Leadership

How Add-On Services Are Changing the Legal Landscape

Law firms are increasingly expanding their scope and advertising "add-on" services. How can attorneys make use of these to make themselves "stickier" to clients, and how can law firms promote these services in a way that conveys their increased importance to the overall client experience? In this podcast interview, the speakers discussed this and more. 
 
Questions Harriet will asked the speakers:
• Tell us a bit about the evolution of NRF’s Legal Operations department: what was the intended purpose, and how does it interact with the larger business?
• How can attorneys make use of this group (or others within the firm) to make themselves "stickier" to clients? 
• How is (or can) the firm promote these services in a way that conveys their increased importance to the overall client experience?Moderator:
@Harriet Joubert-Vaklyes - Senior Project Manager - Legal Operations, CBRE Group 
 
Speakers:
@Al Hounsell - Director - Strategic Innovation and Legal Design, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada 
Kathy Goodman - Practice Innovation & Knowledge Counsel, Paul Hastings (London)
 
Recorded on 04-05-2023

How Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Are Changing the Face of Search

Enterprise search, targeted search, predictive search, conceptual search...so many options, but which is the right one for your organization? Will advances in AI change how we search going forward? Will we see Alexa or Siri for legal?Questions Jennifer used to guide the conversation:
We often hear about various search options in legaltech - enterprise search, predictive search, conceptual search, just to name a few. How has search evolved in the legal industry over the last decade? 
How will advances in artificial intelligence change the way we search in law firms and legal departments?
Will we see voice search, similar to Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, in legal? If so, what are the ethical implications of relying on voice-enabled technologies? 
What does the future of search look like?
The legal industry is notorious for its unhurried approach to change. How do you see the change management and adoption process of these technologies playing out in legal? What outside factors do you think will drive law firm adoption?
Moderator:@Jennifer Mendez - Sr. Director of Knowledge Management Innovation, Fisher Phillips
Speaker:@Pablo Arredondo - Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Casetext
 
Recorded on 03-15-2023

Becoming a Testifying Expert

Learn about what it takes to become a testifying eDiscovery expert in your field of expertise from these testifying witnesses. The panel covers their own backgrounds, what certifications they have obtained, what education they acquired, and the steps that they took in order to become a testifying expert.
Moderator:@Lauren Doucette - Senior Practice Technology & eDiscovery Project Manager, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Panelists: @Chris Haley - Director of Legal Technology, Troutman Pepper/eMerge@Kevin Cohen - Principal, Data Triage @Kelly Twigger - Principal, ESI Attorneys LLC
 
​Recorded on 01-26-2023

IG/Data Gov Education

What can we do as IG professionals to increase our firms understanding and acceptance of IG core values so that change management is not such a steep hill? In this session, we will explore different options.
 
Moderator:@Andrew Corridore - Information Governance Compliance Manager, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.
 
Panelists:@Christopher Hockey, IGP - Director of Information Governance and Management, Bond, Schoeneck and King, PLLC​@Matthew Estrada - Senior Information Governance Specialist, Kirkland & Ellis
 
​Recorded on 01-23-2023 

How to Effectively Balance Insider Risk and Employee Privacy

This podcast interview session addresses how to create an insider threat/insider trust program that mitigates insider risks while respecting employee's privacy rights. Best practices and advice for starting a new insider threat program will be shared.Questions Corey will ask speakers:1) To help those who are just starting to create an insider threat/insider trust program within their company, what are some available resources that you would recommend checking out?2) What are some insider threat/insider trust best practices that you have found to be invaluable when standing up a program?3) How does a company create an insider threat/insider trust program that is effective at mitigating insider risks while simultaneously respecting employee's privacy rights? Can it be done?4) What future changes do you anticipate in the world of insider risk management in relation to tools, regulations, processes, etc. in the next 5 years?5) Should an insider threat/insider trust program be a discreet or very public function? Can you explain why you feel the way that you do?Moderator: @Corey Reitz - Distinguished Cyber Assurance Architect, Sandia National Laboratories Speakers:@Joshua Smith - Senior IT Security Analyst, Ogletree DeakinsMichael Theis - Chief Engineer & Assistant Director for Research, National Insider Threat Center, CERT/SEI, Carnegie Mellon University​Recorded on 01-18-2023​

Data: The Next Great Lake

Every firm wants to leverage data for insights. But to accomplish this, there needs to be a true source of all data. The creation of data lakes have started. These are massive databases combing different firm data sources. This leads to the importance of data governance and master data management. What does it take to create and curate the data? How can such data be of use to firms?
Questions Tracey will ask Steven:1. What is a data lake?2. What are the advantages of using a data lake?3. How do data lakes differ from the tradition data warehouse?4. Why could a firm invest in a data lake?5. What would it take to build a data lake?6. What tools would need? Any best practices?Moderator:@Tracey Pardo - IS Improvement and Reporting Analyst, Cooley LLPSpeaker:@Steven Heathcock - Data Strategy Manager, Cooley LLP
Recorded on 01-06-2023​

Three Reasons to Use AI for Document Review

AI has become an integral piece of responsive/non-responsive coding for reviewing eDiscovery data. Another piece of the review, which is typically very expensive including Privilege and personal Information redactions. How can this be done with AI technology too?
Questions Andrea will ask Dan: 1. What are the pitfalls related to the way Privilege review has historically been performed?  a. What are some easy ways to improve the process using AI?2. Some companies are using AI to assist with Privilege Review.... how/when will it become the norm? 3. What hurdles are you anticipating folks will need to overcome to drive further adoption?4. What are the risks associated with using AI for privilege review?5. AI adoption: Do you believe AI will more broadly and rapidly be adopted considering current recessionary headwinds?
Moderator: @Andrea Shirey - IT Consultant, Bayer Corporation LegalSpeaker:Dan Donegan - New Business Director at Text IQ
​Recorded on 1-6-2023

Avoiding Burnout for Lit Support Professionals

In this podcast, we will address which practices and boundaries you should enforce and know how to manage pressured environments.
Questions to Tanya will ask Martin:· Is burnout a problem for litigation support professionals, and does it affect us disproportionately?· Can litigation support professionals effectively manage their workload to avoid burnout?· What are tips for working in high pressure environments?· How can we support ourselves and our colleagues?· What kind of support is out there for people who need it?
Moderator:@Tanya Pereira - Business Transformation Specialist, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Speaker:@Martin Nikel - Associate Managing Director, Cyber Risk, Kroll
Recorded on 01-05-2023​​

Budget: Lessons Learned

In this podcast interview, the speaker will provide tips in how to achieve excellence in budget creation, defense and control, especially for the Legal area.Questions Marcelo will ask the speaker:
What are the challenges of preparing a Budget in a legal area where we know that calculations, metrics, statistics and other data models are not part of the lawyer's daily life?
We know that communication not only in topics such as the Budget but in many others, in fact in all topics is something that must be encouraged and reinforced, drawing on this topic, how important internal and external communication is for the creation of a Budget effective?
Thinking about accuracy, is there any budget model that you think is more assertive, how do you know which is the best Budget model (opening) for my company?
So once all the assumptions have been aligned with the team, the teams in turn are safe for the defense, can you give us some tips for sustaining the numbers against the approval area? We know this is the hardest part, especially when you need more money compared to growing your business.
How can we know if we are asking enough, when we can know if we need to ask for more?
A point that I always see in the definition of Budget in several companies from the most diverse branches is the famous one: fat, that is, calculating the correct amount but leaving an extra amount for unplanned expenses, what do you think of this approach?
Leave an extra Budget or not?
What is the role of the Legal Ops team in the composition of the Legal Budget? I'll try to make myself clearer, we know that some areas tend to work in silos, that is like a black box, how do you think the Legal Ops team can help?
Moderator:@Marcelo Cardoso - Supervisor of Data Analytics, Mercado LivreSpeaker:Guillermo Calvo - Legal Ops Regional Supervisor, Mercado Livre
Recorded on 12-16-2022​​​

Improve Staffing with Technology: Case Study on Development of a Staffing Tool

This podcast consists of an interview with Melissa Prince on how Ballard created and implemented a staffing (“workforce allocation” or “availability projection”) tool. We also discussed the impetus for the creation of the platform, the obstacles Melissa faced, and how she has driven engagement with associates and partners.Questions Kristin asked Melissa:1. Can you provide a little background about your role at the firm and your practice management department? Who handles staffing?2. First, what did you identify as gaps in the staffing process that led to the development of your tool?3. At the outset, who were your champions and where were your obstacles?4. How did you decide to build something in-house as opposed to going to a third party vendor?5. What are the primary features of your tool and what aspects are you still looking to build out?6. Who references and utilizes the reports?7. How are you continuing to drive engagement with the tool? Any ongoing challenges?Moderator:@Kristin Rhodes - Senior Practice Manager, Paul Hastings LLP
Speaker:​@Melissa Prince - Chief Client Value and Innovation Officer, Ballard SpahrRecorded on 10-07-2022

InfoSec Risk Reduction 101 for Remote & Hybrid Document Review Operations

In this podcast interview session, the speakers discussed some challenges and solutions when implementing security in a hybrid/remote environment. In addition, they spoke about cybersecurity, regulatory issues, and ethical considerations when client data in discovery and internal investigations is accessed temporary contract attorneys working from home.Questions Jordan asked the speakers:
First, describe your roles at your respective organizations and specifically how you are involved in doc review projects
How have the information security elements of these projects, or your infosec concerns, changed over the last couple years?
What are the important items to consider when planning for a remote document review project?
Differences between “secure VPN”, SessionGuardian, other options?  What are different infosec and DLP approaches and technologies you see in the market?
What are some practical, tactical, day-to-day challenges found managing WFH doc review teams … and how does enhanced attention to infosec and careful application of good tools and protocols help?
Describe the roles, goals, and challenges of the law firm, the client, the hosting provider and the doc review staffing provider in today's remote doc review project
Moderator:@Jordan Ellington - Founder and CEO, SessionGuardian
Speakers:@Scott Bilbrey - CEO, Vigilant@Todd Mattson - Chief Practice Systems & Services, Covington & Burling LLP ​​
​Recorded on 10-04-2022