Hilary Bowman built Querious to solve the most frustrating moment in legal practice - when something unexpected comes up in a client meeting and the lawyer has to say "let me research and follow up."

After more than a decade as a healthcare attorney at law firms and in-house at enterprises like IBM, she founded Querious to sit inside attorney-client conversations on Zoom, Teams, or phone and surface issues, questions, and follow-ups in real time.

In this conversation, she flips the usual AI for lawyers script and asks what these tools actually do for clients - why most clients want a relationship partner instead of a black box, why timely follow-ups beat fancy portals, and how language tools finally let lawyers meet clients where they are.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆's 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarybowman/
https://www.querious.ai/

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction
0:50 - Meet Hilary
2:03 - What Querious does in a client meeting
2:45 - From healthcare law to founding a startup
4:10 - What clients actually want from a lawyer
5:21 - The lawyer as relationship partner and traffic cop
6:55 - The black box problem of hourly billing
7:30 - Bridging asymmetries between lawyer and client
8:03 - Why law can't have a Domino's Pizza tracker
10:36 - The most powerful LLM unlock for clients
12:38 - Where AI ends and creative lawyering begins
14:22 - Change costs and tool adoption
15:55 - Speed to value: narrowing the scope
17:45 - Building feedback loops with clients
20:18 - One thing to implement on Monday
22:15 - Connect with Hilary

AI tools won't solve your overwhelm if your processes are the problem. John Grant is a fourth-generation lawyer turned workflow consultant. He spent a decade in tech before practicing law, and another eleven years helping firms fix how work actually moves. In this conversation, he breaks down the "magical thinking" behind AI adoption, why the real bottleneck is almost never where lawyers think it is, and how speeding up the wrong step actually makes everything worse. He also explains the concepts of "definition of done" and "definition of ready," why legal has an immature relationship with quality assurance, and what courts are already seeing as AI-assisted filings flood systems that aren't built to handle them.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnegrant/
https://agileattorney.com https://greenlinelegal.com

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox.

➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster

➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction
0:42 - Meet John Grant
2:13 - What is Greenline?
3:18 - AI hasn't reduced work
4:30 - The optimism bias and the planning fallacy
6:00 - AI and the last mile problem
7:09 - Output vs. productivity: the developer study
8:06 - Effort is not value
9:21 - Reimagining what value actually means
10:00 - There's only one bottleneck
11:16 - Why improving the wrong step makes things worse
12:10 - AI-assisted pro se filings are flooding courts
13:45 - More but worse vs. less but better
14:00 - Where bottlenecks actually form in legal
15:27 - Legal's immature relationship with quality assurance
16:15 - Quality control is chosen friction
17:21 - Definition of done and definition of ready
18:06 - Failure demand and rework
19:29 - Lawyering is a caregiving profession
22:39 - The board game analogy: multiple ways to lose
23:32 - The Agile Attorney 101 podcast series
25:04 - Takeaway: AI won't solve overwhelm without design
25:38 - Connect with John

In this episode, Mike walks through the New York City Bar's recent opinion on using AI to record, transcribe, and summarize client conversations, and boils it down to four duties you probably already follow.

Then mediator Wendy Meadows shares her full workflow, including Fathom for capture, Clio for document production, Spellbook for quality control, and how it turned a two-hour MOU into a 20-minute job. Michael Eisenberg breaks down consent rules, one-party vs. two-party states, and why none of this is actually new.

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox.
➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster
➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

https://www.linkedin.com/company/spellbookai/posts/?feedView=all
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewhelanjr/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottas/

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
0:00 - Introduction
1:46 - The New York City Bar opinion (Formal Opinion 20256)
2:45 - Risk 1: Consent and one-party vs. two-party states
4:48 - Risk 2: Confidentiality and ABA Rule 1.6(c)
6:06 - Risk 3: What if the client records the call?
8:46 - Why these rules aren't new
9:05 - Wendy's practice: mediator on Zoom all day
10:00 - Turn off the defaults
10:51 - Using it like an associate
12:27 - Drafting direct examination from a transcript
13:08 - Spellbook as the quality control layer
14:48 - Predicting the future: insights in context
16:01 - Why the good outweighs the bad
16:37 - Connect with Wendy and Michael

Contract review is tedious, but missing something can be expensive.

In this episode, Chris Brown of Pixel Law shares his screen as he reviews a 56-page Asset Purchase Agreement using Spellbook.

See how effective AI tools can help you:

- Surface unknown risks, - Draft clauses like indemnification and delivery terms, and - Update you on substantive legal issues within a contract.

Chris also shares how he uses Spellbook for a "second opinion," and why he believes AI will change the practice of law.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepixellawyer/

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction

0:37 - What contract review looked like before AI

1:52 - The document: a 56-page asset purchase agreement

2:11 - High-level risk overview

4:18 - Diving into indemnification

8:25 - Non-compete analysis and Florida law

10:46 - Breaking down the purchase price

15:08 - Reps and warranties review (35 issues in 9 pages)

17:52 - Running the same prompt twice for a second opinion

18:24 - Closing deliveries and what's missing

22:08 - Catching missing terms across the document

24:44 - Compare to Market feature

28:35 - What stood out most from the process

29:51 - When to trust AI vs. your own judgment

31:00 - How to get started with AI tools

32:09 - Wrap up

What happens if your client asks ChatGPT for advice about their case? Is that discoverable? Is it your fault if you didn't warn them it might be? Leslie Bender and Craig Linton join the show to unpack two cases: Heppner and Warner v Gilbarco, that seem to reach opposite conclusions as judges try to draw lines around privilege, work product, and AI in an area where the rules haven't caught up to the tools.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1RqIrtqTgbng2BGuzr4aAq

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-in-practice/id1846506529

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lescbender/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigalinton/

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox.

➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster

➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

https://www.linkedin.com/company/spellbookai/posts/?feedView=all

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewhelanjr/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottas/

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction

1:49 - Meet Leslie Bender 2:31 - Meet Craig Linton

3:31 - Attorney-client privilege and work product 101

5:54 - Clients have always gone rogue with case info

8:00 - The Heppner case: a CEO, AI, and a 31-point memo

11:21 - Does it matter if the lawyer directed it?

13:00 - Warner v Gilbarco: the pro se counterpoint

16:08 - What discoverability means for pro se litigants

19:21 - Assume your AI self-help is discoverable

21:37 - The engagement letter hack

23:19 - Should we encourage or discourage client AI use?

25:06 - Lawyers as AI consumers: is Claude enough?

28:10 - Reasonable privacy expectations vs. the fine print

30:49 - Three predictions for the next 10 years

33:06 - Connect with Leslie and Craig

Kyle Westaway has run his firm for 17 years without ever tracking a billable hour. In this conversation, he breaks down why he believes 75% of a lawyer's value has nothing to do with documents—and why that makes AI a tailwind, not a threat, for firms built around outcomes instead of time. He also shares how he prices work without defaulting to hourly estimates, why clarity with clients takes courage, and what it means to design a law firm from first principles.

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

https://ca.linkedin.com/company/spellbookai https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewhelanjr https://ca.linkedin.com/in/scottas

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction 1:14 - Meet Kyle Westaway 2:30 - Starting a firm fresh out of law school 4:00 - Designing a firm for startups from first principles 5:00 - What do lawyers actually sell? 7:00 - Why the billable hour persists 10:45 - Flat fees only: How Kyle prices work 13:00 - Why clarity with clients takes courage 15:00 - Why they've never tracked a single hour 17:00 - The "market for lemons" problem in legal 19:30 - Why AI helps flat-fee firms (and hurts hourly ones) 22:00 - Purpose and the future of law practice 23:30 - Connect with Kyle

Ryan Juliano runs Darwin Legal, a subscription-based fractional general counsel practice serving early-stage tech startups. After 15 years moving down the legal food chain from IPOs to pre-seed companies, he's built a model that replaces the crushing wave of hourly billing with committed capacity—and he's using AI across every part of his practice. In this conversation, he shares what it means to use tools "promiscuously," why lawyers need to get comfortable chopping with blunt axes, and how AI helps him think through not just legal problems but business model design.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-juliano-b3833124 https://darwinlegal.com/

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction

1:12 - Meet Ryan Juliano

2:15 - From IPOs to early-stage startups

5:34 - The subscription fractional GC model

8:34 - Who manages legal before you arrive

11:01 - Running everything through AI

16:19 - Good enough vs. perfect

17:55 - Will tools consolidate or stay fragmented?

20:29 - How Ryan spends his time now

24:37 - Shifting from inputs to outputs

27:23 - Capturing knowledge to repurpose

32:57 - Defining "good enough" in legal services

34:04 - Connect with Ryan

Colin Lachance helps law firms implement AI without the paralysis. As founder of LawQi and former Innovator in Residence at the Ontario Bar Association, he's developed a practical framework: start with tasks, not processes. In this conversation, he explains why most firms aren't ready for full process redesigns, what infrastructure you actually need before experimenting, and how to build the skills that prevent expensive mistakes.

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter 

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlachance https://lawqi.com/

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction 1:30 - Meet Colin Lachance 4:15 - Working inside a real law firm 6:00 - The messy garage problem 11:30 - Tasks vs. processes: which comes first 14:00 - What infrastructure you actually need 17:30 - Why start with tasks, not whole processes 21:30 - How lawyers should learn AI 24:15 - Connect with Colin

Washington, DC attorney Shavon J. Smith runs a small firm that serves growing businesses as their fractional general counsel. In this episode, she explains how AI helps her compete with larger firms – from mapping workflows to drafting contract checklists, improving client alerts, pressure-testing assumptions, and crafting clearer redline comments during negotiations. She also shares where AI meaningfully improves efficiency, where it simply improves quality, and where human judgment still matters most, especially in negotiation and client counseling. 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter

💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:

Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Introduction 2:15 - Meet Shavon J. Smith 3:32 - What is fractional general counsel? 4:00 - AI for process mapping and improvement 6:03 - Using AI as a brainstorming partner 7:46 - Marketing and client communication 8:25 - How clients find the firm (including through AI) 10:06 - Email overwhelm and client management 13:12 - AI for contract drafting and review 16:06 - Being a better strategic advisor 18:00 - Understanding clients' businesses 19:48 - Managing people and processes 22:35 - Where AI can't help: settlement psychology 24:17 - Learning from other lawyers 24:35 - Connect with Shavon

Olivia Anderson helps law firms build the IT infrastructure they need before adopting AI. As Principal at Framework IT, a managed service provider working with legal practices of all sizes, she's seen what happens when firms rush into AI without the cybersecurity foundations in place. In this conversation, she walks through shadow AI, the $5.5 million problem most firms don't know they have, and why managing partners need to own AI governance whether they like it or not. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:21 - Meet Olivia Anderson 2:11 - Shadow AI and the $5.5M problem 6:09 - IT readiness for solo lawyers 10:16 - Consumer AI vs. legal-specific tools 13:15 - Creating a responsible AI policy 17:22 - Who owns AI governance at your firm 21:45 - Risk tolerance culture in law 28:56 - Quantifying your firm's risk profile 31:00 - Connect with Olivia