Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Brian McComak, the founder and CEO of Hummingbird Humanity, a diversity and inclusion consultancy. He is also the author of the upcoming book - Humanity in the Workplace: A Blueprint for Building an Inclusive and Equitable Company Culture. We discussed the genesis of Hummingbird Humanity, best practices for creating a blueprint for building an inclusive and equitable company, the challenges associated with achieving workplace diversity, and how culture impacts diversity, equity, and inclusion.

I moderated a discussion with the following select group of leading chief executive officers for the final Ari Kaplan Advisors CEO Roundtable of 2021 about trends, challenges, and opportunities in the past year and the year ahead: Gary Buckland, CEO, Lexitas; Candice Hunter Corby, CEO, Cobra Legal Solutions; Sang Lee, CEO, Thine; James Lee, CEO, LegalMation; Laura Leopard, CEO, Leopard Solutions; Nicolas Leroux, CEO, Kalexius; Rakesh Madhava, CEO, Nextpoint; Gary Sangha, CEO, LexCheck; Joey Seeber, CEO, Level Legal; and, Ram Vasudevan, CEO, QuisLex.

I spoke with Abeer Abu Judeh, an attorney and the founder of LexDock, a legal operations software tool and marketplace. We discussed how LexDock is impacting the delivery of legal services and empowering the use of technology, the value of interoperability, and her participation in the TechWomen Rising accelerator program.

I spoke with Joey Seeber, the CEO of Level Legal, a provider of alternative legal services, about adapting to regulatory shifts, the skills necessary to thrive in the current environment, expected business challenges in 2022, and where legal practice is headed in 2022.

I spoke with Gary Sangha, the founder and CEO of LexCheck, an artificial intelligence-powered contract analytics company. He is also the founder of Intelligize, a data analytics company that Lexis Nexis acquired in 2016. We discussed the appetite for AI-driven solutions in the legal industry, the top misconception among those exploring ways to leverage AI at their firms or in their legal departments, and where legal teams are deploying AI most effectively.

I spoke with Dan O’Day and Ted Kukorowski, co-founder and managing director for large law, respectively, at ECFx, a provider of an electronic notice management system. We discussed law firm challenges in litigation management, the value of automation in litigation, and how technology can align the range of electronic filing protocols around the country.

I spoke with Dr. Susan Liautaud, the founder and managing director of Susan Liautaud & Associates Limited, a consultancy advising corporate, government, and non-profit leaders on ethics matters, and the author of The Power of Ethics: How to Make Good Choices in a Complicated World. We discussed best practices for making good choices, how professionals can overcome bad choices, and ethics-related challenges students face as they address changing workplace dynamics.

I spoke with Shiran Weitzman, the co-founder and CEO of Shield, an Israel-based regtech software company that focuses on workplace intelligence for compliance professionals. We discussed the main challenge in financial services communications compliance, how the pandemic impacted the way organizations communicate and exchange information, record-keeping challenges associated with working remotely, and post-pandemic regulatory scrutiny.

I spoke with Rob Stote, the managing director of profitability products at BigHand, a provider of financial and operational productivity software, Michael Grupp, the CEO of BRYTER, a no-code software platform, and Tom Obermaier, the CEO of SurePoint Technologies, a provider of financial and practice management software about the report – Implementing Financial Intelligence to Give Law Firms a Competitive Advantage in 2022 and Beyond – that the three companies commissioned to identify key trends among law firm financial leaders.

I spoke with Christy Burke, president and founder of Burke & Company, a public relations and marketing firm specializing in legal tech, and Doug Austin, editor of eDiscovery Today, a publication covering the electronic discovery industry, about their new podcast: He Said, She Said. We discussed the first episode focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the key takeaways, topics for future programs, and trends driving e-discovery and legal technology forward.

I spoke with T.J. Duane, the co-founder and CEO of Index Solutions, a software platform that combines process automation with a labor marketplace to audit and update CRM data. We discussed how Index Solutions works, the benefits of supplementing process automation with human talent, advice for lawyers seeking careers as entrepreneurs, and how professional services firms will use data in the future.

I spoke with Jerry Ting, the co-founder and CEO of Evisort, a provider of contract management and artificial intelligence technology solutions. We discussed how organizations leverage dashboarding and redlining for their contract management, ways that law departments can distinguish CLM software providers, the benefits of learning legal tech entrepreneurship in law school, and the Future of Contracting conference.

I spoke with Gabriel Buigas, the new executive vice president and head of contracts, compliance, and commercial services at Integreon, an alternative legal and global managed services provider. We discussed how organizations are leveraging technology to manage their contracts, the contracting challenges organizations should expect in 2022, and advice for legal professionals seeking alternative career paths beyond law firms and legal departments.

I spoke with Zelda Owens, the founder, and CEO of Owens Williams & Associates, a career development coaching company focused on supporting legal professionals. We discussed the current job market, the value of a career check-up, and creative ways to empower your legal career.

I spoke with Astrid Kohlmeier, a lawyer, consultant on legal design, and co-author with Meera Klemola of The Legal Design Book: Doing Law In The 21st Century. We discussed what organizations that apply legal design have in common, how legal teams can quickly incorporate design into their activities, the challenges of creating a design-centric culture, and how legal design is driving the legal profession forward.

I spoke with Dean Gonsowski, the chief revenue officer and chief marketing officer at ActiveNav, a data privacy and governance software provider. We discussed the challenges that ActiveNav is helping organizations overcome, its Data Mapping as a Service initiative, Zero Dark Data, and the relationship between information governance and privacy.

I spoke with Ian Campbell the president and CEO of iCONECT, a developer of e-discovery software. We discussed how the e-discovery sector has changed over the past two decades, what should leaders consider when adapting to market shifts, where litigants are finding the most success with artificial intelligence, and iCONECT’s recent purchase of the source code to Ayfie’s Inspector technology.

I spoke with Alex Hamilton, the CEO of Radiant Law, a new law UK firm focused on contracts, and the author of SIGN HERE: The Enterprise Guide to Closing Contracts Quickly. How the increased familiarity with the value of ALSPs has impacted Radiant’s work, his inspiration for writing SIGN HERE, whether the form and purpose of contacts have evolved, and how legal departments can filter through the noise of contract management processes and technology to identify what is best for their organizations.

I spoke with Teju Deshpande and Mark Ross, who are principals with Deloitte Legal Business Services. We discussed the mission of Deloitte Legal Business Services, how the pandemic has impacted interest in CLM, how companies can realize immediate benefits from leveraging AI, and where CLM is headed.

I spoke with Mikhail Arsentiev, a lawyer and the founder of Skylex, a mobile application designed to help consumers find an immigration lawyer. We discussed the genesis of Skylex, how the pandemic has impacted the need for immigration lawyers, and developments in the way lawyers interact with their clients.