AI in Practice

Ryan Juliano, founder of Darwin Legal and an expert in subscription-based fractional general counsel, shares insights from his 15 years in law. He discusses how he's transitioned from IPOs to focusing on early-stage tech startups, emphasizing the value of a subscription model for better client relationships. Ryan dives into the transformative role of AI in legal practice, urging lawyers to embrace imperfect tools and focus on client value over billable hours. He also explores the balance between using multiple AI tools and maintaining human judgment.

Colin Lachance helps law firms implement AI without the paralysis. As founder of LawQi and former Innovator in Residence at the Ontario Bar Association, he's developed a practical framework: start with tasks, not processes. In this conversation, he explains why most firms aren't ready for full process redesigns, what infrastructure you actually need before experimenting, and how to build the skills that prevent expensive mistakes. 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlachance https://lawqi.com/ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:30 - Meet Colin Lachance 4:15 - Working inside a real law firm 6:00 - The messy garage problem 11:30 - Tasks vs. processes: which comes first 14:00 - What infrastructure you actually need 17:30 - Why start with tasks, not whole processes 21:30 - How lawyers should learn AI 24:15 - Connect with Colin

Washington, DC attorney Shavon J. Smith runs a small firm that serves growing businesses as their fractional general counsel. In this episode, she explains how AI helps her compete with larger firms – from mapping workflows to drafting contract checklists, improving client alerts, pressure-testing assumptions, and crafting clearer redline comments during negotiations. She also shares where AI meaningfully improves efficiency, where it simply improves quality, and where human judgment still matters most, especially in negotiation and client counseling. 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 2:15 - Meet Shavon J. Smith 3:32 - What is fractional general counsel? 4:00 - AI for process mapping and improvement 6:03 - Using AI as a brainstorming partner 7:46 - Marketing and client communication 8:25 - How clients find the firm (including through AI) 10:06 - Email overwhelm and client management 13:12 - AI for contract drafting and review 16:06 - Being a better strategic advisor 18:00 - Understanding clients' businesses 19:48 - Managing people and processes 22:35 - Where AI can't help: settlement psychology 24:17 - Learning from other lawyers 24:35 - Connect with Shavon

Olivia Anderson helps law firms build the IT infrastructure they need before adopting AI. As Principal at Framework IT, a managed service provider working with legal practices of all sizes, she's seen what happens when firms rush into AI without the cybersecurity foundations in place. In this conversation, she walks through shadow AI, the $5.5 million problem most firms don't know they have, and why managing partners need to own AI governance whether they like it or not. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:21 - Meet Olivia Anderson 2:11 - Shadow AI and the $5.5M problem 6:09 - IT readiness for solo lawyers 10:16 - Consumer AI vs. legal-specific tools 13:15 - Creating a responsible AI policy 17:22 - Who owns AI governance at your firm 21:45 - Risk tolerance culture in law 28:56 - Quantifying your firm's risk profile 31:00 - Connect with Olivia

Todd Smith, a board-certified appellate lawyer in Texas, discusses the transformative impact of AI on legal practices. He highlights how AI assists in analyzing trial transcripts and surfacing potential arguments, while emphasizing the necessity of human judgment in determining their persuasive power. Todd also addresses the challenges of AI adoption among lawyers, the shift towards flat fee billing, and the value of AI in marketing strategies. His insights reveal both the potential and the limitations of AI in the courtroom.

Before "AI automation" was a buzzword, Joey Vitale built Indie Law to operate without him. That experience—paired with years helping lawyers scale through virtual assistants—turned him into a quiet expert on systems, delegation, and identity. In this episode, he and host Mike Whelan dig into what happens when the work that once defined you starts running itself, and why the real value of a lawyer might have less to do with tasks and more to do with trust. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal/ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 2:15 - Why Joey left litigation 5:34 - The crisis that forced systematization 8:27 - Four stages: doer to strategist 14:44 - Managing VAs prepares you for AI 19:42 - Prompting AI effectively 24:15 - 80% right is 100% awesome 32:51 - Redefining lawyer identity 36:20 - Why clients still need attorneys

Alessandra Colaci helps in-house legal teams figure out how to actually use AI—not just talk about it. As the founder of Legal Plus AI and former founding marketer at Harvey, she's spent years teaching lawyers to prompt, experiment, and integrate AI into their daily work. In this conversation, she breaks down the quick wins that build momentum, the security concerns that keep lawyers up at night, and why most teams need to start smaller than they think. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:10 - Meet Alessandra Colaci 2:34 - The adoption gap: Strategy vs. reality 3:42 - Micro-learning and experimentation 6:04 - Quick wins 6:54 - Using AI as a thought partner 11:32 - The "prompt library" approach 13:48 - What to try on your own vs. with the team 17:18 - What's real vs. what's fear 22:53 - When courts will catch up to AI as standard practice 24:27 - Learning what works for you 27:34 - Connect with Alessandra

Beau Atkins runs Evolve Family Law in Saskatchewan, Canada, where he's using AI to reach the 79% of people with legal problems who never hire a lawyer. In this conversation, he shares how he built an AI-assisted tool that guides self-represented clients through court processes — and how he's testing an AI agent to handle intake calls. His end goal? Serve with three lawyers what would normally take 300. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:14 - Meet Beau Atkins 2:15 - The journey from frustrated lawyer to entrepreneur 5:34 - AI experiments in family law practice 8:27 - Solving the 79% problem 14:44 - Ethics, disclaimers, and hallucinations 19:42 - What clients really want (and don't get) 27:58 - Product design: Flat fees and AI tools 30:25 - Learning from COVID experiments 32:51 - How Beau uses AI today 33:33 - Connect with Beau 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.com