What’s happening in law firms right now? here.
Data – it sounds exciting, illuminating and intimidating all at the same time but, as we now know, it’s also referred to as the new oil or the new electricity – and for legal businesses, just as pervasive and precious!
So, how are we using data in our legal businesses right now? And, can we/should we know more, do more, and extract more from our data to make better decisions for our legal businesses and our clients?
In this podcast, we explored these questions and many more with Denise Doyle. Denise is an experienced legal ops professional – data in her role is like currency (digital and otherwise) in our economy – it’s central, nothing works without it, and nothing happens without analysing it! Denise explored the use of data in legal practice as the topic for her Research Fellowship with the Centre and in this session revealed what she found and why it matters to every legal practitioner!
Topics covered in this episode include:
- The link between increased tech adoption and data usage
- The challenges for legal practitioners and practices in using data
- Where, how, and how often data analytics is showing up in legal business decision making and client matters…and why it’s important
- What’s driving (or not) upskilling in data understanding, use, and analysis
- Where education opportunities can/should/are being accessed (or not) about legal data
- How to approach and who to employ as your legal data analyst
- The emerging gap in data use and application between law firms and in-house legal departments…and why that matters
- How to close the data skills gap for lawyers…urgently!
Congrats on completing your Fellowship, Denise – great insights, great opportunities ahead – we know you’ll be leading them and helping all of us do more, understand more, and make more of our legal businesses for our clients through the magic of data!
If you are interested in learning more about the use and application of data in legal practice, please listen/watch this session (podcast Ep 142 and video) on The Data Driven Legal Practice – Fact, Fiction or Fantasy? too.
In this podcast, the fifth session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel provided an overview of the local legaltech market in Canada + USA.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Chris Bentley, Managing Director, Legal Innovation Zone and Law Practice Program at Ryerson University (Canada)
- Wendy Butler Curtis, Chief Innovation Officer and Chair eDiscovery & Information Governance Group, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (USA)
- Olga V. Mack, Vice President, CEO, Parley Pro LexisNexis (USA)
- Maya Markovich, Executive Director, Justice Technology Association (USA)
- Noah Waisberg, Co-founder & CEO, Zuva Inc. (Canada)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech markets in Canada + USA
- How, why and where legaltech communities are developing
- The transformation of legaltech to tech and the implications for legal practice
- The impact of regulatory reform on legaltech
- Who and what is driving the leaders in legaltech adoption – in-house vs law firms and beyond
- The changing profile of legaltech buyers
- The pros and cons of enterprise tech stacks vs point solutions
- From platforms to tech companies – where does the continuum start and end?
- The role of tech in access to justice
- Who is funding legaltech development in Canada + USA
- The new legaltech talent profile – who, what, where and when!
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech in Canada + USA
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
In this podcast, the final episode of five in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: eDiscovery Mini Series, Kate Clark, CEO, Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions (ELMS) and colleague Ciara Cooke, Senior Legal Technology Consultant discussed the services delivered by eDiscovery providers in Australia and how to determine which services work best for your legal practice.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Over and above – the services delivered by eDiscovery providers
- Inhouse vs external providers – pros and cons
- Support for early claims assessment/early investigations
- Support for litigation matters
- Support for eTrials
- Explaining the value of eDiscovery to your clients
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions.
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 five in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: eDiscovery Mini Series, Kate Clark, CEO, Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions (ELMS) and colleagues Ciara Cooke, Senior Legal Technology Consultant and Sam White, Legal Technology Consultant, provided an overview of the tech tools available in the market for eDiscovery, shared their experiences in selecting and deploying these tools in their business, and illustrated all of this through a series of mini demos.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Security of your documents
- What products ELMS selected and why
- Management of electronic documents in litigation
- Chronology support – products and costs
- Combining helpful products and tools
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions.
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.
Metrics have always been a critical part of business. The Legal Metrics Portal (LMP) has made them an accessible and essential part of LEGAL business. LMP is the product of a 2-year labour of love and global collaboration of leading legal ops enthusiasts and specialists: Connie Brenton, VP of Law, Technology and Operations at NetApp; Mick Sheehy, Partner, NewLaw, PwC Australia; Jeff Franke, CEO of LegalOps.com; Pratik Patel, Head of Innovation at Elevate; and J. Deckert, VP of Operations at Is Inspired.
In this podcast, we spoke with two of the LMP founders and gurus, Connie Brenton and Mick Sheehy, to explore just what an amazing contribution the LMP promises to be and, given the brains trust and firepower behind it, what it will no doubt achieve – a form of crowd-sourced business intelligence!
LMP has been designed for use and, is user-friendly for legal ops and a whole bunch of legal practice areas too! You might be new to legal metrics or an experienced professional, no matter where you lie on that continuum, you’ll find guidance about how to make the most of this resource and, undoubtedly, something you can use along the way.
The 500 metrics are categorised, assigned levels of importance and, you can customise them and add your own metrics too! You’ll find the website here - go visit it, you won’t be disappointed!
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 in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Heidi K. Brown about her new book, The Flourishing Lawyer - A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Performance and Well-Being (2022).
Heidi has been exploring the lawyer psyche for a number of years. What distinguishes Heidi’s work in this area is its multidisciplinary approach and that it draws from lessons learned from other industries like the world of elite sports professionals. It’s also personal. It’s part of Heidi’s lived experience as a former practising lawyer and now working with lawyers of the future in her roles as Professor of Law and the Director of Legal Writing at Brooklyn Law School in the US.
A clear theme runs through Heidi’s work – the importance of empathy, curiosity, positivity and a commitment to challenging what it means to be a lawyer and changing mindsets about what lawyering is or could be now and in the future. The Flourishing Lawyer is the third in a trilogy of exploration. It started with The Introverted Lawyer: A Seven-Step Journey Toward Authentically Empowered Advocacy (2017), then to Untangling Fear in Lawyering: A Four-Step Journey Toward Powerful Advocacy (2019) and now to The Flourishing Lawyer – and it’s clear, thankfully, that this is not the end!
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, the fourth session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel provided an overview of the local legaltech market in Europe.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Srdjan Dejanovic, Founder & CEO, Dejanovic Law & Tech (Serbia)
- Helena Hallgarn, Co-Founder, Virtual Intelligence VQ (Sweden)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Europe – challenges and opportunities
- The drivers/agents of change in legaltech in Europe
- The difference between law firm, legal department and public sector use of legaltech
- The importance of community - support, networking, sharing of experience and information about tech in Europe
- The hype vs reality of tech, tech tools, and AI use and application in Europe
- What legaltech adoption looks like – not just for improved efficiency but, more broadly, to enhance knowledge and experience capture, compliance, user experience, support the new delivery of legal services/products
- The importance and need for education and better collaboration between legaltech developers and users (and the role for those who can build a bridge between them)
- The opportunities for those outside Europe to utilize skills and capabilities in Europe in legaltech
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
How will we know if innovative changes to the civil justice system are actually happening and more, if they are making a difference?
That’s essentially the question that the American Bar Association (ABA) Centre for Innovation set out to investigate and answer in 2019. Guided by their working group, lots of stakeholder engagement, and lots of iterations too, in 2022, they concluded phase one of the project and launched its output – “a tool that enables all stakeholders to build effective metrics to evaluate their desired outcomes”- Justice System Metrics.
The best way to understand the metrics and data in support is to visit the website, experiment and explore. That’s also easy to do because the site is super user-friendly. It’s been built so those new to the world of data and metrics can find what you want as easily as those who are more adept. The metrics “are searchable based on the type of data it supplies, the location you can find that data, or by keywords connecting similar or relative metrics. The use cases are searchable by publication date, keywords, and data source.” There is also a bunch of resources on the website in the “Metrics in Action” section. And, a step-by-step guide on how to create your journey in the “Use the Metrics” section.
This is a multi-phase project. The ABA is actively encouraging people to provide feedback, resources, and contribute their thoughts on the developed metrics and their own data and metrics too: “ the website is meant to serve as a clearing house for the metrics and research being done that help” the ABA “evaluate the effectiveness our justice system.”
Discussing this project with working group members Joey Gartner, Director of, and Counsel at, the ABA Centre for Innovation and Amanda Brown, Executive Director of the Lagniappe Law Lab, was inspiring – we can’t wait to see where this project goes next!
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.
The oneNDA initiative has changed the way legal documents are created and used. It’s also signalled an evolving change in the way lawyers and allied legal professionals work too – one where tech features as prominently as design, client experience, and collaboration. These are big statements, but so too is what serial legalpreneur and change maker Electra Japonas has achieved in the last 18 months!
In this podcast, in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Electra about her experience working in Europe and the UK and in her own strategic legal operations and design consultancy, The Law Boutique, that led to OneNDA (a standardised Non-Disclosure Agreement), Claustack (an online collaborative space for lawyers) and most recently oneDPA (a standardised Data Processing Agreement).
The oneNDA initiative started as a conversation with a colleague, turned into a question posed to the legal community on LinkedIn, and resulted in an open source, standard-form Non-Disclosure Agreement created by the legal community, for the legal and business communities. It was the beginning of much more that quickly followed and even more still to come!
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 in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Lisa Fitzgerald about Splitchain – a word she has created that provides a new way to conceptualise and integrate digital products/services and the law. The integration is important. Blockchain does not have all the answers. The law doesn’t have them either. There’s a need for interdependence. There’s also a need for multi-disciplinary solutions. And, lawyers need to be part of all these conversations – part of the solutions and not the obstacle to achieving them! Splitchain-ists are real and thriving. Their practical, solution-driven collaborations are reshaping the legal ecosystem in places like Lander & Rogers iHub. We chatted with Lisa about all this and a whole lot more.
Lisa’s had an amazing career in the legal world in the UK and Australia, as a judge’s associate, in-house counsel, lawyer in private practice, and now as a Partner at Lander & Rogers. A common theme has run through much of Lisa’s career – a focus on corporate/commercial, tech, data, IP, privacy, cyber, telecommunications, innovation – it’s provided a deep understanding of the issues, the gaps, the solutions, and a global context for her work in the digital space.
You might also like to read this article from Lisa on the Lander & Rogers website titled: Splitchain: Reconciling blockchain and the law. If you would like to learn more about Lander & Roger’s iHub, you’ll find it on their website here.
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.
Digital Transformation, Law Firms and Culture – independent and siloed or inextricably intertwined? That’s the question Isabel Parker answered in her recently published book: Successful Digital Transformation in Law firms A Question of Culture.
Change is never easy. Changing an industry that is financially secure, comfortable with the status quo, risk adverse, and built on precedent, is even harder. But, that change is also inevitable in our VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.
In this podcast in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Isabel about her book. We discussed the changing legal ecosystem and, in particular, the meaning of culture; the link between digital transformation and culture; the importance of building buy-in for sustainable change; and where/how law firms can start their transformation journey.
Isabel has had an amazing career in law firms, starting out as a practising lawyer, moving into the role of Chief Innovation Officer, and now as Executive Director of the Digital Legal Exchange. The candid, practical, and real-world commentary, observations, and advice throughout the book and this video, reflect her deep, lived experience in the subject matter.
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.
Can technology help to close the access to justice (A2J) gap? That’s the question the recently launched Justice Technology Association (JTA) is hoping to answer with guidance from its Advisory Board, and the shared experience of its Directors and co-founding organisations (Courtroom 5, EasyExpunctions, HelloDivorce and PeopleClerk), in collaboration with the A2J sector in the US and around the world.
JTA is providing a focus and a place for stakeholders to come together and explore/deliver ways technology can do more and do good. And, along the way it also has the real possibility of positively reframing and solving a long-standing crisis.
In this podcast in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Maya Markovich, the Executive Director of JTA and CLI Advisory Board member, based in the USA. Maya has a distinguished career in legal innovation and legal technology. In her role at JTA she brings that to the forefront and combines it with her passion for, and commitment to, improving A2J.
We’re delighted to welcome JTA to our Network as a friend of CLI.
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’ll be 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.
So, you thought comic books were all about entertainment, right? What if they were also a way to communicate legal concepts, rights, and responsibilities so that everyone understood them and knew exactly what they were agreeing to?
That’s the remit and mission of the comic book contracts (and visual contracts) movement! It’s established a new way to conceive and create legally binding contracts. It’s already positively impacting access to justice around the world and even given rise to a whole new area of law called graphic justice!
In this, our inaugural podcast in the Future 50 Series of the CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight, we chatted with Professor Camilla Baasch Andersen. Camilla leads the Comic Contracts Team at the University of Western Australia Law School. The Team is undertaking groundbreaking research in, and applying it to, the design and use of comic book contracts in all types of business settings. They’re also connecting to and connected with this amazing initiative all around the world.
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’ll be chatting with legalpreneurs who, through their ideas and actions, are challenging and transforming legal BAU all around the world. This is the first of 50 - enjoy!
If you would like to recommend people for this Series, please contact us at: CLI@collaw.edu.au.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI facilitated a discussion about how to start your NewLaw career journey with NewLaw careerists who have been there and done that! The panellists shared their experience and practical, candid insights into what you need to consider, where you can find the information you need, pitfalls to avoid, and people you should chat with along the way:
- Minnie Hannaford, Associate, Advance Delivery Services, Ashurst Advance, Ashurst
- Matt Hollings, Head of Business Development, Sky Discovery
- Rose Inglis, Founder, Rose Tinted Law
- Christine Zhong, Co-Founder and Managing Director, BotL and CLI Emerging Leaders Advisory Board member
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 17 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about the other sessions at the Summit and the NewLaw Careers Series, you will find information here.
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.
Legal project managers are delivery specialists - they sit at the crossroads between the client, the legal team, and other support functions (such as marketing, finance and pricing, L&D and IT). Their role is to help ensure that legal services are delivered in a way that meets (and preferably exceeds!) the client's cost, time and quality expectations – all the while enabling a law firm's/legal department’s commercial objectives, driving technology-enabled transformation, and maintaining the mental well-being of its lawyers. Legal project managers have a lot on their plate - it's a good thing that they're organised! In this podcast, Peter Dombkins, Director, NewLaw, PwC Australia discussed how legal project managers make all the pieces fit together, with these fabulous specialists:
- Linda-Rose Daya, Head of Legal Project Management and Design, Gilbert + Tobin
- Liz Fernando, Head of Legal Project Management, Allens
- Joanne Rees, CEO, AllyGroup
- Kerryn Underwood, Head of Legal Project Management, King & Wood Mallesons
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 17 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
What do consultants, consult about? It’s a great question and the answer isn’t what it used to be! Sharing expertise and knowledge is no longer confined to LEGAL expertise and knowledge in law firms, legal departments, CLCs, or ALSPs. These organisations are increasingly required to solve problems holistically, use the expertise of “all” their specialists for the benefits of clients in a growing number of areas like technology, risk management, innovation/transformation, ESG and many more – “consultancy” is being redefined and reinvented in the legal world! In this podcast, Alison Laird, Senior Director, Legal Business Advisory, Morae Global and CLI Advisory Board member explored the role of a consultant with these gurus:
- Joel Kennedy, Head of Client Projects, Lander & Rogers
- Beth Patterson, Director, ESPconnect
- Emma Peters, Special Counsel, Cowell Clarke
- Mick Sheehy, Partner, NewLaw, PwC Australia
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 17 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
You can’t do and you can’t be what you don’t know or can’t see! Knowledge managers create processes, systems, and user-friendly opportunities to collaborate, share, use and manage knowledge to connect people to organisational knowledge in a timely way so they can do their job efficiently. Great knowledge managers are integral to an organisation’s performance, help create competitive advantage, lead and support innovation, agility, and continuous improvement. In this podcast, Mira Renko, Special Counsel - Knowledge and Practice Support – Finance, K & L Gates Australia discussed how knowledge managers play a pivotal role in legal practice, with these amazing specialists:
- Leona Blanco, National Knowledge and Information Manager, Clyde & Co
- Catherine Bryant, Knowledge Manager and Automation Lead, Tompkins Wake
- Fiona Evans, Director of Knowledge, Asia Pacific at Norton Rose Fulbright
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 17 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
Client-centric strategies, client journey mapping, legal design thinking and user experience (to name just some) – you’ve heard the terms, but do you know how they all combine to create an exceptional level of engagement, interaction, communication, and collaboration for outstanding service/product delivery for every client, every time? Client experience designers do! In this podcast, Melissa Lyon, Executive Director and Experience Designer, Hive Legal and CLI Advisory Board member discussed the role of a client experience designer with these exceptional specialists:
- Sam Burrett, Manager, Clients & Markets, Clayton Utz and CLI Emerging Leaders Board member
- Carl White, Director, NewLaw, PwC Australia and Founder, CXINLAW
- Kim Wiegand, Partner, Beaton
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 17 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
Legaltech is a multi-billion-dollar global industry. It is the key enabler of legal innovation and the legal industry’s transformation. It makes legal work better, easier and delivered faster and cheaper. It’s at the top of the list as a driver for continuous improvement but it’s also a large investment of time and money for any business. The role of a legaltech developer is about understanding this context, working with clients, and then creating solutions that anticipate, exceed expectations, and deliver real value. In this podcast, Gene Turner, Managing Director, LawHawk and CLI Advisory Board member discussed how all of this and much, much more influenced and impacted the journey from lawyer, business professional or consultant to legaltech developer for these amazing specialists:
- Ben Farrow, CEO, FirmChecker and CLI Emerging Leaders Board member
- Sam Flynn, Co-founder, Josef and CLI Advisory Board member
- Sacha Kirk, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Lawcadia
- Sam Lovrich, Co-Founder, Legal Tech Helper
- Toby Somerville, VP of Product Engineering, Josef
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 16 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
Legal technologists are problem solvers! What problems they solve, for whom and how they solve them is their secret sauce – but not everyone uses the same recipe – there will always be some tech but, the other ingredients may differ. Curiosity and enthusiasm for learning new tools are their tools in trade. In this podcast, Fiona McLay, Principal Lawyer & Consultant, McLay Legal discussed the similarities and differences in the role of a legal technologist with specialists from law firms and a legaltech company:
- Ali Cook, Legal Technologist, Josef
- Matt Farrington, Lawyer + Legal Technologist, Juno Legal
- Nam Truong, Digital + Innovation, Law Squared
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 16 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
Data, data, data – it’s everywhere! It helps us run our legal practices and it’s an integral part of every one of our legal matters too but, do we understand how, why, when, where and what data to use? Legal data analysts do! In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI, discussed with an amazing panel of specialists from law firms and a legaltech company, the integral role that legal data analysts play in the business and practice of law:
- Jodie Baker, Founder & CEO, Xakia Technologies
- Gohto Saikawa, Executive, Ashurst
- Stephen So, Head of Analytics, Lander & Rogers
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 16 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
The role of the legal operations professional is one of THE hot evolving specialisms in the legal ecosystem right now. So, what’s involved in this role? Why would anyone want to do it? What do you need to know to be successful in it? And, how will the role change in the future? In this podcast, Katrina Gowans, National Legal Operations Lead, Origin Energy and CLI Advisory Board member, discussed these questions and answered your questions too with legal ops professionals from law firms, consultancies and agencies:
- Catherine Adamson, Legal Operations Lead, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Matthew Duncan, Director of Legal Operations, QIC
- Jemima Harris, Legal and Strategic Projects Director, Megaport/Founder and Director, Invia Legal Operations
- Mollie Tregillis, Director, Legal Optimisation Consulting, MinterEllison
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 16 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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.
The legal ecosystem is complex, multidisciplinary and evolving. Delivery of legal services and products requires the capabilities of many people working seamlessly in collaboration with each other and customers/clients. Contemporary legal practice is all about new - new law, new professions and specialisms, new areas of practice, and new ways of conceiving, working on and solving new legal problems.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI discussed with legal innovation/transformation leaders how their firms have defined NewLaw careers; why they have evolved; how the roles have impacted the war for legal talent; and if the roles are reshaping legal practice:
- Danielle Emerson, Senior Legal Transformation Manager, Herbert Smith Freehills
- Caroline Ferguson, Business Transformation and Innovation Director, Simpson Grierson
- Michelle Grossmann, Chief Innovation Officer & Transformation Lead, Lander & Rogers
- Amber O’Meara, Innovation & Purpose Lead, MinterEllison
This podcast was part of the COL-CLI NewLaw Careers Summit 2022 program on 16 May 2022.
If you would like to know more about NewLaw Careers, you’ll find loads of information in our NewLaw Careers Series here.
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 this podcast, the third session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director InCounsel, facilitated a discussion about the local legaltech market in the UK with guest panellists:
- Marc May, Practice Director – Icertis CLM, SYKE
- Isabel Parker, Executive Director, Digital Legal Exchange
- Giles Thompson, Head of Growth, Avvoka
- Nick Watson, Managing Director, Ruby Datum and CLI Advisory Board member
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in the UK
- Tech adoption – which tech, why, and by whom (in-house vs law firm)
- The match/mismatch of client needs/expectations in tech and efficient practice vs delivery
- How some big questions are being answered in the UK: platform vs point source and cloud vs on-premises
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech in the UK
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
In this podcast, the third episode of five in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: eDiscovery Mini Series, Kate Clark, CEO, Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions discussed the capabilities needed in an eDiscovery Team to undertake an effective and efficient legal review.
Kate was joined by panellist, Ciara Cooke, Senior Legal Technology Consultant, Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions who shared her practical experience and candid insights.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Options for conducting a legal review
- How do you effectively brief your team prior to starting the legal review process
- The legal review process – understanding the legal review requirements and options for conducting a legal review of documents
- Milestones, measurements and team responsibilities
- The end game
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions.
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 Marguerite Picard, Director and Accredited Family Law Specialist at MELCA and Smart Separation.
MELCA is an interdisciplinary collaborative centre, which Marguerite established with a financial planner and a psychologist. They provide collaborative practice and mediation services for separating couples, focusing on genuine and deep resolution of conflict to support healthy separations.
Marguerite's departure from traditional legal practice came from her belief that there was a better way to practice and, that she wanted to tip divorce on its head. Her aim then and now has been to change the perception and reality of what it is to be a lawyer, and to change the system by encouraging an alternative to emerge.
The journey has been a passion project as well as a business. It has not been an overnight success. It's taken the business from Melbourne to Brisbane and Sydney and Gippsland, and online too! But, it has never wavered from a belief in interdisciplinary practice and staying true to a vision for change.
Key features of the new legal business model and practice include:
- fixed and value pricing;
- contracting of professionals;
- equal remuneration for professionals whether they are lawyers, social scientists or financials;
- a described 5 step process;
- a case managed system;
- a client-facing business; a collaborative community; and
- a training arm.
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 session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel provided an overview of the local legaltech market in Africa.
David was joined by amazing guest panellists:
- Leah Molatseli, Head of Business Development, Legal Interact
- Alice Namuli Blazevic, Head of Technology and Innovation, Katende, Ssempebwa & Co, Advocates
- Adedunmade Onibokun, Founder, Legalnaija
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Africa
- The needs and expectations of homegrown legaltech vs the world
- Who and what is driving the leaders in legaltech adoption – in-house vs law firms
- Who is funding legaltech development in Africa
- What legaltech adoption REALLY looks like (separating the hype and hope from reality)
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech in Africa
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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.
Don’t forget to subscribe to:
- InCounsel’s Weekly Newsletter
- CLI’s Newsletter
In this podcast, the final of three episodes in CLI’s NewLaw Careers Series focussed on legal operations, session lead collaborator Mollie Tregillis, Director - Legal Optimisation Consulting at MinterEllison, facilitated a candid and practical panel discussion with legal ops legends on: Legal Operations – Challenges and Opportunities?
Mollie was joined by an amazing international panel:
- Connie Brenton, VP, Law, Technology and Operations, NetApp, Inc
- Anna Golovsky, Executive Manager, Legal & Company Secretariat Operations, IAG
- Lior Nickig, Head of Legal Operations – Disputes, Competition & insurance, MinterEllison
- Julian Ramasamy, Head of Legal Operations, ANZ
Topics covered in this episode included:
- Is legal ops different in law firms and legal departments?
- What are the big challenges and opportunities for legal ops professionals?
- Has legal ops changed legal department expectations of external counsel?
- Does a legal ops professional need a law degree?
- What’s next for legal ops – the role, the value and the metrics?
- Where do you start on your legal ops journey?
You'll find information about the other episodes in this 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 second of three episodes in CLI’s NewLaw Careers Series focussed on legal operations, session lead collaborator Mollie Tregillis, Director - Legal Optimisation Consulting at MinterEllison, answered a critically important question for all legal practices right now: Do I need a Legal Operations professional (and how do I find a good one)?
Topics covered in this episode include:
- Do I need Legal Operations professional?
- What do they do and why is it important?
- What qualifications and skills does a Legal Operations professional need?
- What are the scalable approaches to Legal Operations leadership and support?
- What are the pathways into Legal Operations careers?
- How to identify future Legal Operations superstars
You'll find information 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, the second episode of five in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: eDiscovery Mini-Series, Kate Clark, CEO, Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions and colleagues Ciara Cooke, Senior Legal Technology Consultant and Sam White, Legal Technology Consultant, shared their experience, candid insights and walked through several practical mini case studies to illustrate key aspects of the eDiscovery process. Episode three in the mini-series completes the two-parter on process.
Topics covered in this session included:
- Project Management/Planning
- Identification of potentially relevant document sources
- Collection of documents
- Drafting and negotiating a Protocol for Exchange of Electronic Documents
- Litigation database setup
- Processing of the documents
- Preparing documents prior to legal review and reducing the volume of documents for review
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The mini-series is presented in association with Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions.
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, we kicked off CLI’s NewLaw Careers Series with a three-episode focus on legal operations.
In this first episode, session lead collaborator Mollie Tregillis, Director - Legal Optimisation Consulting at MinterEllison, discussed, analysed, shared her experience, and answered THE big question: What is Legal Operations and why does it matter to all legal teams?
Topics covered in this episode include:
- Defining Legal Operations
- The growth of Legal Operations – how has it evolved, where are we now and where are things headed?
- The Legal Operations Toolkit
- The value Legal Operations can add - inside and outside your legal practice
- Practical case studies for small and large law firms and small and large in-house teams
You'll find information 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, the first session in CLI’s Legaltech Around the World Series, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel provided an overview of the local legaltech market in Australia and New Zealand.
David was joined by guest panellists:
- Laura Keily, Founder and Managing Director, Immediation (Australia)
- Sacha Kirk, Co-founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Lawcadia (Australia)
- Michael Pattison, Founder & CEO, ContractProbe and Immediate Past President, Australian Legal Technology Association (Australia)
- Gene Turner, Managing Director, LawHawk (New Zealand)
Topics covered in this session included:
- An overview of the legaltech market in Australia and New Zealand
- What’s the same (and what’s different) about legaltech in Australia and New Zealand
- The legaltech growth strategies favoured by legaltech start-ups and scale-ups - how, with whom, and where
- The needs and expectations of home grown legaltech vs the world
- The pros and cons of investing in legaltech
- Who and what is driving the leaders in legaltech adoption – in-house vs law firms
- What legaltech adoption REALLY looks like (separating the hype and hope from reality)
- The different mindsets in legaltech purchasing and use – lawyer tools vs solving business problems
- The importance and application of legaltech case studies/proofs of concept
- The pros and cons of point solutions vs platforms
- The challenges and opportunities for legaltech in Australia and New Zealand
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with InCounsel.
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 first of five episodes in CLI’s Digital Literacy Series: eDiscovery Mini Series, Kate Clark, CEO, Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions set the scene and context for the mini series by discussing how eDiscovery has evolved in Australia.
Kate was joined by guest panellists who shared their practical experience and candid insights: Nicholas Andreatidis, Queens Counsel; Natalie Burgess, Senior Associate, Maddocks; and Kiri Parr, Former General Counsel, Arup.
Topics covered in this session included:
- The evolution of eDiscovery in Australia
- The problems eDiscovery can solve (beyond litigation)
- Where to begin before embarking on the eDiscovery process
- The importance of developing an effective document management strategy
- The pros and cons of DIY vs an eDiscovery provider
- The importance of ediscovery capabilities
You’ll find information about the other episodes in this series here. The series is presented in association with Enhanced Litigation Management Solutions.
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 Peter Alexander Corner, Founding Manager, Alternative Contracting and Prof Camilla Baasch Andersen, UWA Law School and Head of the Comic Contracts team.
Alternative Contracting was founded on the back of the Comic Contracts Project at UWA, where Peter was working with the lead researcher and partner, Prof Camilla Andersen. As a direct collaboration between research and industry needs, the company specialises in providing fast and affordable bespoke legal illustrations for contracts, regulations, and other legal information.
The design of contracts in visual/illustrated form is to ensure transparency, clear behavioural drivers, and improved engagement with, and perception of, contractual relationships. These objectives are also the core of the research being undertaken at UWA and this business.
Where the research team continues to explore new applications and test the impact of images in legal contexts, the business provides faster and easier avenues to commercialise the applications of the images to all sizes of businesses.
In this session, Peter and Camilla showcased their groundbreaking work, explained its challenges and opportunities, and discussed how research led to doing legal business differently.
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.
CLI Distinguished Fellow, Sarah El-Atm is our guest host for this episode (three of three). Sarah’s 12-month Fellowship explored whether client problems can be better solved by multidisciplinary teams (lawyers and allied professionals).
In the third and final episode, Sarah discusses the critical factors and questions law firms should ask as they start to build their own multidisciplinary teams. She discusses these and how they might work in law firms with Anu Briggs, Head of Capability, Development, and Change at Gilbert + Tobin; Jemima Harris, Legal and Strategic Projects Director at Megaport (formerly Head of Legal Operations & Tech at LOD); Hilary Goodier, Partner and Co-Division Head (formerly Partner and Chief Operating Officer) at Ashurst Advance; and Jan Christie, Director, Capability + Organisational Development (formerly Capability and Development Manager) at Gilbert + Tobin.
Topics covered in this episode include:
- How to ensure your clients stay at the centre of your objectives for your multidisciplinary team.
- The questions you need to consider as you plan out a multidisciplinary approach within your firm.
- Some of the realities to be mindful of with this new approach in the legal profession.
Additional resources:
- You’ll find additional information of these topics in Sarah’s blog How to start building a multidisciplinary team in a law firm.
- Don’t forget to tune in for the first and second episodes in this three part series, Episodes 105 and 106, you’ll find them here.
CLI Distinguished Fellow, Sarah El-Atm is our guest host for this episode (two of three). Sarah’s 12-month Fellowship explored whether client problems can be better solved by multidisciplinary teams (lawyers and allied professionals).
In this second episode, Sarah identified five key characteristics common to successful high performing multidisciplinary teams in the legal profession. She discusses these in the context of real tangible insights from Hilary Goodier, Partner and Co-Division Head (formerly Partner and Chief Operating Officer) at Ashurst Advance; Katrina Gowans, National Legal Operations Lead at Origin Energy; Mel Scott, Senior Legal Counsel at Megaport; Mick Sheehy, Partner New Law at PwC; Anu Briggs, Head of Capability, Development, and Change at Gilbert + Tobin; Jemima Harris, Legal and Strategic Projects Director at Megaport (formerly Head of Legal Operations & Tech at LOD); and Denise Doyle, Chief Product Officer, Xakia Technologies (formerly Specialist Legal Operations Consultant).
Topics covered in this episode include:
- The five key characteristics that make up successful high performing multidisciplinary teams in the legal profession.
- Why these characteristics work together to help form successful teams.
Additional resources:
- You’ll find additional information of these topics in Sarah’s blog post What characteristics do you need in a successful multidisciplinary team?
- Don’t forget to tune in for the first and third episodes in this three part series, Episode 105 and 107, you’ll find them here.
CLI Distinguished Fellow, Sarah El-Atm is our guest host for this episode (one of three). Sarah’s 12-month Fellowship explored whether client problems can be better solved by multidisciplinary teams (lawyers and allied professionals).
In this first episode, Sarah identified, analysed and discussed the importance, evolution and nature of multidisciplinary teams in contemporary legal practice. Practical insights and examples were provided by Hilary Goodier, Partner and Co-Division Head (formerly Partner and Chief Operating Officer) at Ashurst Advance; Mick Sheehy, Partner New Law at PwC; Anu Briggs, Head of Capability, Development, and Change at Gilbert + Tobin; Jemima Harris, Legal and Strategic Projects Director at Megaport (formerly Head of Legal Operations & Tech at LOD); and Denise Doyle, Chief Product Officer, Xakia Technologies (formerly Specialist Legal Operations Consultant).
Topics covered in the episode include:
- What a multidisciplinary team is within the context of the legal profession.
- How the demand from clients is continuing to change, and shape, legal teams.
- Why it is important to think holistically about a client’s legal problem and not just through a legal lens.
Additional resources:
- You’ll find additional information of these topics in Sarah’s blog posts, Can legal matters be solved better within multidisciplinary teams? and, Is there a place for multidisciplinary teams in the legal profession?
- Don’t forget to tune in for the second and third episodes in this three part series, Episodes 106 and 107, you’ll find them here.
As 2021 draws to a close, we welcomed back our innovation and legaltech gurus, now also our good friends, for a third year in review podcast: Caryn Sandler, Partner and Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Gilbert & Tobin; Warrick McLean, CEO at Colman Grieg Lawyers; and Graeme Grovum, Head of Technology and Client Solutions at Allens – we discussed the year that was…and it was quite a year!
Topics covered in our discussion included:
- Did we see deep change, transformation or something different altogether in the legal ecosystem in 2021? And, how will that influence where we launch from in 2022?
- With “digitisation” almost being the word of the year, how did that translate into action (or inaction) in legal practice in 2021?
- Did data analytics move from numbers on a spread sheet to something pervasive in, and critical to, decision making internally and for clients externally in 2021?
- How did the concept of the “adjacent business” evolve in 2021 and where did it/will it find its mark?
- With so much changing in the legal ecosystem, what capabilities/talent did we see prioritised in 2021, how did that redefine the war for talent, and will that change in 2022?
- And finally, with 2021 almost in the rear-view mirror, what are the top priorities in innovation and legaltech for 2022?
Thank you, Caryn, Warrick, and Graeme, such a delight to spend the time with you – can’t wait to see you all same time, next year!
To all our friends around the world, thank you for your support in 2021 – we are so grateful to you and for you every year. Our very best wishes to you and your families for a restful, joyful, and peaceful holiday season!
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 withSarah 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 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!
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, leadsa 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:
- The differences between traditional and the next legal practice.
- How the legal marketplace is changing.
- How early career professionals can identify and pursue opportunities.
- The importance of knowing your strengths and playing to them.
- The new, different and emerging capabilities for the next legal practice (and why they matter).
- How early career professionals can effect change.
- 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!
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:
- The meaning of the term “Founder”
- The importance of recognising and running with business opportunities
- How to overcome business challenges
- Separating hype from reality – the real opportunities offered by tech for legal businesses today
- The importance of networks, relationship building, and strong personal connections in building a business
- 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.
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.
In this podcast, Nathan Bellgrove, Head of Ashurst Advance Delivery (APAC); Tae Royle, Head of Digital Products, APAC; Emilie Vittini, Digital Services Manager; Shannon Saxby, eDiscovery Manager and Jennifer Priestley, Legal Analyst Manager, discussed with Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), the work of their firm’s global delivery centre (GDC) in Brisbane - home to the firm’s NewLaw capability in APAC. Topics included how the GDC compliments Ashurst’s business; how it supports the firm’s vision to be the most progressive global law firm; how it promotes collaborative, multi-disciplinary work practices; and it’s shaping the future of legal practice.
This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 9 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’ve all seen and heard the words, digital strategy, but what is it? What does it do? And, more importantly, do you need one?
In this podcast, Katrina Gowans, National Legal Operations Lead, Origin Energy and CLI Advisory Board member; Denise Doyle, Legal Enablement Lead, Telstra; and Matthew Vaughan, IT Manager, Tompkins Wake discussed what digital strategy is, what it does and more importantly, whether you need one.
This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 9 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.
The legal market has changed! Great, now what do you do? How do you take market trends and translate them successfully into business strategy? How do you identify what to change and how to prioritise? How far do you look ahead? How many scenarios for the future do you juggle? What information do you need to inform and support your decision making? Who do you consult? How do you know when to change tact? Should you change tact? What are the metrics that should be used? How do you ensure that “no partner is left behind?” How do leaders provide for and future proof their legal organisations in a disruptive legal market?
In this podcast, Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers and Co-chair of the CLI Advisory Board, facilitated a discussion with law firm and legal consultancy leaders, who shared their experiences in doing legal business differently:
- Genevieve Collins, Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers and CLI Advisory Board member
- Hilary Goodier, Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Ashurst Advance and CLI Advisory Board member
- Marcus McCarthy, Principal, Nexus Law Group and CLI Advisory Board member
- Mick Sheehy, Partner, NewLaw, PwC
This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 9 February 2021.
What happened to the legal profession? When did it become a legal ecosystem? What is a legal ecosystem and where do you fit within it? What do you need to differentiate and add value in this new world? Who are your clients? Who do you need to employ? How do you need to work? What exactly is changing, why and how does it impact you?
In this podcast, David Bushby, Managing Director, InCounsel, facilitated a discussion with trailblazing leaders who have created successful legal businesses in the new legal ecosystem:
- Elizabeth Aitken, Head of Workplace Relations & Safety, SLF Lawyers
- Alex Rosenrauch, Manager, NewLaw, PwC
- Adrian Warren, Director – Legal Transformation, Plexus
- Zile Yu, Founder, Quantum Law Group
This podcast was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 9 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 this podcast, Clinton Swan, International Operations/Co-Founder, Codelex Legaltech, facilitated a discussion that compared how nine places around the world are thinking about and doing legal innovation and legaltech the same and differently.
Clinton was joined by country representatives from:
- Australia: Michael Pattison, Founder & CEO, ContractProbe and President, Australian Legal Technology Association
- Canada: Chris Bentley, Managing Director, Legal Innovation Zone and Law Practice Program at Ryerson University
- Central and Eastern Europe: Roman Koch, Founder, New Law Project
- Hong Kong: Sebastian Ko, Managing Director APAC, FiscalNote
- India: Komal Gupta, Head, Artificial Intelligence & Innovation, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
- New Zealand: Gene Turner, Managing Director, LawHawk and CLI Advisory Board member
- Singapore: Rajesh Sreenivasan, Head, Technology Media and Telecoms Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and CLI Advisory Board member
- UK: Nick Watson, Managing Director, Ruby Datum and CLI Advisory Board member
- USA: Maya Markovich, Chief Growth Officer, Nextlaw Labs
This session was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 8 February 2021.
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.
Change is hard. Most people are more comfortable resisting change than making it happen. So, in organisations that have embraced different, new, and continuous improvement, how did they do it? What’s the “secret leadership sauce” that inspires teams and motivates change? Is one leadership style better than others? What do these leaders do when they hit a brick wall? How do they approach failure? What are the characteristics of these great transformational leaders?
In this podcast, Alison Laird, Director, Laird Innovations Pty Ltd and CLI Advisory Board member, facilitated a roundtable discussion with legal leaders who have transformed their legal businesses and shared their experience on how they made that happen: Kate Fazio, Head of Innovation and Engagement, Justice Connect; Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin and Co-chair of the CLI Advisory Board; and Laura Vickers, Principal, Nest Legal
This session was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 8 February 2021.
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, Francesco Bianchi, Agile Coach, Marsh & McLennan Companies (formerly Oliver Wyman Digital), Sebastian Bohle, Global Owner Agile Project Playbook, Oliver Wyman Digital, and Ethan Murray, Global Capabilities Lead and Partner, Digital Practice, Oliver Wyman, connected the dots between agile, change and legal innovation, and discussed practical tools that can be used to help lead change in legal practice.
This session was part of the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 Live program on 8 February 2021.
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, which kicked off our 2021 ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies series, Managing Director, Founder and Principal, Michael Morrissey at Morrissey Law + Advisory (MLA) discussed the vision he has for his firm and how he has gone about finding, and working with, the Morrissey Law + Advisory Team to build it – a people first, client centric legal practice.
For those unfamiliar with MLA, it is a commercial and corporate firm with expertise in construction and infrastructure, and emerging businesses. Across MLA’s three offices in Newcastle, Sydney, and Port Macquarie, it leverages the diverse skillset of its team to build great relationships with clients to find real solutions to commercial and legal needs. A large part of the success of MLA’s client relationships is the result of a unique workplace culture which leverages a lack of hierarchy and competition through focusing on teamwork from the bottom up. MLA believe that a focus on removing hierarchies, and adopting team-based KPIs and performance bonuses, have been fundamental in shifting the way they practice law.
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.
If you would like to learn more about Michael, you’ll find him featured in a CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight here.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Silvia Coulter, Principal, and Mark Medice, Principal, both from LawVision Group LLC peered into the business development crystal ball and discussed what law firms need to be thinking about and planning for in a new legal world, with different clients.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) and Ida Abbott, President, Ida Abbott Consulting discussed the process of successfully confronting one of the most difficult questions for many lawyers and their organisations – why, when and how to retire!
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Julie Marcus, Chief Talent Officer, Diane Costigan, Director of Coaching and Well-Being and Julia Mercier, Director of Learning & Development and Well-Being all from Winston & Strawn LLP, discussed their firm’s Mental Health First Aid program.
Topics covered included:
- How the firm defines a well-being program
- What’s worked for them and what hasn’t
- Suggested best practices for building a program for your staff and your organisation too.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) and Dr Larry Richard, Principal Consultant, LawyerBrain LLC discussed the importance of resilience in legal practice.
Topics covered included:
- What resilience is and is not
- How it manifests in legal practice
- The need to make it an integral part of every talent management strategy today and, in the future!
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Fiona Croswell, Learning & Development Manager, ALPMA facilitated a discussion with Sharon de Bomford, Principal, Write Results Pty Ltd; Amanda Fajerman, Head of Legal Technology, LOD; and Melissa Lyon, Executive Director and Experience Designer, Hive Legal on the use, importance, benefits of, and what we can expect in the future, from tech based communication and collaboration tools.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), facilitated a discussion with Noel Lim, Co-Founder & CEO, Anika Legal and Luke Geary, Partner, Mills Oakley about the role of legaltech in reshaping the approach to pro bono work and its impact on access to justice.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Alison Laird, Director, Laird Innovations Pty Ltd facilitated a discussion with Caroline Ferguson, Business Transformation and Innovation Director, Simpson Grierson; Jan Hards, Director of Legal Innovation and Special Counsel, Johnson Winter & Slattery; and Tila Hoffman, Special Counsel & Business Transformation Manager, MinterEllisonRuddWatts on whether advances made in innovation, tech use and adoption in law firms during the COVID-19 pandemic can, will or need to be sustained in 2021 and beyond!
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Emma Elliott, CEO, ALPMA facilitated a discussion, with Kim Trajer, COO, McCullough Robertson; Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader, Moores; and Mark Wiggins, CEO, Hall Payne Lawyers about how those in the C-Suite view the use, importance and application of tech in legal practice today. It’s a practical and candid perspective that you will not want to miss!
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Sam Burrett, Associate Commercial Director, Plexus and Peter Dombkins, Director, NewLaw, PwC Australia discussed how the legal project management world is being shaped and changed by project management tech tools.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Michael Bacina, Partner, Piper Alderman and Steve Vallas, CEO Blockchain Australia discussed what’s happening in blockchain AND, how/why/if it’s shaping up to be the next legal service disruptor.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), facilitated a discussion with Schellie-Jayne (SJ) Price, Lead Lawyer, Gorgon and Wheatstone Operations, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd; Melissa Scott, Senior Legal Counsel (Global), Megaport; and Colin Levy, Legal Counsel, Lookout on the changing role of in-house counsel and its impact on reshaping legal practice.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub
This podcast was recorded as a video for the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 On Demand program published on 1 February 2021.
In this podcast, Anu Briggs, Head of Capability, Development & Change, Gilbert + Tobin and Anna Lozynski, Problem Solver and Author, Legally Innovative discussed the challenges and opportunities of thinking differently in the legal world.
If you would prefer to watch rather than listen, the podcast is also available as a video in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Free Resource Hub.
In our evolving legal ecosystem, who should be regulated, by whom, how and why? These are critical and pivotal questions being considered and addressed (or not addressed) by legal regulators around the world right now?
They are complex questions. The answers to them will almost certainly be different in different places. There are many things to be considered and balanced, not least of which is ensuring that consumers of legal services/products are adequately protected
but, at the same time, making sure that protection does not decrease their access to legal service providers.
So, what's the new role of the legal regulator in all of this? That’s the question Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), posed to an international panel of legal regulators from Australia and the USA in this podcast on The New Legal Industry Regulatory Regime – Who’s regulating whom, how and why?
Terri was joined by:
- John R. Lund, Attorney at Law, Parsons Behle & Latimer (USA)
- Jennie Pakula, Manager, Innovation & Consumer Engagement, Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (Australia)
- Lynda C. Shely, Owner/Attorney, The Shely Firm, PC, Arizona (USA)
- Jason Solomon, Executive Director, Center on the Legal Profession, Stanford Law School (USA)
Topics discussed included:
- In our evolving legal ecosystem, what’s driving regulatory reform?
- What has been/is the focus of that reform?
- What’s the new role of the legal regulator in all this and do they lead or follow?
- Can they/should they encourage experimentation and innovation in legal service/product delivery?
- What’s the link between legal innovation and regulatory sandboxes?
- And how do we move this important discourse forward so we don’t get left behind?
John, Lynda, Jason and Jennie, thank you for being willing to lead and contribute to experimentation and change – this is an important discussion at a critical time for the global legal world - bravo!
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.
As Helen Mackay, Director at Juno Legal discusses in this podcast, Juno was established from the get go with a different legal business model. Juno is a hybrid law firm and on-demand legal services business. The team comprises 21 experienced in-house lawyers and two legal professionals who serve a range of large corporates, high growth companies and public sector clients across New Zealand and beyond.
Juno's services offerings are client-focused and comprise dedicated in-house legal support, managed legal services, legal advisory, legaltech consulting and bespoke solutions. Juno places its people at the centre of everything it does. Each Juno lawyer determines their own hours of work in consultation with clients, to have full control of their careers. Juno's flat structure and egalitarian approach promotes engagement and it has no unpaid overtime. Juno's remuneration approach promotes initiative and social contribution.
Team members develop practice areas that interest them and are rewarded for business development efforts. 1% of profits are donated to each lawyer’s charity of choice. It is a collegial and supportive environment where team members work collaboratively on client and internal projects and provide expertise and peer review across the firm. Juno constantly innovates within its own business and seeks to enhance its client and employee experience.
Recognition and acknowledgement of Juno’s success in building its vision has seen the firm awarded Employer of Choice <50 lawyers at the 2018 New Zealand Law Awards, Finalist in the same category in the 2019 and 2020 NZ Law Awards, one of New Zealand’s most innovative firms in 2018 and 2019 by NZ Lawyer and NZ Lawyer Employer of Choice 2020.
Thanks so much for sharing the Juno Legal story, Helen – you’re blazing a new path and demonstrating that different works and thrives every step along the way!
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 and podcasts - you'll find the details and registration links to the videos as we add them here and, if you subscribe to this podcast, you’ll receive notification as we upload more conversations in this series.
As 2020 draws to a close, we welcomed back our crystal ball gazers from 2019, innovation and legaltech gurus: Caryn Sandler, Partner and Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Gilbert & Tobin; Warrick McLean, CEO at Colman Grieg Lawyers; and Graeme Grovum, Principal at legal industry consultancy Alpha Creates, to discuss the year in review…
Topics covered in our discussion included:
- What stood out in innovation and legaltech in 2020? And, how did it show up on law firm Managing Partner/CEO agendas?
- Whether or not, because of COVID-19, the legal industry had been pushed to a tipping point or a previously unimagined awakening to innovation and legaltech. And, what did that mean going forward?
- How “sticky” were innovation and legaltech “gains” likely to be in 2021?
- How important has data been in the operation of legal practice? And, how would that stay the same or change in 2021?
- How did the changes to work, how we worked and what we used to work, connect and intertwine in legal practice in 2020? And, what will that look like in 2021?
- And finally, what were (or should be), top priorities in innovation and legaltech in 2021?
Thank you, Caryn, Warrick, and Graeme, for another fabulous conversation – can’t wait to see you all same time, next year!
To all our friends around the world, thank you for your support in 2020 – we appreciate it every year, and especially this one. Our very best wishes to you and your families for a restful, joyful, and peaceful holiday season!
What would happen if we disrupted legal education? Would law degrees become affordable? Could learning the law become an interactive, immersive, and holistic experience? Could things like digital literacy, agility, curiosity, creativity, problem solving, business acumen, EI, and relationship building...the tech and human bits...become critical graduate attributes in every law school? Would HOW law schools teach matter as much and
WHAT they taught? Would legal educators need to acquire different skills? Would legal regulators and regulation need to change?
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), facilitated an international panel of legal educators from Australia and the USA who considered these questions and more:
- Mitchell Adams, Lecturer, LLB Course Director, Swinburne Law School, Swinburne University of Technology (Australia)
- Ann-Maree David, Executive Director, The College of Law Queensland (Australia)
- Tania Leiman, Associate Professor and Dean of Law, Flinders University (Australia)
- Michele R. Pistone, Professor of Law, Villanova University, Charles Widger School of Law (USA)
Thanks so much Mitchell, Ann-Maree, Tania, and Michele - a wonderful discussion which, no doubt, will be the first of many more to come!
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.
As Melissa Lyon and Adrienne Trumbull, Associate Principals at Hive Legal discuss in this podcast, Hive Legal is a new law trail blazer. In 2014, its founders launched a corporate commercial law firm with an entirely different business model. Starting with a clean slate, they drew on the experiences of users of legal services and those who deliver those services from traditional business models, to design a model with the purpose of improving the
experience for both its clients and its team.
Today, Hive Legal provides a truly flexible workplace. It delivers its legal services/products using fixed pricing based on value rather than time spent. Hive’s team embraces technology and fosters collaboration, agility, and creativity – they have the courage to think and act differently. This business model has provided the platform for them to develop and utilize several innovative products, ways of working with clients, and an innovative culture across the entire firm.
Thanks so much for sharing the Hive Legal story, Mel and Adrienne – we are inspired by what you continue to do differently…every day!
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 and podcasts - you'll find the details and registration links to the videos as we add them here and, if you subscribe to this podcast, you’ll receive notification as we upload more conversations in this series.
The legal world has changed. What it takes to navigate that change, work with it and excel in it, is not the same today as it was nine months ago. And, it won’t be the same nine months from now. While it might take a little longer for legislation to change, we’ve already lived through a legal work evolution – different ways to communicate, different ways to lead, different client and employee needs and expectations and different ways to be. For some organisations, that’s already led to systemic change. And, while the legal industry may not move as quickly, what we know right now and for sure is, what got us here, will not get us there. We’re in a brave new legal world and with that comes the need for different capabilities, permanently!
In this podcast, on New World, New Lawyers – How are capabilities “shaping” up? for the Centre’s Reinvent Legal Business Series 2, Dan Kayne, General Counsel – Regions, Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd (UK) and Caitlin (Cat) Moon, Director of Innovation Design, Vanderbilt Law School (USA) shared their thoughts about change in the legal industry, how this has already led to the need for different lawyer capabilities, and how their work is providing a comprehensive and complimentary blueprint for this change.
Topics discussed included:
- The different lawyer capability shapes – I, T, D and O – what they are, what they do, and why they matter
- How changes in the legal ecosystem are impacting legal education
- The opportunity for law schools to reinvent legal education
- The change agent role of in-house counsel and its importance in shaping legal education and lawyer capabilities
- The important role of collaboration between law schools and legal practitioners in developing lawyer capabilities for now and the future
Cat and Dan – thank you so much for your being role models for change and, guiding and inspiring that in all of us – we love your work!
If you would prefer to watch this session rather than listen, you'll find the link to the video on the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) FREE Resource Centre here.
Don't forget to also check out and save the date for the other fabulous FREE Reinvent Legal Business Series 2 webinars and podcasts - you'll find the details and registration links to the videos as we add them here and, if you subscribe to this podcast, you’ll receive notification as we upload more conversations in this series.
We are at a juncture, right now, where we can take a breath and seize the opportunity not just to do a little better in how we have practised law but, a lot!
We can't do that with ALL the same people, or thinking the same way, or doing the same things. We need to celebrate and embrace people from different backgrounds, different approaches, different points of view. And so, in many different ways, diversity AND inclusion (D&I) will play an even bigger role in how we move forward - it's pivotal to legal innovation AND at the centre of building the sort of workplace culture that reflects and respects our contemporary workplace, colleagues and clients.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific),spoke with leaders and doers in this space from Australia and the USA about Building a New Law Firm Culture Through Diversity & Inclusion:
- Ann-Maree David, Executive Director,The College of Law Queensland(Australia)
- Maddison Harrington, Legal Officer - People and Wellbeing,Griffith University(Australia)
- Leila Hock, Director, Legal Department Partnerships and Inclusion Initiatives,Diversity Lab(USA)
- Kimya S.P. Johnson, Senior Counsel and Chair of Diversity & Inclusion Practice Group,Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C(USA)
Topics discussed included:
- Definitions for acronyms often used in D & I
- The importance of taking this time to “build back better” when it comes to the legal industry and D & I
- Identifying the challenges and overcoming them to effect the advancement of D & I in the legal industry
- Ways to ensure your D & I initiatives work in law firms, in legal education and in collaboration with consultancies
- The important role of D & I in developing organisational and workplace culture
- How D & I connects to and advances innovation
- The role of allies in D & I
Thanks so much, Ann-Maree, Maddy, Leila and Kimya for being so willing to candidly share your thoughts, experience, and the fabulous work you all do – it’s making a difference and we are all very grateful for it – amazing!
If you would prefer to watch this session rather than listen, you'll find the link to the video on the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) FREE Resource Centre here.
Don't forget to also check out and save the date for the other fabulous FREE Reinvent Legal Business Series 2 webinars and podcasts - you'll find the details and registration links to the videos as we add them here and, if you subscribe to this podcast, you’ll receive notification as we upload more conversations in this series.
We have launched our new series: ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies to showcase legal businesses - law firms, in-house legal departments, ALSPs, Community Legal Centres, Legal Consultancies, Legal Incubators and Accelerators – that have reimagined, repurposed, or reinvented legal business and tell their stories. These legal businesses are not just part of, but are creating a new legal ecosystem with the aspiration, and as these are case studies, the proof of concept, that what they do and how they do it is less about “new” and more about a different “business as usual.”
Law Squared is one of these businesses! It’s an innovative NewLaw firm that has challenged the status quo of the traditional law firm model. Founded in 2016 by Demetrio Zema, Law Squared has pursued its vision to make good businesses great and great businesses better, by working with their clients in a clear, transparent and engaging manner.
Law Squared has consistently pursued its aims to break down the barriers traditional legal service providers have created, by being clear communicators, listening to their client’s needs, being efficient, and always transparent on costs.
Law Squared has proactively approached its delivery of legal services across four practice areas; commercial, corporate, employment and litigation, and, that's led to Law Squared becoming one of the leading NewLaw firms among enterprises and corporates across Australia.
Thanks so much for sharing the amazing Law Squared journey, Demetrio – you’ve not only built the path but, you’re lighting the way for us all too – amazing!
If you would prefer to watch this session rather than listen, you'll find the link to the video on the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) FREE Resource Centre here.
Don't forget to also check out and save the date for the other fabulous FREE ReinventED Legal Business: The Case Studies webinars and podcasts - you'll find the details and registration links to the videos as we add them here and, if you subscribe to this podcast, you’ll receive notification as we upload more conversations in this series.
The world of legal internships has changed. Legal work experience is being redefined, literally right before our eyes! The good news is, there are more opportunities to gain that all important pre-first job experience, gain insights into what a legal career might look like, and identify and try out other roles and opportunities that might interest you too. The challenge is not expecting that to happen the way it used to – in person and in an office - because if legal services are being delivered from a lawyer’s home and virtually, it stands to reason that at least some of your work experience needs to be focused that way too.
In this podcast on The New Legal Intern Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), was joined by an international panel of leaders and doers in the law student work experience and legal education space from Australia and the USA to talk about this and lots more:
- Tom Brunskill, Co-founder & CEO, Forage (formerly InsideSherpa) (Australia/USA)
- Sam Garner, National Manager, Graduate Resourcing Strategy & Learning, King & Wood Mallesons (Australia)
- Samuel Kilpatrick, Volunteer Paralegal Coordinator, Anika Legal (Australia)
- Sandee Magliozzi, Associate Dean for Experiential and Competency-based Learning and Clinical Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law (USA)
Topics discussed included:
- The objectives of internship programs
- The evolving world of virtual internships
- The changing role of work experience and the relevance of internships in this space
- The opportunities for collaboration between legal educators and industry through internships
Sandee, Sam, Tom and Sam – thanks so much for sharing your experience and providing a glimpse into the new world of legal internships and legal education – so exciting!
If you would prefer to watch this session rather than listen, you'll find the link to the video on the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) FREE Resource Centre here.
The changing legal marketplace has brought with it a new and evolving set of client needs and expectations. It’s still essentially and importantly all about relationships but, it’s equally important for legal businesses to be able to anticipate where value can be added for their clients and proactively offer it. That’s increasingly hard to do if your legal practice doesn’t analyse its client related data. It’s become very important for legal businesses to know exactly when and where they have hit the right mark or strayed from it and make immediate mid-course corrections. And, if that isn’t done and your clients are unhappy, then there’s evaluation platforms where they can share their thoughts and, this could dissuade potential clients from engaging you. The legal market place today is all about choice and customisation. It’s about how clients experience the interactions with their legal service/product providers every step along the way, with many of those steps being taken “virtually” now too!
In this podcast on What do law firm clients REALLY need (and want)?, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), was joined by an international panel of leaders and doers in the legal business development, client data, client evaluation platforms and client experience space from Australia and the USA to talk about this and lots more:
- Marcie Borgal Shunk, President and Founder, The Tilt Institute, Inc (USA)
- Silvia Coulter, Principal, Client Development and Growth Practice, LawVision Group LLC (USA)
- Ben Farrow, Managing Director, FirmChecker (Australia)
- Carl White, Chief Experience Officer and Director, CXINLAW (Australia)
Topics discussed included:
- Whether client experience and client satisfaction are the same thing or something different
- Why legal practices need to develop a “client first” strategy
- Whether or not legal services/products can be customised, and should be
- How to establish/develop/maintain client relationships in a virtual world
Marcie, Silvia, Ben and Carl – thanks so much for your practical insights and experience sharing – we love your work!
If you would prefer to watch this session rather than listen, you'll find the link to the video here.
We read and hear a lot about legal innovation and transformation, more now than ever before, but it’s hard to know how much of this is “innovation theatre” or “window dressing” versus real, tangible change. In this podcast on The Changing Face of Legal Innovation and Transformation – Who’s zooming who?, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), was joined by an international panel of leaders and doers in the legal innovation and transformation space from Australia and New Zealand to talk about this and lots more:
- Caroline Ferguson, Business Transformation and Innovation Director, Simpson Grierson (New Zealand)
- Katrina Gowans, National Legal Transformation Lead, Origin (Australia)
- Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Information Officer, Gilbert + Tobin (Australia)
- Adrian Warren, Director, Plexus + KPMG NewLaw Partnership (Australia)
Topics discussed included:
- What innovation and transformation specialists do
- How to innovate no matter what your legal organisation looks like
- The differences and similarities between internal and external innovation
- How data and innovation are link together
- The impact of COVID-19 on innovation/transformation now and moving forward…
Caroline, Katrina, Caryn and Adrian – we love learning from your innovation and transformation journeys and thank you for your generosity and willingness to share them!
If you would prefer to listen rather than watch this session, we'll also be releasing this session as a webinar as part of our FREE Reinvent Legal Business Series 2 webinars - you'll find the details and registration links as we add them here.
In the legal marketplace today, one that is increasingly client centric, legaltech enabled, data driven and where service/product delivery needs to be lean, nimble, and agile, having the right people, do the right things, at the right time and at the right price point is the only way a law firm gets to do what its clients want i.e. deliver its services and products effectively and efficiently. It's that easy and it's that hard!
The creativity, complexity and uniqueness of legal professionals has never been more important than it is right now but, so too is recognising their fragility. People aren't machines. And, if they are to be at their best, they need to be recognised, engaged, and empowered - that's where the new people, people come in - HR, talent management professionals, well -being and coaching executives collaborating and working in unison to support, guide, and connect the dots between individual capabilities and the achievement of legal business performance goals.
In this podcast on Reinventing the Legal Workplace – Meet the new people, people!, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), was joined by an international panel of leaders and doers in this space from Australia and the USA:
- Jan Christie, Capability + Development Manager, Gilbert + Tobin (Australia)
- Louise Ferris, Chief People Officer, McCullough Robertson Lawyers (Australia)
- Krista Larson, Director of Employee Well-being, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (USA)
- Susan Manch, Chief Talent Officer, Winston & Strawn LLP (USA)
Topics discussed included:
- Who are the new people, people and what exactly do they do?
- The changing role of human resources and how it’s combining with digital resources today
- The impact of COVID-19 on workplaces, work cultures, mindsets, mental health and well-being, capabilities and capability development
- Challenges and priorities just ahead…
Thank you Jan, Lou, Krista and Sue – your work and dedication is an inspiration – amazing!
If you would prefer to listen rather than watch this session, we'll also be releasing this session as a webinar as part of our FREE Reinvent Legal Business Series 2 webinars - you'll find the details and registration links as we add them here.
Contemporary legal practice may be tech fuelled but its also data driven. It's also increasingly less about imparting knowledge and more about sharing experience. The combination of knowledge and data analytics has created a new synergy that is guiding and even predicting where and how best to apply what we know to what we do as lawyers and allied legal professionals. It's spawned a whole new way to make decisions - more targeted, more accurate, more agile, better, faster and cheaper!
In this podcast on Making Legal Decisions Differently – Knowledge management, data analytics and so much more…, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), was joined by an international panel of leaders and doers in this space from Australia and the USA:
- Carolyn Austin, Director of Knowledge and Practice Support, K&L Gates (Australia)
- Jon Metcalf, Principal Data Scientist, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (USA)
- Beth Patterson, Director, ESPconnect (Australia)
Topics discussed included:
- What is knowledge management and data analytics?
- What do knowledge management and data specialists do?
- Is data important or all things in all types of legal practice, and if so, why?
- What’s the relationship between tech, data and knowledge management?
- How and where are knowledge management and data analytics impacting legal practice?
Carolyn, Jon and Beth – now we know knowledge management and data is this much fun, we’ll all be calling you – thank you for a fabulous conversation!
If you would prefer to listen rather than watch this session, we'll also be releasing this session as a webinar as part of our FREE Reinvent Legal Business Series 2 webinars - you'll find the details and registration links as we add them here.
As we reflect on the many changes in the legal ecosystem in the last 5 years, few specialist groups have evolved as quickly or had the same, significant impact as legal operations professionals. For example, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) evolved from a handful of people to thousands in what seemed like just a handful of years! So, we wanted to explore where legal ops came from and where it’s going to in Legal Operations...Is it the new legal business game changer?
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) was joined by an international panel of the world's leading thought leaders and doers in this space:
- Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff/Sr. Director, Legal Operations, NetApp, Inc. (USA)
- Amanda Fajerman, Head of Legal Technology, LOD (Australia)
- Mick Sheehy, Partner, NewLaw, PwC (Australia)
Topics discussed included:
- What legal operations is (and isn’t)
- What legal ops professionals do
- Why legal ops has become a critical function in legal departments
- The key performance indicators for a first rate legal ops function
- The role of legal ops in the new legal ecosystem
- The connection between legal ops and the rise of Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs)
- The emerging divide in focus, function and capabilities of lawyers in-house and in private practice
- The opportunities and challenges of COVID-19 for the legal ops function
Thank you so much Connie, Mick and Amanda for a candid, insightful and information packed discussion – we love your work!
P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar so, if you would like to watch it, you’ll find it here.
One of the many things that has been innovated during the current lockdown is the nature, diversity and reach of our networks.
We’ve not see global networking on this scale before and we wanted to chat about that and what trends might be consolidating for legal practice management with the folks who have been in the global networks and networking business for quite some time – Terralex.
We spoke with the Chief Business Officer of Terralex, Terri Pepper Gavulic, and the topics included:
- How global networks like Terralex work
- How the shift from local to more regional and global networks and networking is impacting the legal industry
- Whether or not small and boutique law firms can or should have a global focus
- The importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal industry and in legal innovation
- Emerging themes and trends for law firm leaders and managers around the world
Thank you so much for a fabulous discussion, Terri – we’re delighted to have you and Terralex in our global network!
This podcast launched the Centre for Legal Innovation’s (CLI) second series on Reinvent Legal Business (RLB 2). RLB 2 will explore areas like new legal businesses, new approaches to legal service and product delivery, new roles and, how all this combines. We’re viewing these changes through a global lens in this series, so each session features specialists from more than one country - global thought leaders and doers who are shaping next practices and, share their knowledge and experience about how they got there (or are continuing their journey) and, their successes and failures along the way.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI, facilitated a panel discussion that focussed on The Case for Legal R&D – Legaltech Hubs and Innovation. Terri was joined by an amazing international panel of legal innovation/legaltech hub leaders from law schools and legal practice in Australia, India and the USA: Alice Armitage, Professor & Director of Applied Innovation, UC Hastings College of the Law (USA); Michelle Grossmann, Chief Innovation Officer & Transformation Lead, Lander & Rogers Lawyers | iHub (Australia); Komal Gupta, Head of Innovation, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (India); and Maya Markovich, Chief Growth Officer, Nextlaw Labs at Dentons (USA).
Topics discussed included:
- What’s the purpose of innovation/legaltech hubs?
- What do the people leading these hubs do?
- How do the hubs work, and who do they work with or for?
- How do the hubs contribute to legal innovation/legaltech development?
- Are these hubs reinventing lawyer/client relationships through experimentation and additional ways to collaborate?
- Have the hubs become the R&D function of the legal industry?
This was an insightful, informative, candid and generous discussion – a conversation that will stay with you and have you buzzing for hours if not weeks after you listen to it.
Thank you so much Alice, Michelle, Komal and Maya for a brilliant conversation – we are inspired by your amazing work and the difference it makes in the legal industry every day!
P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar so, if you would like to watch it, you’ll find it here.
In the second podcast in the area of crisis communications, we discussed what law firms should be focusing on now that the impact of COVID-19 is being felt so acutely. What should they be communicating with their people, clients and the market more broadly? What do Mid-Crisis Communications for Law Firms look like?
We welcomed back communications guru Sharon de Bomford, Principal at Write Results to chat about all of this. We started by discussing the strategic or overarching considerations law firm leaders and managers might want to focus on right now and ended by discussing the evolving communications landscape – what’s changed and what may never change!
Topics discussed included:
- The role, importance and function of a communications plan or strategy and how our global focus on such things has laid a foundation for considering them differently
- How there has been a significant shift to and on internal communications, what’s working and what’s changing in popularity there
- How things are also changing in external communications and what we need to remain focussed on there
- How to combat communication fatigue, particularly as that relates to external communications
- The need for leaders and managers take a breath, acknowledge and understand the impact of all these communications on them
- Whether, at this point, we can see new ways to communicate emerging – old ways done differently, new ways done differently, all the interesting options and combinations in between, and maybe even some brand new ways to communicate too!
Thank you so much, Sharon – another fabulous practical, helpful, important and inspiring session to encourage us all to keep the conversations going!
If you would like to listen to the first podcast in this area by Sharon and Olivia Kruimel, Senior Marketing Manager, Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered Bank on The Dos and Don’ts of Internal and External Crisis Communications for Law Firms, you’ll find it here.
In the tenth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we spoke with Fiona Craig, Principal of Fiona Craig consulting about Career Planning in a Crisis - is it possible? And, what a discussion it was - full of hopeful, helpful and insightful advice.
We discussed Fiona’s own career journey and how that led her to her passion, legal career coaching, and then jumped into a discussion packed full of practical tips and examples about things like:
- Managing uncertainty – how you can move from the grip of anxiety, fear and even retrenchment to arrive at a place where you can proactively seek your next opportunity
- Career planning – the importance of having a plan, implementing it, but also understanding the need for flexibility and agility when you are in the middle of changing realities over which you may have little or no control
- Performance reviews – how you can best prepare for, approach, and engage in discussion about things like salary increases and promotion during a crisis
- Preparing for a new reality – how you can identify trends that will impact you, use them to enhance your employability, and at the same time continue to maintain/expand your professional networks when you can’t meet in person.
Thank you so much, Fiona – so enjoyed this discussion - you’re inspiring, encouraging and always amazing!
From February to June 2020, CLI held six roundtables throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Like all our roundtables since 2017, these discussions brought together industry thought leaders from law firms, legal departments, ALSPs, legaltech, and community legal centres, who shared their candid views and experience on what was really happening in practice. These discussion were, as they always are, a glimpse into the day to day challenges and opportunities of contemporary legal practice.
The topic for discussion for this series was Beyond the Legal Innovation Hype, There Is….? It focused on getting into the nitty-gritty of what was really changing in the legal industry, if anything, what was driving change, and what would stick and become permanent. We wanted to understand and share experience on key trends and if they would prove to be a band aid solution applied in a crisis, or foundations stones to a systemic change to legal practice and, why any of this should matter to everyone in the legal ecosystem.
In the middle of the series, the world changed - COVID 19 impacted the legal industry like every other - and forced our industry perhaps unlike most others, to embrace technology and change like never before. How and where this impacted legal practice then, now and in the future, was also discussed in this series.
In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), identified and discussed the key trends that emerged from these roundtables with our panellists, this discussion also subsequently became the ninth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change. Our amazing panellists for this session were:
- Jemima Harris, Director, LOD
- Catriona Macleod, Director, Cullen Macleod Lawyers
- Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers
- Jennie Pakula, Manger, Innovation & Consumer Engagement, Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner
- Titus Rahiri, CEO & Founder, KorumLegal
- Rajesh Sreenivasan, Partner and Head Technology, Media & Telecommunications Director, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
Thank you so much, Jemima, Catriona, Warrick, Jennie, Titus and Rajesh – loved your insights as we love your work!
In the eighth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed with Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers, Flexible Working in the New World – and what a new world it has become!
We kicked off with an explanation of what flexible working is today – it’s not the same as it was – it’s expanded in application and definition. Katherine analysed how the wide spread application of flexible work, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, has challenged myths and provided case studies around things like productivity, uptake, and access to talent but, how it’s also been important to remember not everyone needs or wants to work this way.
Katherine also discussed how the consequences of these wide-spread flexible work arrangements have been far reaching in the legal industry (and all others). The needs/expectations of individual employees have also been reflected in changing customer and business demands – they’re all inter-related. And, what is being changed is likewise not just internal to firms/organisations like new business processes and project management, communication tools and expected outputs, but it’s also given rise to new customer behaviours and the enhanced use of technology.
It’s unlikely law firms/organisations will return to the same work environment that they left pre COVID-19, even if they want to (and it’s clear many do not), their employees or clients may not accept a reset to the old status quo. In the near future, work may become less about when people return to work and more about how and where!
Thank you so much, Katherine – another fabulous thought provoking session!
If you would like to listen to Katherine’s other podcast in this series on Remote Working…in a crisis, you’ll find it here. If you would prefer to watch it, you’ll find it here.
P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar so if you would like to watch it, you’ll find it here.
In the seventh podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed how our world of legal work has been turned upside down with Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers in Remote Working…in a crisis.
Working remotely has been on the agenda for law firms for a long time – not new! Moving your entire workforce to work from home at short notice – that’s new! While the initial foray into this world was all about getting the tech connected, setting up the home office, and completing WH&S checklists, as we now know, some weeks in, where we work has become a catalyst for change that runs much deeper.
As we undertake our work each day from home, we’re witnessing and contributing to not only a proof of concept, but also the global transformation of how law firms can and are operating in a very different way. Working remotely is changing what work we do, how work is produced, how we work together: how we communicate, collaborate and trust. It’s also brought about a renewed focus on mental health and well-being. It’s challenging mindsets, the status quo, leadership and management structures, styles and even own assumptions.
That’s what Katherine focused on in this session – context, evidence and highly practical recommendations for leadership, management and individuals - and, in so doing, made it clear that wide scale remote working may have come to many quickly, demanding change, agility and experimentation that some were prepared for but many were not but, it also created a unique opportunity for law firms to embrace the future of work, TODAY!
The question for us now is no longer if remote working can “work” (it can) but rather if the legal industry is willing to see this as a catalyst for change in law firms so, when we can return to the office, we make that decision (and many others related to it), because it is the best option, not just because it’s what we did before…
Thank you Katherine – informative, insightful and practical - we love your work!
If you would like to view the webinar for this topic, you'll find it here.
You’ll find the Free Range Lawyers booklet referred to in this podcast on Remote working success for law firms available to download here.
In the sixth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed the financial management of legal businesses with Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers in Making the Best Financial Decisions in Times of Uncertainty (for Law Firms).
We focused on the information law firm leaders and managers need to have in front of them daily right now but also, and importantly, the sorts of tools they can use to help plan for a changed and changing future like scenario planning and financial modelling.
Thank you Warrick for sharing your experience – invaluable!
If you would like to listen to Warrick’s other podcast in this series on Assessing Your Financial Situation Right Now (for Law Firms), you’ll find it here.
P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar. We will post the link to the video once it is available.
In the fifth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed the financial management of legal businesses with Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers in Assessing your Financial Situation Right Now (for Law Firms).
We discussed what law firm leaders and managers need to be identifying, analysing and thinking about as they take stock of where their legal businesses sit financially including:
- Why it’s important to undertake a mini audit
- What financial information needs to be reviewed and how to review it
- How to identify, minimise/review key expenses e.g. premises (leases), people and fixed costs
- How to identify, assess, categorise and deal with current, future and unlikely sources of income
- Key areas that need to be monitored, leveraged or minimised today like cash flow, overdrafts, deferred payment options, and payment extensions
- COVID-19 specific key areas to consider like access government backed loans, rebates and support
Thank you, Warrick for these super practical tips – so important and helpful right now!
P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar. We will post the link to the video once it is available.
In the fourth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we spoke with John Poulsen, Principal at People Passion Performance on Mental Health and Well-being in the New Legal Work Place.
There’s a lot of stress and anxiety in the legal community right now, and there’s lots of very good reasons for it so, we wanted to devote this podcast to providing some thoughts and advice on how we might find some calm in the storm, a place from which we can make good decisions, give good advice, and be the best we can for all the people in our lives.
Before establishing his own consultancy, John spent many years in law firms and most recently as the Austral Managing Partner and CEO of Squire Patton Boggs. He has a deep understanding of lawyers, legal professionals, legal practice and, just like all of us, is living through the COVID-19 pandemic right now. We could not think of anyone better qualified to chat with us about this hugely important topic.
Thank you so much, John – we love your passion for people and their mental health, well-being and…performance!
P.S. If you would like to refer to the resources mentioned in this podcast, you will find them at:
- Minds Count Foundation – The 13 Workplace Factors
- C. Otto Scharmer, Theory U: Leading From the Future As It Emerges, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, (January 1, 2009)
- Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, New World Library, (August 19, 2004)
In the third podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed what to do right now if you are faced with a changed or changing role, the need to retrain, upskill and, perhaps even having to find a new role in a different place, today or in 6 or 12 months from now.
We spoke with international recruitment guru Katherine Mountford, Principal at KM Talent. Katherine has worked in different roles and started her own business so she has, quite literally, been there and done the sorts of things we cover in this podcast.
Thank you so much Katherine – loved the practical, positive, common sense tips on moving forward in a time of change!
P.S. If you would like to read the article referred to in this podcast, you will find it here: John H. Zenger, Joseph Folkman and Scott Edinger, “Making Yourself Indispensable,” HBR, (October 2011).
In the second podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance to those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we spoke communication gurus Sharon de Bomford, Principal at Write Results and Olivia Kruimel, Senior Marketing Manager, Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered Bank. Sharon and Olivia have both spent many years in law firm communication roles crafting the messages that help find calm in a storm, so they know a thing or two about the topic of this podcast: The Dos and Don’ts of Internal and External Crisis Communications for Law Firms.
And, it’s a very important topic for law firms right now! When there’s so much going on, it can be hard to work out what to say, who to address it to and when to say it. It’s a delicate balance – get it right, and the marketplace embraces you, get it wrong and the opposite is true. And, people have long memories!
But, it’s not only the external marketplace at large that you need to focus on…your firm’s clients and staff need to know what you’re thinking too. In tough times, clients need to know your firm can still provide the services they need. Your staff are concerned about their jobs. Saying nothing is not an option. So, how do you get the right message to the right people at the right time? These are the questions we answer in this podcast…along with a bunch more too!
Thank you so much Sharon and Olivia for sharing your experience, practical tips and common sense approach to this topic – fabulous! Sharon has also written an excellent blog post which listeners will also find helpful, it’s titled 'Communicating in a crisis – a guide for smaller professional services firms'. and you’ll find it here.
In the next few podcasts in this series, we’ll be focusing on providing practical support and assistance to those working in the legal ecosystem during a time of extreme change.
Our hearts go out to our legal community and to every other community – we’re all hurting right now and working on how to cope with the COVID-19 global pandemic.
We hope you’ll find, in these podcasts, words of encouragement, hope and help as you find your way to the other side and the next normal – and, we’ll be here for you, as you do.
We’re starting this group of podcasts by asking an amazing group of law firm leaders, managers and consultants how they are creating a pathway forward for their clients, employees and firms - Leading and Managing their Law Firms in Difficult Times. We spoke with Catriona MacLeod, Director, Cullen MacLeod Lawyers; Marcus McCarthy, Principal, Nexus Law Group; Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers; and Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers and Managing Director of Katherine Thomas Consulting.
Thank you Catriona, Marcus, Warrick and Katherine for your candour and compassion – you are wonderful ambassadors for the legal community and shining examples of why we can be certain our community will survive!
The legal industry has changed. It stands to reason that legal education should too. But, that's a big ship to turn around and it's taking more time than the unrelenting pace of business today can easily accommodate. To be fair, it's not just legal education under scrutiny here, it's the whole higher education sector but within it, many would readily agree that law has been one of the most reluctant to embrace change! And, while some of the issues are undeniably complex and rightfully demand careful consideration, that in and of itself cannot be a reason to refrain from experimentation, especially in experiential and practical legal education. So, what will the new practical legal education regime look like? That's a question being debated across the world right now. It's on the agenda as much for the early adopters of practical legal education models like Australia, through those preparing new entrants for new legal practice models like the UK, to those in transition to different models by state versus nationally like the US. The approaches being considered or implemented are also different. Some providers offer stop gap measures, and some are building bridges. Some of these models will stay and some will go. Some are working on their models in isolation and others through collaboration. And then there's the legal education innovators, a small group who are thinking outside the box - reimagining, reinventing and embracing a new way of thinking about the function, role and importance of the rule of law, access to justice and the different ways to practice law - and creating education opportunities to prepare people for that reality! Legal Innovators (LI), a Washington, DC based organisation, has created one of these new practical legal education opportunities. It bridges the gap between law school and legal practice. Its own business and education models draw on the significant real-world experience of its founders. LI has created an alternative legal education model for law students and early career lawyers - one that emphasises and embraces the importance of diversity and inclusion in contemporary legal practice, is founded on providing relevant learning opportunities, mentoring and supporting law students in their transition from law school to legal practice. It's an organisation leading by example, getting on with solving the practical legal education gap in the US and making a difference. It's a new model for legal education - more connected with industry, focusing on learning on the job and, getting a job at the end of the day. We spoke with Jon Greenblatt, Co-founder and Chairman of LI to learn more about the US legal education sector, the issues LI sought to solve and how it has gone about doing it. Thank you so much, Jon - congrats to you, Bryan Parker and Team LI for changing mindsets, changing lives and doing legal education differently!
Who got us here, won't get us there! That's the new catchcry for the next legal workforce. Different times call for different capabilities. There are just too many fast moving pieces and too many capabilities required for the effective, efficient and relevant delivery of legal services/products for this to be the remit of one group within the legal industry - the lawyers. The next legal workforce is truly multidisciplinary, its a consequence of changed client/employee expectations and the integration of legaltech/AI but its impact is far reaching - it's changing law firm business models, work practices and culture. We discussed all of this and much more with global legal talent management guru Sue Manch, Chief Talent Officer at international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Sue has been a thought leader and change agent in this space for many years, she's someone who is redefining and reshaping the contemporary legal workforce and, in this podcast, provides great examples of how her firm is making change happen. Topics we discussed included: 1. How the changes in legal practice are impacting legal talent management strategies 2. How the profile of the contemporary legal workforce has changed - new work, new roles, new ways and places to work 3. The emergence of common core capabilities in law firms and how these feature in things like recruitment and promotion for everyone 4. New and different ways to learn, what and when to learn, and the link between adaptability, continual improvement and continual learning 5. The importance of coaching and its role in promoting business and personal agility, better communication, and better relationships 6. The connection and importance of diversity and inclusion and its integral connection to innovation 7. The importance of well being and mental health programs in law firms and how these are shaping different work practices, law firm business models and culture 8. The need for, reality of, and steps being taken towards career paths for all law firms professionals, not just lawyers.
Thank you so much, Sue - your work inspires us all!
It's not enough to be innovative or innovate! It's not a one off proposition. In the legal industry today, it's increasingly about continuous improvement, agility and embedding these core capabilities in law firms/legal departments so they underpin and drive the way business is done every day - this IS the new firm/organisational culture. But, so much change so quickly can also be exhausting. We asked Maya Markovich, Chief Growth Officer at Dentons' Nextlaw Labs, how firms/organisations are introducing, advancing and sustaining legal innovation - and a whole lot more! Nextlaw Labs was a pioneer in the law firm R&D space and has continued to experiment, iterate, expand and lead despite increased activity and competition in the market. Topics we discussed included: 1. The difference between an incubator, accelerator and legal R&D department 2. The difference in the lawyer, legalpreneurs and entrepreneurial mindset 3. The impact and importance of a multidisciplinary approach to innovation 4. The role of intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs in law firms and legal departments 5. The role, function and impact of Chief Innovation Officers and innovation committees and, what they need to thrive 6. Whether or not law firms should be investing in legaltech development 7. How collaboration is the glue for law firms/legal departments and multidisciplinary approaches to the development of legaltech and the implementation of innovative projects 8. What’s driving the current significant increase in investment in legaltech/AI globally and if the legal industry is approaching a tipping point 9. And, what’s the BIG thing on the legaltech/AI or the legal innovation horizon in the next three years.
Thank you, Maya, for an amazing conversation and for hosting us in sunny downtown Oakland, California!
As 2019 draws to a close, it seemed like a good time to celebrate our 10th TLPS podcast episode looking back on how the legal industry fared in terms of legaltech and innovation: What happened? What surprised us? What didn’t happen and maybe disappointed us? And, what should we watch for in 2020?
We were joined on this partly reflective and partly prospective journey by an amazing group of legaltech/innovation gurus: Caryn Sandler, Partner and Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Gilbert & Tobin; Warrick McLean, CEO at Colman Grieg Lawyers; and Graeme Grovum, Principal at legal industry consultancy Alpha Creates.
Topics covered in our discussion included:
- What stood out in legaltech and innovation in 2019? And, how it showed up in law firm/legal department strategic priorities, Managing Partner/CEO agendas and industry research.
- What trends were expected or surprised the legal industry in 2019?
- What was the uptake of legaltech and innovation in law firms in 2019?
- Was uptake being driven by clients or a new level of skills/industry maturity or a discernible move towards a culture of continuous improvement or something else? And, how would that change in 2020?
- How did industry change support and shape new legal work and a new workforce profile in 2019? Was it redefining the definition of “team”? Would that continue in 2020?
- Did changes in work and the workforce in 2019 also change the way law firms worked with their clients e.g. in-house counsel and, vice versa?
- Where did Australia rate in the take up of legaltech/innovation in law firms on a scale of 1-5 (1 being little or none and 5 being we’re all over it)? And, where did that place Australia in the Asia-Pacific region?
- What were the big trends to look for in 2020 and, how should the legal industry prepare for them?
- And finally, would 2020 bring with it a new opportunity for optimism for legaltech/innovation, or something different?
Thank you Caryn, Warrick and Graeme for a wonderful conversation – we love your work!
And, all our friends around the world, thank you for your support in 2019, we can’t wait to be part of your lives again in 2020. Our very best wishes to you and your families for a restful, joyful and peaceful holiday season!
The opportunity and challenge of legaltech/lawtech and legal innovation is that they are borderless! Collaborations, experience sharing and networks in this space are increasingly global but, that can also make keeping up to date even more difficult. In this episode, we’re joined by Nick Watson, a serial legalpreneur, who is the Managing Director of Ruby Datum Virtual Data Rooms and the founder of the LawTech London group. Nick is based in London and spent time chatting with us about the UK lawtech and innovation scene as well as what lies ahead in 2020.
The topics covered in our conversation included:
- The difference between lawtech/legaltech and the definition of innovation
- The hot topics in lawtech and legal innovation in the UK today
- Where the UK rates on a scale of 1-5 (1 being little or none and 5 being we’re all over it) in the take up of lawtech and innovation
- The drivers and obstacles in that take up and, if there are any discernible differences between law firms/in-house legal departments and/or where lawyers work
- Where lawyers go to learn about lawtech and legal innovation in the UK
- How Australia and the UK compare in the lawtech/legal innovation worlds
- And finally, the one big thing we should watch for in lawtech/legal innovation coming out of the UK in 2020.
Thanks so much for visiting with us, Nick – please come back to Oz soon!
Innovation, the sort that transforms and not just tinkers at the edges, is as unlikely to happen in the legal industry, as any other, without diversity and inclusion. Different perspectives and ideas, shaped from different experiences, will create that sort of change and lead the legal industry into its next iteration.
With that in mind, Christie Guimond, Priya Lele and Nicky Leijtens formed She Breaks the Law (SBTL), an amazing “global network of women leaders who are breaking the mould and challenging the norm in the world of law.”
We spoke with Christie, who is also a Senior Manager in Legal Project Management at White & Case LLP in London, to learn a little more about SBTL: how and why it formed, its unique value proposition, the importance of diversity and inclusion and what SBTL will focus on in the coming year.
Thanks so much, Christie – SBTL is an amazing initiative and we can’t wait to see and support what you, Priya and Nicky will do next!
P.S. If you would like to read a little more about SBTL, please check out this CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight too.
So many bots, so little time! Everywhere you turn there’s another website with a chatbot, or another article about them…often followed by a bunch of doomsday predictions about more lawyers and legal business professionals losing their jobs! So, what’s the real deal? Are legal bots a fabulous tech tool that can assist lawyers in spending more time where they add the most value e.g. with their clients, understanding their client’s problems, their businesses, and focussing on the more complex problem solving they do so well? Or, will legal bots provide more support, assistance and information to those who otherwise cannot afford legal services. Or, is there a less rosy scenario for everyone somewhere down the road. Or, is it a little of all of these things? In other words, what’s the real impact, right now, of legal bots and, where will it all go from here?
We spoke with Sam Flynn, a lawyer and co-founder of Josef, a company that develops bots but also connects these with document automation and data. It’ a company that has rapidly and deservedly found itself leading the industry in this area, at home and overseas. Topics covered in our conversation included:
- Some quick definitions for all the bots out there.
- The pros and cons of bots.
- How law firms and legal departments are using bots and why.
- How the use of bots is changing how lawyers work, what lawyers work on (i.e. where they focus their time) and the impact this is having on legal education.
- The work Josef has been doing in running summer programs for clerks/associates in law firms on bot development around the world and how that is developing skills but also acting as a catalyst for legal innovation.
- Whether or not government funding for legal bots (recently announced by the NSW government when we recorded this podcast) would assist with improving A2J.
- Where to start on the bot learning continuum.
- And finally, what will the 2025 version of a bot look like and do!
Thank you so much, Sam - we love your work – you amaze and inspire us all!
You can also read more about Sam’s journey in his CLI Legalpreneurs Spotlight on the CLI website.
The love/hate relationship with the billable hour remains as topical as it is controversial in legal practice today. It’s been an integral part of how lawyers have valued their services for a while now but, we’re in different times so, does that mean we need to think differently too about what and how we value what lawyers do?
The billable hour has also served, within law firms (and legal departments), as a proxy for things like productivity, utilization, performance, compensation, rewards and promotion. And, that probably needs to be reviewed too. For example, can you really measure a person’s contribution to legacy building and employee retention through coaching and mentoring; or continuous improvement, efficiency and effectiveness through innovation and creativity; or client relationship building, satisfaction and retention…by the hour?
We spoke with John Chisholm, Liz Harris and David Wells from the Innovim Group about all this and more. These folks are Australia’s leading legal services pricing gurus and, they also know a thing or two about running a successful legal business.
Topics covered in our conversation included:
- The difference between billing, pricing and value pricing?
- The whole billable hour thing – the pros, cons and everything in between.
- The alternatives to using the billable hour:
- For calculating “fix a fees;”
- For measuring productivity; and
- Tracking where people spend time.
- Why lawyers struggle with letting go of the billable hour.
- Want happens if the client wants you to bill by the hour.
- Should lawyers price their own work?
- If a legal business can change from billing time to value pricing without changing the business model.
- Whether or not there is a link between legal innovation and not selling time by the hour.
- And, a little crystal ball gazing about how lawyers in private practice will be measuring their revenue in the near future.
Thank you so much John, Liz and David – we so appreciated your time – non-billable, of course!
You can also read or watch John’s 10 Tips and Traps in Making the Transition to a Value Pricing Model on the CLI website.
Described as the new electricity or oil by one person and uranium by the next, there is no doubt that the use (and abuse) of data is as hot a topic for the legal industry, as it is for every other. So why is it so important? Why does it garner such polar opposite views? And how is any of this relevant to the practice and business of law?
We spoke with an amazingly talented group of data gurus, all of whom work with data in similar and different ways in the legal industry and asked them to answer these and many more questions. For these folks data is a part of what they do every day. It helps them and their firms/organisations make better decisions. It helps them identify best and next practices for their businesses and, it supports them in delivering better services and products, faster and cheaper without compromising quality for their clients.
In discussion with Chris Maher - Legal Counsel – Products, Marketing & IP, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Telstra; Aidan Parsons - Business Development and Operations Manager at LOD | Legal Operations; Alex Rosenrauch - Legal Process Specialist, Telstra; and Tae Royle - Head of Legal Technology Solutions, Ashurst, we covered topics including:
- Getting some terminology straight like big data, unstructured and structured data, predictive analytics and data analytics.
- Whether or not data is the next best thing (the good oil/electricity) or toxic (like uranium) and, whether or not that is all a matter of perspective and/or use.
- How data is being used in legal practice – the many ways e.g. to improve efficiencies of processes and systems, as a tool in legal practice e.g. e-discovery, due diligence, etc., as an integral part of a new take on risk management, and in some other areas too like business development and talent management.
- How data is re-shaping legal practice from all perspectives – for lawyers and clients - and, because of its emerging importance and pervasiveness, whether it has consequently given rise to a new, emerging legal profession of legal data specialists.
- What’s stopping the legal profession from embracing data analytics?
- How a law firm/department can start to construct a Data Management Plan/Strategy or begin planning to manage data.
- How a law firm/legal department can encourage the change to a data driven mindset and culture in the legal industry – and how closely aligned that is to a culture of continuous improvement.
- And finally, the big questions for the legal industry - what happens if it does not embrace the use of data analytics in legal practice in the near future?
Thank you so much Chris, Aidan, Alex and Tae – can’t wait until we get to hang out with our favourite data gurus again!
Within the discourse on innovation in the legal industry there is a recurring theme – more could be done if it were not for outdated regulation! It’s also sometimes suggested that Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSP) can offer their services more effectively and efficiently because they are not regulated. There is much to unpack in that discussion, probably a podcast all on its own. But regardless of where one finds themselves in this debate, it’s easy to agree that there is a balance to be found between the protection of consumers, maintaining ethical standards and the high quality of legal services on the one hand, and the need to dramatically improve access to affordable justice on the other. As we listen to this podcast today, we know that balance has not been struck. We also know that the best legaltech/AI, legalpreneurs and ALSPs in the world, did not create an access to justice gap, but rather have sought, in part, to bridge it.
So, in this time of change in the legal industry, we are presented with an opportunity to rethink and reinvent not just how legal services and products are delivered or by whom but, more broadly, the entire role and function of regulation and the regulator. It’s not a new idea or focus. And, it will not be achieved without thoughtful consultation and collaboration. It has featured significantly in recent legal industry reviews and reforms in places like the UK, is picking up momentum now in the US in states like California and Utah and it’s been at the forefront of discussion in Australia too.
We spoke with Jennie Pakula, the Manager, Innovation and Consumer Engagement at the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (VLSBC) about her unique role in Victoria, how it came about, and how it might act as an example or a new way to progress change in regulation and the role of the regulator in the legal industry. Topics covered in our conversation included:
- Identifying the major pain points for the consumers of legal services;
- The importance of change in the legal profession;
- The changing nature of the relationship between regulators and regulated in the legal profession and, with that in mind, how VLSBC’s Innovation Inbox works;
- What regulators of the legal profession around the world should be focussed on right now;
- Where Australia sits on the world stage as far as innovative legal industry regulation is concerned; and
- Looking a little further down the track, if there will still be a role for regulation of the legal profession.
Thank you so much Jennie – we applaud VLSBC’s innovation through your appointment and your work – we look forward to checking back on your progress soon!
VR has been around for a while so how is it faring in the face of so much new legaltech and AI in the market? We spoke with Matthew Stubenberg, the Associate Director of Legal Technology – A2J Lab, Harvard Law School, about the emerging use of virtual reality in law, legal education, pro bono work and improving access to justice. Matthew has had an amazing career and is in a role that now combines his skills and passion for the law, legaltech, the not for profit sector, and access to justice.
Topics covered in our conversation included:
- How to define VR – there are a lot of definitions out there!
- Where VR is being used/emerging in legal education, performance feedback, litigation (jury trials), pro bono work and capturing the experience of senior lawyers
- How VR relates, if at all, to the discussion on whether or not lawyers should learn to code
- The advantages and disadvantages of VR itself and VR versus video
- How to get a VR project off the ground – where to start, cost, how best to progress it
- And finally, whether or not there is a new type of “virtual” law firm on the horizon, if so, what it might look like and who it will serve.
Thank you so much Matthew – we applaud your work with the A2J Lab and can’t wait to chat with you again, virtually!
The People Part of Change and Innovation – Ida Abbott on Succession Planning, Reverse Mentoring and a Whole Lot More!
In the discussion about legal innovation, we can sometimes forget to focus on the people part. People innovate, organisations do not! People find change hard and innovation is, essentially, a change process. This is all complex enough but the people part is, itself, also changing right now. Baby Boomers are retiring, the legal workforce is increasingly mobility, employee have different expectations – the gig economy is alive and well for all legal professionals. So, how well is the legal industry coping with all of this?
We spoke with Ida Abbot of Ida Abbott Consulting, an amazing human and guru on all things related to law firm succession planning and mentoring. We focussed our discussion on two of the most pressing people issues in the legal industry right now. These issues have been present for a long time but are finding their way onto the priority list at law firm strategic planning meetings, and will continue to do that with greater emphasis, as legal innovation takes a deeper and wider hold on the industry. These two critical issues are: the impact of the exodus of the Baby Boomer lawyers from legal practice and, the role that mentoring should/can/will play in the consequent “changing of the guard.” Topics covered in our conversation included:
- How law firms are preparing for the loss of their Baby Boomer leaders and managers.
- How law firms are preparing for a changing legal workforce more broadly and, how design thinking can be used to support this too!
- Where the loss of the Baby Boomers will be most/least likely to show up in legal practice.
- How firms are/are not working on bridging any potential gaps as Baby Boomers leave.
- Given how much legal practice has changed and will continue to change, is there a role to play for experienced practitioners to act as mentors in law firms today/tomorrow?
- Can/should the transfer of experience from senior lawyers be limited to other lawyers or should it be extended to the many emerging legal professions?
- How important is reverse mentoring in contemporary legal practice? What benefits can it bring?
- And finally, if we all could look from a 40,000 foot/metre height over the next 3 years and observe the depth and breadth of the change in the legal workforce, will we be looking at chaos or calm?
Thank you so much Ida – we have all benefitted from your generous and incredible experience! By the way, we will let you know when Ida’s workbook “Retirement By Design” is published in early 2020!
What happens when you get a few people passionate about law, the legal industry and legal innovation in one room and chat – this podcast happens!
We launch our podcast series with an insightful, funny and engaging conversation between three amazing legalpreneurs, people who are making change happen for their clients, their people and their firms every day – they also happen to be members of the Chief Innovation Officers Forum (CIOF):
- Alison Laird, Head of Innovation and Project Delivery Asia Pacific at Pinsent Masons and inaugural Global Chair of the CIOF Steering Group;
- Melissa Lyon, Associate Principal, Hive Legal; and
- Marcus McCarthy, Principal, Nexus Law Group.
These folks understand that some in the legal profession are “change challenged,” they have been on their own journeys in coming to the place they find themselves in today and, with thoughtful reflection, empathy and resilience, they work in their law firms and in the profession to push forward, make a difference and uncover the industry’s next best practices.
We chatted about a lot of things, there’s a lot to chat about after all. Topics covered in our conversation included exploring answers to hot button issues like:
- How you define legal innovation? Can/should you define it?
- Who should lead innovation in a law firm and in the legal industry?
- Should innovation be inside to out or outside to in or a bit of both?
- Can you measure innovation? What are the metrics or KPIs? Does measurement matter?
- How do you deal with the sceptics, naysayers and blockers to innovation?
- Does the lawyer personality type mean the legal industry is uniquely change challenged?
- Can law firms survive if they don’t innovate? Should they survive?
- Where and how do you start to innovate in the legal industry?
- What will the lawyers and legal practice look like in the next 3- 5 years?
Thank you so much Alison, Marcus and Mel – we applaud your work and we are inspired by you!