Technically Legal - A Legal Technology and Innovation Podcast

Our guest this time is Vishal Agnihotri, Chief Knowledge Officer (or “CKO”) for Hinshaw & Culbertson. As CKO, Vishal is responsible for the firm’s knowledge management programs.  Vishal has a great definition for KM: the ability to identify critical knowledge within an organization and then leveraging it to serve up at the right time for the right purpose. Vishal explains that law firms are great candidates for knowledge management and law firm CKOs must work closely with the firm’s Chief Information Officers and Chief Marketing Officers. For law firms and legal departments interested in implementing a knowledge management program, Vishal says the first step is determining what constitutes “critical knowledge” and to use tools to organize that critical information. She suggests a good starting point is a collaboration platform to share knowledge and pose questions and to also utilize a good intranet for the organization.  We also talk to Jeff Kerr, the CEO of CaseFleet. A case chronology and management tool for lawyers that helps attorneys review evidence, organize facts, and identify trends in legal matters. Jeff also points out that CaseFleet is also used by investigative reporters and expert witnesses. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

In this episode, we sit down with Keith Maziarek, Director of Pricing and Legal Project Management for the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman. Keith explains that law firms are adding pricing positions because of economic pressures and client demands. Clients are demanding changes in the way they are billed (AFAs or “alternative fee arrangements”) and also demanding that law firms become more efficient. Keith also explains how project management and pricing legal services go hand in hand because to properly forecast the cost of a legal project, a thorough understanding of how the work will be done and what resources are needed is necessary. Keith notes that fixed fees are not the only type of AFA out there. He discusses fee collars and success based legal fees. Keith explains how pricing fits into law firm marketing efforts and why sometimes it is best not to bid on work at all if it is not a good fit for the law firm. In our Legal Founder Segment we talk to Kevin Miller, the CEO of Legal Sifter, an app that uses artificial intelligence to help people negotiate contracts with speed and providing advice from company leaders and lawyers in seconds. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

In Episode 14 we talk to Barry Solomon, lawyer, former BigLaw CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and current President of Foundation Software Group. Foundation develops experience management software for law firms. Barry distinguishes marketing from business development and explains how the two should work together. Barry says the key to good business development is to really listen to clients about their needs. Barry also discusses the benefits of using of technology to gather data and track marketing metrics. He points out that much of the data helpful to improve marketing efforts is often found in software law firms already use (such as billing and timekeeping software, matter management software and the like). Barry’s tip for law firms wanting to get serious about marketing, but still testing the waters, is to have two programs in place: 1) a program to gather client feedback; and 2) a program in place to train lawyers how to develop business.   We also talk with Daniel Goldstein, the Founder of Trust & Will, an online tool to create, edit, store, and share a trust and will. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

For Lucky Episode 13, we talk to Justine Gottshall about data privacy laws. Specifically, about the GDPR and California’s Consumer Privacy Act.Justine is a partner at InfoLaw Group, where she counsels clients on data privacy, technology, information governance, consumer protection, and digital marketing issues. Justine began her career as a Washington D.C. litigator and was involved in the FTC’s first data privacy investigation.In this podcast, Justine explains to whom the GDPR and CCPA apply and the protections the laws give consumers. Justine also explains that law firms are not immune from data privacy laws.We also talk to former bankruptcy attorney Morris Massel about the company he founded, CourtSolutions, The company provides an efficient way for judges and lawyers to make telephonic court appearances.

Jae Um, founder of Six Parsecs, discusses the challenges law firms face in the 'new normal' and how they must compete for business. She also emphasizes the importance of data visualization in understanding information and shares insights on the slow pace of change in the legal industry. The podcast also features an interview with Jason Boehmig, founder of Ironclad, a contract management platform.

In this episode we connect with Zach Abramowitz, lawyer, legal tech writer and entrepreneur. Zach left the practice of law to launch ReplyAll.me, a tool that lets users conduct live conversations and embed them on a website as the conversation unfolds. We talk to Zach about trends in legal tech, how lessons learned by e-discovery software companies helped pave the way for other legal tech apps and why law firms are positioned to develop legal tech software. In Episode 10, we also talk to Catherine Krow, also an attorney and the founder of Digitory Legal, a cloud based legal budgeting and resource management platform. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

For Episode 9 we visited Gabriel Teninbaum, Director of the Institute on Legal Innovation and Technology and a legal writing professor at Suffolk University School of Law. Suffolk’s Legal Innovation Institute has three programs: A legal tech concentration for law students, the LIT Lab, and an online legal tech certificate program. Gabe also developed an called Spaced Repetition that helps law students with their studies and to prepare for the bar exam. In this episode, we also talk to Rick Merrill, the founder of Gavelytics, an AI powered database containing information about judges, their tendencies and rulings. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

In Episode 8, we talk to Angie Hickey, CEO of the Chicago based law firm Levenfeld Pearlstein. Angie discusses the benefits of business people holding leadership positions in law firms. Angie explains that one of the main benefits of hiring business people to help run law firms is that it permits lawyers to spend more time doing what they are trained to do–practice law. Angie also points out that when law firms implement business strategies and systems, the client experience is improved. Angie also discusses why collecting feedback is a must for improvement and that when business minded people get involved with law firms, they might have to push for change lawyers may not always want to make. We also talk to legal tech founder Michael Chasin about Lexicata, a CRM (customer relationship management) and client intake app designed specifically for law firms. Lexicata helps lawyers stay on top of leads, automate client intake forms and provides analytics and insight into marketing efforts and referral sources so law firms can make better business decisions. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

In Episode 7 we talked to Augie Rakow and Max Cantor of the legal tech startup, Atrium. Augie is one of Atrium’s founders and Max heads up Atrium’s artificial intelligence efforts. Atrium is actually two companies: Atrium LLP, a law firm focused on providing legal services to start-ups, and Atrium LTS (Legal Technology Services), the company providing operational and technological support to Atrium LLP. Augie founded Atrium with Justin Kan, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and former partner at Y Combinator. The talk with Augie and Max is wide ranging: Augie’s studies at divinity school, Max’s hobby of flying planes, why Atrium was founded and how it differs from the conventional law firm model. Augie and Max also discuss the tech Atrium is developing and their future plans. In this episode we also talk to Jeremiah Kelman of Everchron, a great collaborative case management platform for litigators. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.

For Episode 6, we sat down with D. Casey Flaherty at the Legal Tech conference in New York City.  Casey talked about a few things: how many lawyers struggle to master everyday technology, his experience as corporate counsel and the efforts he took in that role to improve the way company lawyers did their jobs. But, a good chunk of the conversation focused on Casey's belief that inefficiencies in legal service delivery will not change until clients demand change.   In this episode, we also talk to Haley Altman, the founder of Doxly.  A legal transaction management platform used by transactional and M&A lawyers to stay organized when they are working on and closing deals. Technically Legal is hosted by Chad Main, an attorney and the founder of Percipient, a tech-enabled alternative legal services provider.