Fringe Legal

In this episode of the Fringe Legal podcast, host Ab interviews Stefan Ciesla, the co-founder and CEO of Ayora ai, a startup that focuses on helping law firms manage their revenues and improve the revenue management skills of fee earners such as attorneys and lawyers. Steven discusses the problem Ayora is solving in the legal industry and the role of lawyers as revenue managers. He explains that fee earners often have to make revenue management decisions throughout a matter's lifecycle, but they may not have the necessary skills or focus on revenue management. Ayora's smart lockup assistant helps fee earners by scanning a firm's data related to matters and providing recommendations on monitoring scope, estimates, budgets, resourcing, outside counsel guidelines, and billing. The assistant pre-drafts emails and provides relevant information to make the decision-making process easier and more efficient. Steven also addresses the challenge of balancing AI and machine learning with human control and building trust

In this episode of the Fringe Legal podcast, host Ab chats with Conan Hines, Director of Legal Technology at Fried Frank, about building a tech-enabled culture in law firms. Conan shares insights from his previous roles at Clifford Chance and other law firms, highlighting the importance of understanding the role of legal technology and the psychology and behavior of users when it comes to successful adoption and change management.Conan emphasizes the need for building trust with lawyers and finding those who are curious and open to tech-enabled solutions. He suggests starting small with bite-sized engagements to build trust over time. He also discusses the value of creating a foundation for tech adoption and balancing short-term impact with long-term goals.The conversation delves into the role of vendors in adoption, with Conan highlighting the need for a strong partnership and a transparent framework for success. He stresses the importance of vendors having a real adoption strategy and sharing learnings from

While technology races ahead, improving legal training and education has lagged behind. Law schools excel at teaching students the law, but critical and practical skills development is often lacking. With the traditional law firm apprenticeship model fading, junior lawyers frequently lack opportunities to gain hands-on experience.Abdi Shayesteh, founder and CEO of the legal training platform AltaClaro, is on a mission to close this practical skills gap. Frustrated by the inefficiencies he experienced firsthand as a junior lawyer, Abdi has reinvented legal education and training. AltaClaro leverages experiential learning techniques rooted in education science to provide associates with hands-on practice on simulated legal matters.Show Notes [00:01:14] Abdi's early entrepreneurial experiences managing a cafe and starting a t-shirt business in college [00:08:02] Why Abdi decided to start another company after previous exits [00:10:25] Overview of what AltaClaro does [00:17:38] Issues with the traditional law fir

As part of our series of examining Generative AI in Practice, Fringe Legal spoke with Stephanie Corey, founder of legal operations consultancy UpLevel Ops, and Brandi Pack, UpLevel’s Legal Tech Analyst & AI Consultant. They share how legal teams can thoughtfully leverage generative AI to transform workflows, augment human skills, and futureproof roles. With proper governance and training, we can keep pace with the evolution of AI and maximize its potential.Show notes:Show Notes:[00:02:19] Getting early access to GPT-4[00:08:00] How are the Uplevel Ops team grew adoption internally[00:11:53] People don't care about AI[00:14:51] Why to document prompts[00:18:06] How are legal teams reacting to the changing landscape[00:28:38] GenAI as a workflow tool[00:31:03] What's the future?[00:34:16] Will my role be displaced?[00:38:47] What one thing can organizations do to see immediate value from GenAI?

We sat down with Jeff Pfeifer, Chief Product Officer at LexisNexis during ILTACON 2023 to get his insights on legal AI progress, hype versus reality, increased law firm adoption, and the importance of demonstrating tangible benefits.Topics covered: Navigating the legal AI hype cycle AI’s potential to enhance legal workflows Growing law firm interest and hands-on exploration Avoiding the “trough of disillusionment” Real-world benefits driving adoption over hype

In this episode of Fringe Legal, host Abhijat Saraswat interviews Nnamdi Emelifeonwu and Feargus MacDaeid, co-founders of legal tech startup Definely.Key Takeaways: Definely creates software plugins to simplify drafting, reviewing, and analyzing legal contracts in Microsoft Word using AI/ML. The idea originated from Feargus' need as a blind lawyer to access information in documents more easily. They validated demand with a scrappy prototype and early pilots despite its flaws. After leaving law firm jobs, their mission-driven approach focuses on access, efficiency, and transparency. Their blueprint for innovation includes launching an MVP, inclusive design thinking, gathering user feedback, and carefully leveraging AI. Maintaining ethics and reputation is central, not rushing new technology to market. When solving problems for underserved groups, solutions often benefit everyone. A framework for evaluating AI: accuracy and understanding real-world impacts. Connect with Nnamdi EmelifeonwuConnect with Feargus Ma

ESG (environmental, social, governance) factors have become essential considerations for companies seeking to manage risk, attract investment, and operate sustainably.Yet myths and misconceptions persist around what ESG is and how best to approach it. This leads many legal teams to view ESG as an amorphous compliance exercise rather than a strategic priority.Recently on the Fringe Legal podcast, Abhijat Saraswat interviewed ESG expert Kai Gray, CEO of advisory firm Motiv, to demystify ESG and offer practical guidance for legal professionals. In this episode, learn what ESG means and how legal teams can pragmatically prioritize it. Get clarity on ESG frameworks, strategic rollout, and avoiding common pitfalls.

Summary:In this insightful episode of Fringe Legal, host Abhijat Saraswat has an in-depth discussion with India Preston, Director of Platform Solutions at legal tech startup Lupl. They delve into India's winding journey into legal project management, tactical approaches to driving adoption, and how to effectively challenge established processes.India shares learnings and advice drawn from her diverse experiences - from helping build out Linklaters' LPM function from the ground up to make the leap to an early-stage legal tech startup. She provides a rare longitudinal view of how legal project management has evolved from a little-known concept in 2013 to a widely recognized, if still poorly understood, discipline today.Key Takeaways: While LPM has gone from barely existing in 2013 to being commonly known today, there is still substantial room for education on how to apply it effectively. LPM principles empower lawyers to run matters like projects, but specialized LPM roles create incremental value on complex ma

In this episode, our guests Brad Blickstein, David Cambria, and returning guest Keith Maziarek join host Ab to discuss the findings from the 3rd Legal Pricing and Project Management (LPMM) Survey Report. They delve into the key challenges and trends shaping the legal industry, touching upon innovation, technology, client expectations, and the future of legal service delivery. Tune in to explore the data and analysis from the report, as these experts share their perspectives on the current state and future of legal operations.Key discussion points: [00:02:16] The current state of law firm investments in innovation and technology [00:10:45] Contradictions between client expectations and rewarded behaviors [00:18:50] Challenges faced by law firm and legal department executives in adopting process and collaboration improvements [00:27:12] The real threat to law firm success and how to address it [00:34:23] The impact of economic downturns on the legal industry and the potential for future transformation Don't mis

Professional services environments are stressful. Among the myriad of items to be juggled each day, you must manage workloads, managing the capacity of employees -  what kind of work & how frequently work is allocated.  How well this aspect is managed will impact performance, productivity, DEI, and retention. As part of our startup series, we speak with William Dougherty, Co-Founder of Capcity, a legal tech tool that looks to improve the allocation of work.In the episode, we'll discuss (numbers are time markers): What is Capacity → 1.48 How is work allocated → 3.09 Issues with the current approach to work allocation → 4.24 What if nothing changes → 5.48 Capacity management vs. work allocation → 12.31 Getting buy-in to effect change → 17.02 The business impact of attrition → 21.46

The guest this week are co-founders of New York-based Priori Legal.  Basha Rubin, the company's Chief Executive Officer, and Mirra Levitt, the Chief Product Officer, met as classmates at Yale Law School and found Priori. Earlier this year, they announced a funding round of $15 million.  Priori works with in-house legal teams to connect legal departments with the right outside counsel for projects globally, saving them time and money. We discuss Legal Tech trends, their origin story, raising funds a Women Founders, and the secret sauce for successful legal teams.

Legal operation teams have been increasing in popularity. In this episode, Liz Lugones and Sumi Trombley from Uplevel Opsshare why Legal Ops teams matter, why you should care, and how to leverage them to level up your legal team (in-house and at firms). Uplevel Ops are offering a complimentary 30-minute consultation, you can find more here.  In the episode, we discuss: (03:12) Why should you care about legal operations (LegalOps)? (04:21) Law school vs. practice (08:12) Enabling fail-fast thinking in legal teams (11:11) It's not just about technology  (16:32) Embedded in the organization (21:25) Creating space for creativity and ideas (28:38) Celebrating success (30:49) Gaining trust (34:25) Shifts in legal operations Article referencedStriving for Imperfection: The Complicated Relationship of Lawyers and Project Management by Sumi Trombley & Liz LugonesKey quotes(edited for a better reading experience)People and lawyers want to be able to solve the problems of their clients, but in doing so, and what's t

To supplement the release of the Fringe Legal no-code report, which provides 100s of hours of market research in 6-min, we speak with Jackson Liu, Chief Commercial Officer at Neota, about the state of no-code in legal. During the conversation, we discuss: How firms are using no-code tools Leveraging no-code tools as a competitive advantage Focusing on the customer journey and adoption for long-term success No-code challenges Future of no-code You can read the full No-code report at www.fringelegal.com/no-code-report/

On this episode with speak with Kai Jacob  - Partner at KPMG and Co-founder of Liquid Legal Institute - about digital transformation and designing the future of law. In the episode we cover (min.seconds): Introduction -> 0.20 Enthusiasm vs adoption of technology -> 1.56 Founding the think thank -> 3.24 Facilitating cross collaboration -> 5.06 Distributing projects equitably -> 6.04 Designing the future -> 10.14 Mental wellbeing -> 13.52 Skills for future lawyers -> 21.54 Being embedded with customers -> 27.12 Highlights from the episode What is Liquid Legal InstituteWe consider ourselves a collaboration community of doers. So we like to do stuff, everything that we tackle and that we focus on should lead very fast to a result. Not just talking, doing.Lack of collaboration in the legal market...they helped us really to nail down the question of 'why is the legal market not collaborating'? That was a very interesting question because we are all sharing, we all do this together. We eve

Lawyers and firms have long struggled to find the right way to price their services.The hourly billing model focuses on the amount of time spent on a matter, project, or case. This can often lead to inefficiencies and frustration for the lawyer and the client. Value based pricing is an alternative that takes into account the value of the service being provided rather than simply the time spent. It means that lawyers and firms are paid based on the results they achieve for their clients.The incentive becomes focused on getting better results. Value-based pricing can also help build trust and improve communication between lawyers and clients.However, that doesn't make pricing or pricing conversations any easier. In this episode, we go into the rabbit hole of pricing.  SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:  iTunes // Spotify // Pocket Casts // StitcherSpecial thanks to Paul Stroka of LexFusion for making the introduction to Keith.Episode content Introduction and summary ➡ 1.24 Power of buyer ➡ 4.30 Power of supplier ➡ 7.34 Elas

Leading teams during times of crisis presents a unique challenge. Many of which are multiplied when you are a startup and the team was only formed months ago. And then, overnight, everyone suddenly felt very fragile. It's a unique feeling and unique in a bad way because suddenly you have no idea what to do. And the feeling is that you're very lost.Yet, that is exactly the challenge that faced Alex Tsepko, CEO of Lawrina - a website that provides useful content and productivity tools for lawyers. The entire team for Lawrina was in Ukraine, and things changed overnight as the country was invaded. Lawrina CEO, Alex Tsepko, speaks about his experience leading a newly formed team through a sudden crisis - the invasion of Ukraine - and finding growth through a shared vision. In this episode, we cover (timestamps in parenthesis): Introduction (0:20) Ukraine as a hub for IT innovation (1:38) Experiencing unexpected crisis as a young organization (3:22) Leading through a crisis (6:08) Finding growth through a shared v

What role does creativity play in a law firm and legal practice?  "You can be creative in any industry and anything that you do. Creativity is a mindset. It's being open to new ideas, new trends that diversity of thought, as we mentioned, being willing to experiment and try things, seeing things through a different lens than people typically do. To me, that's what creativity really is. It doesn't mean you have to invent something new and be insanely innovative. It just means you can look at a lot of things that are out there and say, 'Hey, you know what? That's interesting. Maybe we can use that somehow.'"In this episode, we cover: The role of creativity in law firms The increased focus on pricing Why firms are struggling with being client-centric What will make future firms successful Marketing as an underutilized superpower Read the Fringe Legal newsletter which includes additional commentary on each of the topics. About Dale MillerDale Miller is a Business Development and Marketing strategist with 20 years

Matt Coatney is a seasoned C-level product and technology executive, entrepreneur, advisor, author, and speaker with 25 years of experience helping businesses and technology work better together. He has led divisions and portfolios for large global corporations, co-founded three companies and advised several others, been an early-stage employee of two successful tech startups, advised dozens of business and technology professionals across all stages of company formation and growth, and launched over a dozen successful products.Episode content The future of work ➡ 03.34 How would work be delivered in the future ➡ 04.52 Legal matters as projects ➡ 05.51 (Alternative) career paths for lawyers ➡ 07.36 The role of technology in the delivery of legal service ➡ 09.27 Why change now? ➡ 12.17 Disrupt the status quo ➡ 14.46 Are you profitable? Pricing analytics at law firms ➡ 15.59 Experience Management, BD, and contract analytics ➡ 17.41 Learning from adjacent industries ➡ 20.24 Making inclusion work in a hybrid world

Technology is a frequent topic of conversation. It comes up almost every single episode. And while it's fun to talk about amazing new tools or features, ultimately, you have to tie the tech back to the business strategy. Easy to say, difficult to execute.It's harder still when tracking and working with emerging technology, where there may not yet be a baseline for success. We tackle those points and so much more in the episode today.Episode content What is IncuBaker  ➡ 2.46 Watching the market ➡ 4.04 Client needs ➡ 5.03 Tracking 500+ legal tech companies ➡  6.17 Tying tech to business objectives ➡ 7.29 A process-driven approach to technology selection ➡ 11.30 Working with Vendors ➡ 16.22 Working with emerging technologies ➡ 20.31 Validating ideas ➡ 23.46 Market trends ➡ 32.31 For more detailed notes visit www.fringelegal.com

On the podcast this week, I speak to Quddus Pourshafie, co-founder of antiCPD a new training business looking to flip the necessary evil of CPD on its head. They have a bold vision:Essentially, we want it to be the most AntiCPD CPD training you've ever seen. CPD is one of the least favorite activities of any lawyer, right? It's something that must be done, but no one particularly enjoys that period of time. Or if it's spread throughout the year most people tick it off. It's a checkbox item. And now that it's virtual and prerecorded people can freely fall asleep... So that's one aspect that we wanted to completely blow out the water.