Pioneers and Pathfinders

As we head into the dog days of summer, we thought we would replay one of our favorite episodes. Given that August is National Civility Month, it seemed appropriate to revisit our episode with Jayne Reardon, former executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. Jayne has since retired from this role, but she continues to speak on professionalism topics such as civility, diversity, and leadership. We hope you enjoy the conversation. We will return with new episodes after Labor Day. In this episode, we are joined by Jayne Reardon of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, which promotes a more civil, professional, and inclusive legal culture in the state. In her nearly 16 years at the commission, Jayne has overseen a growing roster of initiatives rooted in civility, including programs on ethics, diversity, well-being, and the future of law. These programs are united by her belief that the legal profession can and should do better in meeting the legal needs of consumers by unlocking the underutilized potential of attorneys. Listen in to our conversation to learn: - How Jayne’s approach to the issues facing the profession are shaped by her prior experience as a successful trial lawyer. - What she sees as the barriers to civility in the profession. - How a focus on civility can increase access to justice.

Now more than ever, conversations around legal technology and innovation can be incredibly overwhelming—especially for those who are worried about the implications of generative AI. Our guest today helps facilitate these important discussions, with the goal of making new technology less intimidating for lawyers. Cat Casey is chief growth officer at Reveal-Brainspace, a cloud-based provider of ediscovery software, which helps legal professionals solve complex discovery problems. Prior to joining the company, she served as a practitioner for multiple legal tech firms, ran a global tech practice for a top 10 law firm, and was a national subject matter expert on ediscovery, cyber, and legal tech at KPMG and PwC. While serving these many roles, Cat developed her own brand as “The Technocat,” speaking and writing on AI and other subjects in tech across various platforms. Today, at Reveal-Brainspace, she leads marketing and direction for the company’s legal tech solutions, and frequently guest lectures on ediscovery, emerging data, and all things legal AI. In our wide-ranging discussion, Cat talks about being a "recovering introvert," how ChatGPT will change how we conduct research, her fascinating work at Reveal-Brainspace, and her thoughts on the future of legal tech.

Today we speak with Shana Simmons, chief legal officer at Everlaw, an advanced eDiscovery platform helping legal organizations solve the challenges of discovery and investigations more efficiently. Shana began her professional journey as a middle school and high school teacher before pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer. After working in a corporate practice at an international law firm, Shana took an in-house role with Google as a contracts manager, where she focused on enhancing the company’s legal operations. While working at Google, she was a fellow at the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. As chief legal officer at Everlaw, Shana leads a team responsible for the company’s legal, commercial, privacy, regulatory, and governance, risk, and compliance matters. In our discussion, Shana talks about what she learned as a teacher, the importance of legal ops, finding a community at the LCLD, and her exciting work at Everlaw.

As we often discuss on the podcast, many lawyers resist adopting new technology or innovative practices due to a fear of the unknown. Today’s guest, however, embraces change management and is always looking to enhance the quality of legal services. Wendy Butler Curtis is the chief innovation officer and chair of the eDiscovery & Information Governance group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Wendy started her career as a mass torts litigator, but later focused on eDiscovery and operationalizing innovation, where she learned more about leveraging data and managing the litigation process. In her current role as CIO at Orrick, she leads a team of lawyers, technologists, project managers, and business professionals who all work together to develop creative, client-focused solutions through novel products, streamlined processes, and technology. Additionally, Wendy continues practicing in the eDiscovery space, working with Fortune 100 companies and major financial institutions to create and deploy eDiscovery and records management programs. In 2018, she was named "Most Innovative Lawyer of the Year" by the Financial Times. Today, Wendy talks about being “exceptionally comfortable” with change, the creative skills of lawyers, practicing while being a CIO, and the role of her innovation team in Orrick’s talent development.

Today’s guest is a true expert in legal operations. Kiran Mallavarapu is the executive vice president and senior manager of Legal Strategic Services at Liberty Mutual Insurance. A mechanical engineer by training, Kiran worked at General Motors for several years before joining Liberty Mutual as a senior business consultant. He then moved to a legal ops role, where he was able to apply his creative and problem-solving skills while also utilizing data and technology. Today, Kiran leads a team of over 150 people focused on managing outside counsel relationships, legal analytics, and predictive modeling. The department provides systems and technology solutions to the company’s legal department—improving legal processes and driving innovation as well. It is one of the most well-known and well-regarded legal ops functions in the country. In today’s conversation, Kiran discusses how a toy car inspired his interest in problem-solving, the innovative culture at Liberty Mutual, what he's learned from working with lawyers, and storytelling through data.

Today’s guest is Mary Juetten, founder and CEO of Traklight, a company that provides businesses, entrepreneurs, and inventors with automation software tools and resources to help them identify business risks and legal needs. Mary’s professional journey began in finance, where she learned the basics of examining systems and processes. While working as a CFO, she oversaw her company's merger and learned more about contracts, inspiring her to pursue law. During law school, she came up with the idea for Traklight and decided to return to the business world after earning her JD. Additionally, Mary is an advisory board member at Integra Ledger, a digital trust technology infrastructure based on enterprise blockchain technology. She is also an advisory board member of RightsLedger, a universal ledger focused on digital ownership management tracking, rights management, and global monetization using blockchain. In our conversation, Mary discusses attending law school with a business background, making the leap to entrepreneurship, and the usefulness of blockchain.

Our guest today is Michael D.J. Eisenberg, an attorney who shares his deep knowledge of legal technology through his blog and podcast, The Tech Savvy Lawyer. A tech wiz with a master’s degree in civil engineering, Michael decided to pursue law school as a way to broaden his skill set. After working at the US Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals and at the Workers’ Compensation section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, Michael decided to start his own practice, where he has focused on advocating for veterans, military members, and federal employees for nearly two decades. Throughout his legal career, he has used technology to make his work more efficient, offering tips to fellow attorneys along the way. In 2019, Michael started the blog The Tech Savvy Lawyer, aimed to assist legal professionals with their technology skills on a broader scale. Since launching the blog, he has also recorded a number of podcast episodes under The Tech Savvy Lawyer brand. Today, Michael talks about how his grandfather influenced his career path, his decision to become a solo practitioner, using technology to save time, and his life as a podcaster.

This week, as we celebrate Independence Day, we thought we'd revisit our conversation with Bridget Mary McCormack, former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Since we recorded this episode, Chief Justice McCormack has retired and gone on to be president and CEO of the American Arbitration Association, as well as strategic advisor to Penn Carey Law's Future of the Profession Initiative. In our discussion, Chief Justice McCormack talks about her efforts to ensure equal access to justice for all, the importance of public confidence in our court system, and collaborating with other branches of the Michigan state government on civil justice reform. This conversation highlights the incredible work of our country's public servants in solving today's A2J challenges. We hope you enjoy. In this episode, we have the distinct honor of being joined by Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack. Her passion for access to justice has been a constant throughout her career in public service. Immediately out of law school in New York, she joined the Legal Aid Society and the Office of the Appellate Defender. As a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, she launched a number of clinics devoted to domestic violence, pediatric health, mediation, low income taxpayers, human trafficking, and juvenile justice. The Michigan Innocence Clinic, which she founded—and in which students represent wrongfully convicted Michiganders—has exonerated more than 22 people so far, and has shined a light on the important justice issues underlying wrongful conviction. She joined the Michigan Supreme Court in January 2013, and became chief justice in January 2019. Since joining the court, Chief Justice McCormack continues to teach at the law school and continues to speak out on important issues around the access to justice problem in our society. Listen in to today's discussion to hear her thoughts on the access to justice challenge and how we can bridge the gap, and why judges should be agents for justice system reform.

Today's episode will be an encore presentation of our inaugural session for the Pioneers and Pathfinders Virtual Roundtable Series. Last Wednesday, host Steve Poor had a live and lively discussion with four legal industry experts and thought leaders on the topic “Navigating Risks, Benefits, and Ethical Considerations in the Age of AI,” which focused on generative AI and the implications for the legal industry. These thought leaders—Kiran Mallavarapu, Executive Vice President and Senior Manager of Legal Strategic Services at Liberty Mutual Insurance; D. Joseph Piech, Senior Loss Prevention Counsel at ALAS; Lori Roeser, Partner and General Counsel at Seyfarth Shaw LLP; and Travis Rogers, Director and Senior Managing Counsel of Innovation Law at Allstate—all offered incredible insights and perspective on this interesting and timely topic. Our panelists shared their knowledge, experience, and invaluable insights, as we discussed the risks and ethical implications associated with determining policies, weighing the use of tools and how the rules extend across your organization, and much more. A special thank you to everyone who attended last week. And thank you to our listeners for joining us today.

Today we are joined by Tom Martin, founder and CEO of LawDroid, a company using artificial intelligence and automation techniques to help lawyers be more productive. Inspired by his early experiences as a legal assistant, Tom entered the legal profession with a strong commitment to efficiency and technology. While working as a lawyer at a top talent agency, he learned the basics of building a business, ultimately leading him to pursue entrepreneurship. He would go on to start Foresight Legal Group, PC, a law firm that was an early adopter of document automation, which made legal services more affordable for clients. Tom then co-founded LawDeal, a company that was ahead of its time in offering clients flat-fee packages for legal work. He later co-founded LawDroid after realizing the potential for chatbots to change the delivery of legal services. In January, the company launched Copilot, an AI legal assistant that advances productivity even further by helping lawyers with research, summarization, grammar review, and drafting. Additionally, Tom is the co-founder of American Legal Technology, which awards legal professionals and organizations for their accomplishments in creative innovation and technology. Tom has also been named an ABA Legal Rebel and is a Fastcase 50 honoree. In our conversation, Tom tells us about his lifelong love for technology, the shortcomings of ChatGPT, his exciting work at LawDroid, and coming up with the "Oscars of legal innovation."