Pioneers and Pathfinders

While we give our guests a summer break, Pioneers and Pathfinders will release three recap episodes in August with highlights from our first 22 episodes. In each recap, Steve will share some of his favorite moments from the podcast so far, and some thoughts from his own journey that were triggered by the conversations with our guests. In today’s second recap, Steve takes a deep dive into the role of storytelling in the innovation journey. If you've ever read a book to a child or become immersed in a fictional world, you know the power of storytelling and the impact it has on people. The impact isn’t just the product of pictures and words. Stories are a tool for passing on knowledge and cultural values and norms. For pioneers specifically, they can be used to explore and resolve conflict, to make novel ideas more accessible, to build strong memories, and to reduce resistance and anxiety. That's why many of our Pioneers and Pathfinders guests have tended to be excellent storytellers and make such fantastic guests. And for a podcast about personal journeys, it's not surprising that storytelling has been a theme. Listen to this episode for: -How storytelling creates heroes—and why you should make systematic storytelling a part of your change management program -Using storytelling to increase engagement by connecting effort to results -Leveraging the natural traits of the lawyer for more effective storytelling -Why knowing your audience is the most important first step -Why lawyers need to move from storytelling to marketing to selling -Using storytelling to build a community and shine a light on the path forward Quoted guests include: -Jason Barnwell -Jae Um -Dr. Larry Richard -Alex Su -Michele DeStefano -Joe Borstein

While we give our guests a summer break, Pioneers and Pathfinders will release three recap episodes in August with highlights from our first 22 episodes. In each recap, Steve wills hare some of his favorite moments from the podcast so far, and some thoughts from his own journey that were triggered by the conversations with our guests. For our first recap, we explore the topic of innovation itself—a concept that came up frequently, given our focus on pioneers and pathfinders. In light of how how much has changed in the last two years, many of our guests mused on the meaning of the word "innovation," how their work has evolved, and where the industry should go next. At at time when the practice of law looks very different—at least at a superficial level—what does it mean to be innovative? Are there more innovative techniques being deployed now? And how can we become more innovative, both as a profession, and as individuals? Listen to this episode for: • The definition of innovation in 2021 • The role of problem definition in innovation • Why innovation is everyone's job • Tips and tools for becoming more innovative This recap features highlights of our interviews with the following guests. Listen to their full episodes for more insights. Dr. Heidi Gardner Cat Moon Jae Um Jason Barnwell Lucy Bassli Susan Hackett Nicole Bradick Michle DeStefano

When we use the term “pioneer” in the name of this podcast, we're talking about those who blazed a trail for others to follow and hopefully improve upon. No one fits that description better than today's guest, Jeff Carr. While GC of FMC Technologies, Jeff launched the ACES program—what was then a novel way of pricing legal services. Now, he’s in what he calls “R3" status: recently re-retired. It's really not surprising that someone with a career as varied as Jeff’s, and with as many diverse interests, would have a hard time with traditional retirement, but over the years, he’s had several general counsel jobs and had an extensive career as a lawyer. Jeff has been a leading advocate for efficiency, process, and legal service delivery. Like so many of our guests, he has had a fascinating path, following many interests—from music, to nuclear war theory, and now, racecar driving. Listen in to today's conversation to hear how learning that he wouldn't make partner was a cathartic moment, how his wife kept him from joining the JAG corps, how he used his leverage as GC to demand change from outside counsel, and why you'll never hear him use the word “client.”

Our guest today is Joe Borstein. Joe has been on the leading edge of change in the industry for many years, and today, he is the founder of LexFusion, a new collaborative venture among some of the biggest names in legal tech and outsourcing. LexFusion is born of Joe’s experience as both a lawyer and entrepreneur, with a goal of accelerating the adoption of technology within corporate legal departments and law firms. They will accomplish this by transforming a lengthy—and sometimes brutal—sales cycle into one that's simpler and easier. Joe calls it “a one-stop shop for high-end legal innovation.” He’s had a fascinating career path. The son of lawyers, Joe never doubted that he would follow the same path of his parents. He practiced law for six years before making the leap to Pangea3, a model for legal service delivery that was, at the time, extremely outside the norm for law firms. From the beginning, Joe posited that the growth of LPOs and ALSPs would not shrink the legal market, but grow it. Ten years later, we can't say he's wrong. In today's conversation, we talk about what it was like to put together and launch a business during the pandemic, building trust in a virtual environment, the changing mindset of the purchases of legal services, and how LexFusion chooses its member companies.

Today's guest followed her passion for persuasive writing from the courtroom to legal technology. Jackie Schafer is a former Paul Weiss litigator, in-house counsel, assistant attorney general, and serial entrepreneur. Today, she is the founder of Clearbrief, an AI-powered legal writing tool, which recently received $1.2 million in outside funding from big venture capital names Sequoia Capital and Madrona Venture Group. Her company has also received backing from Avvo founder Mark Britton and a number of other investors associated with companies as diverse as Grubhub, Workday, and Tableau. Listen in to today's conversation to learn more about Jackie's path, how her work on an immigration asylum case led to her passion for evidence-based storytelling, and her vision for how Clearbrief can transform the legal writing process and the justice system.

Long before unicorns were trending in popular culture, Lucy Bassli was thinking about “unicorn lawyers.” In her role as assistant general counsel at Microsoft overseeing contract management systems and procurement, she had a unique view into how process and technology can improve service delivery. Today, she has spun these unicorn lawyer traits into a trailblazing career as founder, advisor, speaker, and author. Lucy is the founder of InnoLaw Group, a legal service provider and consultant to law firms and in-house legal teams on a variety of innovation initiatives. She is also the chief legal strategist at LawGeex, a legal startup that automates contract review services with artificial intelligence. Listen in to today's conversation to learn more about how Microsoft's culture of empowerment and trust influenced Lucy's growth, how in-house work allows unicorn lawyers to flourish, and the massive impact of last year on legal innovation.

FisherBroyles is an overnight success that’s been 20 years in the making. Founders and managing partners James Fisher and Kevin Broyles have a lot to celebrate: the firm just entered the Am Law 200 with a 14% increase in revenue over 2019, and the addition of 51 partners in 2020. This is notable because FisherBroyles has no offices, no associates, and no secretaries—what James calls, “the headwinds of profitability.” As such, it's the first distributed firm to crack big law ranks, and a truly transformative take on the business of law. At a time when firms are deciding what their new normal looks like, James and Kevin are sticking with the status quo they established when they founded their firm in 2002, and they have aggressive plans for growth. Founded during the tech bubble implosion of the early aughts, FisherBroyles has survived and thrived through two eras of mass disruption for law firms: the recession in 2008-09, and now the pandemic. In today's conversation, learn how James and Kevin met and spent their days during the tech bubble implosion, why they don't consider FisherBroyles a “virtual” firm, and how the “perfect storm” of COVID-19 and their entry into Am Law 200 is setting the stage for their plans for future growth.

Today’s guests are Bryan Parker and Jonathan Greenblatt, founders of Legal Innovators, an alternative legal service provider designed to solve two of the toughest problems facing the profession: the training of junior legal talent, and diversity and inclusion. Their goal is to change the value proposition of junior legal talent for law firms and in-house teams, without sacrificing quality. They do this through a combination of training, mentoring, pricing, and flexible placements. Bryan and Jonathan have a friendship of more than 25 years, which began when they were both working at Shearman and Sterling. In today’s interview, we learn how that experience shaped their business model, how mentoring benefits all parties involved, and why diversity matters more now than ever.

Today’s guest is Lucy Ricca, Fellow at the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession and the Executive Director of the Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation. In that role, she has helped Utah’s Supreme Court build its legal regulatory sandbox, through which entities may use new models for legal businesses and offer new kinds of legal services to Utah’s public. It’s a fascinating model where economic regulations governing lawyers can be relaxed, data gathered, and policy improved. Listen in to today’s interview to hear all about the origin of the Utah regulatory sandbox, how Lucy got involved, and to learn more about the types of entities that have been approved to operate there.

Dan Rodriguez is the Harold Washington Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, having previously served as dean January 2012 through August 2018. In that role, he was instrumental in bringing an interdisciplinary focus to the law school curriculum. Dan has also advocated for the law-business-technology interface as chair of the ABA Center for Innovation. In today’s episode, learn how Dan appeals to lawyers’ self-interest and selflessness to break down barriers, and how science and medicine can provide a model for the future of the profession.