S04E03: How legal writing and editing software will make you a better lawyer (and save your partner’s and mentor’s time)

Join Peter, Natalie, and special guest co-host Laura van Wyngaarden as they speak with Rebecca Kacaba and Mat Goldstein from DealMaker about their journey to create a new way for companies and investors to streamline the capital-raising process. Rebecca and Mat share their insights into how implementing workflows, thinking outside the box, and collaboration with experts outside the legal industry can help you build a better product. 

Developing personal relationships and fostering greater understanding of your client's needs are as important as ever in the legal world. In this episode, Natalie and Peter chat with Mark Le Blanc about how the changing dynamic between in-house counsel and external law firms can help lawyers deliver more value and drive change in the legal industry as a whole. 

Extensive education is essential for producing lawyers that will meet the needs of your firm and clients. In this episode, Peter and Natalie speak with Bill Henderson about how he aims to teach both law students and established legal professionals the skills they need to innovate their practice and maximize efficiency. The expansion of legal skillsets through modernized education and training will be fundamental in building new law.

Alma Asay didn't plan to become a legal entrepreneur. But when she looked for a tool that would help her manage information in her litigation practice, she didn't find it. Instead, she found herself building a piece of software called Allegory that does just that. Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold talk to Alma about what she learned when she quit her job to start a company – and what she would want others to know before they make the same choice. Alma talks about the importance of empathy to a legal practice and why your files should always be organized well before trial appears on the horizon. CPD Lawyers that have completed the S03E07 BNL CPD can claim a 50 minute Professionalism CPD credit. To access the S03E07 verification examination click this link.

Good lawyers are good writers. In this episode, Peter and Natalie speak to Ivy Grey about techniques and technologies that will help make you a better writer and a better lawyer. Peter, Natalie and Ivy explore the technology and training methods that will put you in a position to streamline your writing, win more, and move up the ranks.

Aly Haji is researching what it means to be a millennial at a law firm – why they’re leaving en masse, why they find their jobs soul-crushing, and why all of this is a real problem for law firms. Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold talk to him about the stories his research is uncovering and get him to explain the unnerving results so that law firm leaders can figure out some concrete next steps to stall the exodus.    Also joining BNL for the first time is Brittany Rossler, summer associate at Counter Tax Lawyers. We dragged her in front of the mic to give her opinion as a real-life millennial working at a real-life law firm – and, spoiler alert, she gets a bit riled up.  CPD Lawyers that have completed the S03E05 BNL CPD can claim a 50 minute Professionalism CPD credit.  To access the S03E05 verification examination click this link.

Litigators and clients find it difficult to collect cell phone and social media evidence. Peter and Natalie speak with Puneet Tiwari about his new tool that will help you search and collect evidence. This way, you won’t miss the important evidence to support your case.

This episode is a bit different: it’s a recording of a talk that Peter gave at the Clio Cloud Conference in 2017 called The More Complete Law Firm. If you’ve ever wanted to hear more from one of BNL’s beloved hosts, now’s your chance. In the episode, we get a closer look at some of the philosophies that drive Counter Tax Lawyers, with a focus on long-term thinking, building effective processes, and having the courage to take risks.  It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the ideas and stories that come out of building a real NewLaw firm.  CPD Lawyers that have completed the S03E04 BNL CPD cam claim a 30 minute Professionalism CPD credit.  To access the S03E04 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Ron Friedmann, founder and principal of Prism Legal Consulting and consultant at Fireman & Company. They talk the nitty gritty details of NewLaw: building knowledge management systems, handling budgets, and managing change.  Peter and Natalie dig into Ron's Do Less Law philosophy, and he tells us about why lawyers have to change the way they work.  CPD Lawyers that have completed the S03E03 BNL CPD cam claim a 40 minute Professionalism CPD credit.  To access the S03E03 verification examination click this link.

Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold interview Mark Cohen, co-founder of Clearspire. The group discusses the Clearspire story, why  its bleeding-edge technology and legal expertise weren’t a commercial success, and the lessons NewLaw needs to learn. Lawyers that have completed the S03E02 BNL CPD cam claim a 60 minute Professionalism CPD credit.  To access the S03E02 verification examination click this link.