Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Linc Kroeger, the President of Knight Moves, a company that offers training in technology disciplines, with a focus on empowering Native American, rural, and urban underserved communities. We discussed how Knight Moves empowers technology talent, the Potential Quotient, and the trajectory of technology education.

I spoke with Dorna Moini, the co-founder and CEO of Documate, a no-code platform for building document automation and client-facing web applications for legal professionals. We discussed how legal professionals are implementing document automation, the challenges associated with using no-code technology, and the impact of document automation on access to justice.

I spoke with Priyadarshini Shetty, the founder of Elliot, a legal technology consultancy, which helps law firms and corporate legal departments analyze their existing systems, processes, and services to identify opportunities for improvement. She also publishes a legal tech content portal called Walchet.com. We discussed the legal tech sector in India, the most prominent challenges that legal teams have with deploying and implementing legal technology, and where legal technology in India is headed.

I spoke with Ari Mandel, the vice president of discovery services for Gulfstream Legal, a provider of eDiscovery, records retrieval, and court reporting services. We discussed why legal professionals should seek out e-discovery education, the value that legal professionals receive by looking to eDiscovery vendors for new programs, and the skills that legal professionals should develop to give themselves a competitive advantage in the current market.

I spoke with Kevin Gallagher, the general manager of payments at AbacusNext, a software provider for legal and accounting professionals. We discussed the benefits of using a law firm’s practice management platform to accept payments, how firms can control the costs associated with payment processing, ways that legal professionals are adapting to flexible pricing models beyond the billable hour, and how payment for legal services is evolving.

I spoke with Marsha Redmon, the founder of Marsha Redmon Communications, which helps lawyers and other professionals build their virtual presence and use thought leadership more effectively. We discussed the secret to standing out online, ways to develop a strong virtual presence, how to connect with audiences virtually, and the worst mistake lawyers and other professionals make when they are presenting online or in person.

I spoke with Mike Haven, the Head of Legal Operations at Intel and the President of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium. We discussed how the legal operations sector has evolved over the past decade, where legal operations leaders see opportunities in the current market, the success of the 2022 CLOC Global Institute, and where the legal operations sector is headed.

I spoke with Owen McGab Enaohwo, the co-founder and CEO of SweetProcess, a software platform designed to systematize an organization’s business operations. We discussed how professionals can leverage technology to systematize their tasks, best practices for documenting procedures, the challenges associated with that effort, and the results an organization can expect once it streamlines its processes.

I spoke with John Robertson, the founder of Fortlog Services, a training company that focuses on helping organizations manage transitions: workplace change and upheaval, conflict, and stress, among other areas. We discussed how organizations should define wellness, ways they can optimize it, and best practices for addressing and resolving conflicts in the workplace.

I spoke with Maya Markovich, the executive in residence at Village Capital, and the executive director of the Justice Technology Association. We discussed the mission of the Justice Technology Association, the problems that justice tech aims to address, how her experience with NextLaw Labs has helped to shape her approach, and where justice tech is headed.

I spoke with Craig Carpenter and Dean Gonsowski, the CEO and CRO, respectively for Gimmal, a provider of software and services to streamline the discovery, migration, governance, and compliance of information. We discussed the genesis of Gimmal, the biggest information governance challenges that legal teams need to address, how companies should revise their records retention and document management plans, and the impact that technology is having on the way organizations approach their e-discovery matters.

I spoke with John Tredennick, the founder and CEO of Merlin Search Technologies, a developer of cloud-based search applications. We discussed the genesis of Merlin Search Technologies, how his experience as a large law firm partner and CEO of Catalyst has helped shape Merlin’s mission, the matters for which search technology is best suited, how legal technology is evolving beyond legal, and advice for legal tech entrepreneurs.

I spoke with Anthony Davies, the Chief Revenue Officer for Forrest Solutions, an onsite outsourcing, flexible staffing, and alternative legal services provider. We discussed how the move to a hybrid work model has impacted attorney retention, recruitment, and collaboration, the “rise of hospitality” in law firms, and the changing expectations of working in an office.

I spoke with Josh Herman, the vice president for marketing and public relations at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. We discussed what makes the hotel unique, how it shifted its focus during the pandemic, the best time to visit, and what business lessons leaders can learn from how the Fontainebleau Miami Beach has maintained its appeal over many years.

I spoke with members of the board of directors for The Masters Conference, including Rick Clark, its co-founder, and senior director of sales enablement and strategy with CloudNine, Monica Harris, product business manager of enterprise solutions at Cellebrite, and Marla Mohr, manager of client relations at ACEDS, We discussed the return of The Masters Conference, how its 2022 schedule honors the legacy of Robert Childress, who led the conference for many years, what distinguishes this series, and the skills that are necessary for legal professionals to thrive in a post-pandemic environment.

I spoke with Dean Whalen, the chief legal officer for Readback, an artificial intelligence-assisted court reporting platform. We discussed ways to build trust in AI, how states are adapting to changes in court reporting, and how court reporting will evolve.

I spoke with Scott Seidewitz, the CEO of BlissDivorce, a company that leverages dispute resolution technology to streamline divorce proceedings. We discussed how BlissDivorce differs from other online divorce platforms, why a consumer would choose to leverage technology over hiring an attorney, and how legal technology is evolving to support consumers.

I spoke with Stephanie Corey, the co-founder and general partner of UpLevel Ops, a legal strategy and operations consulting firm. She is also the co-founder of the Legal Innovators Network, a new association exclusively for senior legal operations professionals. We discussed the role of technology in driving innovation and efficiency in corporate legal departments, the Legal Innovators Network, and where the field of legal operations is headed.

I spoke with Stephen Dowling, a barrister in Dublin, Ireland, and the founder of Trialview, a software platform designed for litigators to prepare their evidence and present it at trial. We discussed the genesis of Trialview, how it integrates with other legal technology tools, and how technology is reshaping litigation.

I spoke with Marla Crawford, the general counsel at Cimplifi, an integrated legal services provider that aligns e-discovery and contract analytics for corporate legal departments and law firms. We discussed how the delivery of legal services has shifted, Cimplifi’s new market research report, Modern Legal Operations: At the Convergence of Law and Business, and how the role of legal operations professionals is evolving.