Between the Briefs

Latest Episodes:

Eric Friedman: Leading the Future of Law and Tech Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

What does it take to lead one of the world's most prestigious law firms through a global financial crisis, a pandemic, and now, a generative AI revolution?
In this episode, Eric Friedman draws on his three decades of experience at Skadden to dissect the current "headwinds" impacting the legal landscape. Now an advisor to legal tech leaders like Litera and Ironclad, Eric explores why adoption remains the number one hurdle for innovation and how the "client voice" is finally forcing the hands of reluctant law firms. From the "crystal ball" question of the billable hour's future to the potential for AI to move the needle on access to justice, this conversation provides a strategic roadmap for the future of legal services.,,

What You’ll Learn:

How tech, competitive dynamics, and geopolitics are creating a high-pressure environment.
Why meeting lawyers "where they work" is the only way to overcome the static of new tools.
Why value-based billing might finally gain traction as clients demand to share in tech-driven efficiency gains.
Understanding the complex "Middle Earth" between the business and practice of law to successfully sell to law firms.,
Why we are still in the "early innings" of tech innovation and why declaration of winners is premature.

Highlights:
00:01 – Introduction: Welcoming Eric Friedman, former CEO of Skadden.
01:04 – The Pivot: Transitioning from M&A lawyer to the "Business of Law."02:27 – Under Pressure: Assessing the "ferocious" competitive and geopolitical landscape.,,08:18 – The Adoption Challenge: Why "meeting them where they work" is the key to success.,13:42 – The Billable Hour Crystal Ball: Will tech finally kill the predominant benchmark?,,23:54 – The Founder’s Bane: Navigating the complex buyer persona in Big Law.,38:29 – Access to Justice: Using tech to bridge the gap for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).,41:35 – Hottest Take: Why it’s still "early innings" for the legal tech battle.,
Quotes:

“Law firms are under pressure from every direction... Tech, I'll start there... the emergence of this next wave of legal tech is definitely creating pressures on law firms. You also have a massive competitive dynamic... Law firms are ferociously competitive. That may always have been the case. It feels like it's notched up a bit.”,
“Adoption is the number one challenge. You have to get through the static of which tools should we even pilot... Meet them where they're working and be accretive to what they're otherwise doing and you have to prove the value proposition in the real world for lawyers.”,
“I do want to point out that at least since the mid 1980s, the legal media has been talking about the death of the billable hour. And so 40 years later, I would say it remains the predominant benchmark for legal service delivery.”
“I don't think it's a bubble. I think we're still in the early innings of tech innovation and adoption... it’s way too early to be declaring winners in this space.”,

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

High Stakes, Human Impact: Brian Shapiro on Navigating Catastrophic Injury Litigation Apr 17, 2026

Show notes

What does it take to represent families facing the unthinkable? For Brian Shapiro, it starts with deep mentorship and a commitment to strategic precision. In this episode, Brian discusses his journey from a "family of law" to becoming a passionate advocate for individuals impacted by spinal and brain injuries. He pulls back the curtain on his firm’s meticulous intake process, explaining how he identifies red flags early and prepares clients for the psychological rigors of depositions from the very first meeting.
Beyond the courtroom, Brian explores the intersection of technology and law, highlighting how tools like Steno’s Transcript Genius are revolutionizing medical record review and deposition prep. He also dives into his legislative work with the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), discussing the vital importance of protecting access to justice against corporate-backed fee-cap initiatives.

What You’ll Learn:

How a background in a "family of law" and judicial clerkships provides a competitive edge in trial practice.
The psychology of client coaching: How to help plaintiffs remain calm, honest, and likable during depositions.
Strategic case selection: Identifying "red flags" and navigating difficult conversations about insurance limits.
The evolving role of AI in litigation, from summarizing medical jargon to interrogating multiple depositions with Transcript Genius.
Why trial lawyers have a professional obligation to engage in legislative advocacy and pro bono work.

Highlights:

00:00 - Introduction: Meet Brian Shapiro, catastrophic injury specialist
01:10 - Learning the ropes from a father and mentor
03:58 - Clerking for Judge James DeCeaser in Orange County
08:14 - The case that cemented Brian's path
10:53 - Why selective cases require high-resource commitment
14:32 - Coaching clients to be "the star" of their own story
21:57 - Translating Medicine: Simplifying spinal and brain injuries for a jury
25:22 - The AI Advantage: How Steno's Transcript Genius transforms prep
34:10 - Giving Back: Pro bono work with the Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino
43:15 - Hot Take: Why the trial lawyer remains irreplaceable in the age of AI

Quotes:

"We spend hours with the folks in the very beginning... we are pre-training them on how we're almost taking their depo without them knowing... we do want them to know from the very beginning... they are kind of getting ready."
"In a deposition, we want you to be comfortable. The number one thing is we want you to feel like you could speak slowly... that it's your—you're the star. If you don't remember the question, don't feel like you need to answer it."
"@Steno, obviously with depots, I very much am a fan of Transcript Genius... being able to literally ask the deposition anything... and then it will pop up where in the depot and highlight the section it's coming from so you can verify it real time."
"We represent folks... we have that voice and a lot of times we have the resources... if you can't commit the time, I think that we all owe it... to at least give to the cause when you can, because people are coming after us."

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

How Judge Paul Raleeh Disrupted Texas Courts Without a Law Degree Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

In these volatile and uncertain times, what does it really take to uphold peace? Someone like Judge Paul Raleeh, it would seem. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea sit down with Judge Raleeh, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Collin County, Texas, to explore the critical yet often misunderstood role of justice courts in modernizing local litigation.
What You’ll Learn:

How to navigate pro se representation effectively
The critical distinction between bond-setting and punishment
Why civil jurisdiction expansion matters for rural and urban practitioners
How exclusive eviction jurisdiction consolidates both residential and commercial disputes
The customer service imperative in judicial administration
Why AI-assisted legal research and judicial drafting require human oversight

Tune in for the full deep dive on why the justice courts of America are an integral part of the country’s legal system.
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction: Welcome to Between the Briefs
00:59 From Law Enforcement to the Bench: Judge Paul's Unconventional Path
02:38 Collin County's Explosive Growth and Its Impact on Local Courts
04:30 The Surprising Scope of Justice Court Jurisdiction
09:33 Navigating the Learning Curve: Civil Law and the Early Days
15:56 Serving Pro Se Litigants Without Crossing Into Legal Advice
19:53 AI, ChatGPT and the Dangerous Illusion of Legal Expertise
23:39 Beyond the Bench: A Judge's Role in Community Education
26:33 Magistrate Duties and the Evolution of Bond-Setting Standards
30:54 Senate Bill 6: How Legislative Change Reshapes Judicial Practice
32:45 Balancing Justice With Humanity in Criminal Proceedings
37:00 The Realities of Running for Reelection as an Elected Judge
42:08 The Hardest Part: Politics, People and Lasting Impact
46:35 Controversial Cases and Judicial Philosophy on Marriage Equality
51:18 Key Takeaways & Closing Thoughts
Quotes:

“The justice of the peace or the justice court judge is the only judicial position in the entire state of Texas that doesn't require you to first be an attorney. My career started off in law enforcement, and I went to school for public administration. I had no idea I was gonna be a judge, but one day the sitting justice of the peace told me I had the qualifications and personality to do it, and I decided I'd run for the position."
"We have jurisdiction in criminal cases of all criminal offenses that are punishable only by a fine. We also have civil court jurisdiction for cases of $20,000 or less, and we have exclusive jurisdiction over all evictions, both residential and commercial. Last year, I took the bench 6,000 times with 6,000 trials or hearings of some sort."
"My role is to navigate people through the process. The rules that govern the court don't go away just because you're in a justice court, and almost everybody that represents themselves are unprepared for what their role is. I have seven staff that work in my office, and we have the same responsibility to help people understand the process in plain language so that they know their rights."
"When people Google search or use AI information sites, it's great information, but it doesn't make you an attorney. I don't know how to change a plug in the wall, but I can Google it and walk through it and get that plug changed, but it won't make me an electrician. AI is going to change not just the court system, but it's going to change the world, and it's going to happen very quick."

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Why the Legal AI Revolution is Actually a Good Thing for Appellate Law ft. David Coale Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

What if the legal AI revolution is actually a good thing? In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome David Coale, partner and leader of the appellate practice at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegman, to unpack how said revolution is transforming appellate law without replacing human judgment.
What You’ll Learn:

How to structure an appellate practice that balances deep legal writing with real-time courtroom advisory work

Why generative AI excels at document digestion, trial transcript summarization and sophisticated legal research

How to draft appellate briefs by writing the argument section first using legal principles, then backfilling facts

Why young attorneys need intensive reps in writing, research and oral advocacy to develop mastery

How a single presidential term of judicial appointments can shape a circuit's jurisprudence for 30+ years

Why the human element of judgement, preparation and understanding remain relevant in appellate advocacy

Tune in for the full deep dive on navigating appellate law in the age of AI.
Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
00:00 The Dual Nature of Modern Appellate Practice
00:02 Building Mastery: Reps, Writing and Deliberate Practice
00:05 Generative AI as Research Partner, Not Brief Writer
00:07 Navigating AI Risks: Citation Hallucination and Quality Control
00:10 What Humans Bring to Appellate Advocacy
00:12 Common Mistakes That Undermine Appellate Work
00:14 Reading Like a Writer: Studying Judicial Craftsmanship
00:17 Strategic Brief Architecture: The Reverse-Engineering Method
00:19 The Intake Process and Case Assessment
00:20 Fifth Circuit Dynamics: How Politics Shapes Appellate Dockets
00:23 Presidential Appointments as Multi-Generational Court Shapers
00:27 Judicial Resources and the Reality of Appellate Workload
00:28 Trial Experience and Appellate Excellence: Finding Your Path
00:31 Writing as Creative Practice, Not Compliance Exercise
00:33 Intellectual Influences and Maintaining Sharp Analysis
00:33 The Future of Law: AI Integration and Professional Transformation
00:37 Key Takeaways: Excellence in the Age of Appellate Innovation
Quotes:

"Half of my practice is writing learned intellectual briefs to courts and appeals. The other half is providing advice to very smart, very aggressive trial lawyers, often on the fly while they're at the courthouse when something comes up. I call it the drop in traffic, and it's absolutely fascinating because it keeps me from getting to Ivory Tower."
"You gotta get reps in to develop the skills, and that means writing whatever needs to be written, offering to do whatever. It's fundamentally a written practice, and you have to like writing and the process of sitting there and getting it done. If you like writing, you need to practice it to get better at it, and you need extra reps writing articles to hone those skills."
"What AI forces you to confront is what am I really adding as a human being to this? Certain parts of the briefing process now take a lot less time and energy than they used to, which frees me up to do more meaningful stuff. The net is a better product in the end because I'm spending my time on way more beneficial work than me digging around in a bunch of boxes."
"Generative AI is here to stay, and ChatGPT was released three and a half years ago, but the ChatGPT today is unrecognizable from what it was. In another four years, it's going to significantly impact society and the profession, with fewer new lawyers hired and overwhelming changes to what humans do in the legal system."

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

How Victoria Schall is Beating the Corporate Shell Game in Nursing Home Litigation Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

Corporate greed and care cannot exist together. The only way to win is if you play a different game altogether. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Victoria Schall, New Jersey Supreme Court certified civil trial attorney and Founder of Schall at Law, reveals her rule book for advocating against nursing home abuse and winning neglect litigation.
What You’ll Learn:

How to leverage the "dignity matters" framework in jury selection by asking jurors whether the manner of death matters to them

Why electronic health records (EHR) systems like PointClickCare require specialized litigation support

The corporate structure strategy and how to beat it

How to build cases around residents' rights violations in addition to physical injuries

The staffing data methodology and why it’s a sign of systemic corporate failure

Why family engagement and detailed documentation matter for case strength

Tune in for her inspiring journey of mastering the intersection of corporate accountability and resident dignity.
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
02:06 From Teenage Volunteer to Nursing Home Advocate
07:56 Dignity Over Age: Reframing the Standard of Care
10:14 The Connection Between Culture and Care
13:08 Private Equity's Impact on Resident Care Quality
17:32 Navigating Corporate Structure in Litigation Strategy
20:10 Electronic Health Records: The AI Opportunity Gap
21:37 Building Expert Teams Through Industry Knowledge
25:49 Strategic Jury Selection: The Dignity Question
30:24 A Good Family is One That Cared
31:37 Residents' Rights Violations as Standalone Claims
36:46 Advising Administrators: Accountability and Whistleblowing
39:10 Defining Success Beyond Settlements
47:13 Victoria’s Hot Take: Transparency as the Industry's
49:00 Key Takeaways & Final Thoughts
Quotes:

"For me, dignity matters no matter what age you are, no matter what your conditions are. The nursing standard of care requires them to do full body head to toe assessments and provide proper care based on those assessments. I would rather focus on the dignity of what everyone deserves as a human being, regardless of their age and whatever conditions they have."
"There's studies that show that the care under private equity is worse than you would get under state or nonprofit type of facility operations. When a facility goes from nonprofit to privately owned, you end up with people whose pay is slashed, benefits are slashed, and a lot of the older staff ends up getting forced out. You can watch from a timeline perspective what happens in a facility when you go from nonprofit to private equity."
The question should be, let's see your financial statements and let's have that corporate transparency in order to understand where the money is going. More times than not, the money is not going back to direct care, but it's going to ownership pockets."
‘For me, success is always about getting the accountability of what happened, regardless of what the actual final dollar amount is. I never want to take a case where I make a fee and my costs get paid back, but the client doesn't see anything at the end of the day.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Trust and Human Judgement Are the Legal Currency of Today ft. Bill Ryan Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

Law firm operations are undergoing a massive overhaul - as they should, in the age of AI. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Bill Ryan, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at AT&T, to explore how enterprise legal departments can harness AI to disrupt traditional workflows and what this means for enterprise compliance.
What You’ll Learn:

How to build organizational trust as the foundation for technological change

Why dedicated teams outperform wide AI operation

Why “vision without execution is just hallucination”

How to approach outside counsel partnerships in an AI-driven market

Why human judgement becomes more critical as technology scales

The dual risk-opportunity dynamic in AI democratization

Tune in to learn the leadership principles that make technological transformation actually work.
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
01:57 From Teaching to Compliance: A Purpose-Driven Legal Career
04:19 Problem-Solving as the Foundation of Legal Excellence
06:40 Transform Change by Honoring Past Achievements
08:56 Human Judgment Becomes Critical as Technology Scales
12:04 Building Organizational Culture Before Technological Change
15:12 AT&T Legal Edge: The AI-First In-House Law Firm
20:05 Hiring for Adaptability Over Technical AI Expertise
22:27 Why Law Firms Must Evolve Their Pricing Models
26:50 Aligning Leadership to Navigate Internal Skepticism
29:46 AI Democratization Creates Dual Risk-Opportunity Dynamics
33:15 Speed, Focus and Execution: Lessons for Legal Innovation
36:45 Reimagining the Legal Industry in Five Years
38:43 The Role of Proximity to Great Leaders in Shaping Vision
40:58 What Law Students Need to Thrive in an AI-Integrated Future
44:35 Hot Take: 2026 is a Pivotal Year for Legal Industry Transformation
46:44 Key Takeaways & Closing Thoughts
Quotes:

"People love problem solvers. If you have somebody on your team or you have somebody that you're talking to that's really, really effective at solving a problem, your instinct is to give them the bigger problems. And bigger problems usually come with increased responsibility and an expanded scope and a broader team."
“As we start to navigate the world that's moving so rapidly around us, human judgment and the creation of trust of the path we're about to navigate, is what people are going to look more and more to. The people I continue to prioritize aren't just creating output, but building teams that trust their leadership, I think are gonna be the most effectively navigated."
"We need these partnerships to be successful. What we're asking for them is to acknowledge that the world's changing at the pace that we think it's changing, that we have to change our model. For those partnerships that lean in and kind of evolve and strategically navigate this, I think it's an unbelievably awesome upside."
"The wide availability, the democratization of AI, means anyone in the world can now send a letter or a file or come up with a draft lawsuit to file against a company if they go into ChatGPT. At the same time, our ability to process work and create output is growing, so the playing field is exponentially growing."

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Law is About to Grow 50x and Most Lawyers Don’t Know It ft. David Cowen Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Can legal technology be a catalyst for access to justice while preserving what makes legal work meaningful in the first place? That depends on how you use it. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with David Cowen, Founder of the Solid Legal Summit and President of the Cowen Group, to explore why the legal industry stands at an unprecedented inflection point.
What You’ll Learn:

Why the dinner table remains the most powerful predictor of professional success
How to identify and invest in the radically curious 20%
The art of curation as competitive advantage
Why AI will expand, not contract, demand for legal services
How to leverage self-serving altruism to build unbreakable professional networks
Why wrestling with AI (rather than accepting it) is essential for attorneys

Tune in for expert insights on building meaningful professional connections, asking better questions and positioning yourself at the forefront of legal practice transformation.
Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
00:51 From Staffing to Legal Innovation: David’s Career Journey
03:00 The Art of Building Community Through Authentic Connection
12:47 The Dinner Table Question: Understanding Professional Character
21:54 The Strategic Advantage of Connecting the Right People
25:07 Where You Should Invest Your Mentorship
32:42 Vulnerability, AI and the Human Element in Decision-Making
37:40 Making AI Work: Critical Interrogation Over Passive Acceptance
39:56 Reckoning the Pace of Technological Change and Legal Practice
42:06 Why AI Expands Rather Than Contracts Legal Markets
46:42 David’s Hot Take: The Importance of Embracing Professional Mobility
48:35 Key Takeaways & Closing Thoughts
Quotes:

“Legal is who brought me to the dance. There's a character and an integrity in legal professionals; they say what they mean, they mean what they say and they know what they don't know. I'm respected by people that I think are way smarter than I am, and that's a great place to be as a professional.”
"I have a favorite question from my staffing and recruiting days: tell me about your dinner table when you were seven, eight, or nine years old. When you ask people this question, they just unwrap who they are. You find out if it was lonely or family, if it was tough, if they had siblings. You find more in that question than almost any other question you can ask."
"I think it's important to be an informed optimist and not an informed pessimist because we have to figure it out. When I have a conversation with ChatGPT or Claude, I get a dopamine hit because I have the answer, but that's not the same as the feeling of love you have when you connect with somebody.”
“The importance of wrestling with AI is critical. Take questions, get answers back, challenge the AI consciously, take it from ChatGPT to Claude to different platforms, wrestle it down to the ground. I think we've been really accepting of the miracle of the answer at our fingertips, but we need to learn how to challenge AI, not accept anything at face value."
“My hot take is that you couldn't be in a better place at a better time - we are at the beginning of the beginning of next. Your career is a jungle gym, not a ladder, so wherever you've been, there's an entire other side of the jungle gym to explore. Look at history: electricity, cars, railroads, mobile, ecommerce. This is the same story all over again, and the question is, who do you want to be in that story?"

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

How AI is Exposing Decades of Legal Incompetence ft. Nicole Black Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Everyone’s worried that AI will take their job. But what they should be worried about is AI exposing how bad some people have been at their jobs. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Nicole Black, Principal Legal Insight Strategist at 8AM, for an eye-opening discussion on how AI is really shaping the ground reality of law today.
What You’ll Learn:

Why hallucinated case citations and fabricated legal propositions represent a systemic competence crisis

How to build internal AI governance policies and training frameworks that protect your firm

The strategic difference between guardrailed AI systems and open-ended legal research AI

Why not using AI may soon constitute malpractice once hallucination problems are solved

How to evaluate legal tech adoption for firms of all sizes, from solo practitioners to large firms

Why authentic access-to-justice promises often mask profit-driven corporate interests

Her insights as a legal technology authority make for essential listening.
Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
00:01 From Public Defender to Legal Tech Pioneer
00:06 The Evolution of Social Media in Legal Practice
00:10 AI Adoption and the Hallucination Crisis
00:13 Incompetence Exposed: AI's Real Impact on the Profession
00:18 Professional Obligations vs. Malpractice Standards
00:20 Guardrailed AI for Accuracy; Legal Research Remains Risky
00:21 Building AI Governance Policies Before Crisis
00:22 Scaling Tech Adoption: Solo Firms to Large Practices
00:25 Evaluating Legal Tech: What to Look For
00:27 Gen X Resilience: Learning Law Without Modern Tech
00:29 What Makes a Great Lawyer: The Public Defender Advantage
00:31 Access to Justice: Cynicism, Capitalism, and Real Impact
00:34 The Writer's Journey: Passion Meets Technology
00:36 Using AI in the Writing Process
00:40 Predicting the Future of Legal Tech
00:41 Nicole’s Hot Take: AI Exposing Legal Profession's Ugly Underbelly
00:43 Key Takeaways & Final Thoughts
Quotes:

"2017 is when you first started seeing legal tech products with AI in them, not generative AI, but AI. Once ChatGPT rolled out in November 2022, it has certainly impacted the practice of law. The rate of adoption is unlike anything I've seen before. It pretty much doubles year over year in terms of legal tech adoption."
"I don't even think it's a misdeployment. It's all the pressures the lawyers are under - they're far worse than they used to be in terms of billable hours, client demands, and competition. What's happening now is that what ChatGPT spits out looks really good. It's convincing, it sounds good, it looks good - and people are just assuming that it's accurate without verification."
With technology and AI, you have a professional obligation to understand the technology and make an educated decision about whether to use it or not use it. Right now, I think it's arguably malpractice not to understand AI and make a decision about when and when you shouldn't be using it, but we're certainly gonna get there faster than we have with previous tools."
"Generative AI and its hallucinations are just exposing the ugly underbelly of incompetence that's always existed in our profession. A lot of people have gotten away with incompetent legal work for far too long and been given the benefit of the doubt. But now when a case doesn't even exist, it's so easy to prove that they didn't read it, and this is just exposing incompetence that's been getting worse."

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Kelly Firm, LLC Proves Why Small Firms Beat Big Law Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Three sisters, Lauren, Erica and Gianna Kelly, switch sides, from being defense lawyers to giving a voice to plaintiffs. The result? The creation of The Kelly Firm, LLC and a transformation of the medical malpractice space. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, the trio joins hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens to explore the full story.
What You’ll Learn:

How to leverage defense litigation experience on the plaintiff side

The optimal case vetting framework for medical malpractice litigation

Why pre-suit negotiation timelines differ between practice areas

How to scale your firm without compromising on client connection and culture

The strategic deployment of AI and legal technology in resource-constrained firms

Building firm culture around distributed trust and complementary skill sets

Why smaller firms deliver measurable value that scale cannot replicate

Tune in for an energizing and purposeful story from the world of law!
Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
02:11 The Kelly Firm’s Origin Story & Switching from Defense to Plaintiff
04:05 On Being a Women-Led Firm
06:50 How Three Attorneys Manage One Case
09:06 Family Legacy and the Evolution of Legal Practice
14:00 Why Patient Representation Matters
15:45 Gender Bias in Litigation and How to Overcome It
20:05 The Small-Firm Advantage When it Comes to Scaling
21:35 Case Vetting & Quality Over Volume in Medical Malpractice
25:37 Pre-Suit Negotiation vs. Litigation Timelines
27:46 Trial Preparation on a Skeleton Crew
30:20 Managing Burnout: Peer Accountability and Work-Life Boundaries
33:07 The Kelly Firm Guide to Strategic Technology Investment
34:46 Why Closed Systems as Non-Negotiable
35:23 Figuring Out Personality-Client Alignment
38:35 Teaching the Next Generation: Practical Skills Over Theory
41:40 Why Critical Thinking Remains Non-Negotiable
42:06 Starting Your Own Firm & Embracing Calculated Risk
43:10 The Kelly’s Hot Take: Pittsburgh's Personal Injury Market Has Room for All
47:45 Key Takeaways & Closing Thoughts
Quotes:

“We need to fight for people who can't fight for themselves. We need to fight for the patient who had a catastrophic injury due to a medical error and can't work anymore and can't support their family." - Lauren
"We're creating our own type of law where we put the client first. We really try to connect with them and try to empathize with how they're feeling." - Gianna
"The quality of work doesn't correlate to the number of attorneys you have at a firm. When you go to a smaller firm, you know you're gonna talk to one of those attorneys, not a secretary or paralegal every time you call." - Gianna
"There's always somewhat of an uphill battle, not only when you're a woman, but when you're a young woman. We've many times been the youngest attorneys in the room or sometimes the only female attorneys in the room, and what that means is you have to be twice as prepared and twice as ready. We really pride ourselves on the fact that even if we are the youngest attorney, we will always be the most prepared." - Erica

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

What’s Going to Happen When the AI Dust Settles? Ft. Kyle Poe Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Lawyers are always going to be important. What makes them relevant, however, is another question altogether. In the latest episode of Between the Briefs by Steno as hosts, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens, sit down with Kyle Poe, Vice President of Legal Innovation Strategy at Legora, to explore the balance of traditional legal skills and legal services evolution in the age of AI.
What You’ll Learn:

How to build organizational AI literacy without disrupting existing revenue streams
The data moat as the new competitive advantage
How to reprice fixed-fee work intelligently using AI
Why skepticism about AI is actually a healthy signal

The strategic practice areas to target first for AI implementation

How the legal industry will structurally reshape in the next decade

Tune in for the ultimate guide on staying relevant and staying ahead!
Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
01:55 Kyle’s Journey from Litigation Partner to Legal AI Pioneer
07:45 How AI’s Disrupting Law Firm Billing Models
11:25 The New Kid in Town: Fixed-Fee Models
18:10 The Importance of Internal Champions for AI Adoption
19:45 Prioritize Muscle Memory Before Complex Workflow Automation
26:05 Strategic Practice Areas for AI Implementation
29:36 Learning from History: e-Discovery, AI’s Future Impact
37:00 Legal Tech's Sustainable Competitive Advantage
42:37 Kyle’s Hot Take: Why Traditional Skills Still Matter
44:55 Key Takeaways & Closing Thought
Quotes:

“At the top tier of the market, oftentimes, corporations are not picking the lowest cost provider - they're actually picking the highest quality provider, and so if you can use AI to deliver higher quality results, then you're not going to hurt yourself on the price side of the equation."
"There are two elements of learning that firms need to do. The first is what I would call muscle memory - creating AI literacy and fluency throughout your organization so AI is just another tool in the lawyer's toolkit. The second layer is building reusable workflows, where you take the knowledge and experience of attorneys and build that into applications that can be rerun over and over again."
“The total addressable market of legal is peanuts compared to the broader enterprise market, and legal carries specific risks. Those same institutional barriers to entry that are unique to legal have made it such that bigger players have not entered it, and I think those barriers will persist.”
One of the hottest takes would be that traditional skills aren't gonna matter anymore, but I actually think they will. When the dust settles, the world will be different, and some firms will leapfrog others by investing in AI and building out workflows. But the reasons you hire attorneys, the judgment, and the incentive structures around picking top tier firms aren't gonna change fundamentally."

LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/welcome-back-docket-now-between-briefs-newsletter-steno-inc-quxie
Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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