Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with BJ Schaknowski, the Vice President of Sales and Professional Services at LexisNexis, where he is responsible for all sales and consulting for software solutions sold to law firms and corporate legal departments. We discussed the company’s sponsorship of the 2014 Raleigh Ironman 70.3 in June, the lessons that professionals can learn from triathlon, and how the event connects with the core values that LexisNexis promotes. Schaknowski noted that endurance races reflect various elements for success, including a passion for living; a commitment to hard work; thoughtful planning; and, a focus on positive outcomes, among other ideals.

I spoke with Doug Horton, the President and CEO of Handshake Software, a leading provider of SharePoint products and services in the legal community. We discussed Handshake’s mission, the impact of its recent acquisition of the Thomson Reuters OneView portal, the impact of SharePoint 2013 on the legal community, and his views on the SharePoint as a DMS debate, among other topics.

I spoke with Larry Port, the founder and CEO of RocketMatter, a total law firm management system in the cloud. We discussed the company’s evolution, its newest Pon Farr release, the value of evergreen retainers in the battle for collections, the need to focus on software performance improvements over feature enhancements, and the future of cloud-based law firm management.

I spoke with Kingsley Martin, the founder of KMStandards, a provider of contract standards and contract analysis tools. We discussed the genesis of KMStandards, how corporate counsel are embracing knowledge management for drafting agreements, ways that lawyers can overcome the efficiency paradox, and the future trajectory of contract analysis standards.

I spoke with Barclay Blair, the president and founder of ViaLumina, a consulting firm that advises Fortune 500 companies, software and hardware vendors, and government institutions, on information governance, who is also the Executive Director and co-founder of the Information Governance Initiative. We discussed why information governance has become such a critical concern in the legal community, key tips for managing information more effectively, the conflict between big data and e-discovery, and the future of the industry.

I spoke with Gadi Aharoni, the CEO of ARX, a global provider of digital signature solutions. We discussed the mission of ARX, the key differences between electronic and digital signatures, how they relate to productivity and information governance, and critical trends that are transforming the field.

I spoke with Jeffrey Roach, the president of Encoretech, a technology training firm focused on the legal industry. We discussed the company’s mission, the advantages of technological proficiency for legal professionals, his team’s unique approach to training, and the benefits of outsourcing these efforts.

I spoke with Ruth Carter, the founder of the Carter Law Firm in Phoenix. Carter is a 2012 ABA Legal Rebel and is the author of two ABA best sellers: Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans and the newly-released The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested or Killed. We discussed the genesis of her new book – The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers – and how bloggers can avoid crossing the line. She shared best practices for how she uses her popular blog, ways to avoid the biggest legal mistake bloggers make, examples of how the ethical rules can be helpful, and creative ideas for selecting content.

I spoke with Kevin Harris, a project manager for Orion Law Management Systems, a financial and practice management software provider. Harris consults with law firms about infrastructure, business practices, staff and attorney design, utilization, productivity, and collections, among other areas. We discussed how law firm preferences have changed over the past few years and key trends that are emerging in the legal technology market, among other topics.

I spoke with Chere Estrin, the president & co-founding member of the Organization of Legal Professionals, which recently launched a new certification exam focused on litigation support. We discussed the need for litigation support certification, the psychometrics used to design the test and associated prep course, and the range of topics the exam covers.