The Geek In Review

Welcome to the first of a few special Legal Week 2024 edition episodes of "The Geek in Review," where we looked for innovative and creative ideas on the road and recorded live from the bustling environment of the 2024 Legal Week conference in New York. Marlene Gebauer notes the transformation of Legal Week into a thought leadership conference, with a special mention of keynote speaker Bryan Cranston's impactful talk on storytelling, branding, and the thoughtful application of AI in both the acting world and the legal tech space. Joey Seeber, the guest for this episode, brings his experience and insights as the representative of Level Legal, a company that recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. Seeber shares the origin story of Level Legal, starting from its humble beginnings in 2009 in East Texas, evolving from a document review team within a law firm to a full-service eDiscovery and forensics company based in Dallas. Underlining the transition from paper to digital and the challenges of data hygiene, Seeber emphasizes the company's growth and its focus on human-centric service in the legal tech industry. Discussing the influence of generative AI and other technological advancements on legal services, Seeber provides a grounded perspective on the hype versus the reality of AI's impact on the industry. He stresses the importance of human-to-human connections and hospitality in legal services, suggesting that while technical skills are essential, the ability to serve and delight clients sets Level Legal apart. Seeber notes the challenges of adapting to various eDiscovery platforms, the importance of a diverse skill set among staff, and the evolving roles within the legal tech ecosystem. Seeber's vision for Level Legal includes a focus on what he terms the "excellence reflex" – a combination of curiosity, service instinct, and the anticipation of client needs. In the "crystal ball" segment, Seeber cautiously predicts the trajectory of generative AI in legal tech, suggesting that significant changes may be more gradual than some expect. He reflects on the legal industry's slow pace of adoption and the importance of integrating new technologies thoughtfully and effectively.   Listen on mobile platforms:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Contact Us:  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gebauerm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@glambert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads: @glambertpod or @gebauerm66Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.comMusic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Transcript

Caroline Hill, Editor-in-Chief for Legal IT Insider, discusses the new partnership with NetLaw Media, the change in Legal Tech in 2023, the challenges law firms face in implementing AI solutions, and the importance of vendor relationships in the legal tech industry.

Guests at two legal tech conferences discuss the impact of AI and innovations on the legal industry in 2024, including automating workflows, improving data analytics, reducing costs, and enhancing access to justice. The hosts also emphasize the importance of solving real business problems with AI solutions and explore topics like synthetic data, making legal information accessible, decentralized autonomous organizations, and innovation opportunities in the legal tech industry.

Whitney Triplet, Paul Campbell, and Adonica Black discuss the LexisNexis African Ancestry Network Fellowship 2023. They focus on technology solutions to combat racial bias in jury selection, law clinic support tools to address systemic racism, and the role of analytics in identifying disparities in the legal system. The fellowship program aims to tackle systemic racism through project-based approaches and initiatives promoting diversity in the legal field.

Jeff Pfeifer and Serena Wellen from LexisNexis discuss the rapid development of AI tools for the legal industry. They share insights on the evolution of their Lexis+ AI tool, the launch of Lexis Snapshot and Lexis Create, and the expansion of generative AI tools to an international reach. They also explore the adoption of chat GPT technology in law firms, user feedback, future improvements, AI product development, and essential skills for product managers. The guests emphasize the importance of user feedback in driving enhancements and the transformative impact of AI products on the legal industry.

Patrick DiDomenico, Tanisha Little, and Sara Miro review the Knowledge Management and Innovation for Legal Conference. They cover organizing the conference, engaging newcomers, and the future of knowledge management in the age of generative AI.

Vanderbilt Law School recently launched an exciting new initiative called the Vanderbilt AI Legal Lab (VAILL) to explore how artificial intelligence can transform legal services and access to justice. In this episode, we spoke with VAILL's leadership – Cat Moon,(👑) Director of Innovation at Vanderbilt's Program on Law and Innovation (PoLI), and Mark Williams, Associate Director for Collections and Innovation at the Massey Law Library – about their vision for this pioneering lab.  VAILL's mission is to harness AI to expand access to legal knowledge and services, with a particular focus on leveraging generative AI to improve legal service delivery. As Moon described, VAILL aims to experiment, collaborate widely, and build solutions to realize AI's potential in the legal domain. The lab will leverage Vanderbilt's cross-disciplinary strengths, drawing on experts in computer science, engineering, philosophy, and other fields to inform their ethically-grounded, human-centered approach. VAILL is prioritizing partnerships across sectors – courts, law firms, legal aid organizations, alternative providers, and others – to test ideas and develop prototype AI applications that solve real legal needs. For instance, they plan to co-create solutions with Legal Aid of North Carolina's Innovation Lab to expand access to justice. Moon explained that generative AI presents solutions for some legal challenges, so VAILL hopes to match developing technological capabilities with organizations' needs. Ethics are foundational to VAILL's work. Students will learn both practical uses of AI in law practice as well as broader policy and social implications. As Williams emphasized, beyond core professional responsibility issues, VAILL aims to empower students to lead in shaping AI's societal impacts through deeper engagement with questions around data, access, and algorithms. Teaching ethical, creative mindsets is VAILL's ultimate opportunity. VAILL will leverage the resources and expertise of Vanderbilt's law librarians to critically assess new AI tools from their unique perspective. Williams noted that the lab sees law students as a "risk free" testing ground for innovations, while also equipping them with adaptable learning capabilities to keep pace with AI's rapid evolution. Rather than viewing AI as a differentiator, VAILL's goal is producing legally-skilled innovators ready to thrive amidst ongoing change. Vanderbilt's AI Legal Lab represents an exciting development in exploring AI's legal impacts. By emphasizing human-centered, ethical approaches and collaborations, VAILL aims to pioneer solutions that expand access to legal knowledge and services for all. We look forward to seeing the innovative applications VAILL develops at the intersection of law and AI.   ⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us:  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gebauerm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@glambert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads: @glambertpod or @gebauerm66Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.comMusic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠ Transcripts

vLex's Damien Riehl demonstrates Vincent AI, a generative AI tool that retrieves legal sources, generates summaries, and provides jurisdiction comparison. It excels due to its grounding in real legal sources and ability to handle foreign languages. The chatbot style allows for straightforward questions and future plans include generating new motions for summary judgment.

Colin Levy, Dorna Moini, and Ashley Carlisle discuss Levy's 'Handbook of Legal Tech'. The book provides an overview of key technologies transforming the legal industry. Levy shares his experience herding experts to contribute chapters. Carlisle appreciates consolidating information on contract lifecycle management. Moini contributes before having a baby. The guests offer advice for law students and lawyers, emphasizing starting with an open mind and intentional research.

Hosts Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert talk with Jacqueline Schafer, founder and CEO of ClearBrief, about leveraging AI to streamline legal drafting. ClearBrief integrates with Microsoft Word to suggest evidence and citations, generate chronologies, and provide security and confidentiality controls. Schafer discusses the openness of attorneys to tailored AI tools, the enthusiasm of younger associates and paralegals, and the future expansion of ClearBrief to assist paralegals and corporate attorneys. They also discuss integrations, the impact on legal writing, and the expected changes in the legal profession.