Reinventing Professionals

For this Legalweek 2022 day two mixtape, I was fortunate to speak with Ryan Anderson of Filevine, Dan Berlin of TABS3, Ian Campbell of iCONECT, Debbie Foster of Affinity Consulting, Steve Goldstein of Squire Patton Boggs, Eric Gonzales of Epiq, Anil Kona of Ligl, Matt Mahon at Trustpoint.One, Soumya Nettimi of Paradigm, Memme Onwudiwe of Evisort, Steve Schley of ContractPodAi, Joey Seeber of Level Legal, Danny Thankachan of Blank Rome, and Nick Whitehouse of Onit.

On the first official day of Legalweek 2022, I was fortunate to speak with Haley Altman, Haydn Jones, Karl Harris, Jeff Pfeifer, Mike Suchsland, Ethan Treese, and Jim Vint about their expectations for the conference.

After two years, it was great to feature an array of perspectives on legal technology during Legalweek 2022. Thanks to Alex Babin, Darin Bartik, Haresh Bhungalia, Dean Brown, Lydia Flocchini, Tim Follett, Ned Gannon, Laura Keily, Rakesh Madhava, Joshua Schnoll, Jason Smith, Ari Treuhaft, Laurence Winters, and Laura Wooster for sharing their views on the day before the conference began.

I spoke with Scott Reib, an attorney for business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, and providers of professional services. We discussed the firm’s Access legal services subscription, the difference between legal advice and legal coaching, how lawyers can support the success of a client’s business, and how the pandemic impacted the way that businesses approach transactions remotely.

I spoke with patent attorney Gabe Sukman, the CEO and founder of ClearstoneIP, an intellectual property technology provider with offices in the U.S. and Europe. We discussed why the freedom-to-operate sector is important, trends in IP enforcement, and the biggest challenges that IP lawyers are facing today.

I spoke with Alex Babin, the CEO of ZERO, a company that provides productivity automation software for law firms. We discussed why law firms are leveraging productivity automation technology, the tasks for which legal professionals should apply artificial intelligence, the company’s $12 million Series A investment round, and how the appeal of automation will evolve.

I spoke with Chris Cartrett and Raphael Shure, the CEO and COO, respectively, for Aderant, a developer of practice management software for legal professionals. We discussed why legal teams are increasingly focused on leveraging technology for practice management, how the pandemic impacted the way law firm leaders manage their teams and operations, Aderant’s acquisition of American LegalNet, and the most promising areas of legal in 2022.

I spoke with Nehal Madhani, the founder and CEO of Alt Legal, the developer of a cloud-based IP docketing software platform that helps legal professionals prepare and manage their IP filings. We discussed how legal technology companies can adapt to a changing legal climate, growth opportunities, the appeal of automating legal tasks, Alt Legal’s acquisition of Towergate, and the launch of the International Intellectual Property Standards Organization.

I spoke with Erez Bustan, the former CEO of American Legalnet, a leading docketing and litigation management software developer, which Aderant recently acquired. We discussed the sale of American Legalnet, the factors that an entrepreneur should consider when deciding whether to sell a legal technology company, and future opportunities for innovation in legal.

I spoke with Sang Lee, the CEO and co-founder of Thine, a technology company that develops and deploys pre-hiring and integration assessments. Sang is a lawyer and entrepreneur who has also owned and operated SJL Attorney Search and Volta Talent Strategies. We discussed Thine’s new report, The Rise of Innovation in the Recruitment of Lawyers in a Hyper-Competitive Market, how the pandemic has impacted law firm talent management, ways that technology can help law firms hire and retain talent, and where law firm innovation is headed.

I spoke with Jennifer Whittier, the president of Cole Valley Software, developer of the ContactEase CRM platform, and Tom Obermaier, the CEO of SurePoint Technologies, a provider of financial and practice management software to law firms nationwide, which has just announced its acquisition of Cole Valley Software. We discussed how the acquisition and inclusion of ContactEase in SurePoint’s portfolio will empower its customers, and how customer relationship management aligns with profitability and financial performance.

I spoke with Bill Coletti, the founder of Kith Crisis Management and the author of Critical Moments, The New Mindset of Reputation Management. We discussed the difference between crisis management and crisis prevention, how law firms can align their brands and reputations, and how crisis management is evolving in a tech-enabled hybrid work environment.

I spoke with Gretta Rusanow, the head of advisory services in Citi’s law firm group and a managing director with the bank. We discussed the 2022 Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory, how the expected return to the office for most firms in the first quarter of the year will impact their growth, and ways that law firms can sustain their success.

I spoke with Kim Neeson, the founder of Neesons, a Canadian court reporting firm that Veritext acquired in 2019. She recently launched Kim Neeson, Coach, Consultant, Mentor, which provides entrepreneurial and leadership coaching with an emphasis on mid-career women, and we discussed entrepreneurial challenges, the benefits of coaching for an entrepreneur, and how entrepreneurs and leaders maintain momentum in this uncertain market.

I spoke with Kelly Twigger, the principal of ESI Attorneys, a law firm focused on supporting e-discovery matters, and the developer of E-Discovery Assistant, an online practice resource used by lawyers and legal professionals in law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies involved in e-discovery. We discussed the aspects of e-discovery that are most challenging for legal professionals in 2022, opportunities for streamlining the process, and how the approach to e-discovery has changed due to remote work.

I spoke with Owen Oliver, the Head of Strategic Partnerships at StructureFlow, a software platform that helps lawyers and finance professionals visualize, model, and plan transactions and structures. We discussed the importance of visualization in legal and business matters, trends that are driving the need for structure-specific technology, and where the application of technology in corporate transactions is headed.

I spoke with Damian Jeal, the CEO of Nikec Solutions, a provider of software solutions for law firms to support training, productivity, and collaboration, which has introduced new tools for cybersecurity. We discussed how software can help law firms address cybersecurity challenges, what they can do at little or no cost before implementing more sophisticated technology, and whether a firm can verify that its cybersecurity program is complete.

I spoke with Jim Wagner, the founder and managing principal of Lean Law Labs, an incubation lab for legal innovation, and the managing director of Lean Law Ventures, which invests in dynamic legal technology applications. We discussed the trends in the legal sector that are fueling initiatives like Lean Law Labs, the challenges associated with driving change in legal, and the businesses in legal that are most attractive to investors.

I spoke with Jim McGinnis, the CEO of MyCase, a practice management software company. We discussed how law firms have adapted to operating remotely, what the MyCase 2021 Legal Industry Report reveals about the future of remote work, the most significant challenges for law firms engaged in digital transformation, and ways that legal professionals can become more comfortable operating in a perpetual state of uncertainty.

I spoke with Jennifer Bantelman, the Vice President of Customer Experience and Thought Leadership at Zapproved, for a special E-Discovery Unfiltered edition of the Reinventing Professionals podcast. We discussed how corporate legal teams are adapting to uncertainty, ways that automation can help in-house leaders maximize their hybrid work environments, effectively managing security and privacy remotely, the cloud, and key considerations for corporate legal teams evaluating software in 2022.