#FiveQuestionsWithDS - From Tech in Legal to Women in Leadership and everything in between!

In this episode of #FiveQuestionsWithDS, Jerry Levine, Chief Evangelist and General Counsel at ContractPodAI, talks about the role of AI and automation in improving the lives of lawyers and legal professionals. Here are the key points covered in the interview: Importance of Change Management in Legal Tech Implementation: Jerry emphasizes that understanding user needs and company struggles is crucial for successful legal technology implementation. This benefits both legal service providers and consumers. Impact of Technology on Work-Life Balance: While Jerry acknowledges the potential of AI to improve workflows and efficiency, he cautions that technology alone is not a solution to burnout. Transparency, clear communication, and individual well-being strategies are also important. Specific Legal Technologies for Efficiency: Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Generative AI are tools that can significantly improve a lawyer's practice by automating administrative tasks and assisting with drafting and research. Balancing Innovation and Responsibility: The discussion touches on the ethical considerations surrounding AI and legal technology, including data security and transparency. GenAI in numbers: Jerry talks about the incredible outcomes they are seeing using Leah, ContractPodAi’s GenAI legal assistant.

On this episode, legal writing expert Ross Guberman, (who's an investigative journalist turned lawyer and trains federal judges and lawyers) shares his insights for those wanting to improve legal writing or build a rockstar social media presence. ⚖️ Here are the key takeaways for new age lawyers: ➡️Ditch dense legalese: "Convoluted sentences reflect convoluted thinking," says Ross. Out with jargon, in with clear, concise writing that grabs attention. ➡️ Storytelling Power: Craft compelling narratives in contracts & disputes. Weave facts & law into stories that resonate with judges & clients. ⚖️ ➡️Tech Tools for Efficiency: Leverage technology to streamline writing & identify areas for improvement (think Ross's innovative briefcatch.com!) ➡️Build Your Legal Brand (The Right Way): Golden Pen Award winner & ABA's best law Twitter awardee, Ross shares insights on balancing professionalism with personality on LinkedIn. Listen in and learn how to ethically & effectively navigate social media and build your brand.

In this episode, Sarah Glassmeyer⁠, a lawyer 🎓, librarian 📖, and technologist 💻 talks about democratizing access to legal precedents. We talk about her article, "The Legal Future Puzzle Box," which peaked my curiosity - offering a fresh perspective on law – looking at it through the lens of the very source: librarians! Sarah talks about why rethinking our approach to cataloging case laws is crucial in the era of AI. Here are some interesting snippets from our conversation: ⚖️Broadening the Definition of Legal Tech Sarah offered a refreshingly broad definition of legal technology: “anything that helps you as a lawyer or legal service provider do your job.” This includes even basic tools like Microsoft Word and Excel. She argues that legal innovation is simply the constant pursuit of improvement: becoming more efficient, thoughtful, and effective in your work. Many people mistakenly believe legal tech is out of reach, but she asserts that it's ingrained in everyday legal practice. “Anyone can be a legal innovator; anyone can use legal technology.” ⚖️Challenges and the Path Forward While Sarah's definition is inclusive, there are challenges. The sheer volume of legal information, combined with the ever-evolving nature of language and jurisdictions, makes it difficult to keep pace. This is especially true considering the potential of new, powerful generative AI tools for legal research.Access to these powerful tools is another hurdle. The digital divide persists, and not everyone has the resources or skills to process vast amounts of legal information. ⚖️The Importance of Delivery Sarah also emphasizes that “the way information is delivered is as important as the information itself.” In a world with multiple languages and accessibility concerns, ensuring equitable access to legal resources is paramount.

In this latest episode, we talk to Tim Follett to discuss the future of legal technology and how StructureFlow is revolutionizing the way lawyers visualize complex data. Here are some highlights from our conversation: 🔍 Problem-solving in Legal Industry: We delved into the challenges lawyers face when structuring deals and how traditional methods like PowerPoint fall short in handling complexity. 00:41🛠 Introducing StructureFlow: He shared how StructureFlow streamlines the process of creating structure charts and steps papers, making it easier for legal professionals to work, think, and communicate visually. 02:30🤔 Challenges and Adoption: We explored the challenges of adopting new technologies in the legal sector, especially balancing time constraints with the need for efficient tools. 04:11🌐 Future of Legal Tech: He discussed the potential of leveraging AI and other technologies to automate data visualization, making workflows smoother and more intuitive. 06:45📈 Next Steps for StructureFlow: We talked about his vision for StructureFlow and how they're integrating cutting-edge technologies to simplify complex data structuring. 09:54

In the latest episode of #FiveQuestionswithDS we speak to Dorna Moini, CEO and Founder of Gavel! We delve into Gavel's journey from a vision to revolutionize legal processes to becoming a leading no-code platform for legal automation. Here are some key highlights: Empowering Legal Professionals: Dorna shared her journey from being an attorney with a pro bono practice to founding Gavel. The platform empowers legal professionals to build custom legal tools without coding knowledge, streamlining processes and enhancing access to justice. 00:51 No-Code Document Automation: Gavel simplifies document automation and legal product development. It's like TurboTax and LegalZoom but customizable to specific legal needs, creating tailored solutions for clients efficiently. 02:24 Addressing Industry Challenges: We discussed challenges in the legal industry, including the burden of paperwork and the need for digital transformation. Gavel's approach enables legal professionals to innovate rapidly, iterate on solutions, and bring them to market faster. 05:52 Future Expansion: Dorna highlighted Gavel's focus on making the platform faster to build on and quicker to market. They're leveraging AI features to enhance workflow creation and are committed to helping users scale their solutions effectively. 08:02

Michael, with over 10 years of experience in financial services and a deep involvement in AI, Web 3.0, and crypto assets, provided valuable perspectives on why governments are increasingly looking to regulate AI and where EU's AI Act fits in. ➡️As he highlighted, AI has become a general-purpose technology with significant systemic risks, necessitating a regulatory framework to ensure safe and trustworthy interactions. (1:42) ➡️The discussion delved into the recent EU AI law, drawing parallels with GDPR and emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach to regulation. (3:10) ➡️Michael's insights on risk classification, compliance obligations, and the evolving regulatory landscape were particularly insightful for companies gearing up for AI compliance. (4:42) ➡️We also explored the potential for an AI regulator and the ideal mix of experts needed for such a panel. (6:01) ➡️Michael's view on the convergence of technologies like AI, quantum computing, blockchain, and the Metaverse was thought-provoking, hinting at a hyper-specialized and digitized future. (7:36)

Namee Oberst talks about how her background in law led her to explore AI for automating legal tasks. She delves into the need to democratize AI development through open-source models to bridge the gap between technical expertise and business needs (Ai Bloks). She explains the challenges of explainable AI and ensuring trust in AI applications (e.g., preventing hallucination in AI-generated content), the future of AI integration in business workflows, including Ai Bloks' recent launch of SLIMs (small models) for structured outputs. Finally, a key takeaway for aspiring lawyers - delve into AI to solve specific problems in the legal field. In this episode: 00:16 Introduction – I talk about Namee’s background in law and finance before transitioning into questions about AI and business applications. 01:28 Namee explains that her interest in AI stemmed from realizing the potential to automate mundane tasks in legal practice. 02:53 Namee discusses the importance of democratizing AI development and how Ai Bloks bridges the gap between technical expertise and business needs by offering open-source models. 06:48 The conversation delves into the challenges of explainable AI and how Ai Bloks ensures reliability and trust in AI applications. Namee highlights the need for consistency in information and discusses techniques used by Ai Bloks to prevent issues like hallucination in AI-generated content. 09:06 Looking ahead, Namee talks about the future of AI integration in various business workflows. She mentions the recent launch of SLIMs (small models) by Ai Bloks, which are designed to provide structured outputs for better user interaction compared to traditional chatbot interfaces. 11:58 In conclusion, Namee advises aspiring lawyers looking to make a mark in the field of AI to delve deeper into technologies and reflect on what problem they would like to solve for themselves. This could be a good starting point.