Off the Clock (Legal Value Network)

On this episode, LVN board members Justin Ergler and Keith Maziarek welcome Jennifer Leonard, LVnX 2024 Keynote Speaker and founder of Creative Lawyers, for a candid discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing the modern legal profession.

The trio delve into the potential disruption of AI, evolving client expectations, and the future of legal education. Jennifer also offers her perspectives on the business model implications of emerging technologies and how law firms can adapt to remain competitive. Jennifer, Keith and Justin also offer thoughts about fostering a culture of innovation and resilience within an organization, and how best to navigate the complexities of this rapidly changing industry.

In this episode, LVN Board Members Justin Ergler and Keith Maziarek have a chat with Jessica Lim, National Director, Practice Management, Disputes at Borden Ladner Gervais, located in Toronto. In typical fashion the conversation covers a number of topics, this time including the process of making career transitions, how to coach law firm partners to more effectively pitch clients for new business, and the age-old question of whether or not law firms can charge clients for legal project management services. 

In this episode, LVN Board member Keith Maziarek catches up with Ken Callander from Value Strategies, a consultancy advising law firms, legal departments, and legal operations on pricing, relationship management, and client service delivery, among other areas. Keith and Ken discuss:

• The evolution and growth of the role of a legal operations professional and the role of younger, fast-growing tech companies in pushing for innovation in legal operations.
• The cultural differences between high-tech companies and established companies in terms of innovation and trying new ideas.
• The challenges faced by law firms due to their fragmented authority structure and the importance of predictability in legal spend.

In the latest episode of Legal Value Network’s “Off the Clock” podcast, Keith Maziarek sits down with longtime friend and client legal ops veteran Reese Arrowsmith, VP and Head of Legal Operations at Campbell Soup Company to chat about a variety of topics.

In particular, they discussed how the client/firm relationship will be impacted by the recent developments in technology. They also talk a bit about misaligned perceptions between law firms and legal departments, and what it takes to overcome those hurdles in decentralized organizations.

In this episode, Keith Maziarek, an LVN board member and Director of Pricing and Legal Project Management at Katten, has an insightful conversation with Melissa Gyure, Director of Pricing at Paul Hastings. The pair discuss in-house legal operations and relationships with law firms. The duo discuss everything from pricing dynamics and risk mitigation to cost control.

This is a special episode recorded at the LVNx conference in Chicago and includes a conversation LVN board members Keith Maziarek and Justin Ergler had with LVNx keynote speaker Gina Passarella, SVP of Content from ALM Global, as well as Greg Lambert, one of the three original geeks from the Three Geeks and a Law Blog and host of “The Geek in Review Podcast” as well as being Chief Knowledge Services Officer Jackson Walker LLP.

Topics discussed include 

• Importance of succession planning and incentivizing partners to pass on their books of business
• Challenges in implementing change in law firms
• Examining value and profitability for both law firms and clients

LVN board members Keith Maziarek and Justin Ergler talk to Nathan Cemenska, Director, Legal Operations and Industry Insights at Wolters Kluwer. The trio discuss pricing and negotiation dynamics between law firms and clients, with a focus on the use of data and alternative solutions such as insourcing and utilizing ALSPs. They also also touch on the factors driving legal rate increases.