Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Chris Bright, the vice president of marketing for Zapproved, a provider of software used to help corporations manage litigation responses. The company is hosting its PREX15 conference on preservation excellence in September for in-house legal teams and we discussed the genesis of the event, what attendees can expect, its stellar line-up of speakers, and the latest trends affecting e-discovery and preservation, among other topics. (Use the prex200 discount code at registration and save $200.)

I spoke with Jim Buckley, the Senior Practice Director at RGP Legal, a legal services consulting organization that provides advisory services to law firms and corporate legal departments. We discussed how organizations define legal operations, how it provides the greatest impact to those who want a greater level of transparency and accountability, why the role of a director of legal operations is becoming more prominent, and best practices for how companies are incorporating legal operations, among other topics.

I spoke with Diogo Fonseca e Silva and Cristóvão Silva, the Hotel Manager and Customer Experience Manager, respectively, for the Grand Real Villa Italia Hotel & Spa in Cascais, Portugal. We discussed the elements of a unique vacation, what people want in a resort, why one might want to choose Portugal, and how technology has changed the vacation experience, among other topics.

I spoke with David Freeman, the CEO of the David Freeman Consulting Group and founder of the Law Firm CultureShift® process. He is a best-selling author who has written four books on law firm leadership and business development, including his upcoming book – Creating a Cross-Serving Culture Shift: Mastering Cross-Selling for Lawyers and Leaders. We discussed how the economic realities of running a law firm are fueling interest in cross-selling, ways to shift your culture to support cross-selling opportunities, how to overcome key challenges, and how to get started. He shares of few of the 13 accelerators that can help firms thrive in the current market, including getting and acting on client feedback, as well as creating trusted relationships within the firm.

I spoke with Tom Lambotte, the CEO of GlobalMacIT, which he notes is the only company in the world that specializes in providing IT support to Mac-based law firms. Tom is also the author of Hassle Free Mac IT Support for Law Firms. We discussed the genesis of GlobalMacIT, the growth in the Mac-based law firm market (which he estimated at about 4,500 members), why so many law firms using Macs in a profession that has historically been PC driven, the perceived challenges associated with switching, and the benefits of outsourcing IT support, among other topics.

I spoke with Keith Conley, the president of DTI Legal Solutions. He is a member of DTI’s executive team and leads the company’s discovery operations. He highlighted the key challenges that clients are facing in the current market, which include growing litigation portfolios, increasing data volumes, and general cost containment challenges.

I spoke with Kevin Chern, an attorney and the Managing Partner of UpRight Law, a national virtual consumer bankruptcy and consumer protection law firm. We discussed the genesis of UpRight Law, how technology has enabled its growth, what the rise of firms like UpRight Law signify about the traditional legal market, and how the regulatory environment impacts new law firm models, among other topics.

I spoke with Ian Zack, an attorney and the Director of Business Development at CaseRails, a software company that provides a web-based document automation platform for attorneys. We discussed the advantages of document automation for attorneys and law firms, the associated challenges, how variations in billing arrangements impact an attorney’s reliance on new technology, and best practices for incorporating document automation into your work.

I spoke with Deborah Baron, the chief strategy officer of Align Matters, a cloud-based software platform that helps in-house lawyers tie the management of their matters to client business objectives. She has also served as the CEO North America and CMO of Nuix, as well as the vice president for legal and compliance solutions at HP Autonomy. We discussed her role at Align Matters, the value of leveraging a proverbial GPS for legal management tool, how technology can help lawyers become better business leaders, how Align Matters helps law departments build efficiency with benchmarks and repeatable processes, and the future of holistic cloud-based matter management.

I spoke with Deborah Epstein Henry, an internationally recognized expert, consultant and public speaker on the future of the legal profession, new legal models, women in the law, and work/life balance. She is the author of LAW & REORDER: Legal Industry Solutions for Restructure, Retention, Promotion & Work/Life Balance (ABA, 2010) and co-author of FINDING BLISS: Innovative Legal Models for Happy Clients & Happy Lawyers (ABA, 2015). She is also the co-founder and managing director of Bliss Lawyers, a firm that employs high-caliber lawyers to work on engagements for in-house legal department and law firm clients. We discussed her new book, examples of innovation in both new and traditional legal models, and best practices for measuring value and harnessing talent, among other topics.