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.

So much of our communications and societal existence is housed online, so e-discovery is the major way we gather evidence. Jared talks with Cat Casey about the AI spectrum within the e-discovery world, explaining the many ways varying elements of machine learning and AI have created more powerful tools for attorneys. They also discuss the promising future of AI in e-discovery and the legal profession. 

This time on the Rump Roast, Jared quizzes Cat on cat-themed song lyrics. Is Cat an expert on feline musical appearances? We shall see. 

Everybody keeps asking about AI, so Jared’s delivering! There are quite a few budding AI softwares tailor-made for attorneys, so what tools are worth your attention? Jared reminds everyone—lots of the things you already use have had AI baked in for a long time, so use it. Security is important, folks, so picking vetted technology over an unknown/free tool could definitely keep it from coming back to bite you in your ethically questionable ass. 

Cat Casey is Chief Growth Officer at Reveal Brainspace, helping lead innovation and direction for their legal technology solutions.

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Since you're listening to Cat on the mic this episode, the logical next step is to listen to this cat inspired playlist.

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Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing track is Banksy by Lunareh.

Links Mentioned:

Women in eDiscovery

Operation Safe Space

SPLASH Pledge

Law Rocks!

Sometimes, legal tech is the perfect solution for the needs of your law firm, but sometimes, lawyers need to look outside the legal tech world at other technologies that can serve their legal practice better. Emily Gordon has always been a tech-forward attorney, and she’s got tons of recommendations for non-legaltech tech tools that have become the most effective solutions for her law firm. 

Then, Emily sticks around for the Rump Roast! The “Amara” in Emily’s firm, Amara Law, is actually her middle name, so Jared devised a middle-name trivia game: “Stuck in the Middle With You”.  

And, dear listener, get ready for a hot take from Jared: SNL sucks, and… you know what? Maybe it always has. But, there’s something better out there—”I Think You Should Leave” on Netflix is worth watching again and again. Have fun!

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Since we talked about middle names coming first, I’ve put together what is, perhaps, our most middling playlist ever.

Links Mentioned:

Front

Twilio

PandaDoc

Stripe

Adjusting to the new and persistent presence of AI in the legal world isn’t easy, but it is necessary. Jared welcomes brothers Justin and Luc Cary, an attorney and software engineer, respectively, to unpack the current state of AI in business and legal uses. They discuss current safety issues, emerging guardrails, best practices for research, AI in legal tech software, and more. 

Later on in the Rump Roast, the guys play “Brother Up”, where Justin and Luc must identify famous brothers in history and pop culture. 

And, should you be entering confidential information into generative AI tools? Well, there are layers, folks, but in the current AI environment, lawyers should never assume their data is secure. That being said, Jared doesn’t want to throw a wet blanket on the AI revolution, he just wants you to know the three simple things that will enable you to use these tools safely and ethically. 

Justin Cary is an attorney at Drummond Woodsum.

Luc Cary is associate director of machine learning at Invitae.

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Since we have the Cary brothers with us this week, here's a playlist all about siblings!

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Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.

Our closing track is Promised Land by Brian Brown