Pioneers and Pathfinders

As we close out our fifth year, we welcome back one of our early guests, Michele DeStefano, for a fascinating return conversation. Michele is a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, and the founder of LawWithoutWalls. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, collaboration, and innovation in professional services. In this episode, we explore how artificial intelligence may reshape collaboration, training, and legal education. Michele also discusses the importance of integrating human elements into AI applications, the challenges of adapting legal training to meet modern demands, and the kinds of new roles that may emerge as the profession continues to evolve. As always, Michele brings energy, insight, and a deep commitment to helping the legal profession rethink how it learns, collaborates, and leads in a rapidly changing world. It was great to have one of our old friends back, and we hope you enjoy the conversation. Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Michele-DeStefano-Returns.pdf

Joanna Goodman, a freelance journalist and author who has tracked AI in the legal world since before generative models arrived. She recalls writing Robots in Law, contrasts early predictions with today’s advances, and explores separating hype from reality. Conversations cover hallucinations in generative AI, data hygiene, build versus buy decisions, and the real challenges of adopting new tech in legal firms.

This week, we’re joined by Dr. Eva Bruch. Based in Spain, Dr. Bruch is a lawyer, strategic consultant, and partner at LOIS—a consultancy focused on legal operations and the digital transformation of corporate legal departments and law firms. For more than two decades, Dr. Buch has been working at the intersection of strategy, technology, and the legal profession. At LOIS, she helps organizations adopt technology and AI in ways that are practical and tailored to their specific needs, rather than relying on one-size-fits all solutions. She is also a faculty advisor at the Digital Legal Exchange, a global nonprofit that brings together general counsel, legal professionals, and business leaders to learn and collaborate on digital transformation. Additionally, she serves on the Mutuality Foundation's Youth Council, a think tank focused on entrepreneurship and talent development within the legal profession. In our conversation, Dr. Bruch shares the moment she decided to leave traditional legal practice and focus on digital transformation, what legal professionals should be thinking about as they integrate AI into their work, and the critical role senior leadership plays in driving meaningful change. She also offers thoughtful perspectives on how AI should be regulated within the legal profession.  Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Dr.-Eva-Bruch.pdf

Today we're delighted to welcome back Marlene Gebauer—self-described “Legal Innovation Heroine,” co-host of The Geek In Review, and one of the most thoughtful voices in the legal innovation community. Since she last joined us in 2022, Marlene has stepped into a new role. She is now a practice support attorney at K&L Gates, while continuing to lead SparkMind Advisors as CEO. It's a combination that perfectly reflects the increasingly hybrid nature of legal innovation work. In our conversation, Marlene shares her perspective on the blending of roles across knowledge management, practice support, and innovation—and how AI is reshaping not just the delivery of legal services, but how that work is valued. We also explore why, even in an era of accelerating technology, human connection remains the essential differentiator. As always, Marlene brings both candor and clarity along with practical advice for legal organizations navigating technological transformation. Read the full transcript here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers-Marlene-Gebauer-Returns.pdf

This week on Pioneers and Pathfinders, we’re pleased to welcome back Basha Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Priori. It's been about four years since Basha last joined us, and in that time, Priori has gone through a remarkable transformation. What began as a marketplace connecting clients with flexible legal talent and boutique firms has evolved into a robust platform with innovative RFP and panel management tools that help organizations better manage, evaluate, and leverage their outside counsel relationships. In our conversation, Basha reflects on more than a decade of building and leading a legal tech company. She shares insights on scaling a business, evolving a product in a fast-changing market, and navigating the growing complexity of legal data. We also talk about how Priori is preparing for the next wave of technology shaping the legal industry, and she gives us a look into her work with the Yale Law School fund board. It was great catching up with Basha, and we hope you enjoy listening to the conversation. Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Basha-Rubin-Returns.pdf

Today we’re joined by Sateesh Nori. Sateesh is the chief legal futurist at LawDroid and a senior research fellow at NYU School of Law. His work sits at the crossroads of justice, technology, and public service. Before moving into legal innovation, he spent years serving New Yorkers as a housing rights attorney and later as a managing attorney at both The Legal Aid Society and Legal Services of New York City. Now, at LawDroid, Sateesh is focused on making sure legal technology isn't just cutting edge, but also credible, ethical, and grounded in real-world needs, especially the urgent need to expand access to justice. Last year, he partnered with Housing Court Answers and the legal tech company Josef to launch Roxanne the Repair Bot, an AI-powered assistant designed to help New York tenants understand and assert their rights when dealing with unsafe or substandard housing conditions. He is also the author of Sheltered: Twenty Years in Housing Court, which is a powerful look at the systemic challenges facing tenants, as well as the lawyers who work to serve them. In this episode, Sateesh shares how LawDroid’s tools are helping tenants navigate complex legal processes, why trust is so essential in the future of AI and law, how law schools can better prepare lawyers for a tech-enabled profession, and what he is exploring through his research fellowship at NYU. Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Sateesh-Nori.pdf

This week, we’re shining a spotlight on meaningful innovation in the access to justice space by revisiting our conversation with Kristen Sonday, co-founder and CEO of Paladin. Kristen and her team are transforming the way pro bono work happens—making it easier for law firms, legal departments, and nonprofits to connect lawyers with opportunities while cutting down on the administrative friction that so often gets in the way. For anyone interested in justice tech, Paladin remains a standout example of innovation driven by real impact. We hope you enjoy this replay. We're diving into the world of access to justice with Kristen Sonday, a true trailblazer in making pro bono legal work more efficient and effective. Kristen is the co-founder and CEO of Paladin, an organization dedicated to increasing pro bono engagement while reducing administrative burdens. Through partnerships with law firms, corporate legal teams, bar associations, the US government, and over 300 legal service organizations, Paladin is helping to bridge the justice gap by streamlining how legal professionals connect with those in need. Before launching Paladin, Kristen worked on international criminal matters for the US Department of Justice in Mexico and Central America, and was part of the founding team of a New York City-based tech startup. She also shares her insights in her Thomson Reuters Institute column NextGen Justice Tech, where she explores the role of technology in expanding access to justice. Beyond her work in legal tech, Kristen is a founding partner of LongJump, a Chicago-based venture capital fund focused on supporting the next generation of founders. In our conversation, Kristen takes us through how Paladin is creating a blueprint for justice technology, her journey into access to justice work, the mission of LongJump, and the key lessons she has learned from her entrepreneurial journey. Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Best-of-Pioneers-Kristen-Sonday.pdf

Today we're pleased to welcome back Dan Linna, director of law and technology initiatives and senior lecturer at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and the McCormick School of Engineering. Dan was one of our very first guests back in 2021, and it was a real pleasure to reconnect and continue the conversation. Dan's teaching and research focus on innovation and technology in law, including computational law, artificial intelligence, data analytics, legal operations, leadership, and innovation frameworks. He is also an affiliated faculty member at Stanford's CodeX, the Center for Legal Informatics, and continues to serve as lead organizer of the Chicago Legal Innovation & Technology Meetup. In this return visit, Dan joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about rethinking the end-to-end process of legal work, the impact of generative AI on legal education and practice, his work with the ABA legal analytics committee, and why sustained investment in the judiciary is essential to the future of the legal system. Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_DanLinnaReturns.pdf

Carrie Fletcher, a leadership development expert and lawyer who trains leaders at Cambridge and London Business School. She discusses how law firms have evolved in talent and leadership, why human skills like trust and rapport matter, and how AI is reshaping apprenticeship and the need to teach intentional human skills.

In this discussion, Taylor Bell, founding partner of Arizona ABS Law PLLC, dives deep into Arizona's groundbreaking alternative business structure (ABS) frameworks. He highlights the rapid growth of ABS firms, the diverse use cases extending beyond traditional law, and how his background uniquely positioned him to steer this innovation. Taylor emphasizes the importance of compliance in ABS operations, the changing roles within legal talent, and his personal strategies for balancing entrepreneurship with family life. Tune in for insights on legal evolution!