ILTA Voices

Firms are getting it, making business decisions based on data is a good idea. There are different areas within law firms where this could be beneficial (enterprise wide, client specific, practice specific). With different places where data is housed, a great first step to connect data sources is by identifying where everything is. This will be a step-by-step guide of data mapping principles and how to get started. Moderator: @Kate Hathaway - Innovation Project Manager, Greenberg Traurig Speaker: @Paul Giedraitis - CEO, Orgaimi Recorded on 04-17-2024.

Success in the courtroom depends on comprehensive trial support that starts long before the trial date. How do you turn a compelling story into something that’s easy to understand and memorable for the judge and/or jury. Enlisting the assistance of a trial support professional early on is key. In Part Two of our Sitting in the Hot Seat podcast, our esteemed panel will discuss preparation tips and tricks, effective communication strategies, logistics (in its many forms), technology considerations, and some ideas for you to help your team win. Moderator: Jill Okerlund - Legal Process Coordinator, Robinson Bradshaw Panelists: Stephanie Mills - Manager, Discovery Services, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP Tim Piganelli - CEO, The Piganelli Consulting Group, Inc. David Gomez - Practice Support Project Manager, Robinson Bradshaw

How do we build trust within an organization? What does it mean to be transparent when confidential information is on the line?

The speakers shared how and when to train attorneys for best long-term technology success. Does this occur in summer or first year? In addition, they discussed how does training needs evolve over the course of an attorney's careers for best long-term technology success. Moderator: @Virginia Ong - Legal Innovation Manager, Greenberg Traurig Speakers: @Jake Brown - Head of Legal Technology, Josef @Ana Toft-Nielsen - Attorney Development Innovation Manager, Greenberg Traurig Recorded on 04-03-2024.

In this podcast panel session, the panelists will share the pros and cons for eDiscovery professionals for working in-house at a law firm as opposed to externally at a service provider. Moderator: @James MacGregor - Managing Director, Ethical eDiscovery Panelists: @Rachel McAdams - Senior Consultant, Sky Discovery @Dina Hetherington - eDiscovery Technology Manager, A&L Goodbody LLP @Jakub Kur - Head of Forensic Technology, Bird & Bird @Tom Quinn - Head of eDiscovery, Simmons & Simmons Recorded on 3-15-2024

Dawn Hudgins sits down with Melanie Prevost and Julia Montgomery to get the inside scoop on ILTA's upcoming event, Catalyst: Women Leading Change.

We all know about technical debt, but data debt is its more nefarious and more challenging sibling. How do you break down the data silos in you firm to create a holistic view of your information? Moderator: @Bill Bice - CEO, nQ Zebraworks Speaker: @Keli Whitnell - Director of Firm Intelligence, Troutman Pepper Recorded on 3-11-2024.

How do we listen effectively? What does it mean to hear someone? Dawn Hudgins sits down with ILTA CEO, Joy Heath Rush, to discuss listening advice.

Dawn Hudgins sits down with EVOLVE Co-Chairs Kenneth Jones and Joshua Smith to get the inside perspective on ILTA's newest event.

In this podcast the speakers will discuss how can legal operations teams work with each other on both sides of the client/law firm equation. What are best practices? How can a firm improve the client's experience? Moderator: @Damian Priamurskiy - Project Management & Delivery Specialist, Lowenstein Sandler LLP Speakers: @Julianne Kasprzyk - Paralegal Manager, Investment Management, Lowenstein Sandler LLP @Donald Knight - Director of Legal and Tax Operations, Crown Castle Recorded on 02-23-2024.

In this podcast interview, the speaker will share experiences and challenges in utilizing Large Language Models in the legal arena. Questions the moderator asked the speaker: General -What are some of the key challenges that legal departments face in adopting and integrating LLMs into their workflows? -How can legal departments overcome the initial resistance or skepticism that may exist towards using LLMs? -How can legal departments ensure that LLMs are being used responsibly and ethically, without perpetuating biases or producing inaccurate or misleading results? People -How can legal departments train and empower their lawyers to use LLMs effectively? -How can LLMs be used to augment and complement the skills and expertise of lawyers, rather than replace them? -What are the potential long-term benefits of using LLMs in legal departments? Technology -What are the challenges of integrating LLMs with existing legal software and systems? -Provide examples of specific use cases (e.g., information governance, contract management review and drafting, eDiscovery, and/or R&C) -How can legal departments ensure that LLMs are aligned with security and privacy and regulatory compliance? Process What are the challenges of evaluating and selecting the right LLM for a specific legal task? How can legal departments ensure that LLMs are being used in a way that is aligned with their overall legal strategy? Moderator: @Carolyn Robinson - Senior eDiscovery Paralegal, Bosch Speaker: @Chistine Livingston - Managing Director of AI and IOT, Protiviti

Every firm currently struggles with making sure all of the knowledge in their organization is written down, up to date, and searchable. In the future, chatbots could serve as a kind of automated research assistants for firm knowledge. They’d be responsible for answering questions by sourcing information from the right person, document and they could also be used to proactively record tacit knowledge into living documents by periodically interviewing key people about their progress on company initiatives. In this podcast interview, we discussed the role of AI powered chatbots as digital research assistants and more. Moderator: @Alejandro Vallellanes - Former Senior Manager, Research and Information Alerts, Baker McKenzie Speakers: @Stephanie Goutos - Practice Innovation Attorney, Gunderson Dettmer, L.L.P. @Avi Saiger - Practice Innovation Attorney, Gunderson Dettmer, L.L.P. @John Scrudato - Legal Engineering and Data Strategy Manager, Gunderson Dettmer, L.L.P. Recorded on 02-05-2024.

Join ILTA CEO, Joy Heath Rush, and Sr. VP of Service Delivery, Dawn Hudgins, for the first episode in our new series: Joyous Leadership.

In legal operations and other knowledge or practice management roles, there's often a lot less structure and clarity on the types of roles and career progression available in the industry. In this podcast session, we'll talk through some ways to first figure out what your options are, then how to get started down the path you want to be on, and where to turn for help when it's not available within your org. Questions the moderator asked the panelists - Tell us a bit about your professional journey and when you were able to steer your own ship with regards to your roles within a law firm. - What steps did you take and research did you have to do to clarify your vision for your next role? - What were some ways that you were able to communicate with management/leaders to get them aligned with your goals and vision for your next career moves? - Did you run into any unexpected obstacles and how did you overcome them? Do you have any advice for others that may be seeking a change in their current role? Moderator: Harriet Joubert-Vaklyes- Senior Project Manager, Legal Operations, CBRE Panelists: Danette Shaifer - Facilitator, Relationship Intelligence Coach, Learning Strategist, Florishion Consulting Amy Wegener- Executive Coach and Consultant, AB Wegener LLC Esther Bowers - Chief Practice Innovation Officer, Honigman LLP Recorded on 1-25-2024

In this podcast interview, the speaker will provide best cybersecurity practices for law firms. Questions the moderator will ask the speaker: -Law firms deal with a treasure trove of sensitive client information. What are the top cybersecurity threats they face, and how can they effectively guard against them in today's ever-evolving threat landscape? -Considering the interconnected nature of legal systems and the vast amount of data transmission, how can law firms ensure the security of client data, both in transit and at rest? Are there specific encryption methods or best practices they should be implementing? -Phishing attacks and social engineering are persistent threats, especially with employees as potential entry points. What strategies or training programs do you recommend for law firms to protect their staff from falling victim to these increasingly sophisticated attacks? -In the unfortunate event of a cybersecurity incident, what steps should a law firm take in terms of incident response and recovery? How can they minimize the impact and get back on their feet as quickly as possible? -Employee training and awareness play a crucial role in any organization's cybersecurity strategy. How can law firms foster a security-conscious culture among their staff, and what ongoing training initiatives would you recommend? Moderator: Kevin J. Foster, Sr., - Cybersecurity Operations Coordinator, White and Williams LLP Speaker: Dr. Eric Cole, Ph.D. - CEO & Founder of Secure Anchor Recorded on 01-05-2024.

In this session, Nicki C. Kastellorizios-Lee (IT Communication Manager at Perkins Coie) and Marion Miller (Senior Practice Knowledge & Innovation Manager at Fenwick) sat down with Catherine Monte and Jima Kato from our Women Who Lead (WWL) group to discuss their career journeys in the legal IT field. Co-Moderators: Catherine Monte - Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer, Fox Rothschild LLP Jima Kato - Director, Knowledge Management & Innovation, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Panelists: Marion Miller - Senior Practice Knowledge & Innovation Manager, Fenwick Nicki C. Kastellorizios-Lee - IT Communications Manager, Perkins Coie LLP

In this podcast interview, we will feature the perspectives of thought leaders in legal operations and legal tech on how trends in technology are shaping the future of corporate legal operations. Questions the moderator will ask the speakers: -What are the legal technology trends impacting corporate legal departments that you are seeing from your perspective? -What are some of the practical ways in which legal operations teams can use generative AI? With more and more technology providers adding generative AI components into their solutions offerings and more law firms seeking to incorporate gen AI into their service models, what's the comfort level of corporate legal departments in terms of using AI and seeing it embedded in tools and legal services? -How should the use of generative AI be governed by Outside Counsel Guidelines and vendor agreements? What are some core items legal departments should consider including in their guidelines and vendor agreements? -The tagline about doing "more with less" is a constant refrain legal ops teams hear from leadership within their respective companies. What are some of the ways legal ops can better use the tech tools they already have, such as tools within the Microsoft 365 suite? -What are some of the core trends you are seeing in terms of how corporate legal departments can use data more effectively? And what are some practical instances where data is being underutilized in legal departments?

Trial Support is often not just for trials. It comprises of arbitrations, mediations, business development proposals, hearings on dispositive motions and/or an in-depth presentation to name a few. In this podcast panel interview, the panelists discussed the various types of presentations, tools, considerations, setup and tips and trick they use when sitting on the "hot seat." Questions that Jill asked the panelists: 1. How did you get here (brief background of lit experience that led to wanting to be ‘in the hot seat’)? 2. How do you ‘market’ your skillset within the firm? 3. What are the presentation types/tools most used by you/your firm? 4. What are the most important considerations when determining which presentation type will be the best choice for the forum? 5. What to do when technology fails? 6. What are some tips and tricks you’ve learned through your years sitting in the hot seat? Moderator: @Jill Okerlund Pigeon- Legal Process Coordinator, Robinson Bradshaw Panelists: @Timothy Piganelli - CEO, The Piganelli Consulting Group, Inc. @Stephanie Mills - Manager, Discovery Services, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP @David Gomez - Practice Support Project Manager, Robinson Bradshaw Recorded 12-18-2023

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

Interested in learning more about the Metaverse and Digital Asset Practices and how they can affect your legal practice, stay tuned for an in-depth conversation with Nikki Shaver and partners from Falcon, Rappaport & Berkman LLP Questions the moderator will ask the speakers: -Falcon Rappaport opened an "office" in the metaverse. Can you explain to listeners what the metaverse is and why the firm decided to engage with it in this way?-Did you find it beneficial? Is it something you'd do again?-What is the crypto-economy and why would firms want to engage with it? -Your firm accepts cryptocurrency. Can you discuss the benefit of doing so? -There has been a misperception around crypto, for example that it's used for illegitimate transactions. Can you explain to listeners why legitimate law firm clients want to use it to pay their legal fees?-How do they even do that? (PayPal, Venmo, ATMs etc.)-Do you think it's short-sighted of firms NOT to offer cryptocurrency as a payment option (some firms still can't even offer credit card payments!)? -Why did the firm decide to create this practice and what were the benefits of doing so?-Overall, do you two think the fact that your firm is open to doing things in new ways has opened new pathways for you and brought in clients you might not otherwise have had?-Is your firm also already exploring generative AI? Moderator: Nikki Shaver, CEO and Co-Founder, LegalTech HUB Speakers: Ken Falcon, Managing Partner, Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP Moish Peltz, Partner, Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP Recorded on 12-1-2023.