LawDroid Manifesto Podcast

Ruby Powers, immigration attorney and co-vice chair of ABA Tech Show 2026, shares her transformative journey from attendee to leader at this essential legal tech conference. She reveals tips for maximizing networking opportunities and highlights valuable resources like CLE credits and vendor demos. Ruby emphasizes the conference's 'magical' atmosphere, making it a must for all legal professionals. Listeners also learn about exciting upcoming panels, including discussions on AI receptionists and resilience, making this an unmissable event in Chicago.

Kim Bennett, co-founder of Fidu and managing attorney at Kay Bennett Law, is revolutionizing legal services with her focus on subscription and flat fee models. She discusses how she's creating client-centered solutions to enhance access to justice while aiding legal professionals in building sustainable practices. Kim emphasizes the growing importance of AI in the legal field and the urgent need for a shift towards value-based pricing. She shares insights on designing authentic legal practices that serve underserved communities and the impact of entrepreneurship on her family life.

Hey there Legal Rebels! 👋 I’m excited to share with you the 51st episode of the 2025 season of the LawDroid Manifesto podcast, where I will be continuing to interview key legal innovators to learn how they do what they do. I think you’re going to enjoy this one!I have had the pleasure of working with Scheree Gilchrist for a few years now and her ingenuity and resourcefulness have always been impressive. I welcomed the chance to learn more about her in this interview and what makes her tick. Because of her mission-driven dedication to helping people access justice, I have dubbed her, “The Fearless Catalyst.”If you want to understand how to transform legal aid delivery through fearless innovation and truly center services around the people who need them most, you need to listen to this episode. Scheree is at the forefront of legal aid innovation and brings a uniquely purposeful and compassionate perspective to leveraging technology for access to justice.LawDroid Manifesto is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Scaling Justice Through Fearless Client-Centered InnovationJoin me as I interview Scheree Gilchrist, Chief Innovation Officer at Legal Aid of North Carolina.In this insightful podcast episode, Scheree shares her journey from growing up between Jamaica and the United States to becoming a pioneering force in legal aid innovation. She dives deep into how she’s transforming the way vulnerable North Carolinians access critical legal services through technology, including the Justice Hub portal that integrates AI chatbots, client messaging, document management, and resource referrals into a seamless experience. Scheree demonstrates how her team is meeting clients where they are—whether that’s at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday or any other time they need help.Her stories and insights underscore her fearless approach to innovation, rooted in her experiences as a junior lawyer in rural North Carolina where she witnessed firsthand the circuitous nature of legal aid work. This episode is a must-watch for anyone curious about how technology can break down barriers to justice and create meaningful impact for underserved communities.The SkinnyScheree Gilchrist, Chief Innovation Officer at Legal Aid of North Carolina, shares her journey from splitting her childhood between Jamaica and the United States to becoming a transformative force in legal services innovation. With a deeply client-centered philosophy developed during her time as a junior attorney in rural North Carolina, Scheree demonstrates how she’s leading the development of Justice Hub—a comprehensive portal that integrates intake, AI assistance through Leah, client communications, document management, and resource referrals. Throughout the conversation, Scheree emphasizes that her work is driven by a singular mission: solving problems for people who would otherwise have no access to legal information or the courts, breaking the endless cycle of poverty that traps vulnerable communities. Her Jamaican resilience and optimism, combined with her strategic use of technology and unwavering focus on client needs, exemplifies what fearless innovation looks like in the legal services space.Key Takeaways:* Scheree’s client-centered philosophy stems from her early experiences as a junior lawyer witnessing clients caught in a circuitous cycle of returning for help because their interconnected legal, social, and other needs weren’t fully addressed* Justice Hub represents a comprehensive approach to client services—a “MyChart for legal” that allows clients to apply for services, message attorneys, upload documents, chat with the AI assistant Leah, and access resources all in one portal* The portal meets clients where they are, enabling them to access services at 2 a.m. or whenever they need help, eliminating barriers like taking time off work to visit physical offices* Cherie grew up splitting time between Jamaica, New York, and Florida, attending school and law school in Jamaica, which shaped her culturally Jamaican identity and resilient, optimistic approach to challenges* Her path to innovation began as a practicing attorney questioning “how can we make this better?” rather than accepting the status quo of legal service delivery* The work-life balance myth: Cherie candidly shares that true balance doesn’t exist—instead, it’s about prioritizing what matters each day, having strong support systems, and being honest about the full investment required to achieve meaningful goals* Her motivation remains focused on the end goal: helping people who would otherwise have absolutely no access to legal services or courts, moving them out of the endless cycle of poverty* Jamaicans are warm, friendly, and optimistic by nature—cultural traits that inform Cherie’s approach to her work and her resilient response to challengesNotable Quotes:* “We’re in the middle of trying to launch our new intake portal and get that off the ground and also deal with the holidays. You know, I said it’s kind of like you got to hurry up before you could take some time off. Like you got to accelerate before you decelerate.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:01:17-00:01:29)* “I like to think of it as my chart for legal. It’s not quite there yet. But if you think of what that could be, where somebody who is applying for services at a legal aid program has just anything they need done, they can get it done in their portal, right?” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:02:02-00:02:17)* “We’re meeting people where they are. If it’s the middle of the night and they need to get something to us, they can do that. If they need to shoot off a message, that message will be there in the morning.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:03:11-00:03:20)* “One of the things that struck me was just the circuitous nature of our work as a legal services attorney, because we were dealing just with the legal problems, but our clients come to us as sort of the intersection of legal, social, and other needs.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:04:05-00:04:24)* “I have always questioned, how can we make this better? How can we help our clients? How can we meet them where they are? How can we solve as many problems for them as we can, knowing that we’re attorneys and we’re not gonna be able to address everything, but how can we solve them or at least direct them in the right path?” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:04:33-00:04:53)* “I actually grew up in Jamaica. I split my time between Jamaica, New York and Florida. So my mom has always lived here in the U.S. and my dad lived in Jamaica. And so I’ve always split my time between the U.S. and Jamaica. But I went to school in Jamaica, went to law school in Jamaica. I feel more Jamaican.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:05:47-00:06:07)* “Jamaicans are resilient people, right? We’re warm and friendly and optimistic by nature. I think that’s just culturally who we are.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:06:26-00:06:35)* “This is my opinion. There is no work-life balance. There is prioritizing. And what takes priority, that changes day to day.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:42:03-00:42:13)* “I think it’s a disservice for anybody who is driven and successful, and that drive allowed them to be successful to then say, Oh, you should have work-life balance. Because I guarantee you, if you look at their path to success, there was no balance on that path to success.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:43:37-00:43:52)* “You cannot realize a goal without a full investment and commitment to get into that goal. But I think along the way, you have to figure out how do you juggle? How do you manage your priorities? What sort of support system you need to have around you?” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:44:26-00:44:43)* “I think at the end of the day, it’s still the people that we serve. I get a lot of satisfaction from solving problems for people who I know were their last hope in some situations, right?” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:45:42-00:45:58)* “I look at our clients and the people that we work with, but for legal aid attorneys and others who are willing to give up their time, pro bono volunteers and others who are willing to give up their time and efforts, you’re talking about people who would have absolutely no access to basic legal information, no access to the courts, and just they would be stuck in an endless cycle of poverty.” - Scheree Gilchrist (00:45:58-00:46:27)ClipsBalance Is Misleading For The Driven There Is No Balance—PrioritizeWhy Rental Assistance Matters Curiosity Beats ConformityScheree’s journey reflects the power of questioning the status quo and refusing to accept that “this is how we’ve always done it.” From her earliest days as a junior lawyer in rural North Carolina, she saw the limitations of a system that only addressed one piece of her clients’ complex, interconnected problems. Rather than accept this reality, she made it her mission to transform how legal aid serves vulnerable communities.What stands out most is Scheree’s unwavering focus on the people she serves. Every technological innovation, every process improvement, every strategic decision is filtered through one lens: does this help people who would otherwise have no access to justice? This clarity of purpose, combined with her Jamaican resilience and optimism, makes her a truly fearless catalyst for change in the legal services space.Closing ThoughtsAs someone who’s worked with Scheree and Legal Aid of North Carolina, I can tell you that her fearless approach to innovation isn’t just talk—it’s deeply embedded in everything she does. What makes her particularly effective is that her innovations aren’t driven by technology for technology’s sake. They’re driven by a fundamental commitment to the people who need help most.The Justice Hub portal she’s launching represents something profound in legal services: a recognition that clients are consumers too, and they deserve the same level of convenience and accessibility that they experience in other parts of their lives. Why should someone have to take time off work and physically visit an office when they could access help at 2 a.m. from their phone?What strikes me most about Scheree’s perspective on work-life balance is her honesty. Too often, successful people present a sanitized version of their journey, suggesting that you can achieve extraordinary things without extraordinary commitment. Scheree tells it like it is: achieving meaningful goals requires full investment, strategic prioritization, and strong support systems. It’s not balance—it’s the juggle.For our Legal Rebels community, Scheree’s story offers both inspiration and a practical blueprint. Real innovation in legal services doesn’t come from grand theories or expensive consultants. It comes from lawyers who care enough about their clients to ask “how can we make this better?” and then have the courage to actually change things.As we close out 2024 and head into 2025, Scheree’s work reminds us what this is all about: breaking down barriers, expanding access, and ensuring that vulnerable people aren’t stuck in endless cycles of poverty because they can’t access basic legal help. That’s the kind of fearless, purposeful innovation our profession desperately needs. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe

In this engaging discussion, Jack Brandt, a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and founder of Military Benefits Assistant, shares his journey from paying for graduate school to aiding fellow service members in accessing their education benefits. He explains how his tool evolved from a custom ChatGPT to a rule-based guided interview system, proving that sometimes traditional logic can outperform advanced AI. Jack emphasizes the importance of understanding user needs and how legal innovation doesn't require tech expertise, just a focus on service.

In this episode of LawDroid Manifesto, Tom Martin interviews Antti Innanen, co-founder of Legit and author of the upcoming book Prompted, about his refreshingly unconventional approach to legal innovation and AI adoption.Antti shares his journey from self-described bad student and philosophy dropout in Finland to leading voice in legal design and AI experimentation. Operating from sunny Alicante, Spain, he runs an AI consulting studio, maintains a legal design practice, and even teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a black belt—all while building cutting-edge AI agent prototypes for law firms.Discover how Antti's background in legal design shapes his approach to making AI more accessible and human-centered, why he believes playful experimentation beats rigid frameworks, and what his self-driving law firm prototype reveals about the future of legal services. Learn his secrets for balancing multiple pursuits while staying focused on meaningful work over financial success.For show notes, key takeaways, and timestamps of notable quotes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe

In this powerful episode, I interview Jim Sandman—President Emeritus of Legal Services Corporation and current Penn Law faculty member—about his extraordinary journey from 30 years in big law to becoming one of the most influential voices in access to justice.Jim shares the formative experiences that shaped his path, from his parents' emphasis on service to early pro bono work defending Vista volunteers, to an unexpected role as general counsel of D.C. Public Schools that would prepare him for leading the nation's largest civil legal aid funder.Most importantly, Jim reveals why he believes artificial intelligence represents the greatest opportunity he's seen to expand access to justice—not just by making legal aid organizations more efficient, but ultimately by putting the law directly in people's hands in clear, comprehensible terms.This episode offers invaluable insights on leadership, finding your calling later in career, achieving work-life balance, and the multi-pronged approach needed to truly democratize legal services. Whether you're interested in legal technology, access to justice, or simply how to build a meaningful career in law, Jim's story will inspire and inform.Learn more about the future of legal innovation at www.lawdroidmanifesto.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe

Join host Tom Martin for an illuminating conversation with Brian Liu, founder of LegalZoom and one of the most influential figures in legal technology history. In this episode, Brian shares his journey from creating a company that democratized legal services for millions to his current ventures addressing ongoing gaps in legal access.Brian discusses Elm Tree Law, inspired by his own frustrating experience trying to get estate planning help for his parents, which focuses on making lawyer-prepared living trusts more approachable and user-friendly. He also explains Overture Law, a vetted referral network helping solo practitioners serve clients across jurisdictions in an increasingly complex legal landscape.What sets this episode apart is Brian's refreshingly optimistic perspective on AI's role in law. While many predict fewer lawyers, Brian argues there may actually be more—freed by AI to focus on the human relationships and trust that remain essential to legal practice. He reminds us that behind every legal document is someone's dream, and that understanding this human element is what truly drives transformation in legal services.Discover practical insights on building legal technology that expands access to justice while keeping human needs at the center. For exclusive content and deeper insights from legal innovators like Brian, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com to join our community of legal rebels transforming the profession. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe

Dorna Moini didn't set out to build legal tech infrastructure—she started by trying to automate forms for legal aid organizations. That practical approach led her to create Gavel, the platform now powering major legal tech companies and enabling lawyers to transform traditional practices into scalable legal products.In this episode, Dorna shares her journey from big law to building technology that serves as the backbone for companies like Hello Divorce and Just Tech. She reveals how lawyers are using Gavel to work from anywhere while serving more clients, why specialization beats generalization in building a career, and how her latest AI innovation helps lawyers draft better contracts by learning from their firm's institutional knowledge. With over 100 law schools using Gavel and legal aid organizations scaling their impact, Dorna's story shows how solving real problems leads to transformative technology.Learn how automation is democratizing legal services and discover practical strategies for building in legal tech at www.lawdroidmanifesto.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe

In this compelling episode, Tom Martin interviews Greg Siskind, founding partner at Siskind Susser and creator of VisaLaw.ai, about his remarkable three-decade journey in immigration law. Greg shares how he nearly left the legal profession before discovering immigration law, which he found fascinating due to its deep connection to American history. He discusses his current work challenging a $100,000 H-1B tariff affecting everyone from tech workers to rural teachers and priests, demonstrating the real-world impact of immigration policy.Greg reveals his synergistic approach to building multiple successful ventures simultaneously—from practicing law to authoring eight books to creating award-winning AI tools. He explains how his 4,000-page AILA practice manual became the foundation for VisaLaw.ai and shares practical strategies for managing diverse responsibilities by finding ways each project reinforces the others.This episode offers valuable insights for lawyers interested in building multifaceted careers that combine practice, innovation, and advocacy. Discover how Greg leverages technology and delegation to stay at the forefront of a rapidly evolving field while maintaining his passion for helping immigrants achieve their American dream.For more in-depth legal innovation content and exclusive interviews with leading legal tech pioneers, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe

In this episode, I interview Ted Theodoropoulos, CEO of InfoDash and 2024 ILTA Innovative Leader of the Year, about his 32-year entrepreneurial journey and his unique approach to building legal technology that lawyers actually appreciate using.Ted shares how InfoDash evolved from Acrowire's bespoke consulting work into an integrated intranet platform that eliminates the "toggling tax"—the 9% of time information workers lose switching between applications. He discusses his practice of dedicating 30 minutes each morning to pure thinking time, which has generated breakthrough insights for his company.We explore why Ted believes the legal market will transform completely within three to five years, how AI integration through existing infrastructure will accelerate this change, and why he's committed to building a company where innovation thrives rather than dies. His perspective on sustainable entrepreneurship, customer success, and creating meaningful work offers valuable lessons for anyone in legal technology.Discover practical approaches to legal innovation and learn why dedicated thinking time might be the most productive part of your day. Explore more insights and join our community of legal innovators at www.lawdroidmanifesto.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/subscribe