While neurodiversity might be an unfamiliar word for many, its meaning is simple. We all have different brains. For the legal field, there is value in this, as we need to be able to look at problems in different ways and find new approaches to solving those problems. Haley Moss is an author, attorney, and advocate for neurodiversity, and is
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 139 – Haley Moss on How Embracing Neurodiversity in the Legal Profession Makes Us All Better
Two massive barriers to good value storytelling (series recap) are:
Herein, I focus on #2. Ego is often the enemy and, thus, we must frequently first edit the stories we tell ourselves.
I
Continue Reading The Department of Slow & No – Value Storytelling (#5)
With Thanksgiving falling on a Thursday this year… wait, I’m being told that it does that every year… we decided to release a panel discussion that Greg moderated with the General Counsel from McDonald’s, Fannie Mae, Western Union, and Tyson Foods. The discussion ranges from where these GCs are expanding their search for talent, to truly increasing diversity both in
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 138 – Cultivating and Retaining the Next Generation of Legal Talent
Alex Babin, CEO at Zero, says that the beautiful part about automating processes is to make the machines work the way the lawyers work so that you get a Return on Invest starting the very first day. For many of us, Alex brings up what we might think as the Holy Grail of implementing change in a law firm,
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 137 – Zero’s Alex Babin – Getting the Machines to Work the Way You Work
Start with Why. Value storytelling is essential (series summarized here). But, as storytellers, we’re not experimenting with the form. We should tell simple, compelling stories with no mystery as to the What, How, and Why.
What is outputs. How is inputs/process. Why is purpose, outcomes, and value.
What, How, and Why all matter. But, for our business audience, legal’s
Continue Reading Value Storytelling (#4) – Start with Why
Matthew Coatney, CIO at Thompson Hine, and author of The Human Cloud sits down and talks about what he sees as the transformation of how we work. According to Coatney, freelancing and project-based work (The Human Cloud) combined with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (The Machine Cloud) will soon disrupt the way we deliver work. Law firms will not
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 136 – Matthew Coatney – The Human Cloud: The World of Projects and Freelancers
I interrupt our regularly scheduled programming—the continuing series on value storytelling—with a rant inspired by my pending Continuing Legal Education deadline.
Despite the temptation to satisfy everyone’s daily outrage quota by taking on a soft target, I consider our collective (and my personal) annoyance with CLE a minor symptom of a major problem. Our culture of learning is broken.
Continue Reading CLE is Broken (as is our approach to learning/innovation)
Back in May (ep. 117), we had Bloomberg Law’s Molly Huie on the show to talk about the Bloomberg Law DEI Framework survey she and her team created and were pushing law firms to contribute. So we close the loop on this conversation by asking Molly to come back and talk about the results of the survey. There
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 135 – Results of the Bloomberg Law DEI Framework with Molly Huie
It feels like the WorldCC and Factor are doing me a personal favor in collecting critical data for my ongoing series on value storytelling. But I am not a solipsist. To the benefit of us all, they are seeking different perspectives on business value, including taking the vital step of asking the business itself. Please go here to take their
Continue Reading Value Storytelling – Take The Survey
Richmond Law School professors Jessica Erickson and Josh Kubicki join us to discuss how they are teaching law students not only the critical skills to “think like a lawyer” but also the understanding that they are entering the world of business. Whether that is in BigLaw, non-profit, in-house, public interest, or solo practice, they need to have a baseline of
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 134 – Teaching Law Students Business Design Skills – Jessica Erickson and Josh Kubicki
As we move toward the end of the year, or as in Texas, the end of a lawyer’s birthday month, there becomes a mad scramble for completing Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses. Has CLE become more about checking the box than about enhancing/maintaining a lawyer’s skill? Why is it that CLE credits are based on time, rather than knowledge? Is
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 133 – Ian Nelson, Sarah Glassmeyer, and Margaret Naughton on the Next Generation of CLE
You have to appreciate a book that discusses Legal Design and puts design concepts into action by working with a fellow designer on the layout and functionality of the book itself. The results of The Legal Design Book: Doing Law in the 21st Century is both a great read for the content and the physical interaction with the book. Astrid
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 132 – The Legal Design Book with Astrid Kohlmeier and Meera Klemola
Business value is business-centric. Law departments frequently ask me about metrics. My response is not nearly as definitive as they desire. I recommend they start with the customer—incorporating the metrics the business is already using and then proceeding accordingly to develop the complementary, internal (to the law department) metrics necessary to manage the department in supporting business objectives.
Talk
Continue Reading Defining Business Value – Value Storytelling (#3)
We bring in Brad Blickstein and Beatrice Seravello, Co-Heads, NewLaw Practice Group at Baretz+Brunelle to discuss the recently released B+B survey, “If You Build It, Will They Come?” A Research Report on the Internal Adoption of Innovation by AmLaw 100/200 and Global 100 Law Firms. This free report breaks down the adoption of innovation and the sliding scale (1-5)
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 131 – Innovation Adoption – The Law Firm Field of Dreams
Me: Which “genius” decided savings should be a prime objective and metric of success for law departments?
Jae: [purses lips & tilts head]
Me: But…
Jae: [rolls eyes]
Me: No…like…well, actually…but see…what had happened was…
Jae: [sighs]
Me: Fine. I’ll recant and repent. But, just so we’re clear, I am not happy about it.
Jae: [shrugs]
Saving money is essential.
Continue Reading The Savings Trap – The Value of Value Storytelling (2/N)
Ironclad‘s Chief Community Officer, Mary O’Carroll, has spent the past two decades bringing business acumen to the legal industry. In an industry run by lawyers, most of whom had little to no business training, Mary points out that it is logical that legal ops teams are needed to be the right-hand people in helping lawyers in the business
Continue Reading The Geek in Review Ep. 130 – Mary O’Carroll – The Power of Community in Driving Change