What does innovation at a law firm look like? How do you match client/lawyer needs to the internal resources that can address them? I explore this with Benjamin Llinas, Matter Optimization Manager at Linklaters, a global law firm.

Ben is that unicorn in the law firm org structure sitting at the intersection of supporting lawyers, servicing clients, and deploying technology. His work is part art, part science. Part technologist, part psychologist. 

His work requires not only technical acumen, creative thinking and problem solving, but also the emotional intelligence to connect with lawyers to ensure they are using and benefitting from the tech being deployed.

Ben and I talk about how AI is impacting the business of law firms, the day-to-day work of its lawyers, and the demands of its clients. But Ben reminds me that AI is just one out of the many ways that technology can streamline legal practice. If you know how to look for it, you will find a lot in the existing arsenal for streamlining legal operations at a law firm. 

The bigger challenge, in some ways, is identifying the specific needs of a lawyer/project/client.  And so much of our conversation is about the process of un-packing a workflow and finding the right bits and pieces that can be automated -- whether it's using the latest snazzy AI-powered solution or an Excel macro. 

Because what you don't want to do is jump to a conclusion and buy an expensive end-to-end, out-of-the-box solution that does too much and too little all at once. You will have served your internal client better by putting in the effort up-front to parse the workflow, break it down into its distinct parts, and come up with the right plug-and-play mix mix of buy/build solutions that achieve the best outcome overall. 

I talk with Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley, founder of Taimet, about productized AI solutions for lawyers, by lawyers. Her product seeks to solve a specific problem set that comes up in the day-to-day practice of every antitrust deal lawyer: screening M&A transactions for regulatory risk. We talk about how she came up with her solution, how it works, and what it means for lawyers and the clients they support. Along the way, we also explore the way that AI products are impacting not only the practice but also the business of law in an evolving business climate in which clients expect more, for less, and quicker. We also talk about the unique strengths that practicing lawyers have in  identifying user needs and developing legaltech solutions to address them. 

https://www.taimet.com/

I talk with Daniel Schwarz, co-founder of CompetitionAI, about bespoke AI tools for subject matter experts. We discuss what it means to build AI tools tailored to the specific needs of lawyers practicing in a specific area of law. We also explore what AI means for law firms, the lawyers working in them, and the law students aspiring to enter the profession.

The AI Legal revolution is already here. 

That’s the bottom line from my conversation with LegalTech thought leader, educator, and founder, Thomas G. Martin. 

It’s no longer just about using tools to be more productive. What we’re looking at is a transformation of what a “legal service provider” is. Tom’s theory is that every law firm is now a software company. Whether or not you agree with the ultimate conclusion, you’ll be hard pressed to find flaws in the logic that leads him to it. 

The implications of this are far reaching. Practicing lawyers, law students, startup founders — if guided by the ultimate needs of the client — will witness major shifts in the model for delivering those services. 

This is not a matter of a decade. It is just around the corner — with the foundation already shifting underneath everyone’s feet. 

But this is not cause for panic or alarm. We haven’t passed some event horizon for law firm tech adoption. It’s a moment for reflection, investment, and for embracing the opportunities that this pivotal moment presents. 

As always, views expressed are my own.

https://ca.linkedin.com/in/thomasgmartin

https://www.lawdroidmanifesto.com/

https://lawdroid.com/

Alex Baker, founder of Legal Tech Collective, comes on to talk about how practicing lawyers can leverage their know-how and experience to develop and productize LegalTech solutions. Whether its internal solutions to streamline your practice or client-facing tools that improve how you offer legal services, lawyers who think like LegalTech founders can position themselves and their practices to out-compete technology laggards. We talk about how lawyers can go from idea to product, what challenges they face along the way, and how to position such products so that the law firms underwriting their development can rightly see them as an investment with potential ROI (margin and market share) as opposed to a partner's costly pet project. 

I'm joined by LegalTech consultant Emma Kelly (quadK) to discuss law firm deployment of technology. We talk about what an "AI law firm" might look like and mean for corporate clients, small businesses, and even individuals seeking legal services. Along the way, we explore the evolution of AI and machine learning from its e-discovery roots to prospects for practice-specific end-to-end digital platforms for legal services. 

You can reach Emma at [email protected] or follow her at Emma Kelly | LinkedIn. 

Legal practitioners and legal ops professionals play complementary roles that, combined, are critical to the successful deployment of LegalTech solutions at a corporate. I sit down with Michiel Ypma, Group Head of Legal Operations and Finance at ABB, to talk about the role of Legal Ops in helping lawyers identify the problems that need solving, finding the right solutions, securing internal buy-in, and driving user adoption. As it turns out, legal practice has a lot to learn from MBA-style thinking about strategic planning and operations. 

You can find Michiel at Michiel Ypma | LinkedIn

*As always, views expressed our own* 

I'm joined by Devon Willitts, Legal Engineering Lead at Robin AI. We talk LegalTech deployment at large corporates, covering the evolution of AI/ML, use cases for contract analysis, measuring the effectiveness of tech tools, and successful user adoption in-house. 

Building AI Agents is not complicated, and it opens up opportunities to automate and streamline your day-to-day work as a lawyer. On this episode, I explain what Agentic AI is and how it works, why you should learn to build AI Agents on your own, and how they fit within a spectrum of LegalTech solutions for legal practitioners.

LegalTech tools to audit, monitor and even give real-time feedback on employee communications tackle a key vector of legal risk for any organization. I talk to Darin Hicks, CEO of LitLingo, about the benefits and potential challenges of deploying these products at a large legal corporate.

LitLingo - Detect and Prevent Careless Communication

Darin Hicks on LinkedIn