Why AI Is Stalled At Your Firm (And How to Fix It) with Colin Lachance
Colin Lachance helps law firms implement AI without the paralysis. As founder of LawQi and former Innovator in Residence at the Ontario Bar Association, he's developed a practical framework: start with tasks, not processes. In this conversation, he explains why most firms aren't ready for full process redesigns, what infrastructure you actually need before experimenting, and how to build the skills that prevent expensive mistakes. 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlachance https://lawqi.com/ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:30 - Meet Colin Lachance 4:15 - Working inside a real law firm 6:00 - The messy garage problem 11:30 - Tasks vs. processes: which comes first 14:00 - What infrastructure you actually need 17:30 - Why start with tasks, not whole processes 21:30 - How lawyers should learn AI 24:15 - Connect with Colin
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Using AI to Compete with BigLaw: The Small Firm Playbook w/ Shavon J. Smith
Washington, DC attorney Shavon J. Smith runs a small firm that serves growing businesses as their fractional general counsel. In this episode, she explains how AI helps her compete with larger firms – from mapping workflows to drafting contract checklists, improving client alerts, pressure-testing assumptions, and crafting clearer redline comments during negotiations. She also shares where AI meaningfully improves efficiency, where it simply improves quality, and where human judgment still matters most, especially in negotiation and client counseling. 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Get the latest news, trends, and tactics in legal AI—straight to your inbox. ➞ join free: https://www.spellbook.legal/newsletter 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 2:15 - Meet Shavon J. Smith 3:32 - What is fractional general counsel? 4:00 - AI for process mapping and improvement 6:03 - Using AI as a brainstorming partner 7:46 - Marketing and client communication 8:25 - How clients find the firm (including through AI) 10:06 - Email overwhelm and client management 13:12 - AI for contract drafting and review 16:06 - Being a better strategic advisor 18:00 - Understanding clients' businesses 19:48 - Managing people and processes 22:35 - Where AI can't help: settlement psychology 24:17 - Learning from other lawyers 24:35 - Connect with Shavon
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AI Readiness: The IT Infrastructure Lawyers Need Before Adopting AI with Olivia Anderson
Olivia Anderson helps law firms build the IT infrastructure they need before adopting AI. As Principal at Framework IT, a managed service provider working with legal practices of all sizes, she's seen what happens when firms rush into AI without the cybersecurity foundations in place. In this conversation, she walks through shadow AI, the $5.5 million problem most firms don't know they have, and why managing partners need to own AI governance whether they like it or not. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:21 - Meet Olivia Anderson 2:11 - Shadow AI and the $5.5M problem 6:09 - IT readiness for solo lawyers 10:16 - Consumer AI vs. legal-specific tools 13:15 - Creating a responsible AI policy 17:22 - Who owns AI governance at your firm 21:45 - Risk tolerance culture in law 28:56 - Quantifying your firm's risk profile 31:00 - Connect with Olivia
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AI's Role in the Courtroom with Appellate Lawyer Todd Smith | AI in Practice
Todd Smith is a board-certified appellate lawyer in Texas who consults with trial teams and handles appeals. In this conversation, he explains how AI tools are changing his work—and where they hit their limits. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 1:42 - Todd's appellate practice model 6:10 - AI collaboration challenges 9:15 - Analyzing trial transcripts with AI 14:57 - Finding arguments vs. knowing what to do with them 19:03 - Small data sets and judgment calls 24:50 - Why hourly billing is breaking down 28:04 - Flat fee experiments 31:23 - Marketing as an AI quick win 34:19 - Connect with Todd
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How to Build a Law Firm That Runs Without You with Joey Vitale
Before "AI automation" was a buzzword, Joey Vitale built Indie Law to operate without him. That experience—paired with years helping lawyers scale through virtual assistants—turned him into a quiet expert on systems, delegation, and identity. In this episode, he and host Mike Whelan dig into what happens when the work that once defined you starts running itself, and why the real value of a lawyer might have less to do with tasks and more to do with trust. 💎 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Draft and review contracts 10x faster ➞ try it free: https://www.spellbook.legal/ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: 0:00 - Introduction 2:15 - Why Joey left litigation 5:34 - The crisis that forced systematization 8:27 - Four stages: doer to strategist 14:44 - Managing VAs prepares you for AI 19:42 - Prompting AI effectively 24:15 - 80% right is 100% awesome 32:51 - Redefining lawyer identity 36:20 - Why clients still need attorneys
AI in Practice is where modern lawyers pull back the curtain on how they're integrating AI into their practice. Hosted by Mike Whelan (Lawyer Forward), it's an inside look at the challenges, surprises, and breakthroughs that come with bringing AI into their work and firms.
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