The Geek In Review

The legal operations community was barely nascent a decade ago. Now there is a booming LegalOps profession and a number of professional associations have sprouted up to help the community learn and collaborate. Legal Operators is one of those communities. We asked the founder of Legal Operators, Colin McCarthy, to come on the show and talk about why he took a small legal ops community that started with a few people doing TED-Talk style presentations over drinks, to a community of thousands. Legal Operators produces online learning programs, a list of legal operations software and services, job board, and an innovation hub in order to support the growing legal operations profession. Recently, Legal Operators created a magazine with the planned distribution in the tens of thousands. While this may seem outside of what you would think a technology-forward operations would do, McCarthy says he believes in doing the unexpected, and providing the best platform for the distribution of knowledge and information. Even if that means going "old-school" from time to time. Check out the online version of the Legal Operators Magazine here. In September, Legal Operators is hosting the Summit By the Sea at Half Moon Bay, California. The September 14-16, 2022 curated, in-person event is designed for 100 legal ops professionals to gather together and share in conversation, networking, and best practices exchanges. There are a few seats still available. Information Inspirations If you are looking for great podcast content that includes some of our peers in the legal community, check out Steven Poor's Pioneers and Pathfinders podcast where he's recently brought on the likes of Ed Walters, Colin Levy, Bob Ambrogi, and more. Speaking of Bob Ambrogi, check out his article, "Why Legal Tech Fans Should Attend AALL in July" on his LawSites blog. Bob is a long-time supporter of the law library and legal information profession and has said for years that the AALL conference is truly a legal tech conference as well as an information conference. Add to this, it is in Denver this year, and you now have multiple reason to attend. Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog

We all know that it takes some "outside of the box thinking" to help improve the legal system in the United States, especially when it comes to Pro Se litigants. Courtroom5 CEO and co-founder Sonja Ebron does exactly that with her startup focused on guiding Pro Se litigants through complex court processes. Ed Walters, CEO and co-founder of Fastcase wants the legal industry to stop trying so hard to reinforce that "box." Together, Ebron and Walters are creating a process to help litigants access and navigate the court system through a combination of case process instructions, legal information, Artificial Intelligence, and collaboration with legal professionals. Eventually, Ebron would like to see the courts themselves leverage Courtroom5's abilities to help those seeking legal recourse. Walters stresses that the "North Star" of legal practice should be the wellbeing of clients. In a system where according to The World Justice Project, over 75% of legal needs go unmet, and some 80% of citizens seeking judicial action do so without the use of legal professionals. Part of that solution lies with the courts and the need to focus on the ability "to filter out people who need lawyers helping people who don't." Once again, this is not about replacing lawyers with robots, or encouraging Pro Se litigants to not seek legal assistance. Courtroom5 and Fastcase are seeking ways to improve the overall process of placing the right information in front of litigants, at the right time. Even if those instructions are to highly recommend seeking legal counsel. Links Mention: Courtroom5 Fastcase Ed Walters on Stephen Poor's Pioneers and Pathfinders Podcast TGIR Ep. 158 with Maya Markovich and Yousef Kassim on The Justice Technology Association Duke Law Tech Lab Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript to on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog

When three legal innovators gather together in their town of Houston, the topic drifts toward the interesting innovation and creativity hubs happening around the city. Both inside and outside of law firms. In a special "after-hours" episode of The Geek in Review, we talk with Norton Rose Fulbright US' Head of Innovation, Zack Barnes. The conversation is a diverse as the city. We talk about the The Ion innovation epicenter and Zack's interest in how these types of innovation hubs can use help from the law firms within the city to help guide entrepreneurs in the early stages.  In addition to the conversation revolving around legal innovation and creativity, we also talk on Zack's experiences with creating and writing patents as a start-up entrepreneur himself, and finding other start-ups to invest in for companies like Halliburton. Zack also describes how he went to college to be a mountain bike racer and how that love of speed expanded to a faster, but less bone breaking hobby of racing Corvettes. To top things off, we lubricate the discussion with some wonderful local Houston beers. Buckle up and grab your own favorite beverage as we talk all things innovation and happenings here in our favorite city of Houston. Let us know if you are ever in town and we can take you to one or more of the great innovation and brewing spots around town. Links mentioned: @NRFUSZack (InnovLegal Zack) The Ion Rice University Data to Knowledge Lab Cup of Joey St. Arnold Karbach  Spindle Tap 11 Below Eureka Heights Texas Leaguer  Brash Brewing Southern Star Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript Available on 3 Geeks

We are all pretty familiar with the phrase "Legal Tech." Maya Markovich and Yousef Kassim would like you to also become more familiar with the phrase "Justice Tech" as well. In fact, they have a new trade association focused on this issue called the Justice Technology Association or JTA. Justice Tech is defined as those companies which build tech solutions which are designed to improve or open access to legal rights, improve outcomes, and increase equity within a system that is stacked against users who are often going it alone in the justice system. Yousef Kassim's product, EasyExpunctions.com is one example. Maya Markovich is the Executive Director of JTA, and along with founders like Yousef Kassim and a diverse board of advisors, JTA is looking to leverage technology to help those seeking access to justice. This group of founders and advisors are not limited to lawyers, as access to justice is not a problem that can be solved by lawyers alone. JTA brought in engineers, policy advisors, academics, venture capitalists, and a wide range of other professionals to help guide the mission of the trade association. You can learn more at JusticeTechAssociation.org. LegalWeek Crystal Ball Question: We wind down our series of LegalWeek Crystal Ball responses with another former guest, Steve Embry. Steve recently wrote on his TechLaw Crossroads blog about the desire to be in the office less, and what that means for law firms when it comes to office space, training, and culture. Embry doesn't see it as all doom and gloom as some law firm leaders might. Links: Justice Technology Association JTA Partnership and Collaboration JTA Membership To Support JTA JTA Twitter EasyExpunctions.com Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript Available on 3 Geeks

For many of us, what we think of when we hear "American Lawyer Media", we think of lots of print newspapers, magazines, The American Lawyer, and the AmLaw 100/200 lists. Bill Carter, CEO of the newly re-branded ALM, sees the tremendous value of the data that ALM collects much more than just the news articles it produces. When Carter took over the reins at ALM in 2012, he evaluated the company like a consultant, and determined that the best path forward was through consolidation of titles through the evolution of law.com; moving away from individual subscriptions to an enterprise model, and; focus on the wealth of data compiled by ALM and find ways to leverage that data as the path forward for the company. We have an amazing look into what ALM is doing these days and a peek at what Bill Carter would like to do in the near future. Links to Items Discussed: Law.com Radar Legal Compass Global Leaders in Law Corporate Counsel Advance LegalWeek Crystal Ball Answer This week's Crystal Ball answer comes to us from Ken Crutchfield of Wolters Kluwer. Ken is monitoring all of the exciting legal technologies that are springing out of the AI explosion and who will be the winners, and who will be the losers as things shake out. Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript Available on 3 Geeks

Nicole Clark, CEO and co-founder of Trellis, shares her journey to access and analyze state trial court dockets. Trellis aims to add a county court a day and use AI to analyze the data. The value of trial court data extends beyond the legal field. Trellis provides complimentary access to its state trial court research & analytics platform. The podcast discusses advancements in search technology, organizing state trial court docket analytics, AI and machine learning in Trellis, analyzing judge tendencies and case analytics, and using court docket analytics for business development.

We have a number of repeat guests on the show this week, but all with new stories to tell since their last appearance.  Nikki Shaver and Jeroen Plink have joined forces to launch Legaltech Hub. Their mission is to provide a single place for those of us looking at legal technology so that we can have a clear picture of who are the players in legaltech solutions. We talk about how the two began their collaboration efforts to expand upon Nikki Shaver's original idea for Legaltech Hub and launch it as a startup business.  For those of us in the legal industry, whether it is a practicing lawyer, knowledge management, IT, library professional or other allied professionals, we all understand that when it comes to evaluating technology in the legal industry, it can be overwhelming. Jeroen and Nikki discuss how they set up the structure of Legaltech Hub, and who are the intended, and even the aspirational users of this system. We also discuss the competitors in the industry and how they believe Legaltech Hub distinguishes itself from the pack. A quick shoutout to our friend Chevazz Brown for the resent launch of his DiversePro mobile app.  Crystal Ball Question This week's LegalTech Crystal Ball question is answered by another TGIR Alumni, Sameena Kluck. Sameena sees an improvement in personal branding and authenticity in the legal profession. Alumni Episodes: Jeroen Plink Nikki Shaver Chevazz Brown Sameena Kluck Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript available on 3Geeks Website

For those of us who went to law school, a large percentage probably assumed we'd graduate, take the bar, and practice law. But, sometimes life takes you in a different direction. Today's guest fits that mold, and also decided to talk with 15 other law school grads who also found careers outside the traditional legal practice. Adam Pascarella is the Founder of Second Order Capital Management, and the author of the new book, Reversed in Part: 15 Law School Grads on Pursuing Non-Traditional Careers. Within the book, you'll also find two former TGIR guests, Ayelette Robinson and Richard Hsu. Reversed in Part is designed to give inspiration and some practical insights from professionals who followed their passions and how their legal career experiences helped them along the way. Adam tells us how he essentially used the interviews to help guide himself into a career outside of BigLaw and take the risk to start his own business. LegalWeek Crystal Ball Question This week we hear from Michael Burns, Chief Revenue Officer at Steno on what he sees for the legal industry when he peers into his crystal ball. For the industry to improve, it's going to take the help of allied professionals, automation, and even API integration to make it a reality. Congrats to Marlene For those who haven't seen yet, Marlene was included in the ABA's Legal Technology Resource Center's Women of Legal Tech 2022. Such a great list of leaders, including five former guests. It was nice of the ABA's LTRC to give us an additional list of eleven more leaders who we need to get on the podcast!! Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript available on 3Geeks Website

When the pandemic began, many law firms prepared for the worst by furloughing or laying off lawyers and legal professionals. Many of these same firms then found themselves at a disadvantage when the hiring spree began in the fourth quarter of 2020. Leopard Solution's Phil Flora joins us this week to talk about the numbers that they tracked over this time on hiring and movement in the legal industry. Pre-pandemic, there were 6,000 - 7,000 open jobs at any given moment. Currently, that number is 12,000+. And it doesn't appear to be slowing down. Phil Flora discusses a number of issues around how law firms and others are managing, recruiting, and retaining talent in such an active market. Of course, money is the traditional approach for law firms, and that is no exception this time around. However, Flora points out that there are a lot of "greats" going on in the market, including the "Great Pause", the "Great Resurgence", and the "Great Reflection" to name a few. And while money will be one piece of the solution, legal talent is wanting many more adjustments in order to keep them content and in place. This includes more work flexibility, mentoring, and even more social awareness by the law firms when it comes to how they align with societal goals. Crystal Ball Question We asked Norton Rose Fulbright's Zack Barnes to look into his crystal ball and predict what he sees for the legal industry. Barnes' future expands upon the ability for the legal market to expand upon the sandboxes created by Utah and Arizona to allow for ownership of law firms beyond the licensed attorney ranks. For true business innovation, there needs to be diversity in the ownership ranks. Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript available on 3 Geeks Website

This is a topic we’ve wanted to discuss since early 2019, but teaching stints in Helsinki, and a global pandemic pushed it back almost three years. But we did not forget about the topic of The Right to Be Forgotten! However, in that time, even the phrasing of the topic has changed to The Right to Erasure. Our guest, Anne Klinefelter, Director of the Law Library and Henry P. Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law, catches us all up on the current issues surrounding data privacy and the Internet both here in the US, as well as in the EU. Klinefelter’s view of privacy is that while we haven’t done a great deal of work to protect individual’s privacy in an economic model based on surveillance capitalism, we have done some things. Her vision of the future is that the Internet still has the capability of being the Utopia we once hoped it would be, but it will probably get far worse before it gets better. And those who benefited from the weak data privacy regulations may end up being the very people who come in and change it for the better. We also talked with Molly Huie from Bloomberg Law about the 2022 DEI Framework survey which is now open for law firms. Molly lists out a number of new data points included in the framework, including neurodiversity, origination credit, and partnership tracking topics in law firm diversity efforts. Links discussed in this episode: "Google LLC v. CNIL: The Location-Based Limits of the EU Right to Erasure" by Sam Wrigley and Anne Klinefelter (unc.edu) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework for Law Firms | Bloomberg Law The Geek in Review Ep. 135 - Results of the Bloomberg Law DEI Framework with Molly Huie | 3 Geeks and a Law Blog (geeklawblog.com) Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert. Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com. Music: As always, the great music you hear on the podcast is from Jerry David DeCicca. Transcript available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog page.