Daily Matters: The changing face of the legal industry

As the attorney to the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Jacob Blake, and many others who have died during interactions with police, Ben Crump has become a central figure in America’s reinvigorated struggle for civil rights and justice reform. Nicknamed “Black America’s Attorney General,” Ben works tirelessly to fight for those who are marginalized in society.

A 2020 Clio Cloud Conference Keynote Speaker, Ben joins Clio CEO Jack Newton for a powerful and moving discussion about race, justice, and the ability each of us has to make a difference in the world. 

In today’s episode, Ben and Jack discuss: 

• Some of the more notable cases of Ben’s career
• The major influences who inspired Ben: his mother, and Thurgood Marshall
• How and why Ben started representing victims of police violence
• Ben’s advice for anyone who wants to make an impact
• Ben’s take on the significance of this modern Civil Rights Movement
• Ben’s vision for what a more just system would look like in America

Benjamin Crump has established himself as one of the nation’s foremost lawyers and advocates for social justice, earning the nickname “Black America’s Attorney General”. His legal acumen has ensured that those marginalized in American society are protected by their nation’s contract with its constituency. He is the founder and principal owner of Ben Crump Law.

Ben’s tireless advocacy has led to legislation preventing excessive force and developing implicit bias training and policies. He has been nationally recognized as the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, and Ebony Magazine Power 100 Most Influential African Americans. 

He has represented families in several high-profile civil rights cases including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Stephon Clark, as well as the residents of Flint, Michigan, who were affected by the poisoned water of the Flint River. Ben represented 9 of the 13 black women who were victims in the Holtzclaw Oklahoma City Police rape case in 2015 and worked on the precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court case involving excessive police force against Robbie Tolan in 2008.

Ben is the President of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association and previously served as President of the National Bar Association.

You can follow Ben on Twitter at @AttorneyCrump

For the 100th episode of Daily Matters, host Jack Newton becomes the interviewee. Joined by the show’s producers—Derek Bolen, Andrew Booth, and Sam Rosenthal—Jack looks back at the key people, themes, and takeaways since the show started in March, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Jack and the Daily Matters producers discuss:

• Why it was important to Jack to start a daily podcast as COVID-19 struck the legal industry
• What the shift in the legal industry because of COVID was like—and how life at Clio shifted as well
• The impact of speaking to distinguished guests like Seth Godin, Angela Duckworth, Shaka Senghor, David Lat, Ken White a.k.a. Popehat, Richard Susskind, Paula Davis-Laack, Brian Cuban, Jeena Cho, I. Stephanie Boyce, and many others
• How the discussions on the podcast have helped inform Clio’s direction as it looks to lead the legal industry forward

What audience members can anticipate learning during Jack’s keynote presentation at the 2020 Clio Cloud Conference (tomorrow—October 13, 2020).

Bio:
As the CEO and Co-founder of Clio and a pioneer in cloud-based legal technology, Jack Newton has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community on the security, ethics, and privacy issues surrounding cloud computing, and has become a nationally recognized author and speaker on these topics. He co-founded and is President of the Legal Cloud Computing Association (LCCA), a consortium of leading cloud computing providers with a mandate to help accelerate the adoption of cloud computing in the legal industry, and is the author of The Client-Centered Law Firm, a bestseller that's helping law firms thrive in today's experience-driven era. 

Jack was also named a 2019 Fellow to the College of Law Practice Management, he sits on the board of AI-powered legal research provider ROSS Intelligence, and he is an investor and advisor to early-stage legal tech startups.

Last but not least, Jack is the host of Daily Matters, a podcast dedicated to hearing from legal professionals, industry leaders, and subject matter experts about the future of law. You can find Daily Matters on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.

You can follow Jack on Twitter at @jack_newton

Angela Duckworth, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the Founder and CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development. Angela is also going to be a Keynote Speaker at the 2020 Clio Cloud Conference, which starts virtually on October 13.

In this episode, Angela and Clio CEO Jack Newton engage in an impactful discussion about grit, burnout, and the traits and behaviors that correlate most strongly with personal success. Specifically, Angela and Jack discuss:

• Why “sampling” different careers is beneficial for long-term growth
• What Angela’s neuroscience background taught her about the ways the human brain works—and how we learn throughout life
• What “grit” means to Angela, why she started studying it, and why it matters
• How burnout enters the equation—especially for lawyers—and how to deal with it
• How people can learn to become more “gritty” in their own lives

Angela Duckworth is the Founder and CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. She is also the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and faculty co-director of Wharton People Analytics. A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Angela has advised the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Prior to her career in research, Angela founded a summer school for underserved children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study and, in 2018, celebrated its 25th anniversary. She has also been a McKinsey management consultant and a math and science teacher in the public schools of New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

Angela completed her undergraduate degree in Advanced Studies Neurobiology at Harvard, graduating magna cum laude. With the support of a Marshall Scholarship, she completed an MSc with Distinction in Neuroscience from Oxford University. She completed her PhD in Psychology as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Angela’s TED talk is among the most-viewed of all time. Her first book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, is a #1 New York Times best seller. She is also co-host, with Stephen Dubner, of the podcast No Stupid Questions.

You can follow Angela on Twitter at @angeladuckw

Seth Godin is one of the world’s most respected business and marketing visionaries. A member of the Marketing Hall of Fame, Seth is the author of 19 bestselling books, the creator of one of the world’s most popular blogs, and the founder of the altMBA and The Marketing Seminar, which have transformed thousands of lives. Seth is also going to be a Keynote Speaker at the 2020 Clio Cloud Conference, which starts virtually on October 13.

In this episode, Seth shares valuable insights about marketing, business, problem solving, and making things better. Specifically, Seth and Jack Newton discuss:

• Why the career highlights he values the most are his failures
• Why lawyers need to rethink what marketing is, and how to do it 
• The importance of adopting a value-based mindset (as opposed to a time-based mindset)
• The competitive advantages of serving a specific market and prioritizing trust and connection
• How the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted society—and what you can do now to better position yourself for the future

Seth Godin is the author of 19 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He’s also the founder of the altMBA and The Marketing Seminar, online workshops that have transformed the work of thousands of people.

He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything. You might be familiar with his books Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. His latest book, This Is Marketing, was an instant bestseller around the world.

In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth has founded several companies, including Yoyodyne and Squidoo. His blog (which you can find by typing “seth” into Google) is one of the most popular in the world.

In 2018, he was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame. More than 10,000 people have taken his powerful workshops, including altMBA and The Marketing Seminar.

You can follow Seth on Twitter at @ThisIsSethsBlog

When Mark Holthe made the decision to start a virtual immigration firm, he knew he needed to do things differently. By creating an innovative approach with a “client-centered, firm-supported” service model and a strong content marketing strategy, Holthe Immigration Law has become a leader in its field—and a nominee for the 2020 Reisman Award for Best New Law Firm.

In this episode, Mark chats with Clio CEO Jack Newton about:

• How Holte Immigration Law has grown and succeeded as a virtual law firm
• Why and how Mark implemented a dedicated content marketing strategy—including blogging, podcasting, video, and social media
• What being client-centered and firm-supported means to Mark, and why it’s valuable for his firm
• How Mark sees immigration practice changing for the better in the next 3-5 years

Mark Holthe is Founder and Chief Inspirational Officer at Holthe Immigration Law. He acts for large multinational and domestic companies assisting with relocation, sourcing of foreign skilled labour, and intra-company transfers to Canada. He also provides support on all cross-border related immigration matters for US companies seeking to do business in Canada.

Mark is a past Executive Member of the National Immigration Section of the Canadian Bar Association as well as a Past-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association's Immigration Section in Calgary. He is also a member of the International Bar Association's Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, and a member of the Canadian Chapter and Global Migration Section of the American Immigration Lawyer Association.

Additionally, Mark is the host of the Canadian Immigration Podcast on iTunes.

You can follow Mark on Twitter at @MarkHolthe

Joshua Lenon, Clio’s Lawyer in Residence, has worked on the front lines of legal technology innovation for more than a decade, helping to educate legal professionals on how they can better use technology to run their firms more efficiently and effectively. 

In this episode, Joshua talks with Jack Newton about the rapidly-changing world of professional responsibility in the legal industry, and how Continuing Legal Education (CLE) is evolving.

Specifically, Joshua and Jack discuss:

• What the profound shift in the adoption of legal technology caused by COVID-19 means for legal professionals’ responsibilities and ethical considerations
• How the pandemic has altered traditional cost-benefit analyses regarding the use of legal technology
• What a “better normal” in legal could look like
• Why CLE matters, and how the CLE landscape changing in the COVID era
• New and innovative ways for lawyers to meet their states’ CLE requirements through educational podcasts, webinars, conferences, and more

Joshua Lenon is Clio’s Lawyer in Residence. An attorney admitted to the New York Bar, Joshua has worked extensively to educate lawyers on how technology can enhance their practices, while also teaching tech companies about the unique needs of legal professionals and organizations.

You can follow Joshua on Twitter at @JoshuaLenon

Today’s guest is attorney, entrepreneur, speaker, and author Billie Tarascio, the recipient of the 2018 Reisman Award for Law Firm Innovation. With her law firm and legal businesses, Billie is driving positive change in the legal industry around Access to Justice and the incorporation of legal technology into law firm workflows.

Billie recently served on the task force that helped steer Arizona towards becoming the first U.S. state to formally allow non-lawyers to become co-owners of law firms and other legal service operations—a landmark decision that could have far-reaching implications.

In this episode, Billie and Clio CEO Jack Newton discuss:

• How Billie grew her law firm and built innovate legal businesses
• Why focusing on client intake is critical for law firm growth and sustainability
• How Modern Law Practice teaches lawyers to build better processes at their firms
• Why Arizona is opening up law firm ownership to non-lawyers, how this decision came to be, and what might happen as a result
• How the legal industry can create more accessible legal services, and what some of the shifts in the industry could look like

Billie is the owner of: Modern Law, a three time recognized winner of the fastest growing firms in America; Access Legal, a certified legal document preparation and legal technology company dedicated to increasing access to justice; and Modern Law Practice, her newest venture, a plug and play law firm model to maximize law firm growth using technology and best practices. 

Billie is also a national speaker and author of the books Decode Your Divorce and Tiger Tactics: Powerful Strategies for Winning Law Firms. In 2018, Billie and Modern Law won the Reisman Award for Law Firm Innovation at the annual Clio Cloud Conference.

You can follow Billie on Twitter at @mymodernlaw

Today’s episode features Lucy Ricca and John Lund of the Utah Implementation Task Force on Regulatory Reform. With the Task Force, Lucy and John are aiming to increase access to and affordability of legal services while protecting consumers. The Task Force is taking a data-driven, risk-oriented approach that also allows for new innovative models to be tried out in a controlled Regulatory Sandbox.

In this episode, Lucy and John speak with Jack Newton about:

• What the Utah Implementation Task Force on Regulatory Reform is, and how it pursues its mandate
• Why the current regulatory environment is the way it is—and how the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping it
• What the legal industry can do to address the access to justice crisis
• How Utah is leading the charge on legal regulatory reform

To learn more about the Utah Implementation Task Force on Regulatory Reform, visit https://sandbox.utcourts.gov/

John Lund has practiced law the old-fashioned way since 1984. He is a shareholder with Parsons Behle & Latimer, where he represents clients in challenging litigation and trials throughout the West. John is recognized by Chambers USA as a Band 1 lawyer for commercial litigation and is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

John is the immediate past president of the Utah State Bar and has been involved in leadership of the Utah Bar for over a decade. He recently concluded two terms as the lawyer representative on Utah’s Judicial Council, which oversees Utah’s judicial branch. He has served on various committees and projects relating to improving access to justice and innovation in the practice of law. Currently, John co-chairs a joint task force of the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Bar that is recommending significant and potentially disruptive changes to the regulation of legal services in order to bring innovation to legal services and thereby improve access to justice.

Lucy Ricca is a Fellow and former Executive Director of the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law School and a Special Project Advisor of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS). Lucy was a Lecturer at Stanford Law School and has written on the regulation of the profession, the changing practice of law, and diversity in the profession.

As Executive Director, Lucy coordinated all aspects of the Center’s activities, including developing the direction and goals for the Center and overseeing operations, publications, programs, research, and other interdisciplinary projects, including development and fundraising for the Stanford Legal Design Lab. Lucy joined Stanford Law School in June 2013, after clerking for Judge James P. Jones of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

Throughout her career, attorney Temi Siyanbade has defined herself by living beyond her comfort zone. After serving as a teacher in a low-income neighborhood through Teach for America, she saw the opportunity she had to make an impact through the practice of law.

In this episode, Temi and Clio CEO Jack Newton discuss:

• Her career path to becoming a business lawyer
• How she found her voice and encourages other young lawyers to do the same
• How she’s helping other law firms find more success in uncertain times
• How harnessing your weaknesses can be a competitive advantage 

Temi is becoming a leading voice and legal advisor for individuals seeking counsel with business and personal matters. As the principal attorney of her Houston-based law firm and the creator of the ASK TEMI LIVE! show, she provides legal services to help people establish businesses, protect their names, and keep profits. She also provides mentorship to new lawyers and upcoming law students to help them find their unique voices in the legal practice. She's committed to creating a legacy where excellence in legal advocacy meets excellence in compassion.

You can follow her on Twitter at @TOSLegal

Jon Tobin’s law firm, Counsel for Creators LLP, bills itself as the first law firm to develop subscription services tailored to the needs of creative people. Using their innovative subscription services model, Counsel for Creators is providing innovative legal services and meeting client expectations in new ways.

In this episode, Jon chats with Clio CEO Jack Newton about:

• The changes Jon has seen in creative industries since COVID-19 started
• Why Counsel for Creators started using a subscription services model
• The benefits that a subscription model has for lawyers and clients
• How lawyers can determine whether a subscription services model works for their firm
• Why enhancing the legal client experience should be the focus of legal innovation going forward 

Jon Tobin is a Partner at Counsel for Creators LLP, a next-generation law firm focused on the needs of creative businesses and individuals. A graduate of the UCLA School of Law, Jon deals with matters involving copyrights, trademarks, software, design, licensing, business, art law, and contracts. Before studying law he worked for years as a designer and software developer, so he knows what it means to work in creative industries and how things actually get done.

Jon also speaks and writes regularly about legal issues facing technology and creative ventures; he has given talks for the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the California Community Foundation, UCLA Law, and at a variety of design and technology conferences.

You can follow Counsel for Creators LLP on Twitter at @CreatorsCounsel