The Legalpreneurs Sandbox

Contemporary legal practice may be tech fuelled but its also data driven. It's also increasingly less about imparting knowledge and more about sharing experience. The combination of knowledge and data analytics has created a new synergy that is guiding and even predicting where and how best to apply what we know to what we do as lawyers and allied legal professionals. It's spawned a whole new way to make decisions - more targeted, more accurate, more agile, better, faster and cheaper! In this podcast on Making Legal Decisions Differently – Knowledge management, data analytics and so much more…, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), was joined by an international panel of leaders and doers in this space from Australia and the USA: Carolyn Austin, Director of Knowledge and Practice Support, K&L Gates (Australia) Jon Metcalf, Principal Data Scientist, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (USA) Beth Patterson, Director, ESPconnect (Australia) Topics discussed included: What is knowledge management and data analytics? What do knowledge management and data specialists do? Is data important or all things in all types of legal practice, and if so, why? What's the relationship between tech, data and knowledge management? How and where are knowledge management and data analytics impacting legal practice? Carolyn, Jon and Beth – now we know knowledge management and data is this much fun, we'll all be calling you – thank you for a fabulous conversation! If you would prefer to listen rather than watch this session, we'll also be releasing this session as a webinar as part of our FREE Reinvent Legal Business Series 2 webinars - you'll find the details and registration links as we add them here.

As we reflect on the many changes in the legal ecosystem in the last 5 years, few specialist groups have evolved as quickly or had the same, significant impact as legal operations professionals. For example, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) evolved from a handful of people to thousands in what seemed like just a handful of years! So, we wanted to explore where legal ops came from and where it's going to in Legal Operations...Is it the new legal business game changer? In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) was joined by an international panel of the world's leading thought leaders and doers in this space: Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff/Sr. Director, Legal Operations, NetApp, Inc. (USA) Amanda Fajerman, Head of Legal Technology, LOD (Australia) Mick Sheehy, Partner, NewLaw, PwC (Australia) Topics discussed included: What legal operations is (and isn't) What legal ops professionals do Why legal ops has become a critical function in legal departments The key performance indicators for a first rate legal ops function The role of legal ops in the new legal ecosystem The connection between legal ops and the rise of Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) The emerging divide in focus, function and capabilities of lawyers in-house and in private practice The opportunities and challenges of COVID-19 for the legal ops function Thank you so much Connie, Mick and Amanda for a candid, insightful and information packed discussion – we love your work! P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar so, if you would like to watch it, you'll find it here.

One of the many things that has been innovated during the current lockdown is the nature, diversity and reach of our networks. We've not see global networking on this scale before and we wanted to chat about that and what trends might be consolidating for legal practice management with the folks who have been in the global networks and networking business for quite some time – Terralex. We spoke with the Chief Business Officer of Terralex, Terri Pepper Gavulic, and the topics included: How global networks like Terralex work How the shift from local to more regional and global networks and networking is impacting the legal industry Whether or not small and boutique law firms can or should have a global focus The importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal industry and in legal innovation Emerging themes and trends for law firm leaders and managers around the world Thank you so much for a fabulous discussion, Terri – we're delighted to have you and Terralex in our global network!

This podcast launched the Centre for Legal Innovation's (CLI) second series on Reinvent Legal Business (RLB 2). RLB 2 will explore areas like new legal businesses, new approaches to legal service and product delivery, new roles and, how all this combines. We're viewing these changes through a global lens in this series, so each session features specialists from more than one country - global thought leaders and doers who are shaping next practices and, share their knowledge and experience about how they got there (or are continuing their journey) and, their successes and failures along the way. In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, CLI, facilitated a panel discussion that focussed on The Case for Legal R&D – Legaltech Hubs and Innovation. Terri was joined by an amazing international panel of legal innovation/legaltech hub leaders from law schools and legal practice in Australia, India and the USA: Alice Armitage, Professor & Director of Applied Innovation, UC Hastings College of the Law (USA); Michelle Grossmann, Chief Innovation Officer & Transformation Lead, Lander & Rogers Lawyers | iHub (Australia); Komal Gupta, Head of Innovation, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (India); and Maya Markovich, Chief Growth Officer, Nextlaw Labs at Dentons (USA). Topics discussed included: What's the purpose of innovation/legaltech hubs? What do the people leading these hubs do? How do the hubs work, and who do they work with or for? How do the hubs contribute to legal innovation/legaltech development? Are these hubs reinventing lawyer/client relationships through experimentation and additional ways to collaborate? Have the hubs become the R&D function of the legal industry? This was an insightful, informative, candid and generous discussion – a conversation that will stay with you and have you buzzing for hours if not weeks after you listen to it. Thank you so much Alice, Michelle, Komal and Maya for a brilliant conversation – we are inspired by your amazing work and the difference it makes in the legal industry every day! P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar so, if you would like to watch it, you'll find it here.

In the second podcast in the area of crisis communications, we discussed what law firms should be focusing on now that the impact of COVID-19 is being felt so acutely. What should they be communicating with their people, clients and the market more broadly? What do Mid-Crisis Communications for Law Firms look like? We welcomed back communications guru Sharon de Bomford, Principal at Write Results to chat about all of this. We started by discussing the strategic or overarching considerations law firm leaders and managers might want to focus on right now and ended by discussing the evolving communications landscape – what's changed and what may never change! Topics discussed included: The role, importance and function of a communications plan or strategy and how our global focus on such things has laid a foundation for considering them differently How there has been a significant shift to and on internal communications, what's working and what's changing in popularity there How things are also changing in external communications and what we need to remain focussed on there How to combat communication fatigue, particularly as that relates to external communications The need for leaders and managers take a breath, acknowledge and understand the impact of all these communications on them Whether, at this point, we can see new ways to communicate emerging – old ways done differently, new ways done differently, all the interesting options and combinations in between, and maybe even some brand new ways to communicate too! Thank you so much, Sharon – another fabulous practical, helpful, important and inspiring session to encourage us all to keep the conversations going! If you would like to listen to the first podcast in this area by Sharon and Olivia Kruimel, Senior Marketing Manager, Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered Bank on The Dos and Don'ts of Internal and External Crisis Communications for Law Firms, you'll find it here.

In the tenth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we spoke with Fiona Craig, Principal of Fiona Craig consulting about Career Planning in a Crisis - is it possible? And, what a discussion it was - full of hopeful, helpful and insightful advice. We discussed Fiona's own career journey and how that led her to her passion, legal career coaching, and then jumped into a discussion packed full of practical tips and examples about things like: Managing uncertainty – how you can move from the grip of anxiety, fear and even retrenchment to arrive at a place where you can proactively seek your next opportunity Career planning – the importance of having a plan, implementing it, but also understanding the need for flexibility and agility when you are in the middle of changing realities over which you may have little or no control Performance reviews – how you can best prepare for, approach, and engage in discussion about things like salary increases and promotion during a crisis Preparing for a new reality – how you can identify trends that will impact you, use them to enhance your employability, and at the same time continue to maintain/expand your professional networks when you can't meet in person. Thank you so much, Fiona – so enjoyed this discussion - you're inspiring, encouraging and always amazing!

From February to June 2020, CLI held six roundtables throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Like all our roundtables since 2017, these discussions brought together industry thought leaders from law firms, legal departments, ALSPs, legaltech, and community legal centres, who shared their candid views and experience on what was really happening in practice. These discussion were, as they always are, a glimpse into the day to day challenges and opportunities of contemporary legal practice. The topic for discussion for this series was Beyond the Legal Innovation Hype, There Is….? It focused on getting into the nitty-gritty of what was really changing in the legal industry, if anything, what was driving change, and what would stick and become permanent. We wanted to understand and share experience on key trends and if they would prove to be a band aid solution applied in a crisis, or foundations stones to a systemic change to legal practice and, why any of this should matter to everyone in the legal ecosystem. In the middle of the series, the world changed - COVID 19 impacted the legal industry like every other - and forced our industry perhaps unlike most others, to embrace technology and change like never before. How and where this impacted legal practice then, now and in the future, was also discussed in this series. In this podcast, Terri Mottershead, Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific), identified and discussed the key trends that emerged from these roundtables with our panellists, this discussion also subsequently became the ninth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change. Our amazing panellists for this session were: Jemima Harris, Director, LOD Catriona Macleod, Director, Cullen Macleod Lawyers Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers Jennie Pakula, Manger, Innovation & Consumer Engagement, Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner Titus Rahiri, CEO & Founder, KorumLegal Rajesh Sreenivasan, Partner and Head Technology, Media & Telecommunications Director, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP Thank you so much, Jemima, Catriona, Warrick, Jennie, Titus and Rajesh – loved your insights as we love your work!

In the eighth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed with Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers, Flexible Working in the New World – and what a new world it has become! We kicked off with an explanation of what flexible working is today – it's not the same as it was – it's expanded in application and definition. Katherine analysed how the wide spread application of flexible work, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, has challenged myths and provided case studies around things like productivity, uptake, and access to talent but, how it's also been important to remember not everyone needs or wants to work this way. Katherine also discussed how the consequences of these wide-spread flexible work arrangements have been far reaching in the legal industry (and all others). The needs/expectations of individual employees have also been reflected in changing customer and business demands – they're all inter-related. And, what is being changed is likewise not just internal to firms/organisations like new business processes and project management, communication tools and expected outputs, but it's also given rise to new customer behaviours and the enhanced use of technology. It's unlikely law firms/organisations will return to the same work environment that they left pre COVID-19, even if they want to (and it's clear many do not), their employees or clients may not accept a reset to the old status quo. In the near future, work may become less about when people return to work and more about how and where! Thank you so much, Katherine – another fabulous thought provoking session! If you would like to listen to Katherine's other podcast in this series on Remote Working…in a crisis, you'll find it here. If you would prefer to watch it, you'll find it here. P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar so if you would like to watch it, you'll find it here.

In the seventh podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed how our world of legal work has been turned upside down with Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers in Remote Working…in a crisis. Working remotely has been on the agenda for law firms for a long time – not new! Moving your entire workforce to work from home at short notice – that's new! While the initial foray into this world was all about getting the tech connected, setting up the home office, and completing WH&S checklists, as we now know, some weeks in, where we work has become a catalyst for change that runs much deeper. As we undertake our work each day from home, we're witnessing and contributing to not only a proof of concept, but also the global transformation of how law firms can and are operating in a very different way. Working remotely is changing what work we do, how work is produced, how we work together: how we communicate, collaborate and trust. It's also brought about a renewed focus on mental health and well-being. It's challenging mindsets, the status quo, leadership and management structures, styles and even own assumptions. That's what Katherine focused on in this session – context, evidence and highly practical recommendations for leadership, management and individuals - and, in so doing, made it clear that wide scale remote working may have come to many quickly, demanding change, agility and experimentation that some were prepared for but many were not but, it also created a unique opportunity for law firms to embrace the future of work, TODAY! The question for us now is no longer if remote working can "work" (it can) but rather if the legal industry is willing to see this as a catalyst for change in law firms so, when we can return to the office, we make that decision (and many others related to it), because it is the best option, not just because it's what we did before… Thank you Katherine – informative, insightful and practical - we love your work! If you would like to view the webinar for this topic, you'll find it here. You'll find the Free Range Lawyers booklet referred to in this podcast on Remote working success for law firms available to download here.

In the sixth podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed the financial management of legal businesses with Warrick McLean, CEO, Coleman Greig Lawyers in Making the Best Financial Decisions in Times of Uncertainty (for Law Firms). We focused on the information law firm leaders and managers need to have in front of them daily right now but also, and importantly, the sorts of tools they can use to help plan for a changed and changing future like scenario planning and financial modelling. Thank you Warrick for sharing your experience – invaluable! If you would like to listen to Warrick's other podcast in this series on Assessing Your Financial Situation Right Now (for Law Firms), you'll find it here. P.S. This podcast was also recorded as a webinar. We will post the link to the video once it is available.