The Digital Edge

We know you’ve been anxiously awaiting this episode, and it’s Sharon and Jim’s favorite podcast of the year — Tech Toys for the Holidays! Tune in for their specially crafted wishlist for all the technology enthusiasts in your life.

This edition of The Digital Edge will be Sharon and Jim’s final podcast. We are so thankful for their many years of camaraderie, great conversations, and help in keeping us up with the latest in legal tech. Goodbye and happy trails to our dear friends. We wish you the best in years to come!

2023 Tech Toys:

TECHSHOW will be here before we know it, and there’s no time like the present to get your tickets! To get an idea of what attendees can expect, Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson talk with co-chairs Cynthia Thomas and Sofia Lingos about the 2024 conference theme and special events. TECHSHOW is for anyone and everyone in the world of legal—lawyers, students, judges, paralegals, tech innovators, and more! To learn more and reserve your spot, go to: https://www.techshow.com. 

Cynthia Thomas is the proprietor of PLMC & Associates, a consultancy firm specializing in law firm management.

Sofia Lingos is the founding and managing attorney of Trident Legal, a Boston based law firm that provides innovative transactional legal services

Is AI finally going to be the undeniable and absolute conqueror of the billable hour? Though many have called for its demise for years, the billable hour still has a substantial foothold in much of the industry, but AI might just change all that. Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk with Jordan Furlong about how AI promises to change not just billing, but law firm business practices across the board. Jordan explains AI’s potential to spur a variety of new innovations in legal practice and what lawyers should do to stay abreast of new developments. 

Jordan Furlong is an internationally renowned legal sector analyst, author, speaker, and consultant deeply invested in a better future for the legal profession and the society it serves.

Lawyers are often confused about the best and safest ways to share files with clients. Are standalone file sharing tools best? Should every lawyer have a client portal? Is email okay? Sharon Nelson and John Simek have an in-depth conversation with Roberta Tepper about everything you need to know about ethical, secure file sharing solutions. 

Roberta Tepper is the Chief Member Services Officer at the State Bar of Arizona.

Copilot is your upcoming digital assistant in pretty much all the Microsoft applications you use day-to-day. So, what do you need to know about utilizing this technology in your legal practice? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway welcome Ben Schorr to discuss the many lawyer-specific Copilot possibilities, from meeting notes, to case summaries, email drafts, and more. They also discuss its current reliability, a privacy overview, and Ben’s top tips for getting the most out of Copilot in your Microsoft apps.

Ben M. Schorr is a senior content designer at Microsoft.

Copyright law is buzzing with the rising possibilities of AI-related legal matters. Is this a major concern in our current era of blossoming AI technologies? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway welcome Vedia Jones-Richardson to get her expert opinion on a variety of legal questions arising from the “creative expressions” of generative AI. They review the current landscape of AI’s copyright connections, get explanations on what is and isn’t protected, and discuss notable cases that have explored the infringement and copyright implications of AI-created materials. 

Vedia Jones-Richardson is a Principal with Olive and Olive, PA, where she leads the trademark and copyright practice group.

Lately, AI developments have been top of mind for just about everybody—lawyers included. And with AI’s potential to solve all kinds of workflow problems and majorly improve access to justice, the excitement around it does have real merit. However, concerns about accuracy, security, and the current lack of regulation are just as pressing as the excitement surrounding the AI bandwagon. To address all these issues and more, Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway welcome John Simek to unpack the latest AI trends and their implications for lawyers. 

John W. Simek is vice president of the digital forensics, managed information technology and cybersecurity firm Sensei Enterprises.

Pain points in your legal practice might just be easily solved with a little automation. Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson chat with Greg Siskind about his firm’s leading-edge relationship with AI and automation technologies. Greg’s simple, straightforward insights help listeners understand the ethics of AI use in law and how to leverage it to improve your firm’s workflows and client experiences.

Greg Siskind is a founder of Siskind Susser, a national immigration firm based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Turning a legal service into a product has already been proven to be both profitable for lawyers and a huge help in increasing access to justice. So, how do you join this new wave and productize your services? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk with Dorna Moini about strategies for creating a legal product for your target market, pricing recommendations for today’s clients, and future outlooks as legal products change the way we deliver services in the profession.

Dorna Moini is the CEO and founder of Gavel, a no-code platform for building document automation and client-facing legal products.

Is ChatGPT ready to pass the bar? Maybe not quite, but it’s learning rapidly and might just become a tool lawyers use on a daily basis in the future. Sharon and Jim are joined by Julie Bays to find out ChatGPT’s current capabilities in answering questions about legal practice and the law. Listen in to find out what ChatGPT has to say about access to justice, legal ethics, growing your law firm, and more.

Julie A. Bays is the practice management advisor of the Oklahoma Bar Association.