Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Erez Bustan, the former CEO of American Legalnet, a leading docketing and litigation management software developer, which Aderant recently acquired. We discussed the sale of American Legalnet, the factors that an entrepreneur should consider when deciding whether to sell a legal technology company, and future opportunities for innovation in legal.

I spoke with Sang Lee, the CEO and co-founder of Thine, a technology company that develops and deploys pre-hiring and integration assessments. Sang is a lawyer and entrepreneur who has also owned and operated SJL Attorney Search and Volta Talent Strategies. We discussed Thine’s new report, The Rise of Innovation in the Recruitment of Lawyers in a Hyper-Competitive Market, how the pandemic has impacted law firm talent management, ways that technology can help law firms hire and retain talent, and where law firm innovation is headed.

I spoke with Jennifer Whittier, the president of Cole Valley Software, developer of the ContactEase CRM platform, and Tom Obermaier, the CEO of SurePoint Technologies, a provider of financial and practice management software to law firms nationwide, which has just announced its acquisition of Cole Valley Software. We discussed how the acquisition and inclusion of ContactEase in SurePoint’s portfolio will empower its customers, and how customer relationship management aligns with profitability and financial performance.

I spoke with Bill Coletti, the founder of Kith Crisis Management and the author of Critical Moments, The New Mindset of Reputation Management. We discussed the difference between crisis management and crisis prevention, how law firms can align their brands and reputations, and how crisis management is evolving in a tech-enabled hybrid work environment.

I spoke with Gretta Rusanow, the head of advisory services in Citi’s law firm group and a managing director with the bank. We discussed the 2022 Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory, how the expected return to the office for most firms in the first quarter of the year will impact their growth, and ways that law firms can sustain their success.

I spoke with Kim Neeson, the founder of Neesons, a Canadian court reporting firm that Veritext acquired in 2019. She recently launched Kim Neeson, Coach, Consultant, Mentor, which provides entrepreneurial and leadership coaching with an emphasis on mid-career women, and we discussed entrepreneurial challenges, the benefits of coaching for an entrepreneur, and how entrepreneurs and leaders maintain momentum in this uncertain market.

I spoke with Kelly Twigger, the principal of ESI Attorneys, a law firm focused on supporting e-discovery matters, and the developer of E-Discovery Assistant, an online practice resource used by lawyers and legal professionals in law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies involved in e-discovery. We discussed the aspects of e-discovery that are most challenging for legal professionals in 2022, opportunities for streamlining the process, and how the approach to e-discovery has changed due to remote work.

I spoke with Owen Oliver, the Head of Strategic Partnerships at StructureFlow, a software platform that helps lawyers and finance professionals visualize, model, and plan transactions and structures. We discussed the importance of visualization in legal and business matters, trends that are driving the need for structure-specific technology, and where the application of technology in corporate transactions is headed.

I spoke with Damian Jeal, the CEO of Nikec Solutions, a provider of software solutions for law firms to support training, productivity, and collaboration, which has introduced new tools for cybersecurity. We discussed how software can help law firms address cybersecurity challenges, what they can do at little or no cost before implementing more sophisticated technology, and whether a firm can verify that its cybersecurity program is complete.

I spoke with Jim Wagner, the founder and managing principal of Lean Law Labs, an incubation lab for legal innovation, and the managing director of Lean Law Ventures, which invests in dynamic legal technology applications. We discussed the trends in the legal sector that are fueling initiatives like Lean Law Labs, the challenges associated with driving change in legal, and the businesses in legal that are most attractive to investors.