The Legal Toolkit

What’s the next big thing coming in AI? Autonomous agents, that’s what! Currently, you have to drive the process of genAI by honing the iterations of your prompt. But, an autonomous agent can do that stuff without you worrying your pretty little head, dear lawyer. So, what’s there to know about this latest tech evolution? Jared’s here to talk about attorney use cases and whether this tech may be used for good or ill.

Later, the AI apocalypse isn’t upon us yet, so let’s enjoy some awesome music. Jared welcomes Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Richie Furay who, among other accomplishments, was a member of the great American bands Buffalo Springfield and Poco. Jared and Richie talk through his history, digging into many colorful moments from his experiences in the music industry. Richie performs live on the podcast, and he and Jared discuss his upcoming documentary.

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Need more Richie? Jared's got you covered.

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Spellbook Associate, effectively acting as a junior associate in a law firm. 

Spellbook Launches Gen AI Agent that Can Plan and Execute Complex Transactional Workflows | LawSites by Bob Ambrogi

LawNext Podcast: Ep 256: All About Spellbook’s New AI Agent, Capable of Performing Complex Legal Tasks, with CEO Scott Stevenson

Richie Furay 

Documentary — Richie Furay

Dear lawyers, software integrations exist to help you make life easier, make work faster, and much more. So, get on board as Jared takes us on a magical journey of understanding, helping lawyers everywhere grasp the versatile, customizable integration possibilities in legal practice. Jared explains the differences between direct, indirect, and DIY integrations, and gives real-life, legal-centric examples of how to amp up the usefulness of your software in almost innumerable ways. 

Next, there are definitely some issues with our current legal ethics rules, but is there really any way to clear up the confusion? Jared welcomes legal ethics expert Jayne Reardon to talk about some of the inconsistencies at play, antiquated rules, inconsistent enforcement, and all sorts of other ethics questions worth examining in view of the current climate of the profession and needs of consumers. While Jared wants to burn it all down, Jayne offers constructive criticism vital to the future of legal ethics.

And, finally, the Rump Roast, of course! Jared and Jayne play a round of trivia called “Questionable Ethics”. Which philosopher had a penchant for being swaddled like a baby? Yikes.

Jayne R. Reardon is a Partner and Deputy General Counsel at FisherBroyles LLP, a distributed global law firm.

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This week, Jared shares the playlist he turns to for help making the "right" choice. Proceed with caution.

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Our opening song is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing song is Something Else by Nu Alkemis$t.

If you’re not marketing your law firm well, you’re sitting on a whole lot of untapped potential for income and growth. Jared talks to Ashley Robinson of Green Cardigan Marketing about the need she saw in the legal world for honest, straightforward marketing tactics that help law firms bring in new clients and greater profits. She explains engagement strategies, effective intake processes, essential marketing technology, and more. 

Later on in the Rump Roast, Jared and Ashley play “Don’t Sweat It!”––a delightful round of sweater-related trivia. 

And, it might seem like Sheryl Crow got a late start to her music career, but she was deeply involved in the music industry for many years before her breakthrough solo album, “Tuesday Night Music Club” rocketed her to fame at age 31. That first album was pretty fun, but Sheryl’s perfect album came later with “The Globe Sessions.” Jared digs into the exceptional appeal of this deliciously hard-edged pop/rock album.

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Yes, Jared does have a playlist of his favorite Sheryl Crow songs.

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Our opening song is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing song is Golden Light by Reveille

Too many law firms aren’t great at being productive, and downfalls in efficiency are often traced to attorneys using the wrong software, or none at all. Jared outlines six productivity-boosting software tools all lawyers should have in their toolkit. 

Later, what’s going to happen to your law firm if something happens to you? Don’t wait until late in your career to establish your succession plan. Start early and communicate well to make a plan that protects your legacy and those you care about. Jared welcomes Ivy Slater to learn the ins and outs of succession planning. 

And, last but not least, what past Olympic event involved two opponents whacking each other with canes? It’s that time of the quadrennial again—so “The Shitty Olympics” returns to the Rump Roast! Jared describes a variety of absurd former competitions, and Ivy must guess the events. 

Ivy Slater is CEO of Slater Success, a consulting and coaching company focused on sustainable growth and leadership development for high level service-based businesses. 

6 Under-The-Radar Software Tools

1. Project Management

1. AI Notetaker

1. AI Features in Your Existing Software

1. Passive Timekeeping Apps

1. Expense Tracking

• Expensify

1. Automated Client Communications:

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If these software tools aren't enough to give your productivity a boost, try listening to this playlist.

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Our opening song is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing song is In Your Head by Reveille.

Were the Beach Boys once on track to become America’s version of the Beatles? Surprisingly, maybe. Disney recently put out a less-than-stellar Beach Boys documentary, so Jared takes on the task of dishing on the true talent, grit, beauty, and tragedy of the group’s career. 

Next, We all have connections that carry the potential to be valuable in our professional lives, but if those connections are difficult to maintain, possibilities may slip away. How can attorneys deepen relationships and strengthen their business opportunities? Just like everything else—with AI, of course! Jared talks with Jody Glidden about new AI-fueled software that helps attorneys with front-office tech geared toward nurturing your network.

And last, Jared hands over the Rump Roast to Real Housewives superfans Ally Kvidt and Lindsey Egan! As it turns out, Jody is a regular on Real Housewives of Miami (gasp!). So, now it’s their turn to dish on the talent, grit, beauty, and vapidity of the RHOMers. Plus, you’ll finally find out whether Jody and Lisa really stole that waffle iron.

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Good, good, good, good vibrations (oom-bop-bop). This episode's playlist is all about the inventors of the California sound: The Beach Boys.

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Our opening song is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing song is Kokobongo by Alessandro Gugel.

Nowadays, all the cool kids are using customer relationship management (CRM) software, and you should too. It’s not new technology, but if you’ve missed the boat or need a refresher—Jared’s here to fill you in on CRM technology and what it can do for you. He explains different types of CRMs in detail to show you its potential for creating seamless intake experiences and optimizing your workflows.

Speaking of CRMs, Jared welcomes Matt Spiegel of Lawmatics to learn about his story as a tech founder and his methods and means for solving problems for attorneys. Matt offers his perspectives on CRM functionality and its latest developments, and also offers hints at how AI will affect this tech in the future.

Last, but not least, Bobby Orozco joins Jared for the Rump Roast to flex his rap knowledge, unpack the Drake/Kendrick Lamar feud, and talk about the best diss tracks in rap history. 

Matt Spiegel is the co-founder and CEO of Lawmatics, an attorney-client relationship management platform.

Bobby Orozco is director of sales at Lawmatics.

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Drake v. Kendrick is just the start. This week's playlist features some of the best rap diss tracks of all time.

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Our opening song is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing song is Grime by Ghost Beatz.

Getting in front of an audience to communicate on camera certainly doesn’t come naturally to all (most?) attorneys, but if you’re feeling embarrassed by your lackluster video presence, there are ways to overcome those on-camera nerves. Jared talks with Kerry Barrett about how she helps professionals sharpen media skills to increase their visibility and present confidence and credibility to their audience.

In the Rump Roast, they play “Candid Camera”, where Jared asks Kerry questions on the history of all things video. What was the last truly silent film? What band played the first-ever music video on MTV? Listen in to find out if Kerry’s up to the trivia challenge.

And, lastly, hating on Caitlin Clark is utterly ridiculous. Jared expounds upon the many reasons why WNBA players (including Caitlin’s own teammates) need to take advantage of the hype and bask in all that Caitlin Clark is bringing to women’s basketball. 

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Since Video Killed The Radio Star, here's a playlist featuring songs that had some of the best music videos.

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Our opening song is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing song is Just Like Me by Thruline.

Jared kicks it off by exploring the biggest players in productivity software you should be using, well, be more productive. But no productivity suite is perfect. So, get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each so you can make the right choice for you.

Then, back in the day, lawyers often got their IT services from some independent techie who took care of stuff on an as-needed basis, but that sort of break/fix model is problematic if your tech strategy is only reactive instead of proactive. Jared talks with Michael Doherty about what it looks like for lawyers to engage IT services through a managed service provider (MSP). Michael walks attorneys through modern realities and ethics for technology use in their law firms and the potential for better outcomes when working with an MSP. 

Later on—the Rump Roast, of course! The guys play “Hard Choices”, where Jared poses difficult Boston-themed scenarios and Michael must educate the masses on what a true Bostonian would do. 

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Let's keep this Boston train going. Next stop: some of Boston's greatest musical hits.

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Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing track is Take a Ride With Me by The Revolution.

AI’s prime directive is to give you answers, buuuut… it might just be telling you what it thinks you want to hear—with no concern over providing actual verifiable facts. This issue (and oodles of others) have initiated a trickle of case law/guidance/opinions/etc. in the legal AI scene, and you, dear lawyer, want to be on the right side of legal ethics on this one. Jared breaks down the latest developments on this topic to give you a better understanding of where things are headed. 

Next, some of us are, admittedly, BS-ing our way through all this AI stuff, but Josh Noffke really and truly uses AI as much as he possibly can in his law firm. Since the rest of us are still muddling through, Jared welcomes Josh to give attorneys tool recommendations and pointers on use-cases for AI in their law firms.

Later, it turns out that Josh played as a walk-on for the University of Michigan’s football team, so the Rump Roast is dedicated to team trivia! The guys play “Michigan Man” to test both Josh’s knowledge and reputation as a former Wolverine. Serious stuff. 

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Ah, Michigan. The mitten shaped state that gave us Motown.

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Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing track is Renegade by The Revolution.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Notion

Scribe

Loom Videos

Rocket Typist

TextExpander

Bored with your run-of-the-mill marketing campaigns? Maybe it’s time for you to make a musical! Jared brings on Jacob Sanders to learn all about the recent release of NinjaCat’s Big Data Day – a corporate musical. They talk about the history of these sorts of marketing ventures and their uniquely fun and tactical advantages. They also dig into how super effective use of your data will help you run a better, more profitable business. 

Next, the Rump Roast! In a new trivia game called “Large Fathers”, Jacob must answer questions about big daddies of historical pop culture. 

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Also in this episode—Jared, in general, hates musicals (Sorry, Jacob). No spoilers here, but a very select few did make Jared’s remarkably minuscule shortlist.

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Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing track is Sepulveda by Midnight Daydream.