The Digital Edge

Hosted by Michael Semanchik, For the Innocent exposes the shocking reality of wrongful convictions through raw, first-person stories from the exonerated. Season 3 returns September 9th featuring powerful accounts from Amanda Knox, JJ Velasquez, Bruce Lisker— three exonerees whose names have become synonymous with injustice— and more.  Through their voices, uncover how the justice system failed them, what it took to win back their freedom, and the lifelong impact of being branded guilty while innocent. Plus, hear legal and criminal experts break down the systemic flaws from false confessions and eyewitness misidentifications to flawed forensic science and corrupt police officers. This season uncovers the truth behind America’s most haunting wrongful convictions. Season One and Two are now available. Subscribe to the show on ⁠⁠⁠Legal Talk Network⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bar presidents share strategies, tools and insights for attorneys growing into leadership roles. Learn from real stories of growth, crisis management, and innovation in NCBP’s Leading the Bar podcast. Listen monthly for compelling stories the next generation of lawyer-leaders can use to develop skills, confidence, and vision to lead with purpose and integrity. Subscribe to the show on Legal Talk Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We know you’ve been anxiously awaiting this episode, and it’s Sharon and Jim’s favorite podcast of the year — Tech Toys for the Holidays! Tune in for their specially crafted wishlist for all the technology enthusiasts in your life. This edition of The Digital Edge will be Sharon and Jim’s final podcast. We are so thankful for their many years of camaraderie, great conversations, and help in keeping us up with the latest in legal tech. Goodbye and happy trails to our dear friends. We wish you the best in years to come! 2023 Tech Toys: Permission Slip by Consumer Reports Weatherman Umbrella   Echo 2 Smartpen - Livescribe Pocket Tripod - Wallet-Sized Phone Stand MW08 | Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds - Master & Dynamic Surface Arc Mouse - Microsoft   Rocketbook Core Reusable Smart Notebook Shokz OpenRun Headphones | REI Co-op Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 Razer Kiyo Pro Streaming Webcam: Full HD Smart Garage Control | myQ Handheld Portable Clothes Steamer  ChatGPT Version 4.0 Flash Drive for iPhone  Leather Tech Organizer - Satchel & Page  Handheld Digital Microscope Core Meditation Trainer: Meditation Device for Relaxation & Stress Relief  Camera Detector C10 Pro – Professional Bug RF Detector, Hidden Camera Finder, Anti Spy Sweeper, GPS Tracker, Listening Device, Cell Phone Scanner Illuminate History With Our Titanic Wreckage Epoxy Resin Art - Etsy Star Trek-Like 'AI Pin' - PCMag Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TECHSHOW will be here before we know it, and there’s no time like the present to get your tickets! To get an idea of what attendees can expect, Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson talk with co-chairs Cynthia Thomas and Sofia Lingos about the 2024 conference theme and special events. TECHSHOW is for anyone and everyone in the world of legal—lawyers, students, judges, paralegals, tech innovators, and more! To learn more and reserve your spot, go to: https://www.techshow.com.  Cynthia Thomas is the proprietor of PLMC & Associates, a consultancy firm specializing in law firm management. Sofia Lingos is the founding and managing attorney of Trident Legal, a Boston based law firm that provides innovative transactional legal services Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is AI finally going to be the undeniable and absolute conqueror of the billable hour? Though many have called for its demise for years, the billable hour still has a substantial foothold in much of the industry, but AI might just change all that. Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk with Jordan Furlong about how AI promises to change not just billing, but law firm business practices across the board. Jordan explains AI’s potential to spur a variety of new innovations in legal practice and what lawyers should do to stay abreast of new developments.  Jordan Furlong is an internationally renowned legal sector analyst, author, speaker, and consultant deeply invested in a better future for the legal profession and the society it serves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawyers are often confused about the best and safest ways to share files with clients. Are standalone file sharing tools best? Should every lawyer have a client portal? Is email okay? Sharon Nelson and John Simek have an in-depth conversation with Roberta Tepper about everything you need to know about ethical, secure file sharing solutions.  Roberta Tepper is the Chief Member Services Officer at the State Bar of Arizona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Copilot is your upcoming digital assistant in pretty much all the Microsoft applications you use day-to-day. So, what do you need to know about utilizing this technology in your legal practice? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway welcome Ben Schorr to discuss the many lawyer-specific Copilot possibilities, from meeting notes, to case summaries, email drafts, and more. They also discuss its current reliability, a privacy overview, and Ben’s top tips for getting the most out of Copilot in your Microsoft apps. Ben M. Schorr is a senior content designer at Microsoft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Copyright law is buzzing with the rising possibilities of AI-related legal matters. Is this a major concern in our current era of blossoming AI technologies? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway welcome Vedia Jones-Richardson to get her expert opinion on a variety of legal questions arising from the “creative expressions” of generative AI. They review the current landscape of AI’s copyright connections, get explanations on what is and isn’t protected, and discuss notable cases that have explored the infringement and copyright implications of AI-created materials.  Vedia Jones-Richardson is a Principal with Olive and Olive, PA, where she leads the trademark and copyright practice group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lately, AI developments have been top of mind for just about everybody—lawyers included. And with AI’s potential to solve all kinds of workflow problems and majorly improve access to justice, the excitement around it does have real merit. However, concerns about accuracy, security, and the current lack of regulation are just as pressing as the excitement surrounding the AI bandwagon. To address all these issues and more, Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway welcome John Simek to unpack the latest AI trends and their implications for lawyers.  John W. Simek is vice president of the digital forensics, managed information technology and cybersecurity firm Sensei Enterprises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pain points in your legal practice might just be easily solved with a little automation. Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson chat with Greg Siskind about his firm’s leading-edge relationship with AI and automation technologies. Greg’s simple, straightforward insights help listeners understand the ethics of AI use in law and how to leverage it to improve your firm’s workflows and client experiences. Greg Siskind is a founder of Siskind Susser, a national immigration firm based in Memphis, Tennessee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Turning a legal service into a product has already been proven to be both profitable for lawyers and a huge help in increasing access to justice. So, how do you join this new wave and productize your services? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk with Dorna Moini about strategies for creating a legal product for your target market, pricing recommendations for today’s clients, and future outlooks as legal products change the way we deliver services in the profession. Dorna Moini is the CEO and founder of Gavel, a no-code platform for building document automation and client-facing legal products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is ChatGPT ready to pass the bar? Maybe not quite, but it’s learning rapidly and might just become a tool lawyers use on a daily basis in the future. Sharon and Jim are joined by Julie Bays to find out ChatGPT’s current capabilities in answering questions about legal practice and the law. Listen in to find out what ChatGPT has to say about access to justice, legal ethics, growing your law firm, and more. Julie A. Bays is the practice management advisor of the Oklahoma Bar Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Office 365 is so very helpful in so many ways, but most of us are really underutilizing its capabilities. Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway chat with Danielle DavisRoe about ten simple tips for getting more out of your Office 365 experience. Check out Danielle’s LinkedIn post, The Ten Most Popular Office 365 Tips For Lawyers, for insights that will save you time and boost your productivity. Danielle DavisRoe is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TECHSHOW 2023 is right around the corner! Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway chat with co-chairs Jeannine Lambert and Gyi Tsakalakis about the offerings at the upcoming conference. This year, the conference will be an entirely in-person event, so don’t miss the return of Taste of TECHSHOW, crowd favorite Start-Up Alley, the new Visionaries of Legal Tech panel discussion, and much more. Find out more and register (and snag the early bird discount before January 18th!) at: techshow.com. Jeannine Lambert is the executive director of Centers & Programming at Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law. Gyi Tsakalakis is a former lawyer and the founder of AttorneySync, an online legal marketing agency, to help lawyers be where their clients are looking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your favorite nerdy-lawyer wishlist is back yet again! Tune in for Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson’s top picks for the gift-giving season. Happy Holidays! Tech Toys 2022: FlexiSpot EN1 Standing Desk Pixel, World’s First Lego-compatible Mechanical Keyboard Apple AirTag Raptic Link + Lock for AirTag Slide | Portabl Technics EAH-A800 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones  SanDisk 64GB iXpand Flash Drive Luxe Anker PowerConf S330 USB Speakerphone Conference Speaker Microphone LED Rechargeable Book Light for Glasses Solar Power Bank Ember Mug 2  GoPro HERO10 Black Timbuk2 Closer Laptop Briefcase Pocketalk Classic Language Translator Device  Bird Buddy with Solar Roof UBeesize 67'' Phone Tripod Stand & Selfie Stick Tripod TEAMOR Full-Body Shiatsu Massage Chair Nemo Personal Submarine Unitree Go1 MoonBikes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shawn Holahan knows how disasters can affect your practice first hand. Experiencing the effects of Hurricane Katrina, she learned that when a disaster happens, confusion reigns, but having a disaster plan in place can help your law firm survive. Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson get Shawn Holahan’s top tips for disaster planning in legal practice. Shawn emphasizes the importance of keeping your plan simple and explains “No Tech” Binders and the pre-disaster steps all lawyers should take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, Lloyds of London announced that beginning in 2023 all of its insurer groups will exclude “catastrophic” state-backed attacks from their cyber insurance policies. And, unfortunately, this is just one of many on a growing list of potential exclusions for insurers worldwide, even though premium prices have continued to climb. So, is cybersecurity still worth it? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk with John Simek about the elements driving these shifts and what you need to know to make the best choices for your law firm. John W. Simek is vice president of the digital forensics, managed information technology and cybersecurity firm Sensei Enterprises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does your law firm need documented standard operating procedures? Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway find out with guest Catherine Sanders Reach. Catherine outlines the common problems that arise when operating procedures are lacking and explains how to create a ‘law firm cookbook’—plus, which tools will help—to cultivate dynamic efficiency in your firm. Learn more from Catherine’s recommended articles: Your Firm Cookbook: Why and How - North Carolina Bar Association (ncbar.org) Unseen Risks And The Great Reshuffling - North Carolina Bar Association (ncbar.org) What You Need to Know About Project Management - North Carolina Bar Association (ncbar.org) Catherine Sanders Reach is director at the Center for Practice Management at the North Carolina Bar Association, providing practice technology and management assistance to lawyers and legal professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many law practice management software vendors have been working to provide one-stop shop platforms that meet all the basic needs of a law firm, thereby streamlining processes formerly served by multiple vendors. Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway discuss all the latest trends and happenings (including the Affinipay’s MyCase acquisition) with industry expert Niki Black. She talks through processes for choosing software for your law firm and explains how to find the functionality that will best meet your needs. Niki Black is an attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s law students grew up side by side with technology and typically view it as an integral part of their lives and futures as lawyers. As such, today’s law schools are working to support students through more robust legal technology training and development. Digital Edge hosts Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway talk with Kenton Brice about his involvement with the Digital Initiative at the University of Oklahoma College of Law to get a sense of how technology is being leveraged in a tech-forward school. They also discuss how the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) and legal ops are using technology to increase access to justice, and Kenton shares his thoughts on what tech trends point to new possibilities for the future of law. Kenton Brice is the director of technology innovation at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and directs the OU Law Center for Technology & Innovation in Practice and the College’s Digital Initiative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices