The Geek In Review

Conrad Everhard, founding partner of Flatiron LLP, shares how his firm transformed M&A services with a groundbreaking flat fee model. He recounts the firm's origins post-financial crisis and its challenges transitioning from Big Law. Conrad discusses the innovative use of technology and a contractor-based approach to enhance service quality and transparency. The conversation also touches on the future of the legal industry as firms adapt to technology and changing client expectations, all while fostering strong relationships.

Adam Stofsky, CEO of Briefly, emphasizes the need for legal training to stay up-to-date with real-time issues using innovative tools like AI. Ian Nelson, Co-Founder of Hotshot, highlights the shift towards practical skills in training, preparing lawyers for real-world scenarios. Caitlin Vaughn, from Goodwin, discusses the importance of fostering emotional intelligence and collaboration post-COVID. Together, they explore how modern training programs must adapt to support the evolving demands of the legal industry while enhancing connection among colleagues.

Joshua Broyde from AI21 Labs discusses their work on foundation models like Jamba Instruct for enterprise use. They compare these models to traditional ones and talk about their collaboration with financial institutions. The podcast also covers the development of Jamba Instruct, the balance between model quality and cost, and future trends in AI workflows.

Hosts Marlene and Greg catch up on their recent vacations to Hawaii and South Africa, discussing AI lawsuits involving OpenAI and Microsoft. They explore AI tools for creating comics and animating images, envisioning a fully AI-generated podcast episode. The conversation touches on AI's impact on the legal sector, creative industries, and practical applications in Excel automation.

Neil Chilson and Travis Wussow discuss the complexity of regulating AI, suggesting a focus on specific harms and existing regulatory gaps. They highlight ongoing litigation and federal/state policy activities. They also touch on AI's impact on elections and misinformation.

June Liebert and Cornell Winston discuss the AALL annual conference, focusing on leadership in the AI-driven landscape and the importance of transformative thinking. They highlight keynote speaker Cory Doctorow's insights on technology's societal impact. The podcast explores technology's influence on society, tips for the conference, and showcases GenAI integration in law firms for accessibility and diversity. Exciting details of the upcoming AALL annual conferences are also shared.

Giles Thompson and Jun Choi from Avvoka discuss their innovative no-code document automation platform with AI-enhanced features like SmartAutomation and SmartConsolidation. They highlight differences in US and UK knowledge management practices, client engagement strategies, and market expansion. Avvoka's vendor-agnostic community events bring legal professionals together, and they are focusing on integrating generative AI technologies into their platform for the future.

Mathew Kerbis and Jack Shelton discuss transitioning to a subscription-based legal services model, emphasizing automation, predictability, and cost transparency. Shelton highlights in-house software development for complex analyses. The guests explore scaling challenges and sustaining a subscription model for law firms.

Chief Strategy Officer at vLex, Ed Walters, discusses the integration of Vincent AI with iManage, emphasizing data quality and security measures. The automated docket ingestion feature from Docket Alarm into iManage folders streamlines document organization for legal teams.

The hosts discuss their 'Love and LegalTech' series, the impact of AI on law firms' profitability, and the use of agentic AI in information gathering. They emphasize the need for firms to adopt AI tools, align innovation with practice groups, and utilize diverse talent for effective transformation.