ILTA Voices
Episodes
Monday Dec 04, 2023
No-One Talks About the F Word – Failing
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Whether it is a technical implementation, a change management process or simply and idea that didn't work, we all have times when we fail but it is how we deal with it and what we learn from it that matters. In this podcast interview panel session, hear from two panelists on their worst respective experiences and how they overcame the adversity, setbacks and more.
Questions the moderator will ask the speakers:
-Tell me about your experience with the first project or process that you implemented
-What challenges did you face?
-What did you learn from it?
-Do you have some best practices or key takeaways that you can share?Moderator:
@Natasha Tucker - Director, Business Development Operations, Bennett Jones LLP
Speakers:
@Eric Feldman - Wiggin and Dana, Director of Innovation and Knowledge Management
@Rachel Shields Williams - Knowledge Management Enablement & Insights, Sidley Austin LLP
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
Unlocking the Power of LinkedIn for Legal Professionals
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
For many, the past few years since the pandemic brought lots of continual change in the legal marketplace. In order to stay relevant with like-minded individuals and keep up with emerging trends in industry, many paid more attention and time to social media to stay connected.One social media platform which has remained very popular within Legal and other key industries is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a very effective professional development tool if utilized correctly and one that can help people achieve and/or grow their leadership skills.In this session, we will obtain important tips and tricks for unlocking the true potential of LinkedIn for legal professionals. Specifically, we will focus on how you can best share your own unique perspectives into the open for awareness, create a compelling profile, how you can easily identify networking and career opportunities and what you need to do to become a recognized 'thought leader' in the field and more.
Questions the moderator asked the speaker:
-What are 2-3 top tips for creating a compelling profile on LinkedIn? Any unique aspects to consider for legal
-Establishing yourself as a “thought leader” can feel daunting. What approaches do you recommend to someone wanting to leverage LinkedIn to enhance their persona as a thought leader? Any unique aspects to consider for legal?
-What advice do you have for a “newbie” wanting to start engaging or posting more regularly on LinkedIn? Any unique aspects to consider for legal?
-What are some proven strategies for successful networking on LinkedIn? What are the no-no’s to avoid in LinkedIn networking? Any unique aspects to consider for legal?Moderator:@Brendan Miller - Legal Innovation Consultant Speaker:@Stefanie Marrone - Fractional Marketing Director/Social Media, Marketing and Business Development Strategist, Stefanie Marrone Consulting/The Social Media Butterfly
Recorded on 10-5-2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
The Rise of the ”Non-Lawyer” – Threat or Opportunity
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Some people predict that by 2025 half of legal teams will be staffed by non-lawyers. Will that be perceived as a threat or an opportunity? Do lawyers need to learn legal tech, or can they just hire people who specialize in it but are not lawyers? Do you need to be a lawyer to effectively use legal tech?Questions moderator will ask speakers: - The term “non lawyer” is sometimes perceived as quite controversial. Many people who support the business of law feel it is used to marginalize expertise. With the development of legal technologies being a lawyer is not always a needed qualification to plan, implement and use the tools. In your experience how does it help to be a lawyer or not, when using legal technologies?- Where do you see non lawyers working cases, supporting transactions, being part of case teams, etc. today?- With more and more demand on expertise to “drive” legal technologies, or perform data analysis, do you think layers need to learn these skills? Or can they just hire non-lawyers to work side by side with lawyers? Or both?- Do you think the balance could even tip that within law firms more non-lawyers are leveraged to work and manage cases and lawyers solely focus on the parts that require analysis and practice of the law?- What does all this mean for the legal profession, will the job description of lawyers change over time? Why or why not?
Moderator:@Christiane Matuch - Legal Innovation Manager, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Speakers:@Alyssa Cowley - Associate Director, Knowledge Management, Shearman & Sterling LLP@Harriet Joubert-Vaklyes - Senior Project Manager, Legal Operations, CBRE @Josh Lazar - Founder and Chief Everything Officer, TechThinkTank
Recorded on 07-18-2023
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Aligning Taxonomies for Marketing and KM
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Common vocabularies are a core requirement if firms want to fully utilize the knowledge created by their attorneys. Organizing those vocabularies into a taxonomy makes it easier to share knowledge across tools and practices. However, many firms don’t create or maintain common taxonomies, resulting in knowledge gaps and a lack of findability.
A common vocabulary, whether it’s something that’s specific to your firm or leveraging existing taxonomies like SALI, is an investment of both time and money, but putting in the effort allows attorneys to quickly find colleagues who have specific skills, experience, or backgrounds.
Questions the moderator asked the speaker:
1.Is there one thing in particular that made you realize that this was a problem, and one that needed to be solved?
2.Talking about taxonomies tends to make people tune out. How did you get buy in from other groups?
3.How do you maintain your taxonomies? Is it a group effort? If so, which groups should be involved?
4.What would be your recommendations for firms that are just starting to engage with this issue?
Moderator:
@Holly Hanna - KM Firm Solutions Manager, Perkins Coie
Speaker:
@Rachel Shields Williams - Director, Knowledge Management, Sidley Austin LLP
Recorded on 07-13-2023
Friday May 12, 2023
Friday May 12, 2023
How can we articulate the value of technology in helping meeting client expectations and improving the bottom line? In this session, the speakers discussed this and more.Questions Glenn will ask the speakers:
-There is a perception by some attorneys that technology is a cost of business and, specifically, only a support function. Where do you think this stems from?
-Based on this perception, each of you have likely identified strategies to convince attorney and leaders that technology is more than simply a cost of doing business. What strategies have you employed or seen others employed to convince attorneys of the benefit of technology?
-The best made plans, particularly for a junior leader, may look great on paper but suddenly become challenging when put to practice. Throughout your career, what obstacles have you faced when employing these strategies? Are there any risks? Have any backfired?
-For new C-suite or director level leaders, what would you encourage them to do to advocate for technology projects particular in light of the current economy? How do you recommend they approach business value/ROI when proposing technology?
-To help with your persuasion, do you engage with client teams such as their legal department) to better understand their business needs?
- We’ve touched on a few of the key stakeholders but there are certainly more. Do you find that you need to approach stakeholders in different ways when convincing them of a technology’s value?
- Can you share any examples of where technology clearly helped the bottom line?
-Any final thoughts?
Moderator:@Glenn Hoxie -Senior Project Manager, Practice Innovation, Paul Hastings LLP
Speakers:@Leslie Brown - Director of Client Value, Blank Rome LLP@Paul Unger - Partner, Affinity Consulting@Jacqueline Schafer - CEO, Clearbrief@Brendan Miller - Legal Innovation Professional and Attorney” (previously Director of Practice Systems & Innovation for AmLaw 100 firmRecorded on 05-11-2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Legal Tech: What’s Next?
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
As more players enter the legal technology market, what trends and advances should we be keeping an eye on? What trends or tools have the potential to radically disrupt the profession? In this podcast interview, the speakers will discuss this and much more!
Questions Jennifer asked the speakers:
1. What will be the most important legal technology trend for lawyers and legal professionals to follow in 2023?2. What trends or tools have the potential to radically disrupt the profession?3. Where should law firms and law departments focus their legal tech budgets in the next year? Three years?4. How will legal technology impact client engagement?
Moderator:@Jennifer Mendez - Sr. Director of Knowledge Management Innovation, Fisher Phillips
Speakers:Joe Borstein - Chief Executive Officer, LexFusionCasey Flaherty - Chief Strategy Officer, LexFusion Recorded on 04-05-2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
How Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Are Changing the Face of Search
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
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
Friday Sep 23, 2022
Attorney Task Management: Beyond LPM
Friday Sep 23, 2022
Friday Sep 23, 2022
We've seen an increasing number of requests for help around task management that go beyond traditional legal project management tools. Associates wants to see everything assigned to them, and be able to manage it without partners seeing how they're doing so. Partners want to see tasks they’ve assigned across clients and matters. The problem seems like one that should be easily solved with technology, but when you dig into the issues, you realize that no one has a good solution. What is getting in the way of delivering a task management solution that works for attorneys?Questions Holly will be asking Floor:1. Firms have tried using a lot of different technologies to help associates manage their tasks and give partners insight into status, but most of these efforts haven’t been successful. Why is this so difficult to solve?2. Oftentimes, when we hear from attorneys on this topic, the conversation starts with them saying “I want this technology”, but we know that if a technology could solve the issue we wouldn’t be having this conversation. How can we have a more productive conversation with our attorneys, not just on this topic, but generally?3. The term ‘innovation’ gets used a lot, but again, it often seems to be used when discussing technological solutions. What would be a better way of having a conversation about innovation?
Moderator: @Holly Hanna - KM Firm Solutions Manager, Perkins CoieSpeaker:@Floor Blindenbach -Founder & CEO, Organizing4Innovation
Recorded on 09-23-2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Connecting the Dots - People, Process, Tech
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
In today’s world, purchasing technology is no longer a sure fire way to solve a business problem. In addition to the right technology you need to have the right people, following the right process and leveraging the right technology to solve the complex business problems law firms are facing. But how do you connect these three concepts within your organizations? Listen to this discussion with Rachel Shields Williams from Sidley Austin and Debbie Foster from Affinity Consulting Group.
Questions Rachel will ask Debbie:· What is the secret to connecting people, process and technology in today’s modern law firm.· Is there one part of the “People, Process, and Technology” that leaders should focus on more? Or do you see people focus one more than the other?· Common pit falls when trying to connect the dots?· What is one piece of advice that you would give to anyone trying to connect the dots?
Moderator:@Rachel Shields Williams - Director, Knowledge Management, Sidley Austin LLPSpeaker:@Debbie Foster - Partner, Affinity Consulting Group
Recorded on 09-19-2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Marketing and IT: How a Communicative Relationship can Yield Valuable Results
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Technology is changing how firms operate and there is a need for more collaboration between the marketing and technology teams to achieve shared goals.
In this collaborative podcast between the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) and the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), four seasoned marketing and technology experts discuss their organizational structures, the importance of establishing effective and open communication processes between departments, and share stories in which these efforts resulted in successful projects.
After listening to this 30-minute podcast, you will learn practical tips on how to work together effectively and take away examples that can be implemented for your own success.
Both ILTA and LMA recognize that collaboration can only add value and aim to continue this discussion with additional content through the rest of 2022. Keep an eye out, share this podcast with a colleague and let us know what think!Recorded July 2022Speakers: @Ali Shahidi@Britton Choi@Erin Meszaros@Michelle Woodyear
Moderated By:@Tara Patterson
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Outside counsel guidelines (OCG) are becoming more sophisticated and, at times, cumbersome. What are the provision pitfalls to avoid? What tools are available to manage the volume of OCGs across the firm and to help ensure compliance? Is there room for negotiation with clients? Join us for an open discussion with the GC community regarding the risks associated with not properly vetting and monitoring OCGs.Questions Daniel will ask speaker:· What difficulties are you seeing firms have in dealing with Outside Counsel Guidelines?· What tools are available to assist with management of the guidelines?· Do you see the need for changes in workflows related to the guidelines?Moderator:@Daniel Wood - Director of Counsel Assistance, Womble Bond DickinsonSpeaker:@Brynmor Bowen - Practice Group Leader, Legal Risk, IntApp
Recorded on 07-25-2022