The Legal Ops Podcast

In this episode of The Pulse, Alex and Elliot chat about Elliot's troubles with his Jabra Elite 65t headphones and whether or not the Apple Airpods would have been a better choice. They also discuss how the legal ops market has changed over the last two decades, including developments in both education and professional services. Finally, they discuss whether talent or opportunity is more important to be successful, and Alex offers his tips for law students and graduates looking for a career in legal ops.

Stephanie, Alex and Elliot discuss creating a legal ops strategy, including:* What a legal ops strategy is and how it underpins a legal department's technology and operational plan* How to develop the plan, including the extent to which it should be a top-down vs bottom-up endeavour* Why it's important for a legal ops leader to be attuned to the needs of the legal department* Which stakeholders should be interviewed as part of the planning process and whether that task is best done by internal resources or external consultants* How to assess your organisation's legal ops maturity* What to do after your plan has been developed, including how to prioritise different projects and initiatives* The importance of tracking and reporting your progressWe also discuss Stephanie's role in co-founding CLOC (the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) and her previous business selling zombie, werewolf and other monster repellents.LINKS:Up Level Ops: https://uplevelops.com/Maturity model: http://uplevelops.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Legal-Ops-Maturity-Model-Self-Assessment-Guide-ULO-Original.pptxXakia Legal Operations Health Check: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XakiaLegalOpsStephanie Corey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephcorey-uloStephanie Corey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephanieACorey

In this episode of The Pulse, Alex and Elliot discuss the conference landscape - which are being rescheduled, cancelled or moving online. For those which are moving online, are they free or charging admission, and what is the value proposition for attendees and sponsors? And they chat with Jodie Baker, president of the Australian Legal Technology Association, about its upcoming conference ALTAcon.ALTAcon website: https://www.altacon.com.au/

In this episode of The Pulse, Alex and Elliot chat about the pros and cons of the Apple Watch, how Alex uses his and whether or not Elliot should get one. The also talk about Zoom, including its soaring market capitalisation, recent security troubles, what "Zoombombing" is and how to guard against it. Then they discuss the economic effects of coronavirus, whether we are headed for a "V", "U" or "L" shaped recovery and why the prominence of legal operations may be set to increase.

In this episode of The Pulse, Alex and Elliot give a brief update on how things are changing in Australia and the US in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Alex explains his excitement for the new iPad Pro and tries to convert Elliot away from his MacBook. They also discuss the recent news about Atrium shutting its doors, similarities with Clearspire back in 2014, and why they think these business models aren't working.

Alex and Elliot discuss Business Continuity Planning, also referred to as “BCP”. This is particularly relevant right now due to the coronavirus pandemic, and is often the responsibility of legal operations functions.They cover a range of issues that should be addressed as part of any BCP plan, including:* Technology - for remote access, written communications and virtual meetings* Allocating resources - how to identify critical activities, manage bandwidth and split teams* Compliance issues - risk of data breaches, theft, loss and scams* Leave policies - to cover sickness and carer responsibilities* Communications - what types of communications should be company-wide, divisional and team specific* Contractual risk - reviewing contracts for issues such as force majeure, frustration and similar rights* Other practical tips to prepare for long-term working from homeAs a bonus for listeners, check out our handy checklist covering all of the above - link below.LINKSLegal Ops BCP checklist: https://bit.ly/2JaoG67

In the first episode of The Pulse, Alex and Elliot explain what it is, why they're doing it and how it will differ from the core episodes of The Legal Ops Podcast. They talk about coronavirus and the differences between how it is being handled in Australia and the USA. With Alex currently based in Chicago, they discuss his plans and whether or not he wants to, or is even able to, move back to Australia. They touch on cloud vs on-premise software, and the pros and cons of each in the current environment, as well as some of the likely winners and losers in a rapidly changing world.

Elliot and Alex interview Katrina Gowans to discuss legal transformation and knowledge based working for in-house teams. Katrina is the National Legal Transformation Lead at Origin Energy, a leading provider of energy to homes and businesses in Australia. They covered:* (5:12) How Katrina became National Legal Transformation Lead * (9:28) The importance of setting a vision for any transformation plan * (13:33) Change management considerations * (16:19) Strategies to “cut through” and get your message to busy people * (21:22) Overcoming skeptics and change resistors * (26:44) The next phase - knowledge based working * (31:59) How to instil cultural change * (43:58) Maintaining a knowledge base * (45:50) The future of legal operations LINKSKatrina Gowans on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-gowans-40986942/Centre for Legal Innovation on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/centre-for-legal-innovation/Centre for Legal Innovation’s website: https://www.cli.collaw.com

Mitch, Alex and Elliot discuss the idea of Legal Service Balance, including:(1) What it is and how to achieve it(2) How to analyse the work done across a law department and group activities according to their risk and alignment to core business(3) What type of resource should be applied to different work groupings(4) How organisations are partnering with their law firms to drive innovation, including the example of Microsoft’s Strategic Partner Program(5) How law firms are responding to the changing market by embedding technology in their service offerings(6) Atrium, Slater & Gordon and Shine as examples of law firms trying radically different models(7) Mitch’s view on the future of the legal industrySPONSORThis episode is sponsored by the ACC, In-House Counsel Day which is coming up in Melbourne on 4 March 2020. Follow the link below and use the discount code ‘TLOP20’ for 10% off your ticket.https://bit.ly/2U1fkjrLINKSMitch’s first book, “Avoiding Extinction: Reimagining Legal Services for the 21st Century”: https://amzn.to/396olMWMitch’s second book, “The Great Legal Reformation: Notes from the Field”: https://amzn.to/39c2EezDaniel Pink’s book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”: https://amzn.to/2wd1LDQMitch’s website: http://kowalski.ca/Mitch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MEKowalskiMitch on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/mitchkowalskiFour quadrants diagram: https://bit.ly/2I7OGOT

Alex and Elliot discuss artificial intelligence in the context of legal practice, including: (1) How AI is defined and whether it requires human-like intelligence (2) The difference between AI and other systems such as robotic process automation (3) How AI is already being used in the legal industry (4) How AI works and what the difference is between Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning (5) Alex’s AI-powered chatbot, how it works and how you could build it too (6) Alex’s and Elliot’s predictions for applications of legal AI that are both futuristic and plausible SPONSORThis episode is sponsored by the ACC, In-House Counsel Day which is coming up in Melbourne on 4 March 2020. Follow the link below and use the discount code ‘TLOP20’ for 10% off your ticket.https://bit.ly/2U1fkjrLINKSAlex’s chatbot: https://bit.ly/37wZIrc