Peter Aprile and Nathalie Worsfold interview Jordan Furlong.  Jordan is a leading global legal market analyst and the interview focuses on Jordan’s new book Law Is A Buyer’s Market: Building A Client-First Law Firm.  In the interview, Jordan shares how clients are influencing the changes that law firms must make to prosper. 

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S02E07 BNL CPD can claim a 35 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

To access the S02E07 verification examination click this link.

Aly Haji is researching what it means to be a millennial at a law firm – why they’re leaving en masse, why they find their jobs soul-crushing, and why all of this is a real problem for law firms. Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold talk to him about the stories his research is uncovering and get him to explain the unnerving results so that law firm leaders can figure out some concrete next steps to stall the exodus.   

Also joining BNL for the first time is Brittany Rossler, summer associate at Counter Tax Lawyers. We dragged her in front of the mic to give her opinion as a real-life millennial working at a real-life law firm – and, spoiler alert, she gets a bit riled up. 

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S03E05 BNL CPD can claim a 50 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S03E05 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Jordan Furlong, leading Canadian analyst of the global legal market.  

Peter, Natalie, and Jordan discuss Jordan’s first book, Law is a Buyer’s Market: Building a Client-First Law Firm.  They dive deep into the business of law, law firm (mis)management, lawyer substitutes, and how law firms need to change to meet and manage the demands of the shifting legal marketplace.

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S02E06 BNL CPD can claim a 25 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S02E06 verification examination click this link.

This episode is a bit different: it’s a recording of a talk that Peter gave at the Clio Cloud Conference in 2017 called The More Complete Law Firm. If you’ve ever wanted to hear more from one of BNL’s beloved hosts, now’s your chance.

In the episode, we get a closer look at some of the philosophies that drive Counter Tax Lawyers, with a focus on long-term thinking, building effective processes, and having the courage to take risks.  It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the ideas and stories that come out of building a real NewLaw firm. 

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S03E04 BNL CPD cam claim a 30 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S03E04 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Dan Katz, associate professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, director of the Law Lab, and an affiliated member of CodeX at Stanford. 

The group delves deep into Dan’s passion Fin (Legal) Tech (i.e., the financialization of law).  Fin (Legal) Tech takes a data-driven, rigorous, and quantifiable approach to risk assessment and predictive analysis. And why, should lawyers care?  Well, it’s simple: if lawyers can better predict outcomes, they can put skin in the game, and reap significant financial rewards.

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S02E05 BNL CPD can claim a 55-minuteProfessionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S02E05 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Ron Friedmann, founder and principal of Prism Legal Consulting and consultant at Fireman & Company. They talk the nitty gritty details of NewLaw: building knowledge management systems, handling budgets, and managing change. 

Peter and Natalie dig into Ron's Do Less Law philosophy, and he tells us about why lawyers have to change the way they work. 

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S03E03 BNL CPD cam claim a 40 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S03E03 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Joe Milstone and Bryan Friedman of Axiom Law, Canada. 

Joe, co-founder of early NewLaw entrant Cognition LLP (now, Caravel Law), starts the episode off.  The group discusses Cognition’s novel approach to the delivery of legal services, business development, scaling up, and the eventual sale to Axiom Global Inc.  

Then, Bryan, director and general manager of Axiom’s Canadian outpost, joins the conversation. The group discusses Axiom’s operational structure, gettingrid of the partnership model, the regulatory environment, and what the future of legal services in Canada looks like for traditional law firms, big and small.

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S02E04 BNL CPD can claim a 55 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S02E04 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Ken Grady, Lean Law Evangelist at Seyfarth Shaw LLP and professor at the Michigan State University College of Law.  Data has become the fundamental unit for doing business, and, according to Ken, it is starting the become the fundamental unit for doing law. As a Lean Law thinker, Ken believes that data management is integral for successful law firms. He argues that law firms need to start collecting data now to be competitive in the future.  Peter, Natalie, and Ken dig deep in what data management is, why it is important, and what tools are available to start collecting data. Ken explains the opportunities available to law firms once the data has been collected and cleaned, from providing data-driven answers to client questions to drafting better submissions, faster and more accurately.

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S02E03 BNL CPD can claim a 45 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S02E03 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Mark Cohen, co-founder of Clearspire. The group discusses the Clearspire story, why  its bleeding-edge technology and legal expertise weren’t a commercial success, and the lessons NewLaw needs to learn.

Lawyers that have completed the S03E02 BNL CPD cam claim a 60 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S03E02 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Derek Hopfner, co-founder of Law Scout.  Derek, along with his friends, Shane Murphy and Travis Houlette, started Law Scout after a (less than inspiring) BigLaw experience.  

Law Scout has developed an online workroom where small businesses can easily hire pre-vetted lawyers and obtain high-quality legal work for a fixed-fee.  It seeks to remove the friction and cost uncertainty inherent in traditional law firm engagements.  

Peter, Natalie and Derek discuss Law Scout, its platform, attracting clients, lawyers, and the challenges of building a legal technology company.  The parties also have a heartfelt conversation about finding personal and professional fulfillment in building new stuff.  

As the kids say, “ish gets real”.

CPD

Lawyers that have completed the S02E02 BNL CPD can claim a 50 minute Professionalism CPD credit. 

• To access the S02E02 verification examination click this link.