Capitalizing on Incremental Improvements  

On Episode 121 we talk with LexisNexis, VP and Chief Product Officer, Jeff Pfeifer.  Jeff is responsible for product strategy having established his organization as a leader in legal analytics and data-driven law.

Jeff begins our discussion by noting that access to big data and incremental tech development is resolving legacy problems within the legal industry.  That in-house coun...

Diversity Embraced

It’s 2019 and the Diversity Lab remains front and center in the conversation on Law Firm and In-house Legal department diversity.  Late last summer we sat down with On-Ramp Fellowship Managing Director, Jennifer Winslow and the Mansfield Rule initiative leader, Director, Lisa Kirby.  The Mansfield rule supports the diversification of law firm leadership, and the OnRamp Fellowship is the largest re-entry...

Enabling Collaboration Through Tools

On episode 119 we talk with Mo Zain Ajaz, the 2018 Legal 500 Individual of the Year for Legal Operations.    Mo is accountable for operational excellence across National Grid’s Global Legal Function.

Having understood what is important to its business (including a 25% efficiency goal), the legal operations team at National Grid helped build a 3-year strategic program. They started by ga...

Move Beyond Being Risk-Averse

As part of our Executing Change series, focusing on in-house legal award winners and the changes they’ve implemented within their departments, we welcome back Alan Bryan, Wal-Mart’s Senior Associate General Counsel.  Alan was also a guest on LeftFoot Episode 68.

Walmart had an opportunity to change; to centralize, to change firm engagement, and increase legal dollar spend value through leverag...

We chat with Matt Galvin of Anheuser-Busch  

Over the last three years, Matt Galvin has executed change and embraced the use of data in decision making as the Global Vice President for Ethics and Compliance at Anheuser-Busch InBev.  Following a significant global acquisition, Matt talks with us about both the volume of compliance matters and the risk factors associated with the newly combined organization.

To fulfil...

Creating an In-house Legal Department of Value

Cameron Findlay is the SVP General Counsel and Secretary at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the largest food processor in the world.  The legal department Cam leads has been recognized as one of ‘Corporate Counsel’s 2018 Best’ for executing change; notably firm convergence, upgraded matter management and insourcing.

Wanting the legal department to be a value center for AD...

Adjectives that Describe You, Like You Describe You

Today’s guest a deep understanding of nonverbal communication and the perception of leadership presence. She’s worked extensively with lawyers and legal professionals, as they look to project the image of how they’d like to be perceived while remaining authentic.

Today’s guest Cara Hale Alter has a deep understanding of nonverbal communication and the perception...

Technology Investment Pressure Will Continue

EVP, General Counsel and Secretary of DXC Technology, Bill Deckelman is one of the most innovative General Counsels in the market today, we’re excited to feature him as our first GC in our Executing Change Series.

Bill Deckelman had a clear understanding of both the mission and execution that lead to the well-publicized rebadging of 225 of DXCs 525 lawyers.  Redundancy brought ...

Newsjacking With Style

Out of the gate, our conversation with Mitch Jackson focused on the use of social media to enhance human-to-human behavior.  Connecting with 100s if not 1000s of people to create relationships and move your referral base beyond local to global.  We’re all in media publishing, and how you use social media makes a difference.

The market is moving fast to video and storytelling, and today’s...

And the Tools we Use Each Day 

In Episode 112 we talk with Ivy Grey, lawyer, Legal Tech Designer and Legal Tech author. For Ivy, the transition from lawyer to legal tech designer wasn’t difficult; growing up in Silicon Valley she naturally uses technology for efficiency.    Similarly, she’s embraced writing about technology with the goal of making the duty of technology competence accessible to all lawyers by focusing on ...

In Today’s Legal Market

On Episode 111 Brooks Brown of Goodwin Procter talks about the initiative and energy required for consistent business development success; that building relationships that lead to new clients and additional work with current clients should be part of each day. Reviewing a single page business development strategy document weekly and prioritizing tactical business development objectives is an i...

A Mindset of Curiosity and Empathy

Today’s guest is Cat Moon a practicing lawyer, educator and business leader with more than 20 years of experience in human-centered design, agile project management, strategic communication, and the practice of law.

Human-centered design is a process, a set of tools, a mindset of curiosity and empathy.  It’s putting you in the shoes of the client; asking excellent questions and listening ...

Building client Trust and Confidence

A partner since 2007, Sarah Cave kicks off our conversation talking about digging in on tough problems, being highly organized, and listening to understand a client’s wants and concerns.  She then shares her three-pronged growth strategy:

• Show Up: be thoughtful about determining events and situations to participate in that allow you to meet potential clients and make connections wi...

Today’s episode features Perkins Coie intellectual property practice leader, Judy Jennison, in addition to her time in private practice, she spent 8 years as an in-house lawyer with Microsoft in intellectual property, product development, and antitrust compliance roles.  Judy Jennison Bio

As a former in-house lawyer within a big organization, Judy understands the path to success requires an understanding of the client’s culture and...

 I’m a peer, not a ‘snowflake’

In this week’s episode, we talk with Lisa Konie, Senior Director of Legal Operations at Adobe Systems, and a CLOC board member.

Legal Operations and Efficiency

When defining legal operations it’s helpful to look at all the things that naturally fall on the shoulders of lawyers but don’t have anything to do with the delivery of advice. Legal Operations is focused on making in-house legal and their rela...

The Essence of Vision

In this week’s episode, we talk with James Libson, Executive Partner at Mishcon de Reya, about his practice and setting up the Mishcon Academy to help lawyers develop the skills needed in today’s modern legal environment.

Reflecting on his career; his success as a firm leader; and cultivating business, James talks about continuously servicing clients, guarding their interests while constantly being o...

Delivering Solutions to Clients with Javier Fernandez-Samaniego    

The following highlights points from our discussion with Javier Fernandez-Samaniego, the Managing Director of Samaniego Law; an alternative Iberoamerican law firm.

Firms as Aggregators

Alternative firms offer a different structure for the delivery of legal solutions focusing on delivery as an aggregator of solutions.  This includes specialties not typically part of...

Innovation By Press Release

On episode 104 we talk with Travers Smith, Managing Partner, David Patient.  David is clear on the approach he’s personally employed while growing Travers Smith in Europe.  Noting the importance of being front-of-mind with clients, the tireless pursuit of targets, and thinking about clients even when they may not be thinking about you.

Personal service and developing relationships – knowing as ...

Let’s Not ‘Do’ Lunch

In episode 103 we featured Lisa Howlett, General Counsel, SVP and Secretary of Hunter Roberts Construction Group.  Lisa ensures her organization has effective advice and representation working on legal issues related to construction, contracts, corporate transactions, real estate, labor/employment law as well as strategic business consulting and intellectual property matters.  Lisa Howlett on LinkedIn