Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Annie Webber, the co-founder and CEO of Legal Hero, a platform that delivers legal services to businesses on a fixed price basis. Prior to founding Legal Hero, she worked as an M&A attorney at Ropes & Gray in Boston. We discussed the genesis of Legal Hero and how it works. Webber highlighted that as individuals become more comfortable with distributed labor models like Uber and clients continue to demand fixed prices on limited budgets, there are opportunities for ventures like Legal Hero, which reinvents the traditional legal services model and automates invoicing or document creation to empower many businesses.

I spoke with Ian Campbell and Iram Arras, the founder and CEO, and Vice President of Product Strategy, respectively, for iCONECT, a multi-party document review platform. Legaltech News recently named iCONECT-XERA a finalist for Best E-Discovery Review Platform. We discussed the rise of glanceable dashboards in document review, the evolution of predictive technology, the integration of corporate branding to create a more seamless discovery experience, and where the market is headed.

I spoke with Tim Cheadle, the founder and CEO of MatterMojo, a cloud-based client and matter management system for small and mid-sized law firms. Prior to founding the company, he was the General Manager of the LexisNexis UK & International Enterprise Solutions business. We discussed his background and the genesis of MatterMojo, the significance of the name, the company’s extensive partnership with Microsoft, and the future of cloud-based client and matter management.

I spoke with Willy Leichter, the Global Director of Cloud Security at CipherCloud, a technology company that delivers cloud information protection and enables users to navigate risks to data privacy, residency, security, and regulatory compliance. We discussed the impact of cloud information protection on the legal industry, the problems it solves for legal professionals, the shadow IT trend, and the advantages of implementing proven encryption and data loss prevention techniques. Leichter also identified a few of the biggest threats facing law firms today and prospective changes to privacy laws over the next five years.

I spoke with Monica Zent, the Founder and CEO of Foxwordy, a private social network for lawyers, and the founder of ZentLaw, an alternative law firm. We discussed the genesis of Foxwordy, which she launched in the spring of 2015, how it differs from other social networks, the use case for a legal industry specific portal, and the future of law practice.

I spoke with Kris Canaday, the founder of Integrative Legal Support, a paralegal support company providing litigation, corporate, and intellectual property services to attorneys, law firms, and legal departments throughout the U.S. She is also the author of Paralegal Support 101, a knowledge base for attorneys on the paralegal profession. We discussed the genesis of Integrative Legal Support, why attorneys and firms need a paralegal support service, her advice to attorneys and firms looking for non-traditional support, and the future of this sector, among other topics.

I spoke with Dr. Gavin Manes, the founder and CEO of Avansic, a firm that provides the legal, business, and government sectors with e-discovery, digital forensics, data preservation, and online review services. We discussed the genesis of Avansic, the biggest challenges that litigants are facing in 2015, the need to normalize vocabulary in discovery, and key legal trends to watch.

I spoke with Eric Hunter, the Director of Knowledge, Innovation & Technology Strategies at Bradford & Barthel, a California law firm. He is also the Executive Director of Spherical Models, a consultancy that focuses on spherical business models through innovations in big data, strategic pricing, predictive analytics, and social media. The Ark Group recently released his new book: “The Sherlock Syndrome, Strategic Success through Big Data and the Darwinian Disruption.” We discussed his inspiration for writing the book, its target audience, and the convergence of creativity and business models.

I spoke with Paul Mandell, the founder & CEO of Consero, an international events company that targets C-level executives at Fortune 1000 companies. We discussed the genesis of Consero, how the company’s events differ from traditional conferences with its invitation-only approach, and the types of programs it offers, including those for general counsel, CFO’s, and procurement leaders, among others.

I spoke with Dima Bobev, the co-founder of Forexus, an eDiscovery, IT Forensics and Data Analytics services company based in Switzerland. Bobev started his career at a Big Four accounting firm, where he managed large cross-border eDiscovery projects and was responsible for the development of the Swiss Analytics & Forensic Technology team. We discussed the genesis of Forexus, how Swiss data privacy rules are affecting eDiscovery, its presence at the Corporate Counsel and Compliance Exchange Conference, and the growth trajectory of international eDiscovery, among other topics.