Reinventing Professionals

I had the privilege of speaking with Yaniv Schiff, the director of forensics for QDiscovery, on the first day of Legaltech.

I had the privilege of speaking with Valerie Chan, the founder and CEO of Plat4orm PR, about her expectations for Legaltech 2018.

I had the privilege of speaking with Jason Smith, senior director and legal counsel for Apttus, about his expectations for Legaltech 2018.

I spoke with Steve Harber, the co-founder and managing director of Apogee Legal, which provides customized artificial intelligence solutions that help M&A, regulatory, and legal professionals to assess the risk and compliance issues associated with their contracts and due diligence matters. Prior to launching Apogee Legal, he co-founded DiscoverReady, a leading provider of e-discovery managed services.

I spoke with Chris Wong, the CEO of LifeSite, which offers a secure digital storage solution for families and businesses interested in protecting their valuable records. We discussed the genesis of LifeSite, the types of information users are storing, organizing and sharing, and how tools like LifeSite reflect the evolving nature of professional services.

I spoke with Charlie Connor, the co-founder and CEO of Heretik, a software company that uses machine learning to make the contract review process smarter, helping attorneys identify risks, obligations, and opportunities in their documents. We discussed the genesis of Heretik, how it works, ways that the technology helps clients grow their practices, and the impact of the company’s culture and leadership philosophy on product development and client service.

I spoke with Avaneesh Marwaha, the CEO of Litera Microsystems, the company that represents the consolidation of Litera, The Sackett Group, and Microsystems, which produces software to assist lawyers with drafting documents. We discussed the newly consolidated organization, the inspiration for the merger of Litera, The Sackett Group and Microsystems, how that integration differentiates the organization in the market, the client response, and how the combination of the three companies into a single entity reflects the changing nature of legal technology.

I spoke with Gillian Power, the chief information officer for Lathrop Gage, an AmLaw 200 firm, and Jed Bronstein, a consultant with InOutsource, an information governance consulting and technology implementation services provider. We discussed why information governance has become such an important part of law firm operations, how Lathrop Gage addresses information governance, the most important skills and techniques necessary for optimally approaching this area, common IG misconceptions at law firms, and where the field is headed.

I spoke with Adi Prakash, the chief innovation officer and head of global client services for Yerra Solutions, a consulting firm that combines human expertise with technology to provide solutions to clients worldwide in the legal, e-discovery, and compliance sectors. We discussed the launch of the company’s Clearly 2.0 initiative focused on legal operations, how it expands the e-billing and legal and matter management capabilities of it users, ways that the initiative’s contract intake and management service incorporates artificial intelligence, and why the evolution of the Clearly program reflects the changing nature of legal practice.

I spoke with a number of the participants from the LexisNexis Legal Tech Accelerator, including: Ryan Alshak, the CEO of Ping, an artificial intelligence-supported timekeeping and analytics platform for enterprise-level time and billing at law firms; Alex Hewitt, the director of operations for vTestify, a web application that enables lawyers to conduct depositions and gather testimony remotely; Tunji Williams, the co-founder and CEO of DealWIP, a cloud-based workflow integration platform for corporate legal matters; and, David Schnurman, the CEO of Lawline, a leading provider of continuing legal education, who shared insights from his upcoming book – Break Through Your Walls: Bring Your Entrepreneurial Sledgehammer. We discussed lessons learned in 2017, how the legal industry will shift in 2018, and ways that legal tech start-ups take advantage of new technology, changing expectations, and general market trends in the New Year.

I spoke with Gabe Galanda, the co-founder and managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, an Indian Country law firm, with headquarters in Seattle. We discussed his background and the genesis of Galanda Broadman, how he identified his preferred practice area, his approach to case selection, his firm’s commitment to addressing tribal disenrollment, how he divides his time between business development and practicing law, and his recommendations for lawyers seeking to build a practice or students interested in striking out on their own.

I spoke with Somya Kaushik, a litigator turned legal tech entrepreneur, who is the founder of Esq.Me, a legal document marketplace where lawyers can buy and sell their documents nationwide. We discussed the genesis of Esq.me, the company’s mission, how it helps lawyers, the challenges associated with the transition from practicing law to starting a legal tech company, how legal technology has changed the legal landscape, and advice for law students graduating in 2018.

I spoke with Scott Stuart and Drew Stern, the co-founders and co-CEOs of Esquify, a cloud-based machine learning productivity and benchmarking tool that helps document reviewers perform more efficiently. We discussed the genesis of Esquify, how it works, the biggest problem in document review today, Esquify’s partnership with Relativity, and how Esquify’s focus on decentralization reflects the changing nature of litigation.

I spoke with Alex Hamilton, the founder and CEO of Radiant Law, a UK-based law firm that helps clients with high volumes of commercial contracts by combining processes, technology, and human judgment. Alex was previously a partner and co-chair of the global technology transactions group at Latham & Watkins in London. We discussed the genesis of Radiant Law, how it differs from a traditional law firm, ways that the firm’s team develops and deploys technology, its culture, and why the delivery of managed legal services has become so popular.

I spoke with Josh Leavitt, the CEO of ZokuVault, a virtual safety deposit box and estate planning portal, which helps families plan, organize, and share valuable documents. We discussed the genesis of ZokuVault, how it works, ways that it differs from cloud-based document storage tools, and how a tool like ZokuVault reflects the impact of technology on the practice of law.

I spoke with Rachel Travers, the vice president of Lexis Practice Advisor® and Analytical Content, responsible for all of the authored content for the US LexisNexis business. We discussed how attorneys use Lexis Practice Advisor, the platform’s evolution given the increased focus on productivity, efficiency and workflow, its recent integration with Intelligize‘s search tools, and why practical guidance is such an important element of modern law practice.

I spoke with Laura Leopard, the founder and CEO of Leopard Solutions, a research company that provides various databases for legal recruiters, attorneys, law firms, corporations, and law schools. The company’s competitive intelligence program, Firmscape, offers current and historical data for the legal industry. We discussed the genesis of Leopard Solutions, the value of competitive intelligence, key industry trends, and how the legal industry is using data more proactively to make decisions.

I spoke with Doug Striker, the president and CEO of Savvy Training & Consulting, which helps law firms optimize their existing technology through training. Prior to founding Savvy Training & Consulting, Doug served as the chief operating officer for a mid-sized law firm. We discussed the genesis of Savvy Training & Consulting, how a law firm implements lean training, best practices for firms that are struggling with productivity, the most popular training programs, and potential changes in this sector.

I spoke with Chris Cartrett, the executive vice president of Aderant, a legal industry time and billing software company. We discussed how law firms adapting and responding to the changing legal market, examples of innovations that dynamic organizations are implementing, the types of technology that can provide the biggest impact on law firm efficiency and profitability, how a law firm can display agility in its approach, and key areas of potential change in the legal industry.

I spoke with Nancy Mertzel, former chair of Herrick, Feinstein’s intellectual property group, who recently founded Mertzel Law PLLC, a boutique IP law firm. We discussed the genesis of Mertzel Law, the greatest challenges to brand protection in today’s competitive marketplace, the unique obstacles that former large firm attorneys face in launching solo practices, the key qualities for success in today’s environment, and advice for new lawyers entering the profession seeking to achieve work-life balance.