The Geek In Review

Alexis Hayman and Jeff Niemczura share their journey as a couple in legal tech, discussing their unique career paths, challenges, and shared passion for innovation. They delve into topics such as personal narratives, mentorship, integrating AI, and building strong partnerships through respect and understanding.

Richard Tromans, Founder of Artificial Lawyer, discusses the impact of generative AI on the legal industry. He emphasizes the need to integrate AI throughout the business process and adapt the economic model of the legal industry. Tromans also previews the upcoming Legal Innovators conferences in California and London, focusing on generative AI, standardization, and the evolving legal landscape.

Kris Satkunas from LexisNexis CounselLink discusses the 2024 Trends Report, revealing significant increases in hourly rates across practice areas. Despite this, blended rates at the matter level remain steady. The data challenges the notion that high rates drive clients to mid-sized firms, with large firms maintaining and growing their client base. They also touch on the adoption of alternative fee arrangements in the industry.

Jorn Vanysacker and Jeroen Thierens from Henchmen discuss revolutionizing legal processes by connecting document management systems, drafting transactions, and data-driven insights. They integrate Microsoft Copilot for accurate contract drafting and emphasize the balance between AI and human input in the legal profession.

Damien Riehl from vLex discusses new AI features that streamline legal research and reduce prompt engineering. The platform now auto-extracts key info from legal documents, saving time. He believes AI should eliminate the need for prompt engineering, focusing on higher-level tasks instead.

Joe Breda, President of Bloomberg Law, and Mat Rotenberg, CEO of Dashboard Legal, discuss Bloomberg's acquisition of Dashboard Legal to enhance legal workflow solutions. They emphasize the integration of project management and collaboration tools, including generative AI, for a comprehensive legal workstation. The platform aims to serve large law firms, small to mid-sized firms, and in-house legal departments by addressing data privacy concerns while harnessing the power of AI.

Ken Jones and Josh Smith discuss the upcoming ILTA EVOLVE conference focusing on generative AI and cybersecurity in the legal industry. They highlight the challenges of balancing AI benefits with data protection responsibilities. The conference offers intimate discussions, keynotes by industry experts, and educational sessions. The event aims to explore secure and compliant AI models while enhancing legal services.

Karen and David Skinner of Gimbal Consulting discuss their journey in legal tech, focusing on Lean Six Sigma methodologies to streamline lawyers' practices. They highlight the challenges and rewards of working together closely, emphasizing the importance of work-life balance and strong personal relationships. The podcast also explores AI implementation, efficient legal pricing strategies, and navigating technology solutions in entrepreneurship.

Ryan McClead and Kate Boyd of Sente Advisors share their journey in legal tech, from starting at law firms to launching their own company. They discuss the challenges and benefits of being partners in both work and life, emphasizing the importance of setting boundaries and supporting each other.

In this conversation, Kelly Griswold, CEO of Onna, highlights the critical role of data management in legal tech innovation. With a focus on internal collaboration apps, Kelly discusses how Onna empowers enterprises by transforming unstructured data into actionable insights. She delves into the challenges of data access and the importance of building a robust data foundation. The dialogue also covers the surge in private equity in the legal tech field and the future of technology in legal workflows, emphasizing automation and natural language processing.