On The Road With Legal Talk Network

Do you run a startup company or know someone who does? Are you a fan of Shark Tank or wonder what venture capitalists look for? Well, we’ve got a treat for you. In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti sits down with Edward Wilson, David Rose, Mike Suchsland, Lorine Pendleton, and Jeroen Plink from the Venture Capital and Angel Investment panel at Evolve Law’s Summit in New York City. Together they discuss what’s attractive for investors, common pitfalls for startup companies, and the value of being likeable. In addition they talk about investor exit strategy and why that’s a must-know for capital-seeking entrepreneurs as well as predictions for future legal tech innovations. Will it be dominated by artificial intelligence or virtual reality? Tune in to find out. Edward Wilson is an investor with Anthos Capital, a $300mm fund based out of Santa Monica. He is focused on finding those companies that have the potential to become leaders in their space and are looking for a capital partner to help

What is the Evolve Law Summit and why is it important? In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Jules Miller and Mary Juetten, co-founders of Evolve Law, about the Evolve Law Summit, which aims to pair legal innovators with strategic partners and investors. A common problem in legal technology is getting funding and building on strategic partnerships in order to get more sales. The Summit used technology to match innovators with investors and the panels covered what investors are looking for in a partnership or investment. Jules Miller is the co-founder and managing director of Evolve Law, a community of entrepreneurs dedicated to accelerating the adoption of technology and innovation in the legal industry. Mary Juetten is the current founder of Traklight.com and the co-founder of Evolve Law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once again, Legal Talk Network was at Beer for Bloggers, a networking event near the end of ABA TECHSHOW. And once again we dragged the legal bloggers, or “blawggers,” over to our corner of the bar to fire three questions at them. But this year we upped the ante: instead of one minute, we gave our guests only 30 seconds with all questions asked in the beginning. What questions did we ask them? Tell us about your blog. Based on TECHSHOW 2017, what app or technology are you going to buy or download next? If you grab coffee with anybody from ABA TECHSHOW who would it be and why? Listen in to hear how these legal bloggers deal with the pressure and what they (as clear experts in legal technology) will be downloading next for their own personal use. If you like what they have to say, check out one of their blogs listed below or follow them on Twitter. And maybe next year you can join the event and sit in the hot seat as well! List of Participants (In Order of Appearance) Adam Music - Before the Bar - @Musi

The legal community has dedicated an increasing amount of energy and resources to improving access to justice in recent years. In this report from On the Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Judy Perry Martinez about the American Bar Association Center for Innovation, including its mission to improve access to justice and its fellowship program. For those interested in being a fellow, their discussion includes what qualities the program looks for and the sponsors involved in the process. Judy Perry Martinez is the chair of the American Bar Association Presidential Commission on the Future of Legal Services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three minutes of wasted time, whether you’re waiting for your computer to warm up or organizing your documents, doesn’t seem significant. But three minutes over the course of the year results in 13 hours of billable time. In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Jack Newton, Deborah Savadra, Adam Camras, Ivan Hemmans, and Rochelle Washington about tech tips, life hacks, and useful apps that can increase your productivity while also helping you manage security and marketing. As well as naming some of these apps, the group discusses what to look for when investing in tech, including asking whether it’s intuitive for you specifically and if the app itself is secure. Jack Newton is the founder of Clio, one of the pioneers of cloud-based practice management. Deborah Savadra is editor and chief blogger at Legal Office Guru, which helps practices master Microsoft Word. Adam Camras is the CEO of LAWgical, the company that owns and operates leading legal brands, including Legal Talk Network.

This year’s ABA TECHSHOW roster has more women faculty than men. While the legal industry has previously been predominantly men, this demographic is shifting. In this episode of On The Road, host Sharon Nelson talks to Linda Klein, Heidi Alexander, Rochelle Washington, Brooke Moore, Sarah Glassmeyer, and Catherine Reach about the women in legal technology. Their discussion includes why it’s important to promote women’s roles in the legal industry and what specific characteristics women have to improve the tech field. Linda Klein is the current president of the American Bar Association. In her practice life, she is managing shareholder for the Georgia offices of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, LLP. Heidi Alexander is a law practice management advisor at the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (MassLOMAP), where she advises lawyers on practice management matters and provides guidance in implementing new law office technologies. Rochelle Washington is the senior staff attorn

Though it is one of the legal tech companies that is making lawyers nervous, the ultimate goal of Rocket Lawyer is to make it more affordable and simple for clients to connect with lawyers. In this report from On The Road, host Bob Ambrogi talks to Charley Moore, CEO of Rocket Lawyer, about the functions and goals of the company. While they are not a law firm themselves, Rocket Lawyer aims to make lawyers more accessible to those that need them the most. Charley Moore is the founder and CEO of Rocket Lawyer. His experience as a startup company attorney taught him that something was missing—an affordable and simple way to handle any legal situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legal tech companies like LegalZoom have gotten mixed reactions from lawyers. In this report from On The Road, host Joshua Lenon has a conversation with John Suh, CEO of LegalZoom, about the mission of the company and how it functions. They talk about how LegalZoom aims to democratize law, what this means, and how the company interacts with and affects lawyers. John Suh has served as LegalZoom’s CEO since February 2007 and as a member of their board of directors since February 2005. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For those not familiar with the GTD methodology, it is a work-life management systems that, when done correctly, can help you manage your legal business and personal with less stress. In this report from On The Road, host Christopher Anderson talks to Ivan Hemmans and David Sparks, two legal professionals who have switched to the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology and have seen positive results. Their discussion includes how to implement the system, key benefits, and resources that will help you get started. Ivan Hemmans is the Manager of Technology Development and Communications at O’Melveny & Myers LLP where he uses his extensive experience with information technology to help people find ways to solve everyday problems with the many available tools at their disposal. David Sparks has been a lawyer in Orange County, California, for 21 years and recently started a solo practice. He is also a technology expert who has a blog, a podcast, and often writes articles, including his MacSparky blog, about findin

So you have a law degree. Now what? Well, lawyering is not your only option. In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Stacy Stern, Nicole Bradick, and Dan Lear about alternate ways to use your law degree. They discuss what skills you need and the important role of passion in pursuing an alternative career. Stacy Stern is President of Justia. She oversees all revenue and client operations, as well as marketing and partnerships. Nicole Bradick is Chief Strategy Officer at CuroLegal, a company that works with lawyers to grow efficient, profitable, and scalable firms through its consulting services, operations support, and flexible staffing solutions. Dan Lear is currently the Director of Industry Relations for Avvo. He is a technology lawyer, facilitator, and blogger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The panel was called “The Startups Are Building Robot Lawyers” but they unanimously concluded that this is not the case. In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Andrew Arruda, Shamla Naidoo, and Ed Walters about artificial intelligence and how technology is helping lawyers, not replacing them. They end their discussion with a call for open-mindedness toward and collaboration with technology in the legal industry. Andrew Arruda is the ‎CEO and co-founder of ROSS Intelligence, the world’s first artificially intelligent attorney. Shamla Naidoo is IBM’s Vice President of IT Risk and Chief Information Security Officer. Ed Walters is the CEO and co-founder of Fastcase, an online legal research software company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No matter how great of a lawyer you are, sometimes work can be overwhelming. In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Vedia Jones-Richardson about the importance of focus in the workplace, especially for legal professionals. They also discuss energy management, taking breaks regularly, and signs that you may be overwhelmed. Vedia Jones-Richardson is a principal with Olive and Olive, PA, where she leads the trademark and copyright practice group. Heidi S. Alexander is a law practice management advisor at the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (MassLOMAP), where she advises lawyers on practice management matters and provides guidance in implementing new law office technologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much time do you waste fixing (or even ignoring) computer issues? In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Tom Lambotte and Stanley Louissaint about managed service providers (MSP) and the role they play in a successful law firm. Their discussion includes explaining what MSPs do and what questions you should ask a MSP before hiring them. Tom Lambotte is currently the CEO of GlobalMac IT, a company offering computer support for Mac-based law firms. Stanley Louissaint is president of Fluid Designs Inc., a full service IT services provider. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The practice of unbundling legal services is one most lawyers are hesitant to adopt. But in this report from On The Road, host Sam Glover talks to Shantelle Argyle about how lawyers can unbundle their services and actually turn a profit. In their discussion, they explain the difference between limited scope and unbundled representation, why cost isn’t the only reason people don’t hire lawyers, and how to figure out pricing if you do decide to unbundle. Shantelle Argyle is an attorney and the co-founder and executive director of Open Legal Services, a nonprofit modest means law firm in Utah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you want to get the name of your firm under as many eyes or into as many ears as possible. You know some sources that can accomplish this but what is the best way to approach them with a pitch? In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Adam Camras, Molly McDonough, Elie Mystal, and Sam Glover about the best ways for lawyers to pitch to the media in order to get exposure for your firm. Some of their tips include being intentional about building a relationship, knowing the publication, and straight up flattery. Adam Camras is the Chief Executive Officer of LAWgical, the company that owns and operates leading legal brands, including Legal Talk Network, ServeNow, and ServeManager. Molly McDonough is the managing editor of the ABA Journal. Elie Mystal is managing editor at Above the Law Redline and editor-at-large at Breaking Media. Sam Glover is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Lawyerist.com, an online magazine and reference manual for solo and small firm lawyers. Learn more about your

New legal technology and innovative companies, like Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom, are slowly changing the legal industry. In this report from On The Road, host Christopher Anderson talks to Mark Britton, CEO of Avvo, about how law firms are becoming more customer-centric and using technology to do so. Their discussion includes how client needs are currently not being met by lawyers which will lead to a shift in how practices operate, namely turning to innovation and new ideas in order to keep customers coming back. Mark Britton is the founder, CEO, and president of Avvo, an online legal forum and directory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New and improving technology, like voice enabled software or the internet of things, are really cool and may help out at your law firm, but they also introduce a new need for security. In this report from On The Road, host Laurence Colletti talks to Sherri Davidoff and John Simek about keeping legal data secure. They talk about free (that’s right, free) ways to encrypt devices and emails, as well as promoting two factor identification as an extra means of protection. Sherri Davidoff is a nationally-recognized cyber security expert who is a founder and senior security consultant at LMG Security. John W. Simek is vice president of the digital forensics and security firm Sensei Enterprises. He is a nationally known expert in digital forensics and e-discovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are a lot of practice management softwares out there, all claiming to help with the behind the scenes aspects of running a legal business. In this episode of On The Road, host Bob Ambrogi discusses the advantages of practice management software with Niki Black, legal technology evangelist at MyCase. They talk about the strengths of MyCase specifically, along with the improved mobile app and the future of the company. Niki Black is an attorney in Rochester, New York, and the legal technology evangelist at MyCase.com, a law practice management software company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your law firm may be functioning, but could it be thriving? In this report from On The Road, host Lee Rawles talks to George Psiharis and Billie Tarascio about how yvou can use performance data to improve your law practice. Their discussion includes what kind of information you can and should look for, the benefits of doing so, and the first steps you can take if you want to measure your stats, like checking out their trends report and determining what your problems are. George Psiharis is the vice president of business development at Clio. He specializes in customer development and data operations. Billie Tarascio is a family law attorney, legal innovator, and entrepreneur. She has created a DIY software for litigants that helps minimize legal costs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You became a lawyer to practice law, not to write a blog about law. Blogging, however, is an important tool when marketing your firm. So how, as a lawyer, can you make this process more manageable? In this report from On The Road, host Lee Rawles talks to Tim Baran of Good2bSocial about essential DIY tools to market your legal practice. Because of the importance of content to email marketing, blogs and email campaigns may get your firm the attention it deserves (so you can practice more law). Tim Baran is the chief marketing officer for Good2bSocial, a digital marketing agency for large and small law firms, solo attorneys, and any companies in the legal space. He has a history as content marketer from Rocket Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices