Pioneers and Pathfinders

For our last episode of the year, we welcome Dr. Ron Dolin, chief innovation officer at ODR.com. Dr. Dolin has had a fascinating and dynamic professional journey. A math and physics major, he began his career at the high-energy physics lab CERN in Geneva. He went on to earn a PhD in computer science and became one of the first 100 employees at Google, where he worked for several years. Having a deep interest in morality and ethics, Dr. Dolin then decided to go to law school and pursue the legal path. He became a law professor and has taught legal tech courses at Stanford, Notre Dame, and Harvard. Today, Dr. Dolin works with ODR.com to understand how AI can help the dispute resolution field improve its quality of services. In addition, he is a private investor in legal tech startups. In our discussion, Dr. Dolin speaks about going from Google to law, his love for teaching, the importance of quality metrics as lawyers use generative AI, and his work at ODR.com.

This year, our virtual roundtable series has explored the implications of generative AI and natural language processing models in the legal industry. Our first roundtable covered the risks and benefits of generative AI, while the second addressed the AI technology landscape and implementation strategies. Now, in our third installment, our esteemed panel—Lorie Almon, Chair and Partner of Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Anusia Gillespie, Chief Strategy Officer at SkillBurst Interactive; Jennifer Leonard, Founder of Creative Lawyers and Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and Andrew Perlman, Dean and Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School—focused on lawyer formation and attorney development in the age of artificial intelligence. Our panelists explored how law schools, law firms, and corporate legal departments can shape the lawyers of tomorrow. We discussed the importance of teaching empathy in law school, the impact of generative AI on task-based learning, training more experienced lawyers on new technology, as well as the incentives and training structures needed for all legal professionals in a different environment.

Damien Riehl, Vice President and Solutions Champion at vLex, discusses vLex's new product Vincent AI, crafting arguments using real cases, confidentiality concerns in AI training, the importance of common tagging methodology, and the 'All the Music' project that generated billions of melodies to protect against copyright infringement.

Julie Saltman, Co-founder and CEO at Standd, talks about how AI helps lawyers save time in due diligence, the lessons she learned with the launch of the company, and the impact of generative AI on legal writing.

As technology has progressed, we have also seen emerging concerns for freedom of speech and privacy. Our guest today has spent the past 30 years defending individual liberties in the digital space. Cindy Cohn is the executive director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the leading nonprofit organization ensuring that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people. She started her career as a civil litigator in private practice, where she handled various cases related to technology. Then, in 1993, the EFF offered her the opportunity to serve as outside lead attorney in the case Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the US export restrictions on cryptography. Today, she handles legal matters involving NSA spying, platform censorship, and surveillance technologies, among other issues. Cindy has received numerous awards and honors for her work. In 2020, she was included in The Nonprofit Times Power and Influence Top 50 list, honoring movers and shakers. In today’s discussion, Cindy talks about the fascinating origins of the EFF, how she became involved in human rights work, how her practice has evolved over the years, and her strategies for protecting people's privacy.

Today we speak with Tara Cheever, co-founder and Chief Products Officer at LIT SOFTWARE, a company that equips lawyers with the tools to modernize their practices and enhance their presentation skills in court. Tara has been a trial presentation consultant for more than 15 years. She is an expert in presentation and legal technology, and has worked on multiple high-profile matters both in the US and in Europe. At LIT SOFTWARE, she assists in the design, development, and marketing of the LIT SUITE. The LIT SUITE apps are used extensively by a broad range of legal professionals and organizations, including Am Law 100 firms, corporate counsel for Fortune 500 companies, and the US Department of Justice, as well as other government agencies. The LIT SUITE is also widely taught in law schools across the US. In our discussion, Tara talks about her work as a trial consultant, how LIT SOFTWARE helps with storytelling in the courtroom, her thoughts on the future of litigation technology, and why she loves working with lawyers.

Stephanie Wilkins, editor-in-chief at Legaltech News, shares her journey from private practice to freelance writing and discusses the future of generative AI in the legal industry. They also explore the impact of technology on delivering legal services, advancements in document review, and the publication's interest in highlighting innovations and startups in the access to justice space.

Today’s guest is taking on the challenges of immigration law through innovative technology. Amélie Vavrovsky is the founder and CEO of Formally, a legal tech startup that uses accessible design to simplify and streamline immigration applications. The idea for the company was partly inspired by Amélie’s own immigration experience as an international student at Brown University. She started Formally as a hackathon project, geared toward helping refugees and asylum seekers immigrate into the US. While a grad student at Stanford, Amélie further developed Formally, and the company officially launched in November of 2021. In recognition of the important work she is doing at Formally, Amélie was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list earlier this year. In our conversation, Amélie discusses competing in hackathons, the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, Formally's approach to making legal work easier, and her surprising reaction to being included in the 30 Under 30.

Many legal professionals have discussed complex topics in technology and innovation in simple terms, but few have done so quite as well as today’s guest, Daniel Yi, Senior Counsel for Special Projects and Innovation at the US Department of Justice. As a disclaimer, we’d like to mention that Daniel is joining us in his personal capacity and not as a representative of the DOJ. Before serving in his current role, Daniel started at the DOJ as a trial attorney and then as the director of the Fair Housing Testing Program. Today he leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in its efforts to use the design process and entrepreneurial principles to test new solutions for sticky problems in legal practice and civil rights. Additionally, Daniel is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, as well as a lecturer at Harvard Law School and the University of Maryland. Today Daniel talks about being an ultramarathoner, what has motivated him throughout his personal and professional life, and the importance of building trust in innovation efforts.

In this episode, Terri Mottershead, an innovation strategist and generative AI enthusiast, discusses the Center for Legal Innovation and its role in transforming the legal industry. She also explores the exponential growth of professionals in the legal ecosystem and the potential of generative AI to revolutionize the practice of law. Terri emphasizes the importance of staying informed and engaged in the rapidly changing tech landscape.