Studio A

Lawyers can finish a filing and because of the many things they do, weeks later, can't remember what it was even about.

In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Matthew Guillod, Senior Product Manager at Harvey, to unpack the new integration connecting Harvey and Aderant's iTimeKeep. Matt walks through why time entry, of everywhere Harvey could have plugged in, was the first problem they chose to solve with Aderant, how the Submit Time button captures billable work the moment it happens, and why Harvey drafts a narrative but always leaves the final submission to the lawyer.

Tune in to hear what law firm security teams ask before adopting the integration and what Aderant brought to the table that made it possible.

Highlights:

• Why Time Entry: Why Harvey chose time entry, of all things, as the first place to build its Aderant integration
• Human In The Loop: Why Harvey's AI drafts billing narratives but always leaves the final submission to the lawyer
• Front Office Meets Back Office: How the integration connects Harvey's front-office work to Aderant's back-office billing systems

Jump into the conversation:
 (00:00) Introducing Matt Guillod, Senior Product Manager at Harvey
 (01:48) What time entry looked like for Matt as a practicing lawyer
 (02:48) Inside the Aderant and Harvey integration connecting the front and back office
 (03:58) Why time entry was the first place Harvey chose to build
 (05:04) How the Submit Time button works inside Harvey
 (07:01) Why Harvey drafts narratives but stops short of submitting them
 (08:02) What law firm security teams want to know about the integration
 (09:25) What Aderant brought to the table that made this integration possible
 (10:57) The one word Matt uses to describe the integration
 (12:19) What a lawyer's day looks like when front and back office connect

By the time a firm spots a billing bottleneck, the chance to fix it has often already passed.In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Campbell Barrett, President and CEO of Datolite Solutions, to talk about how law firms can modernize billing and financial operations. Campbell explains why most firms use their data like a rearview mirror, where margin quietly leaks out between time entry and final invoice approval, and why real-time visibility is turning finance into a strategic intelligence function.Tune in to hear why AI amplifies bad operational data instead of fixing it, how firms can automate repetitive admin work without losing sight of professional judgment, and what Campbell thinks will define the next generation of legal operations.

Highlights:

• Margin Lost In The Handoffs: Where firms lose efficiency between time entry and invoice approval, and why small inefficiencies repeated thousands of times add up
• Data Before AI: Why a reliable data foundation has to come first, and why AI amplifies bad operational data instead of fixing it
• People Led, Technology Driven: How firms can automate routine work while keeping transparency and professional judgment in the loop

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introducing Campbell Barrett, President and CEO at Datolite Solutions
(01:09) How Datolite is modernizing billing and financial operations for firms
(02:01) Firms use their operational data like a rearview mirror
(03:06) Where firms lose margin between time entry and final invoice approval
(04:24) Why speed and visibility matter more for firm leadership
(05:34) Moving from reactive pricing to proactive profitability management
(08:04) How to automate without creating operational blind spots
(09:14) Where AI adoption is real and where expectations are ahead of reality
(10:50) Why user experience is underestimated in law firm transformation
(11:59) How disciplined firms separate meaningful innovation from AI distraction
(12:57) What will define the next generation of legal operations

If you don't have your foot into AI for your legal tech yet, you need to ask yourself whether that's still a strategic move worth making.

In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Josiah Chaves, Chief Client Officer at Aderant, to unpack what Aderant 2030 means for the AI-native law firm. Josiah breaks down the vision behind Aderant becoming the legal back office operating system, what Stridyn and the new Harvey integration means for connecting the front and back office, and why the Aderant Agent Center is reshaping how firms manage their Work-To-Cash cycle.

Tune in to hear why 97% of firms report Aderant's newest solutions already meet their expectations, what it actually means for a firm to be AI-native rather than just AI-everywhere, and why Josiah believes the firms still sitting on the sidelines should be nervous.

Highlights:

• Aderant 2030: What it means for Aderant to become the legal back office operating system as law firms head into an AI-driven future
• AI-Native, Not AI-Everywhere: Why being AI-native means putting AI at the center of the firm rather than scattering it across every process
• Connecting Front and Back Office: How the new Harvey integration and Aderant's 300+ partner ecosystem create an unmatched client experience

Jump into the conversation:
 (00:00) Josiah Chaves on why firms without their foot in the water should be nervous
 (00:59) Introducing Josiah Chaves, Chief Client Officer at Aderant
 (02:10) What Aderant 2030 means for the future of law firm operations
 (02:52) What an unmatched client experience actually looks like day to day
 (04:11) Why client experience became a product story built on trust
 (04:23) How Harvey and Aderant's 300+ partner ecosystem change what's possible
 (05:17) Sierra as the bridge to Stridyn and why the data layer matters
 (07:31) Inside the Aderant and Harvey integration connecting front and back office
 (08:26) New AI capabilities in iTimeKeep and the shift to outcome-based billing narratives
 (09:21) Advice for law firms still sitting on the sidelines
 (10:21) What actually defines the modern, AI-native law firm
 (11:53) What's next for the Aderant Agent Center

Technology doesn't transform law firms. People do.

In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Ben Starkie, President and CEO of AAC Consulting, for a conversation on what it actually takes to move law firms through transformation without breaking what works.

Ben shares AAC’s consulting experience on navigating today’s technological changes in legal, why the biggest barrier to transformation isn't technology but the people and decision-making behind it, and how firms can align siloed operations into a unified ecosystem without forcing change faster than what people are ready for.

Tune in to hear why Ben believes the next 10 years in legal will be defined by firms that learn to use AI as a tool for higher value work and navigate the change management that comes with it.

Highlights:

• The Real Barrier To Change: Why getting partners aligned and decisions made is harder than any technical implementation and what AAC does to help firms move through it
• Siloed Operations To Unified Ecosystem: How law firms can bring Finance, IT, Legal Ops, and HR onto common ground without disrupting everything at once
• AI As A Tool Not A Threat: Why Ben believes defining guardrails is the first step to unlocking AI's real value and what that looks like for firms right now

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Introducing Ben Starkie, President and CEO of AAC Consulting
(02:12) What 30 years of legal consulting reveals about industry transformation
(02:59) The one thing every successful law firm has in common
(03:54) Where law firms struggle most between ambition and execution
(04:40) What builds long-term trust with law firms during fast change
(05:49) How law firms can align fragmented operations toward a unified goal
(06:59) Why forced change creates friction and how to manage it effectively
(09:12) What will define the next 10 years of legal operations 

Technology was treated as overhead for law firms for decades. Now, it is the growth lever.

In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Aisling Fenelon, Chief Revenue Officer at Aderant, to talk about the mindset shift happening  across law firms worldwide.

Aisling shares why AI conversations in law firms have shifted from curiosity to expectation to trust, and what it takes to build a revenue organization that can keep pace with the level of innovation happening inside Aderant right now.

Tune in to hear why Aisling believes Aderant's stability, profitability, and long-term vision make it the most attractive option for law firms navigating one of the fastest periods of change the industry has ever seen.

Highlights:

• From Software To Revenue Performance: Why law firms are finally asking whether their AI technology is a growth lever and what that mindset shift means for how they evaluate and invest in platforms like Aderant
• AI Has Moved From Curiosity To Trust: Why law firms are no longer asking if AI works and how they are now asking if it is auditable, scalable, and capable of delivering measurable outcomes
• Aderant’s Advantage: Why Aderant's stability and long-term vision are becoming a competitive differentiator in a landscape full of AI startups that may not exist in two years

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introducing Aisling Fenelon, CRO at Aderant
(01:26) How law firms are rethinking technology as a revenue performance investment
(02:14) What firms are really buying when they choose Aderant
(03:33) Where Aderant is seeing the most momentum and immediate value right now
(05:32) How AI conversations have shifted from curiosity to trust and measurable outcomes
(06:36) What it takes to build a revenue organization that keeps pace with rapid innovation
(07:48) What it means to be the first woman CRO at Aderant
(08:53) Advice for women looking to grow into executive roles in tech 

You can't measure what you can't see.

In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Rob Stote, Chief Product Officer at BigHand, to talk about what operational visibility really means for law firms and why the firms that can see their data clearly are the ones making better, faster, and more confident decisions.

Rob breaks down the difference between applied AI and foundational models, why speed without the right information leads to bad decisions, and why he believes AI is the fastest adopted technology he has seen in 25 years of working in legal.

Tune in to hear why Rob believes open-mindedness is the single biggest factor separating the firms that will lead the next three to five years from the ones still catching up.

Highlights:

• Operational Visibility: Why bringing metrics from billings and WIPs to the surface is the foundation for every strategic decision a law firm needs to make
• Applied AI vs Everything Else: Defining the difference between AI that is embedded in products and delivers measurable value versus AI that is just a buzzword
• Speed vs Informed Decisions: Why AI should be valued as a tool for informed decisions rather than just speed

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Introducing Rob Stote, Chief Product Officer at BigHand
(02:41) Why operational visibility has become the defining issue for law firms
(04:56) Where law firms can realize measurable AI value today
(07:21) Why the billable hour is not going away but pricing models must shift
(10:50) Why change management is the make or break moment for any AI tech rollout 

In a world where every firm has access to the same AI tools, the real differentiator is still the people behind them.

In this episode of Studio A, Will Ayers sits down with Nate Skinner, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer at 8am to talk about what trust and compliance really mean for law firms handling financial transactions at scale, why the human element matters more than ever in the age of Gen AI, and how 8am stays disciplined about applying AI to real problems rather than chasing industry hype.

Tune in to hear why Nate believes the firms that get their foundations of trust, compliance, and cash flow are the ones best positioned to grow.

Highlights: 

• Trust As The Real Differentiator: Why the human element matters more than ever and what it means to earn client trust at scale in today’s age of Gen AI
• Closing The Work-To-Cash Loop: How the BillBlast and LawPay integration eliminates the manual gaps between sending a bill and receiving payment and what that means for compliance 
• AI Where It Actually Helps: How 8am stays disciplined about applying AI to real customer problems rather than chasing every new model that drops 

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introducing Nate Skinner, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer at 8am
(02:24) What trust actually means in legal finance and how AI is changing it
(03:56) What processing $27 billion in payments reveals about law firm cash flow
(05:16) How the BillBlast and LawPay integration closes the Work-To-Cash loop
(06:23) Why next day payments unlock firm growth in ways most leaders don't expect
(07:55) How AI agents processing invoices are creating a new accountability gap
(09:58) Why billing and payments need to work as one connected system
(11:04) Where GenAI is delivering real value in legal finance right now
(12:49) How 8am stays disciplined about AI without chasing the hype
(14:24) A real-life story and what trust really looks like beyond the product
(15:55) Revenue, cost, and risk and why getting the foundation right comes first

Will Ayers sits down with Aderant SVP of Product Management and AI, Lisa Erickson for a deep dive in what agentic AI actually means for law firm operations.

Lisa breaks down the limits of Work-To-Cash and how Aderant is fixing it, what the Aderant Agent Center means for firms ready to move beyond manual or basic AI processes, and why the biggest barrier to AI adoption isn't the technology itself but the people and behavioral change that has to come with it.

Highlights:

• Addressing Work-To-Cash: Where the cycle is still disconnected and what Aderant is doing to make it truly end-to-end
• The Agent Center: What Aderant's new Agent Center is, how it works, and what the first three agents mean for firm operations
• Automation Over Efficiency: Why law firms aren't just asking for faster workflows, they want the burden removed entirely

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introducing Lisa Erickson, SVP of Product Management and AI at Aderant
(01:28) Where Work-To-Cash is broken and what Aderant is doing for it
(03:02) What law firms are really asking for beyond efficiency
(03:46) Real AI use cases already live inside Aderant's products today
(05:54) Introducing the Aderant Agent Center and its first three agents
(07:16) Why behavior change and internal champions matter more than the technology
(08:07) Automation that removes work vs AI that augments decision making 

In this episode of AI in Practice, Will Ayers sits down with Nicholas Wolter, Senior Director of Platform, Data and AI at Aderant, to break down what it actually takes to build an AI strategy that works for law firms.

Nicholas shares how Stridyn evolved into a second brain for firms, why data cleanliness is the foundation on which every AI investment depends, and why the biggest win from AI isn't speed but the freedom to do harder, deeper work.

Tune in to hear why the firms that get their data strategy right now are the ones that will be taking on more work that increases profitability over the next three to five years.

Highlights:

• Deeper Work, Not Just Faster Work: Why AI's biggest impact isn't speed, it's unlocking higher quality work that wasn't possible before
• Data Cleanliness as a Foundation: Why slop in means slop out and what firms need to get right before any AI investment can deliver impactful results
• Aderant's Value: A spicy take on what Aderant's value should be in a crowded AI tool landscape and why being home-based matters more than being the flashiest tool.

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introducing Nicholas Wolter, Senior Director of Platform, Data and AI at Aderant
(01:18) How Stridyn evolved from an analytics tool into a firm's second brain
(02:53) What a unified platform makes possible for real-time intel
(04:50) Deeper work, not just faster work — what that looks like in practice
(06:20) Building AI systems that can evolve alongside fast-changing models
(07:34) The spicy take on what Aderant's role should be in the AI landscape

Law firms in the 80s thought it would be reasonable to opt out of the then-new technology, email. AI is facing the same moment today.

In this episode of State of Innovation, Will Ayers sits down with Aderant President and CEO Chris Cartrett on what it really means for law firms to lead in the age of AI. Chris shares Aderant's vision for the AI-native law firm, why the legal back office is the foundation of that transformation, and what hesitant firms risk by waiting.

Tune in to hear why Chris believes AI in legal is the "opt out of email" moment of our generation, what Aderant 2030 looks like as a blueprint for the firms ready to lead, and how the shift from hours to outcomes is already happening on the ground.

Highlights:

• The AI-Native Law Firm: What it actually means for a firm to go AI-native and why core legal workflows are about to change permanently 
• Real Results, Right Now: From a 70% reduction in deductions to $14 million recovered for an Am Law 100 firm, firms are already winning today 
• Leaning In: Why hesitation is the biggest risk of all and what it practically looks like to lean into AI transformation in 2026 

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Introducing Chris Cartrett, President and CEO at Aderant
(03:17) Aderant 2030 and the AI-native law firm blueprint
(04:22) What AI-native actually looks like day to day
(05:51) Owning the operational backbone for top law firms worldwide
(09:53) $14M in deductions, and where firms are winning right now
(11:07) How executive visibility changes with real-time intelligence
(14:29) Advice for firms still sitting on the fence
(16:55) What leaning into AI looks like in 2026