Join our host Steve Poor for a brief behind-the-scenes of our newest podcast Pioneers and Pathfinders. Subscribe today for new episodes weekly. 

Highlighted guests include: 
Dan Linna, Northwestern Law
Susan Hackett, Legal Executive Leadership, LLC
Jae Um, Six Parsecs
Cat Moon, Vanderbilt Law
Nicole Bradick, Theory and Principle

Trailer: Introducing Pioneers and Pathfinders

For our last episode of the year, we welcome Dr. Ron Dolin, chief innovation officer at ODR.com. Dr. Dolin has had a fascinating and dynamic professional journey. A math and physics major, he began his career at the high-energy physics lab CERN in Geneva. He went on to earn a PhD in computer science and became one of the first 100 employees at Google, where he worked for several years. Having a deep interest in morality and ethics, Dr. Dolin then decided to go to law school and pursue the legal path. He became a law professor and has taught legal tech courses at Stanford, Notre Dame, and Harvard. Today, Dr. Dolin works with ODR.com to understand how AI can help the dispute resolution field improve its quality of services. In addition, he is a private investor in legal tech startups.

In our discussion, Dr. Dolin speaks about going from Google to law, his love for teaching, the importance of quality metrics as lawyers use generative AI, and his work at ODR.com.

Dr. Ron Dolin

Today's guest is Ted Theodoropoulos, CEO of Infodash, a cloud-first legal intranet and extranet platform. Ted has over two decades of experience in the legal tech industry, having led the development and delivery of innovative solutions for law firms. Over the course of his career, he has worked as a database engineer at Microsoft, senior vice president of Bank of America, and president of Acrowire—a technology consulting firm. At Infodash, he and his team help law firms leverage their Microsoft 365 investment in order to stay connected with their employees, their clients, and their work in the new age of remote and hybrid work. This year, Ted was named ILTA's 2024 Innovative Leader of the Year.

In our conversation, Ted discusses his experience at ILTACON 2024, what new legal professionals should understand early in their careers, how he has been using generative AI in his personal and professional life, and his vision for the future of Infodash.

Ted Theodoropoulos

Today’s episode of Pioneers and Pathfinders takes a slightly different approach. We are joined by Tony Thai, a returning guest, who is the CEO and Chief Engineer of HyperDraft, a contract automation software platform for various enterprises. We’re also joined by Byong Kim, Senior Director of Technology Innovations at Seyfarth. He runs Seyfarth Labs, which is a tech R&D team that leads the way in applying emerging technologies to the legal profession. Earlier this year, the three of us led a highly curated roundtable at Seyfarth’s New York office for in-house counsel, innovation leaders, and Seyfarth partners, where we had an open conversation on best practices for the implementation of AI and automation. This was a confidential conversation, so we didn't record it. Today, we won’t be talking about specific people or comments made at the roundtable, but we thought we'd go over what we had learned from it and how we see the progression of AI and automation in the industry, as well as best practices.

We discussed how generative AI is often treated like a "solution in search of a problem," how organizations are approaching implementation of the technology, potential security and confidentiality concerns with using generative AI, and advice for legal professionals starting to use this new technology.

Tony Thai and Byong Kim

This week, we welcome Nelson Quintero, the co-founder and chief operating officer of ECFX, a company that fills in the gaps in legal workflows with automated solutions. Nelson is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in the field of intellectual property, focusing on patent and trademark prosecution for both US and foreign clients. ECFX's main solution is an automated process for managing the flow of electronic court filings. He thought of the idea for ECFX with his friend Dan O'Day, a lawyer and programmer. Nelson and Dan developed the software as a way to extract documents and gather information from a large volume of emails associated with electronic course filings, hoping to boost efficiency and cost savings. Since its launch, ECFX has helped numerous law firms of all sizes meet their automation needs.

In our conversation, Nelson spoke about his experience launching ECFX during the pandemic, why IP law had suited his personality, dealing with change management, and his advice for lawyers pursuing entrepreneurship.

Nelson Quintero

We're pleased to welcome back Ed Walters, a thought leader in legal tech and innovation. Since Ed last spoke with us, he has become the chief strategy officer at vLex, which merged with Ed's previous company, Fastcase. vLex is a platform using AI solutions to streamline workflows and provide lawyers with greater access to knowledge and resources. About a year ago, the company launched Vincent AI, a legal intelligence platform that references real cases and materials from vLex’s law library of over one billion legal documents. The tool is used by law firms, legal departments, and law schools around the world. In addition to his role at vLex, Ed continues to teach as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and at Cornell Law School. He also writes on various topics about innovation in the legal industry.

Today, Ed talks about how Fastcase merged with vLex, the response to Vincent AI, and how he hopes generative AI will enhance access to justice and improve lawyer training.

Ed Walters Returns

Today's guest, Taylor Sartor, is the creator and legal director of FosterPower, a movement to improve the lives and futures of youth in foster care in Florida, by providing them information on their benefits, protections, and legal rights. Taylor is also a senior attorney at the L. David Shear Children’s Law Center, where she represents youth in foster care. Taylor focuses on issues related to human trafficking, disabilities, commitment in psychiatric facilities, aging out of foster care, and school-to-prison pipeline prevention, among many others. She came up with the idea for FosterPower while she was still in law school working with youth in foster care who had many questions about their rights and the resources available to them. The organization offers answers to these questions through a mobile app. An alum of Stetson University College of Law, Taylor is also the founder of Child Advocates of Stetson Law, an organization that recruits law students to become guardian ad litem volunteers, mentors, and leaders to advocate on behalf of children facing abuse and neglect. Additionally, she served as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Children’s Law Center from 2018 to 2020.

In our wide-ranging discussion, Taylor talks with us about the range of issues youth in foster care must contend with, how FosterPower earns trust from its users, where her passion for youth in foster care comes from, and her experience as an Equal Justice Works fellow.

Taylor Sartor

This week, we’re revisiting a wonderful discussion with Professor Richard Susskind. In the time since he joined us on the podcast, Richard has been promoted to CBE—Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the King's New Year Honours List 2025 for his “services to Information Technology and to the Law.” Richard has also written a new book, How To Think About AI: A Guide For The Perplexed, in which he addresses the most challenging issues of AI technology that are currently being debated—the business, risk, legal, ethical, management, and philosophical implications. The book will be available in March for those in the UK, and in April for those in the US. We have provided a link with additional information in the show notes.

Congratulations to Richard on these recent accomplishments. And thank you to everyone for listening. We hope you enjoy!

Today, we welcome a very special guest—Professor Richard Susskind. For those who have been engaged in the discussions around legal tech for the past few decades, Richard needs no introduction. He is one of the most advanced thinkers on the impact of technology on the profession, and has been challenging our notions about what it will mean to be a lawyer for a long time. Richard is an adviser, speaker, and author who was focused on legal tech and the future of the profession long before these subjects were top of mind in the industry. In the 1980s, he wrote his doctorate at Oxford University on artificial intelligence, and today, his main area of expertise continues to be the impact of AI and other technologies on the legal profession. Among other roles, Richard is President of the Society for Computers and Law, and Technology Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He is also an adviser to leading professional firms, in-house legal departments, and governments and judiciaries around the world. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, seminars, retreats, and other events, having been invited to lecture in more than 60 countries. Richard has written 10 books and has contributed more than 150 articles to The Times of London. His most recent publication is the third edition of Tomorrow’s Lawyers, which guides legal professionals through the imminent future of law, and calls upon the next generation of lawyers to embrace technology in order to improve current legal and court services.

In our conversation, Richard discusses the ways we should all be thinking about legal innovation, the challenges of training lawyers for the future, and the qualifications of those likely to develop breakthrough technologies in law, as well as his own journey and how he became interested in AI as an undergraduate student.

Best of Pioneers and Pathfinders: Richard Susskind

Today we’re joined by Emily Lippincott, Senior Legal Futurist at Filevine, a legal work platform for law firms and businesses across the United States and Canada. Emily is an attorney with over 16 years of experience in Silicon Valley, both in-house and at law firms, counseling corporate clients from incorporation to public offering or acquisition. Throughout her career, she has focused on law, knowledge management, and technology, and has gained a unique perspective on the future of legal tech. At Filevine, Emily designs solutions to bring the platform and its suite of products to clients in a variety of legal disciplines.

In our discussion, Emily speaks with us about why law appealed to her, what she has learned about change management, the types of projects that she and her team pursue, and how she became a legal futurist.

Emily Lippincott

Timekeeping and billing have long been pain points for lawyers, but today's guest, Adrian Parlow, is working to change that. As the co-founder and CEO of PointOne, he's leveraging AI to automate time tracking and bill review, helping law firms capture more revenue while reducing administrative burdens. Adrian's path to legal tech began in startup law. After beginning his career at Fenwick & West, he transitioned to the business side as general counsel at Wefunder, an online crowdfunding platform for startups. That experience sparked his interest in innovation and led him to launch PointOne, where he and his team are helping firms rethink their approach to timekeeping and billing in the AI era.

Adrian joins us to talk about tackling the challenge of timekeeping, his journey from lawyer to entrepreneur, how PointOne is transforming billing practices, and why legal organizations are re-evaluating their stance on AI and innovation.

Read the full transcript of today’s episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Adrian_Parlow.pdf

Adrian Parlow

As lawyers ascend to leadership roles within their firms and organizations, they often face difficult challenges such as the need for guidance and coping with feelings of isolation. Our guest this week, Rudhir Krishtel, is dedicated to supporting legal professionals in navigating these issues. As an advisor, Rudhir provides spaces for lawyers, law firms, legal departments, and companies to have meaningful dialogue and growth around well-being, collective engagement, leadership, and business. He and his team use mindfulness-based practices to work with teams and individuals on identifying their particular challenges and finding solutions. Rudhir practiced law for 15 years, being a law firm partner with a patent litigation practice, and then worked as in-house counsel of IP transactions at Apple. He ultimately transitioned to advisory work, drawing on his prior professional experience and business principles he learned, in order to assist clients with overcoming their obstacles.

In our wide-ranging conversation, Rudhir discusses his mindfulness-based approach to advising clients, how organizations can initiate cultural innovation, the aspects of practice that are often missed in lawyer training, and his advice for lawyer well-being in day-to-day work.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/pioneers_RudhirKrishtel.pdf

Rudhir Krishtel

Our guest this week is Christina Wojcik, Head of Innovation & Partnerships at Pierson Ferdinand LLP—and a true pioneer in legal tech and professional services. Christina's career started on the business side of law, where she built high-performing teams and supported major transactions and reviews. As technology began reshaping the legal landscape, she leaned in, becoming one of the early leaders in AI-powered document analysis and helping to find a new era of legal service delivery. Now, at Pierson Ferdinand, an incredibly new and fast-growing law firm, Christina leads strategy around innovation and partnerships, working to deliver smarter, more efficient solutions for clients. She is also the founder of the Tampa Legal Network, a group that brings in-house legal professionals together across roles—lawyers and allied professionals alike—with an emphasis on inclusion and collaboration.

In our conversation, Christina reflects on what we learned from the shift from paper to electronic communications, how she stays ahead in a fast-moving tech environment, the exciting work she is doing at Pierson Ferdinand, and her advice for anyone looking to build a career in legal tech. It was a great conversation with one of the field's most forward-thinking voices.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_ChristinaWojcik.pdf

Christina Wojcik

Today, on Pioneers and Pathfinders, we're joined by Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel at Marsh McLennan—and a true force in the world of legal innovation. Farrah has built a career at the intersection of law, technology, and strategy, from founding Gibson Dunn's Global eDiscovery practice to leading GE's Discovery Center of Excellence to shaping the future of legal innovation at Marsh McLennan. She also plays a key role at Legal Data Intelligence, helping professionals unlock the power of legal data to solve real-world challenges.

In our conversation, Farrah shares what drives her boundless energy, how to build community in the legal tech space, and why the design phase is critical to innovation. We also talked about the importance of leadership support and the lessons she's learned along the way. Farrah was thoughtful and inspiring, so don't miss an episode with one of the leading voices in legal transformation.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_FarrahPepper.pdf

Farrah Pepper

Today, we revisit one of our most thought-provoking conversations, this time with Dr. Megan Ma. Since she joined us on the podcast, Dr. Ma has co-founded and become the Executive Director of the Stanford Legal Innovation through Frontier Technology Lab—otherwise known as liftlab. With a rich background in political science, economics, health law, and economic law, Dr. Ma brings a truly interdisciplinary lens to the future of legal education and technology. In our conversation, she shares her insights on how we train the next generation of lawyers, why mentorship and thoughtful design matter, and what it means to build a future-ready legal profession. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just starting your career, this episode is full of wisdom and perspective on where the law is headed and how we will get there.

Our guest this week is a leading thinker on the application of generative AI in the legal profession. Dr. Megan Ma is the associate director of Stanford’s Law, Science, and Technology Program, as well as the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics—better known as CodeX. She also teaches courses in computational law and insurance tech. Dr. Ma has a background in a variety of fields: She majored in political science and economics, has master's degrees in health law and economic law, and earned her PhD in law. Additionally, Dr. Ma is an advisor to the PearX for AI program, and serves as editor-in-chief for the Cambridge Forum on AI, Law, and Governance, as the managing editor of the MIT Computational Law Report, and as a research affiliate at Singapore Management University in their Centre for Computational Law.

We had a fascinating conversation about Dr. Ma’s lifelong interest in linguistics, how "empathetic" large language models can be for users, how generative AI could change lawyer mentorship, and her thoughts on the future of technology in the profession.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Bestof_Dr.MeganMa.pdf

Best of Pioneers and Pathfinders: Dr. Megan Ma

This week, we're speaking with Anastasia Boyko, a legal futurist and product evangelist at Filevine, a legal work platform for law firms and businesses. Anastasia has had a diverse career path, from practicing tax law to transformational and change management roles to legal education. She has created and led innovative programs at Yale Law School and the University of Utah SJ Quinney College of Law, where she has applied her knowledge of legal practice and business. Today, at Filevine, she collaborates with her team on creating and incubating new products in legal tech.

In our conversation, Anastasia tells us about her journey to the legal field and why she ultimately decided to finish law school. We also discuss the need for empathy and kindness when training new lawyers, her exciting role as a legal futurist, and why law students should develop a range of skills.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_%20AnastasiaBoyko.pdf

Anastasia Boyko

This week's guest, Dr. Roland Vogl, is a leading voice in legal education and the legal profession. He is the Executive Director of the Stanford Program in Law, Science, and Technology, and a lecturer in law at Stanford Law School. Dr. Vogl also co-founded and leads CodeX, the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, where he drives cutting-edge research for the application of technology in the legal profession. In addition to his work at Stanford, Dr. Vogl serves as a visiting professor at the University of Vienna, where he teaches US intellectual property law. He is also a co-founder and board member of Merico, Inc., a platform focused on software engineering metrics. Dr. Vogl plays an active role in the legal tech ecosystem, advising legal tech and legal generative AI companies. Since 2022, he has served on the executive committee of the International Association for AI and Law.

In this episode, Dr. Vogl discusses his journey from legal practice to academia, offering insights into the unique culture at Stanford Law School that helped spark the creation of CodeX. We also explore how CodeX selects its projects and how it’s adapting to the transformative rise of generative AI.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Dr.RolandVogl.pdf

Dr. Roland Vogl

Today, we're joined by Kevin Walker, founder and CEO of Centari, a deal intelligence platform that combines secure LLMs with trusted legal precedent to accelerate transactions. Kevin started as an M&A attorney at Paul Hastings before moving in-house to lead teams in real estate and private equity. Drawing on his experience representing businesses, he took the entrepreneurial leap to found Centari, where he has built products that he and his peers always wished they had as dealmakers.

In our discussion, Kevin speaks with us about his passion for dealmaking and why he decided to transition to business. We also talk about how he and his team at Centari are making use of deal intelligence. Additionally, Kevin offers thoughtful advice for lawyers contemplating a career pivot into business or tech.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_KevinWalker.pdf

Kevin Walker

This week, we're revisiting one of our most compelling conversations—with Damien Riehl, a technology lawyer, coder, and thought leader at the intersection of law and innovation. At the time of our conversation, Damien was vice president and Solutions Champion at vLex. vLex recently made headlines with its acquisition by Clio, which is a move that signals a new chapter in the evolution of legal technology. So, we thought now is an apt time to replay this conversation with Damien.

His career has spanned roles at Thomson, Reuters, Fastcase, and the SALI Alliance. Our discussion touched on a wide range of topics: his early experience as a tech attorney, the complexities of confidentiality and legal AI, music copyright, and the enduring value of a liberal arts education. We hope you enjoy this encore episode as much as we did.

Our guest today is Damien Riehl, vice president and Solutions Champion at vLex, a platform using artificial intelligence solutions to streamline workflows and provide lawyers with greater access to knowledge and resources. Damien was a tech attorney for more than 10 years when he made the leap to Thomson Reuters as Senior Product Strategist, where he developed innovative legal technology involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. Inspired by Ed Walters’ efforts to democratize the law, Damien later joined Fastcase, where he served various roles building out legal tools and systems. In his current position at vLex, Damien helps lead the design, development, and expansion of products. Additionally, Damien is part of the leadership team at the Standards Advancement for the Legal Industry (SALI) Alliance. He is also co-founder of All the Music LLC, a project that involved copyrighting 471 billion melodies and placing them in the public domain. In 2019, Damien delivered a TED Talk in which he describes this process and offers a new way to handle copyright infringement lawsuits in music.

In today’s conversation, Damien discusses vLex's newest product—Vincent AI, his decision to leave practice and join Thomson Reuters, the genesis of All the Music, and the future of teaching legal research.

Read the full transcript of the episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Bestof_DamienRiehl.pdf

Best of Pioneers and Pathfinders: Damien Riehl

Today's guest is Jonathan Petts, co-founder and CEO of Upsolve, a nonprofit helping low-income Americans overcome debt at scale. Jonathan's career has been focused on bankruptcy law, from clerking for bankruptcy judges to practicing at top New York firms. In 2016, he co-founded Upsolve, and since then, the platform has become the nation's most visited nonprofit financial education site. Its free bankruptcy tool has already helped more than 14,000 families relieve over $600 million in debt.

Jonathan talks about his path into bankruptcy law, the story of founding Upsolve, the importance of building strong nonprofit partnerships, and the advice he’d give his younger self.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_JonathanPetts.pdf

Jonathan Petts

We're pleased to welcome back Jordan Furlong. Jordan is one of the legal industry's leading voices on the future of the profession. He continues to advise legal organizations through his consulting practice, Law21, and is currently working on a new book exploring how generative AI will reshape the practice of law, which is set to be published next year.

In this episode, we talk about the balance between the commercial and societal responsibilities of today's lawyers, the evolving purpose of the profession in the age of AI, and his recommendations for firms navigating this wave of change.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_JordanFurlongReturns.pdf

Jordan Furlong Returns

This week, we're joined by Jason Marty, CEO of Lumio, a company helping legal leaders grow their businesses and adapt to the age of AI. Jason brings a wealth of experience to the new venture. He started in internet program management before moving into the legal industry, where he served as global COO at both Baker McKenzie and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. He later co-founded Lumio alongside Jae Um and Ed Sohn, both past podcast guests, with a vision of creating a “service as software” company for the business of law.

Jason shares Lumio’s origin story, his career journey, and what excites him most about the evolving legal tech landscape. If you want to know what “service as software” means to Jason, take a listen now.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_JasonMarty.pdf

Jason Marty

This week, we're joined by David Freeman Engstrom and Natalie Knowlton from the Deborah Rhode Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law. David, who serves as co-director of the Center and holds the LSVF professorship in law, has devoted his work to access to justice issues in millions of often overlooked cases, such as debt collection, eviction, foreclosure, and child support. Earlier this year, he published Rethinking the Lawyers’ Monopoly, a major contribution to the ongoing debate about the future of legal services and regulation. You may remember Natalie from her appearance on the podcast in 2023. Since then, she stepped into the role of associate director for legal innovation at the Rhode Center, where she focuses on legal technology, court modernization, and regulatory reform. Just this summer, the Center released a groundbreaking report, which she and David co-wrote, called Legal Innovation After Reform: Five Years of Data on Regulatory Change, which analyzes the reforms in Arizona and Utah.

In today's episode, David and Natalie share insights from that report and discuss the broader implications for the legal system. We will also hear from David about his unexpected journey from coaching high school football in the Mississippi Delta to joining the Stanford Law faculty. Additionally, we talk about what today's law students need to understand about how technology is reshaping the practice of law.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_DavidEngstrom_NatalieKnowlton.pdf

David Freeman Engstrom and Natalie Knowlton

Today's guest is Leslie Grandy, an author, speaker, and trusted advisor to CEOs, product leaders, and teams. Leslie's career has taken some fascinating turns—from working in the film industry to guiding major brands on strategy and innovation. She's also deeply committed to education, having taught product leaders through The Product Guild, the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship, and as guest lecturer at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. Leslie recently added author to her list of accomplishments with the release of her book, Creative Velocity, which explores how to drive better results and better collaboration through creativity and the thoughtful use of generative AI.

In our conversation, Leslie talks about the importance of embracing a creative career path and discovering her personal superpower. We talk about her thesis that creativity is a learnable, repeatable system. We also discuss why reframing problems is often the key to solving them, the role of culture and creative problem solving, and her thoughts on how organizations should be approaching AI tools.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_LeslieGrandy.pdf

Leslie Grandy

This week, we’re revisiting our conversation with Leah Molatseli, formerly of Contract Alchemists. Since her appearance on the podcast, Leah has taken on a new role as Country Liaison in South Africa for the legal tech company Saga, where she is still helping lawyers navigate technology, innovation, and more recently AI.

In this wide-ranging episode, Leah shares her perspective on the South African legal community, her passion for writing, and the importance of purpose-driven work. It’s a conversation full of inspiration and forward-thinking ideas.

Thank you for listening. We will return next week with a new episode.

This week, we welcome Leah Molatseli, founder of Contract Alchemists, a company with the goal of modernizing legal teams through legal operations, agile methodologies, and technology. Leah has over 10 years of experience in the legal field, and has a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Notre Dame. After practicing for a few years, she co-founded Lenoma Legal, a virtual legal tech startup aimed at helping small businesses in South Africa. Prior to starting Contract Alchemists, Leah was head of business development at Legal Interact, a legal tech company. She is also a speaker, a published author, and a council member at the University of the Free State. Additionally, she recently joined LexisNexis South Africa as an author and became a Voice and Brand Council Member at the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC).

In today's conversation, Leah discusses the legal community in South Africa, how she approaches her writing, the TV shows that inspired her to become an attorney, and how being purpose-driven shapes her decision-making.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_LeahMolatseli.pdf

Best of Pioneers and Pathfinders: Leah Molatseli

Today, we’re joined by Jack Cushman, director of the Harvard Library Innovation Lab, where he and his team are reimagining how library principles can shape the future of legal technology. Jack is a software engineer and appellate attorney who previously led the development of the Caselaw Access Project. He has also taught computer programming at Harvard Law School, served as a Berkman fellow, and sat on the board of the ACLU of Massachusetts. At the Library Innovation Lab, Jack explores how libraries can better collect, preserve, and share knowledge. His current work focuses on the fragility of digital cultural memory and the emergence of AI as a new form of knowledge.

In our conversation, Jack reflects on his journey from computer programming to law school, the evolving mission of libraries in the digital age, and the skills lawyers need to thrive in an AI-driven world. He also shares his perspective on how we should measure the impact and reliability of AI systems in legal practice.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_%20JackCushman.pdf

Jack Cushman

This week on Pioneers and Pathfinders, we’re joined by Wendy Jephson, CEO and co-founder of Let’s Think. The company operates in a space they call “behavioral science AI,” which is intended to transform workplace productivity in the legal profession. Wendy brings a rare dual qualification as both a commercial lawyer and a business psychologist, with deep expertise across health care and financial services. Previously, she served as head of Research & Ideation for Market Technology at Nasdaq, where she introduced scientific research methodologies to enhance innovation and development processes. A recognized thought leader, Wendy speaks globally on topics such as AI, surveillance, cognitive engineering, organizational resilience, and the intersection of conduct and culture with technology design.

In our conversation, Wendy shares insights into the behavioral science behind legal professionals, the founding story and mission of Let’s Think, and her vision for the future of lawyer training and workplace transformation.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_WendyJephson.pdf

Wendy Jephson

Our guest this week is Gus Neate. Gus is the CEO and co-founder of WilsonAI. WilsonAI, in turn, is a startup using AI to streamline legal operations for businesses. Gus is an Oxford graduate who began his career as an engineer before pivoting to law, working as a private equity lawyer at Clifford Chance. His diverse background also includes co-founding a tutoring company and working in product management at a legal tech startup. As an in-house lawyer, Gus witnessed firsthand the inefficiencies caused by repetitive legal tasks—an experience that continues to inspire his innovative work at WilsonAI.

Today, Gus shares how his engineering background shaped his approach to legal problem-solving, the journey of building WilsonAI, and his vision for how AI can empower legal teams. He also offers valuable advice for those entering the legal tech space.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_GusNeate.pdf

Gus Neate

Today, we talk with a returning guest, Colin S. Levy. Since he last joined us on the podcast, Colin has become general counsel at Malbek. Malbek is a CLM provider that helps large companies manage their entire contracting function, including using AI. In 2023, he released The Legal Tech Ecosystem, a book exploring the evolving legal world and how to leverage technology within it. He also teaches legal tech courses at Albany Law School and is working on a new book aimed at using AI in practical ways as a lawyer and legal professional.

In our conversation, Colin talks about why he wrote the book and his approach as a law professor in the age of generative AI. We also discuss the importance of collaboration and cross-disciplinary work in in-house legal roles.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_ColinS.Levy.pdf

Colin S. Levy Returns

Today, we welcome Travis Rogers, director & assistant general counsel on the Business Law team at Allstate—and a returning guest from our very first AI virtual roundtable. For over a decade, Travis has been at the forefront of innovation and legal strategy in the financial services and tech sectors. At Allstate, he has built cross-functional legal teams that seamlessly integrate with product and business development, negotiated strategic B2B partnerships, and advised on complex issues around data, privacy, AI, and emerging technologies.

In our conversation, Travis shares the story of how he joined Allstate and how design thinking shapes his approach to legal work. We also discuss fostering an innovation mindset, the role of curiosity in leadership, and how Travis is reimagining lawyer training for the future.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_TravisRogers.pdf

Travis Rogers

This week, we sit down with Ross Guberman, founder and CEO of BriefCatch—the leading legal writing assistant designed to help lawyers draft clear, precise, and impactful documents. A former attorney at a top law firm, Ross has conducted thousands of opinion writing workshops across the globe for prominent law firms, judges, agencies, corporations, and associations. Ross is also an award-winning journalist and best-selling author of Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates, Point Taken: How to Write Like the World’s Best Judges, and co-author of Deal Struck: The World’s Best Drafting Tips.

In today’s episode, Ross shares his journey into law, the framework he developed for evaluating legal writing, and lessons learned from building BriefCatch. We also explore how technology is transforming legal writing and what generative AI could mean for the future of the profession.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_RossGuberman.pdf

Ross Guberman

For our last episode of the year, we’re pleased to welcome back to the podcast Justin Ergler. Justin is a consultant focused on legal operations, outside counsel management, and client value strategy. Listeners may know Justin from his work at GlaxoSmithKline, where he pioneered the award-winning Outside Counsel Selection Initiative and led the company’s global transition away from the billable hour to non-hourly, value-based fee arrangements. Justin also co-founded the Legal Value Network and continues to serve as a board member. Additionally, Justin is co-host of the podcast Off the Clock with Keith Maziarek. Justin and Keith had previously joined us for a two-part discussion in May.

Today, Justin returns for a one-on-one conversation about finding the procurement path, why he values being part of a team, helping law firms tackle the challenges of data, and his thoughts on generative AI’s impact on legal services pricing.

We will be off the next two weeks. Happy holidays to all our listeners and thank you for another great year! We will return January 7 with a new episode.

Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_JustinErgler.pdf

Justin Ergler

Pioneers and Pathfinders is a podcast about the people driving change in the legal industry. Interviews will focus on how their unique journeys inform their thinking about the profession, the business of law, the solutions they create, and where the industry is going next. The podcast will feature guests with multiple backgrounds and perspectives drawn from a number of areas including talent, technology, diversity and inclusion, social justice, education, training, and the business of law. The host of Pioneers and Pathfinders is J. Stephen Poor, chair emeritus of Seyfarth Shaw. During his 15 year tenure as chair and managing partner, the firm pioneered the application of Lean Six Sigma in legal service delivery. Today, he co-leads Seyfarth Labs, the firm’s technology research and development team and continues to serve as an advisor to firm leadership and as executive sponsor of strategic initiatives focused on innovation and growth. Steve brings his own experience as a legal industry pioneer to these conversations, resulting in insights that are both fascinating and instructive.

Pioneers and Pathfinders

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