Episodes
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For tech trends from an in-house perspective, Dennis and Tom welcome Dennis Garcia of Microsoft to their Fresh Voices series. In-house teams are riding the new wave of AI technologies along with the rest of us, but there are unique aspects to their roles in the legal world. Dennis Garcia discusses his team’s approach to AI and other emerging tools, ethical responsibilities for tech competence, collaboration in legal tech, and much more.
As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation that you can use the second the podcast ends.
Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for the answers to your most burning tech questions.
Links Mentioned:
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft SharePoint
LinkedIn
Microsoft Copilot
Show Notes - Kennedy-Mighell Report #365
A Segment: Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Dennis Garcia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denniscgarcia/
B Segment: Continued conversation with Dennis Garcia
Parting Shots:
Anker 555 USB-C Hub https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087QZVQJX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
Gaiatop USB Desk Fan https://www.amazon.com/Gaiatop-Portable-Airflow-Personal-Cooling/dp/B0BWDHVW9X/ -
Guest Shelly A. Walker has enjoyed a career spanning nearly three decades of perpetual growth and advancement. Hear how she learned to move forward with every step, up to her current position as regional office administrator and paralegal manager for a large law firm. Successful careers in the paralegal profession don’t just happen. It takes work, ambition, and drive. Preparation creates opportunity.
Walker took advantage of every chance to learn and advance. The paralegal profession never stands still, and Walker explains how seizing opportunities to build skills advanced her career. One example is how she recognized the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and helped her firm create a DEI committee, which she went on to lead.
She encourages today’s up and coming paralegals to understand their worth and show initiative. Speak up with confidence at your organization and demonstrate your value with everything you do. If you’re looking for advice on advancing your career, this episode offers valuable tips. Step up, stand out, and succeed.
If you have insights you’d like to share or a topic you’d like us to take on, please send us a note at [email protected] and [email protected]. -
Episodes manquant?
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Zack talks with Lab Coach Chad Fox about how developing law firm processes can build value for a practice. They specifically discuss how his experience in franchises showed him that the difference between success and failure can often be as simple as creating and abiding by standard operating procedures.
Links from the episode:
Check out and register for LabCon 2024!
CosmoLex: Complete Legal Practice Management for Modern Law Firms
If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! -
From COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and healthcare access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American healthcare system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.
Leslie P. Francis is a professor of law and philosophy with a background in bioethics, and John G. Francis is a professor of political science with a focus on European comparative politics, federalism and comparative regulatory policy. The spouses had partnered on three previous books together. When looking for their next project, they decided to examine the consequences of states opting out of Medicaid expansion and what power federalism could have in protecting American citizens’ health. But soon more news events and landmark cases expanded their focus.
The result is States of Health. The book examines the tensions between state and federal powers in a number of areas, including reproductive rights; gender-affirming care; medical marijuana; public health and pandemics; right-to-try laws; patient confidentiality; and care quality and life expectancies.
In this episode of The Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with the Francises about their collaborative writing process, and what conclusions they have drawn about the benefits of federalism and states’ rights.
The Francises argue that since it is the federal government that determines citizenship and census decisions, state differences go too far when they make “basic decisions about who counts at all, and what it means to count.” They add, “Movement is a critical aspect of who counts: the ability to come and go, or to leave one state more permanently for another.” The Francises argue that freedom of movement for the purpose of medical treatment is crucial for patients, but also point out when states control licensure for medical providers, that too can restrict freedom of movement.
The value of 50 individual laboratories of democracy can be appealing to a scientific mind. But at what point can it be argued in the healthcare space that a federal government needs to step in, if the outcomes in some of those laboratories are decreased lifespans and higher mortality? -
Trump's attorneys seems as asleep at the switch as their client.
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Having called Stormy Daniels a liar repeatedly in its opening, the Trump defense team was then shocked and appalled that the prosecution elicited testimony to rehabilitate her credibility. The hits didn't stop there as they attempted to get out of the mess they'd landed in by sex shaming someone whose sexuality is their whole business. Trump lawyers do a lot better when the judge is running their defense. Meanwhile, an organization moved to preemptively pare down Trump's SCOTUS shortlist to the least qualified, worst behaved candidates and its been a very Ponzi-rific week for one Biglaw firm. -
Does your support staff see the big picture or are they trapped in old ruts? The Simon Law Firm support team discusses the importance of empowerment, autonomy and trust when organizing details and logistics for trial.
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In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:
Who should a solo attorney hire first? You’re building your firm. Who’s the next person you add to add (and you want avoid the wrong hire)? For starters, what do you need? Where are you wasting time? From there, “hiring is marketing,” it’s crucial you attract the largest pool of great candidates.
How do you prepare a job candidate for your hiring process? Start by being transparent. It’s that easy. “Hey, here’s our process, it may be different from what you’ve done before.” The important thing is to find what’s not only right for you, but what’s right for the new hire. And if they start by questioning your process, move on.
How do you introduce your “second in command” to your team? Maybe that’s the wrong question. “Second” in command suggests you still want people to report to you. You don’t. The whole idea is to offload daily decisions so you can focus on strategy and bigger things. There’s no “second in command,” there’s the “here’s the new person in charge for all of you.” Your language can sabotage your intentions.
Mentioned in This Episode:
“Who: The A Method for Hiring,” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
“Hamlet Was Wrong,” a transcript, from Malcolm Gladwell discusses “hiring nihilism”
Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? -
Legal tech experts discuss their research and experiments with generative artificial intelligence (AI) for legal services on Talk Justice. Executive Director of the Legal Design Lab Margaret Hagan talks about her research into whether AI is worth the hype for access to justice. Lawyer and NYU professor Sateesh Nori shares his experience with utilizing AI for housing legal services.
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Legal practice can be stressful, and it is all too common to go through difficult seasons which, in turn, lead to negative impacts on our overall wellbeing. But, there are ways to equip lawyers with the skills to mindfully combat this tendency. Molly Ranns and JoAnn Hathaway talk with Laura Kelly about strategies for managing your mindset and finding joy and balance in your life. Laura shares stories from her own life and her experiences as a coach to help attorneys implement healthy practices that promote wellbeing both at work and at home.
Laura F. Kelley is the founder of LFK Immigration PA, a comprehensive immigration firm based in Doral, FL. -
In April of 2024, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency recently announced that they are proceeding with reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would move marijuana from the “Schedule I” group which includes heroin, LSD, quaaludes and ecstasy to “Schedule III” which includes ketamine and some anabolic steroids.
In this episode, Craig is joined by professor Robert Mikos from Vanderbilt University Law School to discuss the proposed reclassification of marijuana. Craig & Rob take a look at the history of the war on drugs, cannabis law, and what constitutional right an individual has when it comes to drug use. -
AI’s prime directive is to give you answers, buuuut… it might just be telling you what it thinks you want to hear—with no concern over providing actual verifiable facts. This issue (and oodles of others) have initiated a trickle of case law/guidance/opinions/etc. in the legal AI scene, and you, dear lawyer, want to be on the right side of legal ethics on this one. Jared breaks down the latest developments on this topic to give you a better understanding of where things are headed.
Next, some of us are, admittedly, BS-ing our way through all this AI stuff, but Josh Noffke really and truly uses AI as much as he possibly can in his law firm. Since the rest of us are still muddling through, Jared welcomes Josh to give attorneys tool recommendations and pointers on use-cases for AI in their law firms.
Later, it turns out that Josh played as a walk-on for the University of Michigan’s football team, so the Rump Roast is dedicated to team trivia! The guys play “Michigan Man” to test both Josh’s knowledge and reputation as a former Wolverine. Serious stuff.
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Ah, Michigan. The the mitten shaped state that gave us Motown.
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Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.
Our closing track is Renegade by The Revolution.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Notion
Scribe
Loom Videos
Rocket Typist
TextExpander -
The Chicago Bar Association is celebrating 150 years of championing justice, building connections and making an impact in Chicago and beyond. In this episode, Trisha Rich talks with CBA's current President Ray Koenig III about the state of the organized bar today, the benefits of bar association involvement, and the CBA's 150th anniversary celebration.
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Zack talks with lawyer and digital marketing guru, Seth Price, about the struggles of scaling a small law firm. They discuss how to think about hiring, growing, and investing in your own firm. Seth shares his own growing pains and discusses how he and his partner took Price Benowitz LLP from two to over forty lawyers in less than a decade. If you listen closely, you’ll also get some tips on how to use AI to help you hire the right person for the right job.
Links from the episode:
Lawyerist Complete Guides
Check out NetDocuments!
If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! -
In the 1980s and 1990s, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) was a popular medical theory used to arrest and convict innocent parents of fatally abusing their children. Unknown at the time, this theory was severely scientifically flawed. Unfortunately, erroneous data collection led experts to believe certain brain injuries in children could only be the result of abusive shaking. What they didn’t realize was that those “signature” injuries could also be caused by short-falls and disease. It would take decades to unravel their blind faith in this junk science. It is unknown how many innocent parents remain behind bars for a crime they didn’t commit.
Host Michael Semanchik is joined by Katherine Bonaguidi. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in Shaken Baby Syndrome. Formerly a staff attorney with the California Innocence Project, today she works as a San Diego County Public Defender.
Special thanks to our sponsor Clio. -
Donald Trump, Drake, And James Ho... punchlines write themselves.
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Donald Trump's trial shenanigans continue. Is he going to violate the gag order again? It seems inevitable but... our prediction might shock you! But even if his unfiltered "Truthing" is behind him, there are so many other ways to show contempt of court. And a busy week in Morningside Heights as Columbia Law School students ask school to cancel exams in light of campus unrest, or at a minimum convert its optional pass/fail model to mandatory pass/fail to avoid placing a stigma on worried students. Then conservative judges announced a boycott of Columbia until their demands for "viewpoint diversity" are met. Also, small talk becomes big diss track talk as we devote a whole segment to Drake and Kendrick going to war and the legal implications. -
What does success mean to you? Is it a monetary goal? A safe and comfortable home? Or simply the ability to shop at the “fancy” grocery store? Take a moment to re-evaluate your idea of personal success and give yourself some credit for your little successes.
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Y’know what’s super annoying?—Google thinking it was okay to just auto-enroll all LSA clients into their branded queries. Sheesh. Later, should we all be mourning the death of links for SEO (again)?
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Google… someday, we’d really appreciate it if you stopped being so presumptuous. Listen up, business owners—Google’s auto-enrollment scheme in branded queries for LSAs might be leading you to spend money unnecessarily, but it’s all a little too murky to know what’s really happening. The good news is: you can opt out if you want to. The bad news is: the current data is so fuzzy that it’s pretty darn tough to tell whether opting out is the right move. Gyi and Conrad pick apart their findings thus far and offer insights into how to navigate these shifts in your LSAs.
The Link is dead; long live the Link? A recent article headline caught our attention: Google Confirms Links Are Not That Important. Is this really true, though? Nah. Links may have decreased in significance in some ways, but they still absolutely have a place in the SEO kingdom, and Gyi and Conrad explain why.
The News:
Google just shared their Q1 earning call, and nearmedia.co has all the deets.
Whaaaaa..?! Google Confirms Links Are Not That Important
Google’s March 2024 Core Update Finished April 19th — Hopefully any turbulence you experienced has died down by now.
Next, Google tests scan-to-call QR codes and extra images on sponsored ads. If you see one within the legal sphere, send it to us!
For all 2 of you who needed to know, you can no longer manually update ads on Bing as of April 30th: Microsoft Ads to replace Manual CPC with Enhanced CPC by end of April
Old news? The Federal Trade Commission Announces Proposed Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials. Somebody’s gonna get in big trouble, y’all; we’re looking at you Banana Slicer.
Gyi and Conrad will both be participating in the Law Firm Growth Summit from May 21-23.
And, LocalU Detroit is coming up on June 24th!
Mentioned in this Episode:
The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter!
Brand Conquesting: Dirty and Underhanded? || How would you spend $5000? - LHLM Episode
Join us live for LHLM Office Hours on LinkedIn, May 17th.
Leave Us an Apple Review
Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube
Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok -
Since the Dobbs Supreme Court case was decided, we have gained a heightened awareness of the criminal laws surrounding pregnancies, including the decision to terminate one. But the criminalization of abortion isn’t a new post-Dobbs phenomenon. Women, especially women of color, have frequently faced punitive state laws regulating reproductive health. Dr. Michelle Goodwin, attorney, law professor, and author of Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood, joins SideBar to discuss her research into the long and continuing history of the government policing and criminalizing women’s reproductive health.
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Generative AI is everywhere, including inside many law practices, creating documents, analyzing data, researching, and creating content. But what happens when AI makes a mistake? Who’s liable? The implications could be enormous, are we may see a new wave of liability litigation. It’s a brave, new world without a lot of legal guardrails.
There are existing, vague, nonspecific “tech” and business practice laws, then there emerging – AI specific – laws that aren’t backed by a lot of precedent from the courts. Privacy laws, data usage, intellectual property laws, even state and federal rulings, have created a jigsaw puzzle for lawyers to apply in the AI space.
Guest Graham H. Ryan is an experienced litigator and an author and frequently quoted commentator on tech issues and the emergence of generative AI and its consequences.
Ryan says it might help to look back to the “wild west” of the Internet’s earliest days and the infamous “Section 230” that has helped decide who’s liable for what when it comes to digital content. How far does Section 230 go when AI starts creating content instead of simply searching for it? And when does Congress get involved? Proceed with caution.
Resources:
International Association of Privacy Professionals, IAPP
IAPP “AI Governance Global 2024” conference
“The AI Industry Is Steaming Toward A Legal Iceberg,” Wall Street Journal quoting Graham Ryan
Harvard Journal of Law and Technology
“Department Of Justice’s Review Of Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act Of 1996,” U.S. Dept. of Justice
Moody v. NetChoice, LLC, via SCOTUSblog
“Sanctions for Fake Generative AI Cites Harm Clients,” Bloomberg Law Analysis
“The EU Artificial Intelligence Act”
“Schumer Launches New Phase In Push For AI Bill,” Politico
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Litigation Section -
In this episode, Erin Andrea Craske joins me to discuss the critical aspects of branding, emphasizing the common pitfalls businesses face in their branding strategies.
She highlights the lack of engaging branding within the legal industry as a prime example of widespread branding issues. Erin stresses the importance of understanding that regardless of the industry, whether B2B or B2C, the target audience consists of humans, and emotional connection is key to effective branding.
She argues that many companies fail to convert potential clients into actual clients because they overlook the emotional and psychological factors that influence decision-making. The conversation also covers the significance of targeting specific customer segments and the necessity of imbuing brands with emotional value to differentiate them from competitors.
Erin Andrea Craske, an award-winning strategist, boasts a 20-year career, culminating as Global Head of Consumer Brands. With expertise in strategic development, profitability, leadership, and communication, she's an ICF-certified executive transformation coach. Leveraging 16 years of leadership, she empowers conscious business rebels to succeed and create positive impacts.
Erin gives listeners actionable tips on:
0:00 Intro
03:29 The core of branding - getting people to make the decision in the way we want them to when it comes down to the right time
05:16 How to move people through the decision process rather than assume action
11:14 The money drain on acquisition/awareness when you're not using a strategy
14:55 Adding the emotional piece into consideration to really speak to clients
18:07 The bottom of the funnel, emotionally
22:33 Taking your overthinking out of the brand and focusing on your potential client/customer
23:45 Lead with the questions you most get from your clients
26:44 Book Review
34:24 One big takeaway
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama
Connect with Erin here:
https://linktr.ee/eacraske
https://www.erinandreacraske.com
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