The Geek In Review

Avaneesh Marwaha, CEO of Litera, shares his insights on steering a legal tech company through the AI boom. He discusses the critical shift from acquisition-driven growth to fostering in-house AI innovation. Avaneesh highlights the challenge of 'adoption fatigue' among law firms overwhelmed by numerous AI tools. He emphasizes the need for a cultural transformation in legal workplaces, advocating for meaningful AI integration that boosts efficiency and decision-making while maintaining human oversight in the evolving landscape of legal technology.

Otto von Zastrow, founder and CEO of MidPage.AI, shares his innovative journey transforming legal research. He discusses the launch of MidPage.AI, designed to streamline case law interaction with smarter search tools and an intuitive UI. Otto reveals their unique Proposition Search feature, aimed at solving the 'needle-in-a-haystack' problem. He also touches on the challenges of competing against giants like Lexis and Westlaw, emphasizing how AI can empower new entrants in the legal tech arena.

In this unique discussion, ChatGPT Voice—an AI model skilled in legal tech insights—takes center stage. It highlights the transformative shift towards agentic AI tools in legal workflows, reshaping service delivery and access to justice. The conversation touches on innovative pricing models and the integration of AI in core legal tasks like contract review. Notably, the importance of human oversight is emphasized to maintain trust as technology evolves. Insights from industry leaders also underscore the balance of ethics and efficiency in the legal field.

Cornell Winston, the current President of the American Association of Law Libraries, and President-Elect Jenny Silbiger, discuss the future of legal information in a rapidly changing world. They emphasize the importance of transparency and active member involvement in navigating challenges faced by legal advocates. The duo highlights the ongoing advocacy efforts despite staffing gaps and the need for reliable information amidst technological advancements. The excitement builds for the upcoming AALL Conference in Portland, where opportunities for networking and learning await.

Feargus MacDaeid, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Definely, is visually impaired and transformed his personal challenges into an accessible contract review tool. Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, co-founder and CEO, collaborated closely with Feargus to enhance legal tech for all. They delve into the cognitive burdens lawyers face with traditional contract reviews and how their AI tool simplifies this process. The conversation emphasizes equitable solutions for all attorneys and the innovative journey that led to Definely's development.

Philip Young, Co-founder and CEO of Garfield AI, shares insights from his journey establishing the first AI-powered law firm in the UK. He discusses the emotional stakes of using AI in legal settings, including the use of avatars for testimonies and the ethical dilemmas deepfakes raise. Drawing from a personal story about helping his brother-in-law with debt recovery, he explains how Garfield AI simplifies the small claims process. Philip emphasizes the importance of human oversight and regulatory compliance while exploring AI's potential to enhance access to justice.

Matt Rasmussen, Founder and CEO of ModeOne, shares his journey from frustration to innovation in mobile device discovery. With over 20 years in litigation tech, he reveals how ModeOne revolutionizes data collection, speeding up processes from weeks to hours while protecting user privacy. He discusses the challenges of traditional forensic methods, the power of cloud scalability, and the increasing need for secure, efficient solutions amid regulatory pressures. Plus, insights on sustainable growth in a competitive startup landscape make for a captivating listen.

Kris Satkunas, Director of Strategic Consulting at LexisNexis, and Toby Brown, CEO at DV8 Legal Strategies, dive into the 2025 CounselLink Trends Report. They reveal rising partner billing rates, especially in M&A and regulatory work, while clients become savvier in managing costs. The conversation highlights a staggering 61% rate gap between large and mid-sized firms, influenced by the presence of pricing professionals. Toby brings skepticism about firm strategies as they navigate the shifting landscape of legal pricing and technology adoption.

Laura Clayton McDonnell, President of the Corporates Business Segment at Thomson Reuters, discusses her impressive journey through corporate law and technology at major firms like Apple and Microsoft. She dives into the transformative impact of AI on legal practices, emphasizing the need for adaptability and continuous learning. Laura shares her commitment to innovation shaped by her family's immigrant legacy and her drive to turn legal departments into strategic partners. She highlights the importance of collaboration in navigating the evolving landscape of legal technology.

This week, we sit down with Kenzo Tsushima, Managing Director of Mind Factory at Morae, to discuss how AI is transforming legal operations and consulting services. Kenzo shares his unique career journey, blending a passion for technology with legal expertise, and highlights why the legal industry is positioned to leverage AI advancements more quickly than heavily regulated sectors like healthcare. With a background that spans consulting leadership and GC roles, Kenzo offers a rare dual perspective on how law firms and corporate legal departments can future-proof themselves by embracing emerging technologies like MorAI, Morae’s proprietary AI platform.Kenzo discusses the creation of MorAI, launched in mid-2023, as a response to widespread legal tech “decision fatigue” — where an abundance of AI tools overwhelms buyers. Rather than pushing generic solutions, Morae designed MorAI around highly specific legal workflows such as contract review, RFP response automation, and internal helpdesk queries. Kenzo emphasizes the importance of "solutionizing" AI: showing real, targeted results rather than relying on hype. Using examples like their Helpdesk module, Kenzo explains how legal teams can instantly boost efficiency by querying historical RFP responses and deploying AI for natural language document reviews, significantly reducing administrative burdens across legal and procurement functions.A strong advocate for servant leadership and human-centric AI adoption, Kenzo outlines how Morae's approach goes beyond technology — focusing heavily on change management and upskilling legal professionals. Through programs like SEEDS (Skill Enablement Employee Development Series), Morae invests in developing both consulting and technology skills among its team. Kenzo notes that traditional legal professionals, often unfamiliar with public speaking or technology tools, can thrive when given structured, bite-sized learning opportunities. This consultative-first mindset, he argues, not only improves client outcomes but creates a more resilient and engaged workforce.Addressing cybersecurity and data privacy concerns, Kenzo details Morae’s use of private Azure instances and multiple legally trained LLMs to ensure client data security and confidentiality. Unlike public AI tools, MorAI is designed to be a trusted legal companion that never co-mingles client data or trains on external internet content. Kenzo also explains why Morae’s strategy of multi-LLM deployment (leveraging OpenAI, Anthropic, and others) future-proofs clients against rapid developments in AI models — ensuring their legal technology stacks remain agile and powerful over time.Finally, Kenzo shares his insights on the challenges ahead for the legal industry: decision fatigue, resistance to change, and the crucial need to align with younger generations’ expectations around technology use. He urges law firms and corporate legal departments to rethink build-vs-buy strategies, embrace commercially available solutions, and foster AI champions within their organizations. As new roles like legal engineers and prompt engineers emerge, firms that support AI-enabled upskilling and servant leadership will not just survive — they will lead the next era of legal innovation.Listen on mobile platforms:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[Special Thanks to ⁠Legal Technology Hub⁠ for their sponsoring this episode.]  Blue Sky: ⁠⁠@geeklawblog.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@marlgeb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.comMusic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Transcript