Reinventing Professionals

I spoke with Jerry Ting, the founder and CEO of Evisort, an AI-powered CLM software platform. We discussed the difference between an AI-powered CLM platform and CLM, how Evisort will leverage its recent investment, the need for legal tech companies to prove their claims in this climate, and how the expectations of clients have changed in the remote environment.

I spoke with Janet Falk, the founder of Falk Communications and Research, which provides public relations and marketing communications guidance to solo practitioners and small law firms, as well as to business executives and consultants. We discussed the value of media relations for attorneys, how they can introduce themselves to reporters as authoritative sources, what legal professionals can do to be more quotable, and the types of articles professionals should publish.

I spoke with Patricia LeBel-Lasse, a litigation paralegal and litigation support professional with Pullman & Comley, a law firm with offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She is a member of the global advisory board for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists. We discussed the advantages for paralegals who become adept in e-discovery, why paralegals are best-suited to translate between legal and IT, and how the training of a traditional paralegal sets the foundation for more advanced litigation support.

I spoke with Tony Donofrio, the chief technology officer for Veritext Legal Solutions, a company that provides deposition and litigation support solutions. We discussed pre-pandemic impressions of remote depositions, challenges that legal professionals needed to overcome when conducting remote depositions early in the pandemic, the experience between remote and in-person proceedings, and where the sector is headed.

I spoke with Kenya Parrish-Dixon, the general counsel and chief operating officer for Empire Technologies Risk Management Group, a cybersecurity, information governance, e-discovery, and managed review consulting company. She is also a member of the global advisory board for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists. We discussed how the pandemic has impacted the perception of cybersecurity, information governance, and e-discovery, and the Association of Corporate Counsel’s new Data Steward Program.

I spoke with Brian Schrader, the president and CEO of BIA, a provider of e-discovery services and digital forensics. We discussed 2021 trends impacting the e-discovery sector, permanent changes from the pandemic, the challenges that collaboration platforms pose to litigants, and the shifting regulatory landscape for data privacy.

spoke with Rick Hellers and Bill Bice, the co-founder and CEO, respectively of nQ Zebraworks, formed from the merger of Zebraworks and nQueue, which provides scanning and routing, print management. cost recovery technology, and cloud-based integration tools for the business and practice of law. We discussed legal industry surprises during the pandemic, how firms should manage their return to a physical office, techniques for extending a firm’s technology infrastructure, where legal teams are focused in 2021.

I spoke with Esther Cho, a shareholder and the chair of the executive committee at Keesal, Young & Logan, who also serves on the firm’s diversity and inclusion committee. We discussed balancing firm leadership with an active legal practice, how the firm is managing the transition from remote to in-person activities, maintaining firm culture in a virtual environment, and facilitating meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion.

I spoke with Dean Sappey, the president and co-founder of DocsCorp, a software company that develops a range of document productivity and security tools for law firms. We discussed DocsCorp’s global strategy, its acquisitions of Docuble and Verowave Technologies, features that clients are requesting, and strategies for approaching growth in an uncertain business climate.

I spoke with Rick Merrill, the founder and CEO of Gavelytics, a litigation analytics company. We discussed why research into litigation analytics has become so attractive, how the approach to gathering and sharing data has changed, and the challenges associated with transitioning from practicing as a large firm lawyer to starting a legal tech company.