The Geek In Review

There were a number of SNAFUs the past couple of weeks here at The Geek in Review, but even with scheduling difficulties and personal emergencies, we wanted to get an episode out this week. In order for everyone to "get their geek on," we created an "Information Inspirations" episode. We'll be back next week with more traditional content, but we hope you enjoy our musings on news and ideas around the legal industry. Information Inspirations Bill Henderson’s State supreme courts and the challenges of PeopleLaw discusses the power that state supreme courts have in the regulation and delivery of the legal industry and access to justice. These courts have the power over the market structure, dispute resolution, and licensure of the practice of law. However, the Justices are reluctant regulators and Henderson suggests that they need to shake off this reluctance and fix a system that is in serious need of change. The American Bar Association is poised to change a series of law school accreditation rules and the change could go into effect as early as this fall. This round of changes deals with anti-discrimination training that law students need to take before they can graduate.  The ROSS v. Westlaw battle continues with ROSS recently crying foul that Westlaw is using copyright arguments to maintain what they claim to be a monopoly on legal information. Julie Sobowale dives a little deeper on one issue that affects both US and Canadian legal research innovators, and that is access to primary materials like case law.  Law School 1Ls and 2Ls shouldn't just look at BigLaw for their summer associate work. Working with startups or venture capital firms may be another option out there.  The legal industry looked to the NFL's Rooney Rule to help guide our own version through the Mansfield Rule. While the NFL gave a good blueprint for how to expand the search for minority talent, a recent lawsuit by former Miami Dolphin Head Coach, Brian Flores, alleges that it is also a blueprint for how to claim we are doing great things for minority hiring, but the reality is that it is a check-the-box and continue-as-normal process.  The era of COVID produced a major shift in the concepts of virtual court proceedings. While we've had bumps in the road, it seems that virtual courts are here to stay.  Bonus Inspirations (Non-Legal Podcasts That Inspire Us!!) Sacred Scandal  Comic Book Couples Counseling Contact Us Twitter: @gebauerm or @glambert. Voicemail: 713-487-7270 Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com. Music: Jerry David DeCicca Transcript: 3 Geeks

One of the things we love to talk about on this podcast is how to take data and make it tell a story. This week's guests are doing just that on the topic of Community Policing and making sure that there is equal coverage for both the Community part, as well as the Policing part. Ama Romaine, co-founder and Chair, and Wayne Harris, Executive Director of The Initiative: Advancing the Blue and Black Partnership, join us to describe how they are taking quantitative and qualitative data from both communities and the police agencies to identify the current relationship between them, and how they are aligned and misaligned when it comes to community policing.  "The conversation about [community] policing... really needs to get to where we recognize that we're in this together. That there's very little separation between the men and women wearing a police uniform, and the people that they're there working with." - Wayne Harris "What we are really trying to do is give voice to individuals in their communities and create a way for local leaders, for police leaders, for anyone, really, to be able to understand what a community needs. And then let's focus on creating and providing those needs for that community. That's what's going to create thriving communities in the end and, frankly, reduce the need for law enforcement to solve every single problem that we have." - Ama Romaine  Links:  The Blue & Black Partnership's website CentralPlus (8 Minute Community Survey) Consent Decree data Information Inspirations: Our fellow geek, Casey Flaherty talks about his recent blog post series with Chad Main of the Technically Legal Podcast. Is a workcation or bleisure travel in your future? A survey of business/leisure travelers seems to point in that direction. 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 is available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog

This week's guest is Maker5, Inc. CEO and Founder Sanjay Kamlani. Sanjay's experience of creating businesses like Office Tiger and Pangea3 give him a unique view of the legal technology and innovation sector, and specifically what tends to work well, and what tends to fall short when it comes to true innovation. Maker5, Inc is a Venture Studio designed to incubate its own businesses to spin them off as independent businesses, as well as being an advisory to law firms and software development services for law firms. When it comes to internal innovation, Sanjay's view is that  the CIO and CTO do not have enough practicing lawyers integrated with what they're trying to accomplish at the firm. Too often firms try to innovate in a vacuum, without the input and guidance of innovation partners or practicing attorneys and they end up not having any real authority or responsibility for implementing the innovative project.  In addition to development structure, there are also cultural disincentives to adopting true innovation, especially in the law firm setting.  "If you think about how most firms are focused 100% on the billable hour, and then you start thinking about what technology achieves ... that ends up reducing billable hours, you immediately start to realize that there's a big contradiction.... Unless you have an incentive structure that is consistent with the notion of efficiency and better, faster, cheaper, you're not going to get adoption, everyone's going to run in the opposite direction of that tool." - Sanjay Kamlani We walk through the processes of coming up with innovative ideas, whether to build it internally or find an off the shelf version, implementation and adoption, and the continuing maintenance of the innovation on a full-time scalable basis. Something that very few law firms are set up to do from start to finish. Kamlani identifies a number of processes that need to be in place, and what questions need to be asked and answered throughout the innovation creation, implementation, adoption, and maintenance lifecycle. It is a fascinating look into innovation that many of us may not have had the opportunity to experience.  Information Inspirations If you have not checked out the #SKILLS22 conference content, Greg's overview of all 20 sessions can help you find the right session to watch. Marlene covers more on the Great Resignation from a Boston College report that breaks down who are leaving their jobs and some of the details of what certain sectors of the US population are affected more than others. 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 is available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog

Factor's Ed Sohn and Michael Callier discuss consulting for in-house legal teams through New Law companies. They emphasize the importance of social learning and creating a culture conducive to technology adoption. They also talk about the fear of loss associated with change in the legal industry. The podcast explores Thompson Reuters' reversal of cutting down Westlaw attorney help desk services and potential tech influences in the legal industry. The concept of New Law and Factor is introduced, highlighting their focus on client relationships and understanding social dynamics. The podcast concludes with a discussion on overcoming the fear of change and addressing volatility in the legal profession.

David Pierce, Chief Commercial Officer at Axiom, discusses traits for successful businesses and people such as creativity and clear communication. He also talks about Axiom's mission and the role he has played, as well as talent recruitment and flexible working-models in the legal industry.

We have a double-header of interviews this week with Marlene talking with Suffolk Law School's Gabe Teninbaum on his new book, Productizing Legal Work: Providing Legal Expertise at Scale. Greg talks with Lindsie Rank, Student Press Counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) about the new website to help journalists answer the question, "Can I Publish This?" Gabe Teninbaum's book discusses the variety of ways that processes can be productized, ranging from simple orientation tasks, to more complicated, but repetitive task which can be streamlined through technology, or even by just creating checklists or instructions. While the idea of taking task which we are used to performing and productizing them may be scary for some, it is necessary if we are going to move beyond repetitive tasks and work on processes that really benefit from our skillsets. Lindsie Rank's calls herself a 1st Amendment geek, and she and others at FIRE help defend student journalists in colleges across the country when their First Amendment rights are challenged. Surprisingly, the biggest threat to student journalists isn't the hyper-partisan environment we find ourselves in these days, but rather the threat to university or administrative reputations. In addition to protecting student journalist after the fact, FIRE productized the process that allows journalists to determine the risks before they publish when it comes to liable, intellectual property issues, or other potential risks from publishing stories. Staying with Gabe Teninbaum's theme, FIRE has productized the process and allowed journalists to access the information through the self-help website, 24-hours a day. Information Inspirations Does the DIY home improvement boom have staying power? Now, if they would only open one of these close to Marlene's house. 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 is available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog

We talk shop with Litera's Vice-President of Sales for North America, Ashley Miller, including Litera's growth over the past few years, and how long it can stay in that Goldilocks' stage of being just the right size to be a big player, yet still nimble enough to pivot when needed.  The recent Changing Lawyer Virtual Summit featured recognizable speakers like Richard Susskind and Seth Godin, but also had Litera's traditional outside the norm type speaker with Mark Schulman, rock drummer for the likes of P!nk and Cher. Miller zeroed in on something that Richard Susskind discussed at the conference about the changes in technology adoption in law firms during the pandemic. Are the advancements we've seen since March 2020 really innovation, or are they really just acceleration of automation designed to keep work afloat? Finally, we talk data and what is meant by the single source of truth when it comes to data. Are we all making informed decisions based on the same, accurate data? Ashley Miller then turns the tables on the hosts by asking where they see the single source of truth in data when it comes to how law firms are going to handle data in the future. 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 is available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog

Haley Moss, an advocate for neurodiversity and attorney with autism, discusses the benefits of neurodiversity in the legal field. She emphasizes the importance of understanding and accommodating neurodivergent individuals to drive innovation. Moss highlights the challenges faced by those with disabilities in the workplace and promotes clear communication and self-advocacy. The podcast explores practical life skills support for young adults and accommodations for students with disabilities, showcasing the value of embracing neurodiversity.

With Thanksgiving falling on a Thursday this year… wait, I'm being told that it does that every year… we decided to release a panel discussion that Greg moderated with the General Counsel from McDonald's, Fannie Mae, Western Union, and Tyson Foods. The discussion ranges from where these GCs are expanding their search for talent, to truly increasing diversity both in their outside law firms as well as looking at their own diversity ranks, to retaining talent by improving the overall structure of the workplace.  Speakers Desiree Ralls-Morrison, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, McDonald’s Terry Theologides, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Fannie Mae Caroline Tsai, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Western Union Amy Tu, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Tyson Foods Special thanks to Reuters Events for allowing us to share this discussion with our listeners. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 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. Transcripts are available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog.

Alex Babin, CEO at Zero, says that the beautiful part about automating processes is to make the machines work the way the lawyers work so that you get a Return on Invest starting the very first day. For many of us, Alex brings up what we might think as the Holy Grail of implementing change in a law firm, and that is to allow the attorneys to continue working the same way and have the technology do the administrative tasks in the background. With little to no interaction from the attorneys. He says that the best product is the product that doesn't have to be implemented. The best software is no software so that you don't have to teach them how to use it. Babin's product Zero for email compliance, along with the new mobile time capture Apollo is designed to reduce the time spent on these non-billable, administrative tasks for lawyers.  Information Inspirations Brittany Luce and Eric Eddings have returned to their podcasting roots after finally leaving The Nod and the mess at Gimlet Media, and their video version of The Nod after the collapse of Quibi. After seven years, they resurrected their original podcast, For Colored Nerds (FCN) on Stitcher/SiriusXM where they discuss Black culture from their own nerdy perspective. Brittany and Eric are great and vulnerable storytellers and their return to FCN, as more mature adults, is a great place to tell and listen to their stories. Sometimes hardcoding tech gets better results than what you might find with AI, machine learning, or neural networks. BRAIN was developed in the 1980s and is still around today using the idea of "weaving" to identify objects like pastries. The accuracy of this established technology is very good and shows that not all shiny new things are better than the tried and established processes. The New Yorker has a great article on the use of BRAIN. 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. Transcripts are available on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog.