Daily Matters: The changing face of the legal industry

As the attorney to the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Jacob Blake, and many others who have died during interactions with police, Ben Crump has become a central figure in America’s reinvigorated struggle for civil rights and justice reform. Nicknamed “Black America’s Attorney General,” Ben works tirelessly to fight for those who are marginalized in society.

For the 100th episode of Daily Matters, host Jack Newton becomes the interviewee. Joined by the show’s producers—Derek Bolen, Andrew Booth, and Sam Rosenthal—Jack looks back at the key people, themes, and takeaways since the show started in March, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angela Duckworth, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the Founder and CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development.

Seth Godin is one of the world’s most respected business and marketing visionaries. A member of the Marketing Hall of Fame, Seth is the author of 19 bestselling books, the creator of one of the world’s most popular blogs, and the founder of the altMBA and The Marketing Seminar, which have transformed thousands of lives.

When Mark Holthe made the decision to start a virtual immigration firm, he knew he needed to do things differently. By creating an innovative approach with a “client-centered, firm-supported” service model and a strong content marketing strategy, Holthe Immigration Law has become a leader in its field—and a nominee for the 2020 Reisman Award for Best New Law Firm.

Joshua Lenon, Clio’s Lawyer in Residence, has worked on the front lines of legal technology innovation for more than a decade, helping to educate legal professionals on how they can better use technology to run their firms more efficiently and effectively. In this episode, Joshua talks with Jack Newton about the rapidly-changing world of professional responsibility in the legal industry, and how Continuing Legal Education (CLE) is evolving.

Today’s guest is attorney, entrepreneur, speaker, and author Billie Tarascio, the recipient of the 2018 Reisman Award for Law Firm Innovation. With her law firm and legal businesses, Billie is driving positive change in the legal industry around Access to Justice and the incorporation of legal technology into law firm workflows.

Today’s episode features Lucy Ricca and John Lund of the Utah Implementation Task Force on Regulatory Reform. The Task Force is taking a data-driven, risk-oriented approach that also allows for new innovative models to be tried out in a controlled Regulatory Sandbox.

Throughout her career, attorney Temi Siyanbade has defined herself by living beyond her comfort zone. After serving as a teacher in a low-income neighborhood through Teach for America, she saw the opportunity she had to make an impact through the practice of law.

Jon Tobin’s law firm, Counsel for Creators LLP, bills itself as the first law firm to develop subscription services tailored to the needs of creative people. Using their innovative subscription services model, Counsel for Creators is providing innovative legal services and meeting client expectations in new ways.

Gyi Tsakalakis is a law firm marketing expert. As a former lawyer who now runs an SEO and digital marketing agency, he’s watched the legal technology landscape evolve over the past 15 years—and accelerate dramatically since the start of COVID-19. In this interview, Gyi and Jack Newton discuss important aspects of legal marketing in the pandemic era.

As an award-winning digital media scholar, author, and journalist, Alfred Hermida is one of Canada’s foremost experts on social media and digital journalism. In this episode, Alfred and Jack Newton discuss the implications of the ways we communicate and share information in the present—and how this is shaping our future.

Diversity & Inclusion keynote speaker, founder, consultant, and author Risha Grant has been advocating for a more diverse and inclusive workplace for over 25 years—and now, she is witnessing changes in corporate America which indicate that the business community is starting to get the message.

First Amendment litigator, criminal defense attorney, writer, and podcast host Ken White has a wealth of knowledge and perspective about some of today’s most pressing issues, including freedom of speech, the justice system, and American historical precedent.

Since joining Clio 10 years ago, Chief Operating Officer George Psiharis has had a front-row seat for the massive technological and cultural shifts that have swept the legal industry in the past decade—shifts which have accelerated due to COVID-19.

Today's guest is Ross Albers, CEO of Albers & Associates, who is leading his employees through the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis while raising a family of young children at home.

It’s a crazy time in the sports world—and Sports Law expert Darren Heitner has a behind-the-scenes vantage point into how America’s professional sports leagues, organizations, and athletes are handling the coronavirus pandemic.

When she was young, Nicole Abboud-Shayan knew she wanted to become a lawyer—until she actually became one, and she realized she had a different calling. Now, Nicole—best known as the producer and host of the Gen Y Lawyer Podcast—is a legal industry expert who handles business development at WordRake and blogs, speaks, and creates content to help build a better future for legal professionals and their clients.

In this episode, Seth Price and Jack Newton engage in a thorough discussion of law firm marketing practices, including valuable advice for digital marketing and SEO in the legal context.

Among the many ways in which COVID-19 has affected the legal profession, the pandemic’s impact on graduating law school students has been particularly severe. In terms of the bar exam, COVID-19 has brought the need for immediate changes to a test that already has come under fire as a potentially outdated measure of students’ aptitude for legal practice.

Early into her legal career, Nicole Bradick realized that she could have a greater impact as a technologist rather than a litigator and founded Theory and Principle, a company with the mission to improve the legal experience for all with thoughtfully designed digital products.

Ivy B. Grey took a roundabout route to becoming a lawyer and legal tech entrepreneur. Now, as Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for WordRake—an editing add-in for Microsoft Word that tightens, tones, and clarifies your writing—Ivy is helping move the profession forward to a more innovative, accessible place.

Today’s guest is Bill Henderson, who in the past five years has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal, the Most Influential Person in Legal Education by National Jurist Magazine, and a member of the inaugural group of “Legal Rebels” profiled by the ABA Journal.

Bryan Parker is the Co-founder and CEO of Legal Innovators, an innovative alternative legal service provider (ALSP) that is helping law firms train young lawyers more effectively, embrace better business models, and enhance Diversity and Inclusion efforts.

Before they started their law firm in 2012, Kelly Hayes and Betsy Stotler were “two lawyer-moms who wanted to work at an innovative distributed law firm that balanced work, life, and clients”——and since this type of firm didn’t exist in their area, they created it. Now, they have a thriving practice with over 50 full-time employees, including 28 attorneys practicing in over 33 states.

Civil rights lawyer, teacher, writer, and activist Dan Canon is best known as lead counsel for the Kentucky plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which brought marriage equality to all 50 U.S. states. He has also sued President Trump, run for Congress, and taught the next generation of lawyers at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at Louisville.

In the final episode of this week's look-back series … we’ll start looking ahead to the future of the legal profession—and all the ways that legal may never be the same in a post-pandemic world.

In today's episode, we will revisit the series of interviews we conducted in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that shined a spotlight on systemic racism, police misconduct, and the need for lasting reform.

Today, we’re examining a variety of perspectives on mental wellness in legal, which has become even more important as a result of the pandemic.

Today, we’re revisiting some powerful discussions we’ve had regarding Access to Justice—and how we can create a better system for all.

In today’s episode, we’ll be recapping how the legal industry reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic—and how the coronavirus crisis is changing the practice of law, for good.

As someone who wrote a thesis on why judges should utilize case management software and practices, Judge Jennifer Bailey is an active advocate for judicial reform.

Shreya and Colin Ley met each other while studying abroad during law school—then they got married and co-founded LayRoots, a law firm bringing a new approach to Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Business, and Intellectual Property Law.

I. Stephanie Boyce is the current Deputy Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales, and in 2021 she will become the first Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic (BAME) person to ever serve as the Law Society’s president.

After going through an extremely difficult period in her career and life, attorney and entrepreneur Brooke Moore knew she needed a change—and she founded a subscription-based, limited-scope virtual law firm as a result.

Geneviéve Jones-Wright and Clio CEO Jack Newton discuss the vital work that needs to be done to transform America’s legal and law enforcement systems.

Jordan Couch, a Partner at Palace Law, has been front and center for the recent events related to protests and COVID-19 in Seattle, Washington. Today on Daily Matters, he talks about what those experiences have been like—and a whole lot more.

As Founder of The Hite Law Group, a solo practice serving New Orleans and Louisiana, Nicholas Hite specializes in LGBTQ advocacy. He travels the state training and educating legal, medical, and other professionals on how to support LGBTQ families and children, and he has successfully represented hundreds of families and children in family and juvenile courts in 10 parishes across Louisiana.

Long before COVID-19, immigration lawyer Greg McLawsen’s law firm operated remotely—and he practiced while traveling around the world. During the pandemic, Greg is helping Sound Immigration’s clients navigate these difficult times from his home in Seattle. (Until he can buy a boat—then he’ll practice from the sea.)

As Chair of the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), Shannon Salter is pioneering new ways for dispute resolution to take place. Shannon’s advocacy for access to justice and justice reform includes re-envisioning how our justice system operates.

“Our systems are certainly setting people up to fail,” says Katherine Katcher, Founder and Executive Director of Root and Rebound—an organization working to restore power and resources to the families and communities most harmed by mass incarceration through legal advocacy, public education, policy reform, and litigation.

When COVID-19 made it harder for law firms to accept cash and check payments from clients, the industry shifted almost overnight to a model where online payments are far more prevalent. At the center of this shift was LawPay, and in this episode the company’s CEO, Tom West, talks about the rise of electronic payments in legal.

When COVID-19 hit, Microsoft Teams suddenly became an even more important tool for all kinds of organizations—including law firms. Steven Abrahams works on Partnerships for Microsoft Teams (which now integrates with Clio), and on today’s podcast he talks about the software and the role it has played since the pandemic began.

Estates Litigator Ian Hu is passionate about legal innovation, Diversity & Inclusion, social media, and how lawyers can become more financially independent. In this interview, Ian and Jack touch on a wide range of topics relevant to the changing legal landscape.

Any discussion of the technological tools that legal professionals and clients are increasingly using—especially during the coronavirus crisis—starts with Zoom. The video conferencing app has become almost ubiquitous since the pandemic began, and many lawyers naturally have concerns about privacy and security risks for new technologies like it. In this episode, John Grant and Simon Boehme answer questions about Zoom and tech tools in legal.

In his work with Pro Bono Net, Co-founder and Executive Director Mark O’Brien heads a national nonprofit that increases access to justice for the poor and other vulnerable populations through innovative uses of technology, collaboration, and volunteer mobilization. In today’s rapidly-changing world, this work is vital to under-represented communities across the United States.

A New York City-based attorney, Andrea Alexander has personally experienced many of the ways in which racial inequality affects people in the professional and academic worlds. Andrea defines herself as a legal advocate by day and an advocate for social change by night, and today she joins Daily Matters to speak openly about the changes that need to happen in society.

André Robert Lee has devoted his life’s work to fighting injustice. A film director, producer, professor, and speaker with the Diversity & Inclusion company Point Made Learning, André has worked with hundreds of organizations, educational institutions, and community groups on issues of race and bias—and he has valuable insights to share.

As Pro Bono Counsel at a large southern law firm and the former Executive Director of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, Tiffany Graves sees how systemic inequities affect minority groups on a daily basis. “Firms have to do more,” she says, to counteract institutional racism and bring much-needed reforms to America’s legal and justice systems.

In today’s moving and important episode, ACLU of Ohio Director of Equity and Inclusion C. Raphael Davis-Williams speaks powerfully about systemic racism, police misconduct, and “the uniqueness of being black in America.”

Wrapping up Access to Justice Week is Attorney at Law Leslie Ginzel, Chief of Holistic Services at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office in Houston, Texas. Formerly the Program Director of Beacon Law—an organization that champions justice for homeless, low-income individuals and works to remedy the conditions that burden and marginalize them—Leslie has spent her career fighting to increase access to justice for vulnerable populations.