Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Rick Weber, the co-founder and managing partner of Arbor Ridge Partners, a Legal Technology and Legal Services M&A advisory firm. We discussed the current state of M&A for legal technology and legal services companies, the difference between private equity and venture capital in the context of M&A, and where M&A in legal is headed.

I spoke with Jamie Berry, the litigation business unit leader at Integreon, a global provider of managed services. We discussed Integreon’s new Cyber Incident Response initiative, how cyber incident response differs from cyber or data breach response, the types of matters for which cyber incident response is best suited, and how this area is developing.

I spoke with Felicity Conrad, the co-founder & CEO of Paladin, a software platform that empowers pro bono activities in law firms, Christian Lang, the head of strategy at Reynen Court, a secure platform for law firms and corporate legal departments to adopt and manage their software, and Anna McGrane, the co-founder and COO of PacerPro, a system that simplifies access to Pacer, the online federal court filings system. We discussed New York University Law School’s series on legal technology, including its upcoming program on October 15, 2019.

I spoke with Tomas Suros, the chief solutions architect at AbacusNext, the maker of HotDocs, a document automation software platform, AbacusLaw, a legal practice management solution, and Amicus Attorney, a case management system. We discussed the technology trends that are driving progress in law firms, their security challenges, how the transformation to digital platforms is helping firms reduce their cost of operating, and developments in leveraging the cloud in legal.

I spoke with Avaneesh Marwaha, the CEO of Litera Microsystems, a document lifecycle software provider. We discussed the company’s recent acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly, how Litera’s transaction management solution helps law firms, the alignment of transaction management and document drafting, and how this sector is evolving.

I spoke with Erez Bustan, the president and CEO of American LegalNet, a litigation workflow software company. We discussed the genesis of American LegalNet, the biggest challenges in litigation today, how the company’s new eFiling Portal from others in the marketplace, and the advantages of using an end-to-end litigation workflow platform.

I spoke with Sebastian Hartmann, the Global Head of Technology Strategy at KPMG in Frankfurt, Germany. We discussed his role at KPMG, how law firm and corporate leaders can scale and grow their businesses in the current environment, ways that technology is challenging the business model of traditional professional services firms, and how professional services firms are evolving.

I spoke with David Schnurman, the founder and CEO of Lawline, a leading provider of continuing legal education, and the author of The Fast Forward Mindset: How to Be Fearless & Focused to Accelerate Your Success (Highpoint Executive Publishing, 2019). We discussed his work at Lawline, the inspiration for The Fast Forward Mindset, the most impactful lesson in the book, its 30-day challenge, and suggestions for other entrepreneurs interested in writing a book, among other topics.

I had the privilege of interviewing Jeff McCoy, Haresh Bhungalia, David Horrigan, Shawn Gaines, Ed Walters, Erez Bustan, Patrick DiDomenico, Ian Campbell, Brad Blickstein, Warrick McLean, Helle Schwartz-Grossman, Caterina Latte, Kim Taylor, Craig Carpenter, Scott Wallingford, Scott Winter, Sarah Schaaf, Rick Weber, and Tony Caputo at ILTACON 2019 and this is a mash-up of their perspectives.

I spoke with David Alain Bloch, the co-founder and CEO of Legartis, a developer of an AI-powered contract intelligence software platform. We discussed the genesis of Legartis, ways that technology is influencing contract management, and how artificial intelligence-powered contracts are evolving.