October 15, 2025 • 14 mins
I spoke with Kevin Klein, Co-Founder of LegalTech Connect and Head of Content & Programming at the KM&I for Legal Conference, and Patrick DiDomenico, who founded InspireKM Consulting and KM&I, and is now Co-Founder at LegalTech Connect. We discussed the convergence of KM&I and LegalTech Connect, the evolution of law firm knowledge management and innovation, and how conversations about KM and AI will drive the legal profession forward.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Welcome to Reinventing Professionals,a podcast hosted by industry analyst
Ari Kaplan, which shares ideas,guidance, and perspectives from market
leaders shaping the next generationof legal and professional services.
This is Ari Kaplan and I'm speakingtoday with Kevin Klein, co-founder
(00:26):
of Legal Tech Connect and Head ofContent and Programming at KM and I
and Patrick d Domenico, who foundedInspire KM Consulting and the KM and
I for legal conference, and is nowco-founder at Legal Tech Connect.
Kevin Patrick, wonderful to see you.
How you doing?
Doing great.
Great.
Good to see you, Ari
to see you.
(00:46):
Thanks for having us.
It's my privilege.
So Kevin, tell us about your backgroundand the genesis of Legal Tech Connect.
My background I think anyone that knowsme will probably quickly recognize
my long stint with the ARC Group,which was, 17 years, starting in 2005.
(01:08):
First conference we did was knowledgemanagement for the Legal profession
in Chicago in September of 2005.
That conference ran for 20 years, butmore broadly at the ARC Group, we focused
on all sorts of practice management.
We had print publications.
We had Managing Partner Magazine.
We had a magazine called Women Legal,and we for a very long time, produced and
(01:30):
published white papers did conferenceson business intelligence, competitive
intelligence, law firm libraries andbuilt a bunch communities of practice.
And it was a fantastic run.
More recently just shy of threeyears I was with inside Practice,
which was fantastic as well.
And as of this spring, Patrickand I joined forces to create
(01:51):
Legal Tech Connect, and our firstevent is happening this fall.
Which broadly speaking it's bringingtogether the various cohorts that are
involved as part of the legal tech,extended ecosystem of which there are
a lot of new entrants and productsand really focused on what's happening
within the four walls of the firm.
And then again, more broadly,what's happening outside, within
(02:12):
the market, shifting regulatorychanges within the marketplace.
And just through the lens of innovationwhat problems these sort of solution
providers and builders are seeking tosolve, which we find quite interesting.
Patrick, tell us about your backgroundand what makes the conferences you're
producing Legal Tech Connect, KMand I for legal, distinct from other
(02:36):
events listeners might consider.
I practiced law for a number ofyears until about 20 years ago,
actually the same year, 2005 thatKevin started the ARC KM conference.
I switched from practice toknowledge management, innovation,
technology, back then in 2005.
In fact, that conference was the first.
(02:59):
KM conference I attended.
I met Kevin there.
So we go back 20 years ago this year.
And , I've been doing that ever since.
I started doing that at the firmwhere I was practicing, which was
called Gibbons Del Dayo in New Jersey.
I was in the New York office,but of a New Jersey based firm.
I did that at several otherfirms Debevoise and Plimpton
and Ogle Tree Deacons.
Most of my work was done at Ogle TreeDeacons for about eight or nine years,
(03:23):
most recently at another labor andemployment firm, Jackson Lewis for a few
years as the chief Innovation Officer,chief Knowledge Officer before that.
All these roles and responsibilitieswere the same at the firms I worked at.
Then about three years ago, I wentout on my own and started consulting
(03:43):
and realized that something that I hadwanted to do for a long time, which is.
A better conference, picking up whereKevin left off when he left arc.
And thought to myself,we could do this better.
How can we elevate the experienceof the people at these conferences?
Launched the first one in 2023.
And Ra you've been there both conferences.
(04:06):
Both Cam and I conferences so far, and ofcourse we're doing the next one in days.
It's coming up quickly.
The other thing is I've been workingwith Kevin for many years when he was
still at arc. Joshua Fireman, who's myco-host at the conference, of course,
and I used to co-host the conference thatKevin produced for eight or nine years.
We have a long history and we've beenworking together for a long time.
(04:29):
Finally, this year I was able to twistKevin's arm hard enough to convince
him to make it official with me.
We formed LegalTech Connect as aseparate idea, a platform for additional
conferences, and we couldn't be moreexcited and because we had KM&I already
planned at this location and this newlocation, really fantastic, has additional
(04:54):
room and just a fantastic venue.
We said why don't we make our first LTCevent co-located so we can bring these
communities together That fantasticKM&I community and the legal technology
provider community with all all those.
Law firm folks as well, and then bringin that missing piece, which is the
(05:15):
investor community to bring it in alltogether in Kevin kinda likes to call it a
Disneyland of legal, tech and innovation.
So we're super excited aboutthat combination and we think
it's going to be really great.
Kevin, who is each event forspecifically, and what happens when
those audiences, including innovators,investors, adopters, actually mix?
(05:40):
KM and I is very much focused onwhat's happening within law firms.
It's peer to peer.
In fact all of thespeakers are practitioners.
The idea for Legal Tech Connectis to shine the light on the
products and the builders.
And get into their story.
KM and I focuses on adoption and practiceculture workflows, ROI and LTC Legal Tech
(06:01):
Connect is the external catalyst focus.
The ai, native startups capital,the regulatory shift happening and
co-locating them creates an interestingcrossroads where investors hear adoption
realities, CAM leaders see what's coming.
Founders get real feedback,and the outcome is alignment.
So product roadmaps informed by practiceadoption informed by what's being built
(06:23):
and capital guided by real demand.
It's a natural fit . It provides aplatform for the providers and the
builders to showcase innovation throughtheir lens and what they're building
and what they're trying to solve for.
I look at it all as oneaudience, but there are some
distinct differences certainly.
Patrick, at a macro level, whyis the convergence of these two
(06:44):
events valuable for the market?
We really see this as a community . Alot of events like this are classes.
You got the attendees, you got thespeakers, and the sponsors or the vendors
are down the hall on a different floor.
We don't believe in that approach.
We believe in, no second class citizens.
Everyone is an importantmember of this community.
(07:04):
The law firm folks can't dowhat they do without those
providers, and those providersobviously need the law firm folks.
And now you bring in this third.
Cohort of folks who are increasinglyimportant in our community, the investors.
10 years ago, nobody was thinkingabout investing in legal tech because
it wasn't sexy, it wasn't interesting.
(07:27):
It was small potatoes essentially.
But with the increase in,technology in general, but certainly
stoked by the gen AI craze.
Ever since November, 2022, when OpenAI came out with chat G pt, a lot more
attention was focused on legal techall types of tech, but legal tech.
(07:52):
A lot of money started cominginto all types of tech, but
also including legal tech.
So now that there's a lot moreinterest on the investment side,
we realized, it's important tobring those folks into the fold.
First of all, a lot of brilliant people.
They really have good insights intowhat works, they're putting money
(08:12):
behind these companies, so they'renot just casually looking at them.
They're looking very closelybecause of the investment aspect.
And then, the internal innovationis really ramped up as well.
We've seen a lot of law firms doubledown on innovation, and I think it's
because of the external players.
(08:34):
That are really doing great jobs.
These internal players are startingto either build and or partner
with some of those providers.
So it's just a really interestingtime to be in the space.
And bringing all three of thosegroups together is magical, I think
it's can be really interesting.
Kevin, how will these two eventsaddress AI in unique ways?
(08:58):
On the KM and I side, there's asession called the AI conversation.
It's when innovation collides with clientexpectations or something to that effect.
And that panel's comprisedof a firm partner, a pricing
professional and a client to justtalk candidly about expectations.
And there's a lot of expectationsgoing in both directions.
(09:19):
Broadly we'll hear about applicationsand use cases on the law firm side.
And on the legal tech connect sideof the aisle, we'll be learning about
new tools, whether they're the broaderSwiss Army knife type of platforms
or the point solutions, which Iget the sense that a lot of firms
are struggling on deciding where toinvest and what to put into practice.
(09:40):
I don't envy folks in that position tohave endless piloting programs and trying
to understand what would make sense.
Again to implement and where the value is.
So high level, that willprobably be front and center.
And AI is probably gonna crop upand just about every conversation
on both sides of the aisle.
On the km and I side, there aremany conversations that you won't
(10:01):
see those two letters side by sidein the title or the abstract, but
inevitably AI will be discussed.
It's that micro and macro view.
On the law firm side, you geta micro view of AI in practice.
On the legal tech connect side,it's how AI is impacting the market.
Firms are looking at,building a tech stack.
That's a term you didn'thear five years ago.
(10:22):
And integrating tools and data enablementagain, things that really weren't
discussed at any great length in thelast couple of years that will inevitably
creep into probably most, if not all ofthe conversations in one way or another.
You'll get both the micro and the macroview through the eyes of the practitioners
and through the eyes of the developers.
And, even through the eyes of thisother cohort, the investment community,
(10:45):
which is pouring rocket fuel on thingsand enabling rapid transformation.
Patrick, what is the agenda at this?
Year's KM and I conferenceindicate about the evolution.
Of the knowledge management andinnovation functions within law firms?
In some ways it's the same old stuff.
(11:08):
In some ways it's brand new.
I've been saying same problems, newtools or old problems, new tools,
because, a lot of people conflateand confuse knowledge management
and technology and other things.
Some think.
KM is just a technology, and then you'llhear people talk about it in certain ways.
(11:31):
What KM system do you have?
Do you have km? That these typesof questions indicate, they're
misunderstanding what it's all about.
KM is a discipline.
It's about solving problems.
It's about trying to do thingsbetter, stronger, faster.
It's not about technology, but it involvesusing technology as tools to accomplish
(11:51):
the goals of knowledge management.
Of course, the folks who aredeep into it understand that.
But I think a lot of peoplemisunderstand it, unfortunately.
Yes, there's a lot abouttechnology going on right now.
It's front and center and I'm happy that'sthe case because I think this new interest
(12:12):
or elevated interest in technology?
Mostly AI technologies has asort of follow on effect that
people are saying, can we get ai?
What AI do we have?
And then the Smart KM folkswill say what is the actual
problem you're trying to solve?
We have lots of great tools.
What's the problem you're trying to solve?
Which I believe is alwaysthe correct question.
(12:34):
So that turns into a new conversation.
That problem can be solvedwith something we already have.
Or that problem can besolved with a process or a
procedure, not necessarily ai.
Sometimes it will require a new.
AI tool or whatever it is, but I'm veryhappy that a lot of lawyers who never
really were interested in this stuffare starting to ask the questions and
(12:57):
starting to wonder, Hey, can we do this?
Can we do that?
'cause it's opening up opportunitiesfor knowledge management, innovation
folks to get more things done.
Based on my conversations, KM andI, folks are busier than ever.
Part of that is doing a lot ofreview of various tools out there.
'cause there's a ton of them.
But also the demand from their lawyersand clients, asking them to do more, get
(13:19):
things done better, stronger, faster.
That evolution is evident, and I thinkit's gonna continue to be evident,
and we're certainly gonna showcaseit at the conference this year.
This is Ari Kaplan speaking with KevinKlein, co-founder of Legal Tech Connect
and Head of Content and Programmingat KM and I and Patrick d Domenico,
founder of Inspire KM Consulting and theKM and I for legal conference, who is
(13:45):
now co-founder at Legal Tech Connect.
Kevin Patrick wishing youboth the best of luck.
Looking forward to seeing you atthe event, and thank you so much.
Thank you, Ari.
Thank you, Ari.
Thanks so much.
See you there.
Thank you for listening to theReinventing Professionals Podcast.
Visit reinventing professionals.com orari kaplan advisors.com to learn more.
Welcome to Reinventing Professionals,a podcast hosted by industry analyst
Ari Kaplan, which shares ideas,guidance, and perspectives from market
leaders shaping the next generationof legal and professional services.
This is Ari Kaplan and I'm speakingtoday with Kevin Klein, co-founder
(00:26):
of Legal Tech Connect and Head ofContent and Programming at KM and I
and Patrick d Domenico, who foundedInspire KM Consulting and the KM and
I for legal conference, and is nowco-founder at Legal Tech Connect.
Kevin Patrick, wonderful to see you.
How you doing?
Doing great.
Great.
Good to see you, Ari
to see you.
(00:46):
Thanks for having us.
It's my privilege.
So Kevin, tell us about your backgroundand the genesis of Legal Tech Connect.
My background I think anyone that knowsme will probably quickly recognize
my long stint with the ARC Group,which was, 17 years, starting in 2005.
(01:08):
First conference we did was knowledgemanagement for the Legal profession
in Chicago in September of 2005.
That conference ran for 20 years, butmore broadly at the ARC Group, we focused
on all sorts of practice management.
We had print publications.
We had Managing Partner Magazine.
We had a magazine called Women Legal,and we for a very long time, produced and
(01:30):
published white papers did conferenceson business intelligence, competitive
intelligence, law firm libraries andbuilt a bunch communities of practice.
And it was a fantastic run.
More recently just shy of threeyears I was with inside Practice,
which was fantastic as well.
And as of this spring, Patrickand I joined forces to create
(01:51):
Legal Tech Connect, and our firstevent is happening this fall.
Which broadly speaking it's bringingtogether the various cohorts that are
involved as part of the legal tech,extended ecosystem of which there are
a lot of new entrants and productsand really focused on what's happening
within the four walls of the firm.
And then again, more broadly,what's happening outside, within
(02:12):
the market, shifting regulatorychanges within the marketplace.
And just through the lens of innovationwhat problems these sort of solution
providers and builders are seeking tosolve, which we find quite interesting.
Patrick, tell us about your backgroundand what makes the conferences you're
producing Legal Tech Connect, KMand I for legal, distinct from other
(02:36):
events listeners might consider.
I practiced law for a number ofyears until about 20 years ago,
actually the same year, 2005 thatKevin started the ARC KM conference.
I switched from practice toknowledge management, innovation,
technology, back then in 2005.
In fact, that conference was the first.
(02:59):
KM conference I attended.
I met Kevin there.
So we go back 20 years ago this year.
And , I've been doing that ever since.
I started doing that at the firmwhere I was practicing, which was
called Gibbons Del Dayo in New Jersey.
I was in the New York office,but of a New Jersey based firm.
I did that at several otherfirms Debevoise and Plimpton
and Ogle Tree Deacons.
Most of my work was done at Ogle TreeDeacons for about eight or nine years,
(03:23):
most recently at another labor andemployment firm, Jackson Lewis for a few
years as the chief Innovation Officer,chief Knowledge Officer before that.
All these roles and responsibilitieswere the same at the firms I worked at.
Then about three years ago, I wentout on my own and started consulting
(03:43):
and realized that something that I hadwanted to do for a long time, which is.
A better conference, picking up whereKevin left off when he left arc.
And thought to myself,we could do this better.
How can we elevate the experienceof the people at these conferences?
Launched the first one in 2023.
And Ra you've been there both conferences.
(04:06):
Both Cam and I conferences so far, and ofcourse we're doing the next one in days.
It's coming up quickly.
The other thing is I've been workingwith Kevin for many years when he was
still at arc. Joshua Fireman, who's myco-host at the conference, of course,
and I used to co-host the conference thatKevin produced for eight or nine years.
We have a long history and we've beenworking together for a long time.
(04:29):
Finally, this year I was able to twistKevin's arm hard enough to convince
him to make it official with me.
We formed LegalTech Connect as aseparate idea, a platform for additional
conferences, and we couldn't be moreexcited and because we had KM&I already
planned at this location and this newlocation, really fantastic, has additional
(04:54):
room and just a fantastic venue.
We said why don't we make our first LTCevent co-located so we can bring these
communities together That fantasticKM&I community and the legal technology
provider community with all all those.
Law firm folks as well, and then bringin that missing piece, which is the
(05:15):
investor community to bring it in alltogether in Kevin kinda likes to call it a
Disneyland of legal, tech and innovation.
So we're super excited aboutthat combination and we think
it's going to be really great.
Kevin, who is each event forspecifically, and what happens when
those audiences, including innovators,investors, adopters, actually mix?
(05:40):
KM and I is very much focused onwhat's happening within law firms.
It's peer to peer.
In fact all of thespeakers are practitioners.
The idea for Legal Tech Connectis to shine the light on the
products and the builders.
And get into their story.
KM and I focuses on adoption and practiceculture workflows, ROI and LTC Legal Tech
(06:01):
Connect is the external catalyst focus.
The ai, native startups capital,the regulatory shift happening and
co-locating them creates an interestingcrossroads where investors hear adoption
realities, CAM leaders see what's coming.
Founders get real feedback,and the outcome is alignment.
So product roadmaps informed by practiceadoption informed by what's being built
(06:23):
and capital guided by real demand.
It's a natural fit . It provides aplatform for the providers and the
builders to showcase innovation throughtheir lens and what they're building
and what they're trying to solve for.
I look at it all as oneaudience, but there are some
distinct differences certainly.
Patrick, at a macro level, whyis the convergence of these two
(06:44):
events valuable for the market?
We really see this as a community . Alot of events like this are classes.
You got the attendees, you got thespeakers, and the sponsors or the vendors
are down the hall on a different floor.
We don't believe in that approach.
We believe in, no second class citizens.
Everyone is an importantmember of this community.
(07:04):
The law firm folks can't dowhat they do without those
providers, and those providersobviously need the law firm folks.
And now you bring in this third.
Cohort of folks who are increasinglyimportant in our community, the investors.
10 years ago, nobody was thinkingabout investing in legal tech because
it wasn't sexy, it wasn't interesting.
(07:27):
It was small potatoes essentially.
But with the increase in,technology in general, but certainly
stoked by the gen AI craze.
Ever since November, 2022, when OpenAI came out with chat G pt, a lot more
attention was focused on legal techall types of tech, but legal tech.
(07:52):
A lot of money started cominginto all types of tech, but
also including legal tech.
So now that there's a lot moreinterest on the investment side,
we realized, it's important tobring those folks into the fold.
First of all, a lot of brilliant people.
They really have good insights intowhat works, they're putting money
(08:12):
behind these companies, so they'renot just casually looking at them.
They're looking very closelybecause of the investment aspect.
And then, the internal innovationis really ramped up as well.
We've seen a lot of law firms doubledown on innovation, and I think it's
because of the external players.
(08:34):
That are really doing great jobs.
These internal players are startingto either build and or partner
with some of those providers.
So it's just a really interestingtime to be in the space.
And bringing all three of thosegroups together is magical, I think
it's can be really interesting.
Kevin, how will these two eventsaddress AI in unique ways?
(08:58):
On the KM and I side, there's asession called the AI conversation.
It's when innovation collides with clientexpectations or something to that effect.
And that panel's comprisedof a firm partner, a pricing
professional and a client to justtalk candidly about expectations.
And there's a lot of expectationsgoing in both directions.
(09:19):
Broadly we'll hear about applicationsand use cases on the law firm side.
And on the legal tech connect sideof the aisle, we'll be learning about
new tools, whether they're the broaderSwiss Army knife type of platforms
or the point solutions, which Iget the sense that a lot of firms
are struggling on deciding where toinvest and what to put into practice.
(09:40):
I don't envy folks in that position tohave endless piloting programs and trying
to understand what would make sense.
Again to implement and where the value is.
So high level, that willprobably be front and center.
And AI is probably gonna crop upand just about every conversation
on both sides of the aisle.
On the km and I side, there aremany conversations that you won't
(10:01):
see those two letters side by sidein the title or the abstract, but
inevitably AI will be discussed.
It's that micro and macro view.
On the law firm side, you geta micro view of AI in practice.
On the legal tech connect side,it's how AI is impacting the market.
Firms are looking at,building a tech stack.
That's a term you didn'thear five years ago.
(10:22):
And integrating tools and data enablementagain, things that really weren't
discussed at any great length in thelast couple of years that will inevitably
creep into probably most, if not all ofthe conversations in one way or another.
You'll get both the micro and the macroview through the eyes of the practitioners
and through the eyes of the developers.
And, even through the eyes of thisother cohort, the investment community,
(10:45):
which is pouring rocket fuel on thingsand enabling rapid transformation.
Patrick, what is the agenda at this?
Year's KM and I conferenceindicate about the evolution.
Of the knowledge management andinnovation functions within law firms?
In some ways it's the same old stuff.
(11:08):
In some ways it's brand new.
I've been saying same problems, newtools or old problems, new tools,
because, a lot of people conflateand confuse knowledge management
and technology and other things.
Some think.
KM is just a technology, and then you'llhear people talk about it in certain ways.
(11:31):
What KM system do you have?
Do you have km? That these typesof questions indicate, they're
misunderstanding what it's all about.
KM is a discipline.
It's about solving problems.
It's about trying to do thingsbetter, stronger, faster.
It's not about technology, but it involvesusing technology as tools to accomplish
(11:51):
the goals of knowledge management.
Of course, the folks who aredeep into it understand that.
But I think a lot of peoplemisunderstand it, unfortunately.
Yes, there's a lot abouttechnology going on right now.
It's front and center and I'm happy that'sthe case because I think this new interest
(12:12):
or elevated interest in technology?
Mostly AI technologies has asort of follow on effect that
people are saying, can we get ai?
What AI do we have?
And then the Smart KM folkswill say what is the actual
problem you're trying to solve?
We have lots of great tools.
What's the problem you're trying to solve?
Which I believe is alwaysthe correct question.
(12:34):
So that turns into a new conversation.
That problem can be solvedwith something we already have.
Or that problem can besolved with a process or a
procedure, not necessarily ai.
Sometimes it will require a new.
AI tool or whatever it is, but I'm veryhappy that a lot of lawyers who never
really were interested in this stuffare starting to ask the questions and
(12:57):
starting to wonder, Hey, can we do this?
Can we do that?
'cause it's opening up opportunitiesfor knowledge management, innovation
folks to get more things done.
Based on my conversations, KM andI, folks are busier than ever.
Part of that is doing a lot ofreview of various tools out there.
'cause there's a ton of them.
But also the demand from their lawyersand clients, asking them to do more, get
(13:19):
things done better, stronger, faster.
That evolution is evident, and I thinkit's gonna continue to be evident,
and we're certainly gonna showcaseit at the conference this year.
This is Ari Kaplan speaking with KevinKlein, co-founder of Legal Tech Connect
and Head of Content and Programmingat KM and I and Patrick d Domenico,
founder of Inspire KM Consulting and theKM and I for legal conference, who is
(13:45):
now co-founder at Legal Tech Connect.
Kevin Patrick wishing youboth the best of luck.
Looking forward to seeing you atthe event, and thank you so much.
Thank you, Ari.
Thank you, Ari.
Thanks so much.
See you there.
Thank you for listening to theReinventing Professionals Podcast.
Visit reinventing professionals.com orari kaplan advisors.com to learn more.
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