Fringe Legal

Clarissa Rayward, also known as ‘The Happy Family Lawyer’, specialises in helping couples stay out of Court and work together to reach a resolution to their relationship breakdown. A practising family lawyer,she is the Director of the Brisbane Family Law Centre, a multidisciplinary practice. Clarissa is based in Brisbane, Australia is a speaker, author, and hosts the popular podcast “Happy Lawyer, Happy Life”.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher Some of the items we cover in the episode include (numbers are time codes):How Clarissa went from studying marine biology, to interior design to a practicing lawyerHow to provide a delight experience to clients even (or perhaps especially) when they are going through difficult situations -> 8.04Developing a client centric practice to deliver law in a different way -> 9.14Why empathy is so powerful in the practice of law. What is the difference between sympathy and empathy, and how the latter can elevate your practice -> 10.48Th

In this penultimate episode of season one, I speak with the fantastic Thao Tran. Thao is the Knowledge Manager at the international firm Fried Frank. She's based in New York, and is also the Member Liaison for ILTA in NYC.Thao has a unusual route into knowledge management, and in exploring how she got there, we learn ways that can help break into a new role, crowdsource ideas and separate the signal from the noise.At the end of the episode, I was left with a few pages of notes (and Thao even suggested a job for me after I retire :p)!.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher Some of the highlights include: (numbers are time codes)Thao's journey into knowledge management driven by work-life balance, and a nudge from a partner → 2.50Thinking through the expansion of the KM function from just one practice area to various → 5.00Importance of mentorship and sponsorship (and the differences between the two at a law firm) → 6.00Why casting a "wider net" when searching for mentors is so imp

Nicola Shaver is the global Director of Knowledge Management at Paul Hastings LLP in New York. In her role, she focuses on opportunities to optimize processes and introduce tools that will improve efficiency and productivity, and on leveraging the firm's intellectual capital to better serve clients.Nicola has worked in the legal services industry for over 15 years in three different jurisdictions. Nicola is passionate about finding innovative solutions to existing problems, building a culture of innovation within law firms, and instilling an empathic approach to design.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher Some of the items we cover in the episode include: How Nikki got to NYC - her story of working in three countriesNikki’s move to KM - Nikki’s view of KM, and why she thinks it’s such an exciting role to be inWhat she sees as the key components of a KM roleWhat are some of the items that will help lawyers actually want to continue to practice lawThe shift in technology, process

Angela Dowd is the Director of Practice Innovation for the law firm of Burns & Levinson LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. In her current role with the firm, she is works with practice groups and administrative departments to increase efficiency and streamline business processes. She has also been active member of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) for many years, speaking at the annual conference. She is in her second term on the Board of Directors, currently serving as President. In addition, she has spoken at Association of Legal Administrators, Legal Marketing Association and the Law Firm Alliance conferences. SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher In this episode I speak to the brilliant Angela Dowd. We really focus the conversation on how to develop a innovator's mindset, and lessons learnt as Director of Practice Innovation at Burns & Levinson LLP, and as the President of the Board of Directors at ILTA.Some of the highlights include: (numbers are tim

Paul Domnick is President of Litera Microsystems, having been President of Litéra Corp from 2014 to 2017. He brings unique insight into the utility of the Litera Microsystems’ risk management solutions having previously been CIO of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for five years. Before taking on this role in early 2007, Paul was head of global IT sourcing for Zurich Financial Services.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher Paul is such a font of knowledge, and has so many great stories which distill some of his learnings. I segmented our conversation in exploring Pauls’ past (being a CIO), his present (President at Litera Microsystems), and the future (what are some items a knowledge worker should be thinking about). Full disclosure, I work with Paul at Litera Microsystems. SHOW NOTESWe cover the following in this episode:PAST: Pauls’ move from financial services to the legal profession, and how the technology needs differ between law firms and professional service organisations.W

Thomas Haines is a software engineer and entrepreneur . He is the CEO/Founder of Practice Insight and he currently works on the company's latest tool - WiseTime, an autonomous, privacy first timekeeping software. Tom holds a BSc, LLB (Hons), and LLM, and has qualified as a solicitor, barrister and Australian registered patent attorney.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher This was an interesting conversation, speaking with someone who has had quick a varied background starting with working as part of Apple's sales team, going on to study computer science, practicing law and then founding his own company.We cover the following in this episode:Tom's winding journey into legal profession and becoming an entrepreneurWhen creating product, the importance of solving a real business problem (especially when it can also uncover principal opportunities at your firm)The importance of creating elegant software, but focusing on the small things and augmenting the users current workflowTom's

 Andrea Markstrom serves as Blank Rome’s Chief Information Officer, responsible for leading Firm-wide technology and security initiatives across all of Blank Rome’s practices and geographies. Andrea also started the Women Leaders Networking Group in New York, and would welcome any questions and provide more information anyone interested. Meredith Lonner is the Administrator at Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo, P.C. a leading boutique law firm based in New York City specializing in entertainment law.  SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher  Andrea and Meredith are from very different firms, not just in the type of law they practice, but also more obviously, the size. There were plenty of contrasts between how Meredith and Andrea approach similar topics, such as looking at technology, working with the partnership, and even how they found themselves to be in legal. However, (and perhaps surprisingly) there were similarities also and I walked away from the conversation with p

Stevie Ghiassi is CEO of Legaler, a secure online communication and collaboration tool for lawyers, CEO of Legaler Aid, a blockchain-based legal aid service that promotes access to justice, as well as President of the Australian Legal Technology Association.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher Stevie wears a number of hats, and most recently he published the viral book Blockchain for Lawyers. Rather than talking about the ins-and-outs of blockchain technology, instead we focus on what learning about matters and the impact it will have on the legal profession.We cover the following in this episode:Stevie's journey into legal technologyHow and why Legaler foundedThe issue of access to justice, and how Legaler Aid aims to create a more accountable & transparent solution to this problemWhat is the blockchain and why does it matterThe biggest change in trust, and how this will disrupt the nature of legal workThinking about the speed of transactions on the blockchain, and the upc

Some of the items we cover in the episode include:Kate’s move from being a consultant to law firms, to working in a law firm.The concept of ikigai, and the venn diagram of Kate’s viewpointspeoplelawtechWhat does KM mean to Kate, and how she segments her projects into four buckets:Research & development (innovations)Precedents and playbookTrainingPractice innovation (process + pricing)Entrepreneurship and Intrepreneurship at Bennett JonesThe importance of being curious and listeningKate’s advice to embrace ambiguity, and taking calculated risksPlease subscribe, and if you enjoyed the episode help me by leaving a review. SPECIAL GUEST: KATE SIMPSONKate is responsible for developing the firm’s knowledge management strategy and initiatives, and leads a team of KM specialists in delivering practice tools and resources that leverage the firm’s intellectual capital.Prior to Bennett Jones, Kate was a consultant to many Canadian, UK and global law firms advising them in the design and implementation of useful, usa

Joy Heath Rush is the CEO of International Legal Technology Association, and a industry veteran. SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // Stitcher In this this inaugural episode of the podcast, we speak with Joy about her views on the changing legal landscape. Amongst other items, we discuss testing assumptions she had about the ILTA community, trends she's seeing in the legal profession, and what firm leaders can put into action immediately to make a noticeable difference. SHOW NOTESSome of the items we cover in the episode include:The value of listening, and the learning about the deep love & passion for the ILTA organisationThe four key learning about the ILTA community Joy learnt about as she became CEOA need for more diversityPeople have too many ideas, and they don't know what to do with themThe need for greater transparencyThe want from the community to volunteer moreWe also cover some trends & patterns Joy observed across the wider industryInnovation is overhypedThe lack of

A sneak peak into Season 1 of the Fringe Legal podcast. Episode one comes out of March 8, 2019. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to be notified of new episodes.