Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies

Gina Passarella is senior vice president of content at ALM, overseeing all brands and content produced by the legal division. She is responsible for the content strategy of all Law.com publications, including The American Lawyer, Law.com International, Corporate Counsel, Legaltech News, The National Law Journal and all of the company's regional offerings.

Gina has a heavy focus on audience engagement, meeting with leadership and other members of each segment of the legal ecosystem. Having served for 7 years as editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer, she has a strong focus on the business of law globally, including law firm financial performance, strategy, innovation, talent management, client relationships and the overall evolution of legal services delivery. Gina also places an emphasis on the study and coverage of mental health in the profession.

Ari Kaplan, an attorney and legal industry analyst, is an inaugural Fastcase 50 honoree, a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and a finalist for ILTA's Thought Leader of the Year award. He is the author of Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace (Wiley, 2011) and The Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development (West Academic, 2nd Ed. 2016). Kaplan serves as the principal researcher for a variety of widely distributed benchmarking reports, hosts the Virtual Lunch daily on Zoom, has been the keynote speaker for events worldwide, and is the founder of the Lawcountability® business development software platform and iPhone app. He is an avid swimmer, a self-taught, struggling, but hopeful, python coder, and a two-time Ironman triathlon finisher.

Raphael Lopez is the VP of Product at CARET with responsibility for gathering customer insights to drive product evolution of the company's award-winning practice management platform, CARET Legal. He has spent nearly a decade devoted to legal technology, with responsibilities spanning leadership of product strategy and product engineering teams. Under Lopez's leadership, CARET Legal has grown to serve the end to end practice management needs of firms nationwide. Raphael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from The State University of New York at Old Westbury. When not focused on building software, Lopez collects records and DJs in his home of Long Beach, New York.

George Socha is responsible for increasing market awareness and adoption of Reveal's platform globally. Additionally, George is tasked with guiding the product roadmap and consulting with Reveal customers on effective deployment of legal technology. In 2005, he co-founded the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) whose frameworks and content have empowered a generation of legal professionals. He has worked for over three decades as a lawyer, advisor and court-approved expert. George received his JD from Cornell Law School and his BA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

As the Chief Information Officer of U.S. Legal Support, Lee Wielenga oversees all information technology and systems in support of rapid growth and improved customer satisfaction, combined with a strong culture of innovation. A proven technology executive with expertise in leading global technology groups, Lee believes that when applied strategically, technology can be a strong enabler for business success and a powerful differentiator in any market segment. His tenure within the information technology domain includes experience as a Developer, Architect, Manager, and Chief Information Officer supporting business clients in Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to joining U.S. Legal Support, Lee held senior positions at Oracle, Chase, Ernst & Young and Invesco leading global application development, infrastructure and support teams.