Reinventing Professionals

Lawyers and other professionals who offer free initial consultations have a new way to reinvent their practices thanks to Brendan Ludwick and Claudio Dunkelman, the founders of LawZam, a free online video conference service which connects lawyers and consumers. Learn more about their service in the video below, and listen to our interview during which we discuss the genesis of the company, what makes it unique, and how it facilitates more seamless communication.

The rise of big data is on the minds of many of those responsible information governance and I spoke with Doug Stewart, Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Daegis, a provider of eDiscovery solutions, which has just updated its eDiscovery Platform with Acumen, its Technology Assisted Review tool. We discussed the genesis of Acumen, the adoption rate of similar tools, the challenges, and its impact on the big data trend.

“Learning inspires change,” says David Schnurman, the president and CEO of Lawline.com, a leading provider of online continuing legal education that is transforming the way professionals educate themselves on the web. In a discussion about the company’s new Lawline 2.0 initiative, which is making the site’s entire archive of over a thousand hours of programming free, Schnurman notes that “Lawline’s mission has always been to change the way people learn and since we are transitioning from a service-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, we are helping our audience make that change more seamlessly.” In addition to providing CLE accreditation services in 43 states (including for this course), Lawline.com also offers CFP programs for those in financial services, and CPE courses for those in accounting, among other fields. A self-described “lifelong learner,” Schnurman wanted to give others the opportunity to actively engage with technology to enhance the learning experience. Lawline 2.0 allows viewers to take “smart” notes that automatically form reference-like outlines, record five-minute course summaries for future use, and dynamically share their newly acquired expertise.

I will be speaking at the Avvocating Conference in Seattle on May 4th and had the chance to speak with Avvo‘s CEO and Founder, Mark Britton. We discussed the genesis of the event and what attendees can expect.

I spoke today with Robert Hilson, the editorial director for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, which is hosting its 2012 Annual Conference next week (April 2-4) at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida. We discussed the organization’s growth, its impact on the legal community, and his expectations for the upcoming event.

I speak and write often about collaboration. My research has also shown that successful rainmakers work in tandem – they attend events together, participate in masterminding groups, and find ways to create opportunity for one another. A variety of firms in different industries across the globe connect with one another by developing a formal partnership. I spoke with Simon Truskett, a Sydney-based senior partner at Clayton Utz in the firm’s Corporate Advisory / M&A group, who is the new chair of Lex Mundi, a global association of independent law firms, with 160 member firms in 102 countries.

At Legal Tech NY 2012, I had the opportunity to speak with Jim Hammond, the Vice President for Global Marketing at Aderant about the company’s recent acquisitions and the cohesion of its various brands. He noted that the new company has a wider footprint in legal, financial, and practice management systems with Client Profiles; is fully integrating Compulaw for a seamless integration; and has a larger market share with CRM for business development used by firms all around the world. He described it as “one company with multiple products” that is focusing on providing high value to its clients.

In anticipation of Legal Tech, I spoke with George Tziahanas, the senior vice president for legal and compliance solutions at Autonomy. We discussed the rise of meaning-based coding, the convergence of Stratify and Introspect, and the changing landscape for information governance.

In anticipation of attending Legal Tech New York next week, I wanted to share this conversation with Paul Unger of Affinity Consulting Group about reinvention in law practice management. He discusses the impact of cloud computing, online learning, and how the use of technology in the courtroom is “breathing new life into what [lawyers] do.” 

Following my recent presentation at the London School of Economics, I had the chance to speak with Peter Rouse, the founder of Case Record about trends in confidential online communication. We discussed alternatives to e-mail and the management of concurrent confidential communication, as well as the need to coordinate and track conversations more easily. Rouse noted that Case Record leverages the social media ‘wall’ model in a secure environment and adapts it for professional services.