Innovation

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from the Reinventing Professionals podcast, hosted by legal tech speaker and consultant Ari Kaplan, provided to Legaltech News. Kaplan spoke with various industry leaders at Legalweek 2018 and shares their perspectives in a series of podcast interviews available at ReinventingProfessionals.com.

The Business of Law: Mark Smolik, general counsel, DHL Supply Chain

Ari Kaplan: How has the business of law evolved?

Mark Smolik: There are certain dynamics that have been underway for a number of years in the legal industry, including companies and law firms leveraging technology to create efficiencies within the service offering between them. If you really want to drive value within an organization build sustainable, meaningful relationships, the buyer and seller need to sit down and talk about their expectations. Unless both sides do so and discuss their objectives, there's always going to be a gap.

Ari Kaplan: What is preventing stronger communication between law firms and law departments?

Mark Smolik: It is the hectic pace of the day-to-day. I continue to see law firms come to me with questions about addressing the changing dynamics that have been underway in the industry for a number of years. What I really want is for them to be proactive in identifying where I have risks and working with me and my team to address them. The only way to do that is to take a broad look at the type of work they've been handling for us, which means they have to turn off the billable clock and find time to speak with us.

The Convergence of Legal Disciplines: Hal Marcus, director of product marketing, OpenText Discovery

Ari Kaplan: What key trend are you focusing on at Legaltech 2018?

Hal Marcus: E-discovery, information governance, enterprise information management, data breach response, and privacy are all converging. The use cases are blurring into each other and we have seen discovery technology used in more of these areas over the last few years. With GDPR forcing a dialogue around information, this trend is allowing us to bring all of our tools together to benefit our clients. Things that used to be the domain of IT or the chief knowledge officer, if one existed, within a large enterprise, now require legal oversight across the board as part of an overarching strategy. That's been very different in our conversations this year in comparison to a few years ago.

Ari Kaplan: How do you think this convergence will benefit clients?

Hal Marcus: If enterprises can develop a cohesive strategy, they will enjoy the benefits of risk management and lower e-discovery costs.

Optimism at Legaltech 2018: Jake Heller, co-founder and CEO, Casetext

Ari Kaplan: What are your impressions of Legaltech 2018?

Jake Heller: This show has been a lot of fun because there is more happening in artificial intelligence (AI). It's been something that we've discussed at the show for years, but this is the first year where I really feel like it is accepted. It started off with the boot camps beforehand where they invited companies to demonstrate their capabilities live on stage and highlight what's really happening in the sector.

It also feels like the first Legaltech that isn't fully dominated entirely by discovery. There are a lot of interesting conversations happening around legal research document automation, contract automation, legal process, and workflow management in a much more substantive way than I've ever seen. The event also brings the most innovative, interesting people to New York.

The Value of Legaltech for Newer Entrepreneurs: Rick Merrill, founder and CEO, Gavelytics

Ari Kaplan: What is the advantage of attending Legaltech for a newer entrepreneur?

Rick Merrill: I love walking around and seeing people trying to sell things to lawyers. I like meeting other entrepreneurs and being around people who are taking risks. It's also interesting to see the competitive landscape (Gavelytics is a state court-focused judicial analytics platform) and explore partnerships that can help our business.

Analytics and the Keynote Perspective: Josh Becker, CEO, Lex Machina, and Jeff Pfeifer, vice president of product management, LexisNexis

Ari Kaplan: What are your impressions of Legaltech?

Jeff Pfeifer: I've seen a lot more focus on use cases, which is really important in the evolution of next generation technologies. We're talking less about the technology itself and more about the problems that law firms are trying to solve. We've also seen a lot of discussion about analytics.

Ari Kaplan: Josh, you were a keynote speaker addressing legal analytics and the future of data-driven law. How do you see analytics impacting the way the legal industry moves forward in 2018?

Josh Becker: I've been conveying the message that analytics have arrived for some time. You could choose not to adopt them this year or even next year, but eventually you will have to do so. We've hit a tipping point and analytics are going to be a requirement for lawyers.

Also, this year's Legaltech show offered diverse content. It was less e-discovery-heavy and more focused on the business and practice of law, which are areas I think are really fascinating. We also saw a separation of the reality from the hype, particularly with respect to AI. Ultimately, new technology has to help lawyers do their jobs better and faster, as well as make them more productive. Otherwise, it doesn't matter.

The Industry Veteran's Perspective: Ray Zwiefelhofer, president, World Software Corporation, the maker of Worldox

Ari Kaplan: Worldox is celebrating its 30th anniversary. What is it about the culture of an organization that fuels longevity?

Ray Zwiefelhofer: It's our attention to the customer. We have a great product, with a rich feature set for a fair price. We go above and beyond.

Ari Kaplan: What key issues are affecting the evolution of the legal industry?

Ray Zwiefelhofer: The focus on security and governance, as well as the movement to the cloud. Law firms are migrating to the cloud much faster now because they want a professional company to take over their security and infrastructure. Three years ago, none of our clients were really asking about the cloud, but now we receive 10 to 15 calls a month from existing clients asking about converting to our cloud-based solution.

Ari Kaplan regularly interviews leaders in the legal industry and in the broader professional services community to share perspective, highlight transformative change, and introduce new technology at ReinventingProfessionals.com.