Fringe Legal Presents Bots @ Work

Helen Fan, AI and legal-tech practitioner who built an AI-native law firm, shares her OpenClaw experiment with two agents, Morgan and Cleo. She explains agent-to-agent argument reports, the technical and security pain of agent frameworks, and the Legal AI Value Stack. Hear why workflow orchestration and guardrails matter, and how AI-native and traditional firms are moving on different timelines.

Michael T. Brown, a practicing lawyer and AI builder with a VFX and startup background, tells how curiosity and no-code tools helped him win Anthropic’s Opus hackathon. He discusses rapid one-week learning sprints, prompt and context engineering, moving from chat to agents and vision pipelines, handling sensitive data, and designing systems that improve with each model upgrade.

Jennifer Waite, Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer with a background in law librarianship and data strategy. She recounts her librarian-to-leader journey. She explores AI adoption, vendor partnerships, and governance. She highlights managing costs, building reusable AI tools, and upskilling teams for future-ready legal work.

Ted Theodoropoulos, CEO of InfoDash and legal tech veteran, guides listeners through real-world AI in law with clear, practical examples. He explains vibe coding and its limits. He breaks down why firms underinvest in tech, what separates adopters from holdouts, and why empathy will grow as AI handles more legal work.

Kelli Raker, an expert in legal technology, Leigh Zeiser, a legal tech consultant, and Eli Makus, a specialist in workplace investigations, discuss the innovative RAILS initiative focused on responsible AI in law. They explore the initiative's origins and the ethical frameworks being developed to bridge AI knowledge gaps in the legal sector. The conversation highlights the importance of equitable AI access, risk management, and fostering AI literacy among legal professionals. They emphasize collaboration and the potential risks and opportunities AI presents in legal services.

James Markham, co-author of 'The Legal MBA' with a knack for operational improvement, and Darren Mee, an expert in process strategy, discuss transforming legal education. They highlight the vital need for legal professionals to embrace broader business principles to boost efficiency in law firms. The duo shares insights on integrating legal technology effectively and the challenges firms face in tech adoption. Additionally, they introduce the Legal MBA Academy, offering workshops aimed at refining legal business skills for increased client profitability.

In this episode of Fringe Legal, recorded live from ILTACON 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, Ab sits down with JoeySeeber, CEO of Level Legal. Joey discusses the journey and growth of Level Legal over 15 years, starting during the Great Recession. The conversation delves into various aspects of building a business for longevity, maintaining a startup mindset in a small company, and delivering services in a human-centric way. Joey shares insights on their framework and principles for doing business, client feedback, handling competition, and the role of technology in enhancing efficiency. Read the episode takeaways at: https://www.fringelegal.com/balancing-technology-and-human-connection-in-legal-services-with-joey-seeber

Stefan Ciesla, Co-founder and CEO of Ayora.ai, discusses how Ayora's smart lockup assistant helps fee earners in law firms make revenue management decisions. The assistant scans a firm's data related to matters and provides recommendations on monitoring scope, estimates, budgets, resourcing, and billing. The challenge of balancing AI with human control and building trust in the recommendations is emphasized. Key takeaways: Ayora's assistant helps fee earners improve revenue management skills, prioritizes transparency and user consent, and never takes action without the attorney's knowledge.

Conan Hines, Director of Legal Technology at Fried Frank, discusses the importance of building a tech-enabled culture in law firms. He emphasizes the need for trust, starting small, and balancing short-term impact with long-term goals. The role of vendors and incentives for adoption are also explored. Integrating technology training into legal training and demonstrating the value of technology are key. Having fun, stepping away, and embracing hobbies and perspectives are also highlighted as important aspects of problem-solving in a tech-enabled culture.

Abdi Shayesteh, founder and CEO of AltaClaro, discusses reinventing legal education and training. AltaClaro uses experiential learning techniques to provide associates with hands-on practice. The podcast covers Abdi's early entrepreneurial experiences, issues with traditional law firm training, learning science principles used by AltaClaro, and training trends for law firms in 2023.