Shieldcast

Head of Engagement at Legatics Daniel Grant Smith discusses recently conducted research by Legatics into the barriers to legaltech adoption and the findings published in their behaviour change and AI microservices whitepapers.

Daniel Grant Smith trained and qualified as an associate at Hogan Lovells for 5 years, working in the Private Equity/M&A team on transactions of all sizes, from billion-dollar acquisitions to Seed financings.  

Prior to joining Legatics, he completed an MBA at Cambridge University Judge Business School, with his final research paper focusing on barriers to the practical adoption of LegalTech solutions in law firms, and is passionate about law firm innovation and change. 

Dan holds a BA (Hons) degree in History from Bristol University.

In this Transaction Management episode of Shieldcast, Dan and Geoff discuss:  

• What behavioural barriers there are to the adoption of legaltech in law firms
• Why the structure of billable hours and the challenge of 'not enough time in the day' has prevented lawyers from implementing new technologies
• How the pandemic has affected the digital transformation of the legal sector
• To what extent Partners need to be driving the uptake of legaltech and their responsibility to role model 
• How carrying out research and collecting data can influence product developments

Listen to this Transaction Management edition of Shieldcast to find out more!

You can download their whitepapers on identifying barriers to legal technology adoption here: https://events.legatics.com/barriers-to-legal-tech-adoption-lp 

Learn more about Legatics on their website: www.legatics.com

Dan contributed to our recent Transaction Management eBook. You can read his insights on the barriers to legaltech adoption by downloading the book here. 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Co-founder and CEO of SeedLegals, Anthony Rose, discusses the standardisation of documents and deal terms in funding rounds, the macro effects of tech disruptors and what to consider when expanding product offering.

Anthony Rose is co-founder and CEO at SeedLegals, a legaltech platform that lets startups and investors complete the legals needed to build, grow and fund their business, at a fraction of the cost of using a law firm. More than one in six of all early-stage funding rounds in the UK are now done on SeedLegals.

In 2015 Anthony founded 6Tribes, a world of communities based on shared interests. Previously, Anthony co-founded Beamly, a social and content network for television, which was acquired by Coty in 2015.

Known as “The man behind BBC iPlayer”, Anthony ran the iPlayer and other BBC services from 2007 to 2010, taking the iPlayer from pre-launch to major success story.

In this Transaction Management episode of Shieldcast, Anthony and Geoff discuss:  

• Why and how funding rounds have changed in recent years
• To what extent documents and deal terms can be standardised
• How to use the 'software eats the world' model
• Why new tech companies need to consider the long-term impact and macro effects of their products/services
• What to consider when expanding product offering and new features

Listen to this Transaction Management edition of Shieldcast to find out more!


You can learn more about SeedLegals and the services they provide on their website: https://seedlegals.com/

Anthony contributed to our recent Transaction Management eBook. You can read his insights on how data will drive deal terms in the future by downloading the book here. 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Head of Product at StructureFlow, Owen Oliver, discusses the growing interest in using visualisation tools for deal structuring, creating coordinated tech ecosystems and the role of data to enhance transaction management processes for both lawyers and their clients.

Owen Oliver is a corporate lawyer-turned legal technologist. After 10 years’ experience as a transactional lawyer with Fieldfisher and Ingenious Media, Owen co-founded Workshare Transact in 2015, the legal transaction management application now known as Litera Transact that is used by global law firms such as Clifford Chance, Norton Rose Fulbright and Simmons & Simmons.  

In his current role as Head of Product at StructureFlow, Owen leads on the development of the StructureFlow product to help users think, communicate and collaborate more efficiently by visualising transactions and matters with their software.  

In this Transaction Management episode of Shieldcast, Owen and Geoff discuss:  

• Why there is a growing interest in using visualisation tools and their wide range of applications for the legal industry 
• Whether technology innovations should be improving current transaction management processes or rather disrupt with new innovations and working practices 
• Why it is important to knit together new technologies  
• How data and new insights can be used to enhance lawyer and client experience

Listen to this Transaction Management edition of Shieldcast to find out more! 


You can learn more about StructureFlow and the services they provide on their website: https://www.structureflow.co/

Owen contributed to our recent Transaction Management eBook. You can read his insights on how visualisation tools are changing the game for deal planning and structuring by downloading the book here. 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Nick Kirby, Legal Director of Mishcon de Reya discusses building specialist technology teams, starting incubators, and how tech has transformed the legal industry. 

 Firmly establishing himself as one of Mishcon de Reya's Tech Champions, Nick is a mentor for MDR LAB, Mishcon's programme for tech start-ups in the legal space. As part of this role, he has built technology products which help the Real Estate department automate various tasks.  In addition, Nick also mentors PropTech start-ups at Pi Labs, a company investing in early-stage property tech ventures.  

Nick is responsible for researching new technologies, including software which utilises machine learning and AI for smart document automation.  

In this Modern Law episode of Shieldcast, Nick and Geoff discuss: 

• What role new technology plays in de-risking and streamlining the legal practitioner’s caseload 
• When legal tech can help firms improve and prepare the lawyers of the future that provide value for clients 
• Why a collaborative approach to legal product development can bring positive change for the industry 
• How the Covid-19 crisis has significantly advanced innovation and change for both the legal industry and tech innovators.  

Named as one of the top 10 most innovative lawyers in Europe by the Financial Times in 2019, Nick was commended by the FT for his role in the digital transfer of residential property with the Land Registry. He was also named in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 in 2018 within the 'disruptors' category, hailing those on the front line of legal tech. The Lawyer commented: 'In recent years Mishcon de Reya has made a name for itself as a technology-focused business and, when it comes to real estate, none of its lawyers are more engaged than Nick Kirby.'  

Listen to this Modern Law edition of Shieldcast to find out more! 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Daniel Porus, Chief Commercial Officer at Legatics discusses legal tech ecosystems and scaling up a successful legal tech business during a global pandemic. 

Prior to Legatics, Daniel worked as a corporate solicitor at leading New Zealand and Australian firms. His frustrations with the inefficiencies of his day to day practice ultimately led him to Cambridge University Judge Business School and, following business school, Daniel has been combining his interest in technology and knowledge of the working practices of lawyers at Legatics to address what had driven him away from the law and help to improve its practice for lawyers of the future. 

In this Modern Law episode of Shieldcast, Daniel and Geoff discuss: 

• What insights and challenges of the legal industry can influence technology and innovation 
• Why ‘billable hours’ is a false KPI, now clients and users increasingly demand more from the legal industry 
• When firms are most likely to be open to change and how legal tech can collaborate with stakeholders on solutions  
• How legal tech innovators can penetrate new markets and scale up for increased demand in challenging times.  

Daniel holds an MBA from Cambridge University and an LLB/BA Economics from the University of Auckland and has turned six years of experience as a legal professional to building one of the leading lights of legaltech.  

Listen to this Modern Law edition of Shieldcast to find out more! 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Amy Bell, co-founder of Teal Compliance and Teal Legal, discusses how lawyers can stay ahead of the curve in compliance and navigate the deep waters of regulation through technology, with host Geoff Dunnett. 

An early pioneer of modern compliance approaches, Amy has built a solid reputation for helping firms adapt to the changing legal landscape. Founding Teal Compliance in January 2018, Amy’s team provide support to law firms and help them to understand compliance, showing them how to apply risk management principles to improve client service and deliver efficiencies.  

Amy’s passion and expertise of compliance and regulation has made her a popular industry speaker, with contributions for the Law Society, the ARK Group, MBL Seminars as well as local Law Societies. 

In this Modern Law episode of Shieldcast, Amy and Geoff discuss: 

• What are the challenges of compliance in an ever-changing legal landscape 
• How the advent of Alternative Business Structures (ABS)s have upped the stakes for maintaining competitive advantage  
• When new technology and stakeholders can co-exist and collaborate for tackling real life threats and opportunities 
• Why common approaches to compliance and anti-money laundering prevention are not enough as we adjust to the ‘new normal’. 

A member and former Chair of the Law Society's Money Laundering Task Force, where she represents the solicitors profession at government and in Europe, Amy is also the author of the Law Society's Anti-Bribery Toolkit, their Anti Money Laundering Training courses, and co-author of the 4th edition of Solicitors and Money Laundering. Amy’s latest book Solicitors & Money Laundering and Compliance That Works is published autumn 2020. 

Listen to this Modern Law edition of Shieldcast to find out more! 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Crispin Passmore, Founder and principle of Passmore Consulting discusses regulation, regulators and their role in fostering innovation. 

In this new series dedicated to Modern Law, Shieldcast host Geoff Dunnett discusses the contentious topic of regulation with Crispin Passmore and how it may ultimately influence innovation and technology for a new post-Covid world. 

Prior to consulting, Crispin led the regulatory reform programme at the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), and prior to the SRA, Crispin helped to set up the Legal Services Board (LSB), which involved setting up its own regulatory model to oversee existing professional body regulators (including the SRA), Crispin is no stranger to change and innovation. 

 In this Modern Law episode of Shieldcast, Crispin and Geoff discuss: 

• What the key drivers for regulatory change mean for both lawyers and clients, and how both they can both influence innovation 
• When the justice system and public interest conflict, a catalyst for change is created 
• Why a digital approach to lawyering fosters positive, responsive consumer-led regulation 
• How the developing landscape of lawyering may advance in a brave new world  

Crispin’s deep and broad knowledge of the legal market has been built over more than 25 years in the legal market in a number of roles, pioneering new approaches to arguably a previously inert industry. 

Listen to this Modern Law edition of Shieldcast to find out more! 

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

Concluding our special Fundraising series, in this episode of Shieldcast Geoff Dunnett discusses capital raising, generating investor demand and creating private company equity liquidity with Capdesk's Christian Gabriel.

In this episode of Shieldcast, they discuss:

• Venture capital funding and investor relations
• Fundraising rounds to complement company culture
• How private companies are staying private for longer 
• Series A funding, and what happens next. 

With 10 years experience in the equity investment sector as a director for the investment platform FundedByMe and as managing partner of the Corporate Finance House, Christian provides insightful specialist financial guidance.

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

As companies begin fundraising activities in a post-lockdown world, the fight against fraudulent investment activity and exploit will be more integral than ever when closing day comes. Shieldpay's Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Willem Wellinghoff shares his tips for successful due diligence. 

Learn why researching your investor profiles is key to closing day success but also the long term execution of your business. Willem will help you answer the following fundraising challenges:

• Which investors should you attract to control potential risk factors?
• What steps can you take for checking and knowing your investors?
• How can you ensure legitimate funds for sustainable business growth?

Listen to this fundraising edition of Shieldcast to find out!

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com

With a wealth of experience in supporting start-ups and high-growth businesses in their fundraising rounds, corporate finance lawyer James Farha discusses his greatest learnings, the work he and his team do, and how preparation is vital in the early days of new business development.

Covering a broad spectrum of topics from the actual practice of the law, James shares his first-hand account of the challenges of setting up the business of a law firm, with useful insights as to what companies should consider in their fundraising journey.

What are the key drivers of successful start-ups? Which tools of the trade are essential for a new law business? What are the common pitfalls to avoid? Listen to this fundraising edition of Shieldcast to find out!

Find other episodes in the series on our website: Shieldcast library

Podcast brought to you by Shieldpay - learn more: shieldpay.com