Legal Maxxing™ with Liz Lugones is a Mitratech podcast for legal leaders who are done reacting and ready to lead. Fifteen minutes. One leader. What to build, what to stop, and how to align people, process, data, technology, and AI for real operational performance.
Customer First, Lawyer Second: How to Bound Risk and Move at the Speed of Business
Most legal teams build their services around the lawyer, but Curt McDaniel says that's exactly backwards. In this episode, Liz sits down with Curt McDaniel, former Global Chief Legal Officer and Board Secretary, to talk about what it looks like to put the internal customer at the center instead: bounding risk into process and technology so routine work can move at the speed of business without a lawyer in the loop, freeing lawyers to spend their time on the high-complexity matters only they ...
2 Sept 2026
Mitratech CEO, CCO Share AI Vision & Why Everyone's Talking About Interact 2026
Mitratech's CEO Mike Williams and Chief Customer Officer Lacy DeBruyn sit down together for the first time on Legal Maxxing™ to talk about where AI actually belongs in a business... and where it doesn't. Mike's framework: stop asking what AI can do, and start mapping the "day in the life" you want 12 months from now. Lacy's, in her own words: human where it matters, AI where it scales. They also dig into the AI mandate problem most companies are hitting right now (told to "get AI" with no pl...
24 Aug 2026
The Overlooked Variable in AI Rollouts: People
AI is moving faster than most legal teams can absorb, and Connie Brenton says that's exactly why the human element needs to move back to the center, not get pushed aside. In this episode, Liz sits down with Connie Brenton, Co-Founder of Running Legal Like a Business (RLLB), to talk about why legal keeps reaching for technology to fix problems that are actually about people. Plus, why "failed tech rollouts" are almost always change management failures in disguise, and why three simple q...
10 Aug 2026
Beyond Billable Thinking: Leading Legal Like a Business
Legal teams often equate being busy with being valuable, but the greatest impact comes from eliminating low-value work so you can focus on the decisions that move the business forward. In this episode, Liz sits down with Stephanie Corey, Co-Founder and CEO of UpLevel Ops, to discuss why legal leaders must start thinking like business leaders, how to identify the work that doesn't belong on legal's desk, and why creating space for strategy is more important than ever in an AI-driven future. ...
29 Jul 2026
What Separates Good Legal Leaders from Great Ones
Legal teams often work hard to prove their value, but the biggest career shift happens when you stop trying to be needed and start delivering clear, decisive solutions. In this episode, Liz sits down with Tom Stephenson, Co-Founder of Legal Ops AI, to discuss the mindset shifts that transform careers, why legal professionals need to communicate like executives, and how focusing on solutions instead of problems earns you a seat at the table. Plus: Maxx It / Kill It — Tom says to kill the end...
15 Jul 2026
You Don't Have a Tech Problem. You Have a Workflow Problem.
Most legal teams reach for AI to fix a problem that isn't actually a technology problem — it's a design problem. In this episode, Liz sits down with Sheila Dusseau, Head of Global CLO Operations and Innovation at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, to unpack why bad processes just become faster bad processes once you add AI, and how design thinking can fix what tech alone can't. Plus: Maxx It / Kill It — Sheila on the 14-level approval process that needs to die, and why the real opportunity isn't aski...
7 Jul 2026
Stop Playing Small: How Legal Ops Leaders Can Own Their Impact
Legal operations is often treated as an administrative afterthought, but it deserves a seat at the strategy table. In this episode, Liz sits down with Mimi Walker, Head of Legal Operations at CITGO Petroleum, to explore how legal ops professionals can raise their profile, align with company-wide goals, and build cross-functional relationships with finance, accounting, and beyond. Plus: Maxx It / Kill It — Mimi on why legal ops needs to stop playing small, and how keeping a running "de...
30 Jun 2026
Stop Automating Chaos: How to Build an AI Foundation That Actually Works
Here's the uncomfortable truth: 92% of AI pilots in legal are failing. And according to Sujatha Gurrapu, Product Lead for Google's Legal Tech team, it's because we're automating broken processes and calling it innovation. In this episode, Liz sits down with Sujatha to talk about what the legal industry is getting wrong about AI adoption — from launching point solutions nobody uses to skipping the hard work of fixing data and understanding real user problems first. Plus: Maxx It / Kill ...
11 Jun 2026
The Human Edge: Why AI Matters Most When People Are at the Center
What does the Artemis II moon mission have to do with AI adoption in legal? More than you'd think. In this episode, Liz Lugones sits down with Ashley Estilette, Chief Marketing Officer at Mitratech, to talk about what the legal and tech world is getting wrong about AI — and it comes down to one thing: the human fingerprint. Plus: Maxx It / Kill It — Ashley's take on what legal needs to stop doing versus where to go all in.
10 Jun 2026
Why Legal Maxxing™ and Why Now
Legal is being asked to move faster, adopt AI, and do more with less — all without increasing risk. For most teams, that pressure is piling on top of an operating model that was never built to handle it. In this launch episode, host Liz Lugones breaks down what Legal Maxxing actually means and why now is the moment for legal to stop retrofitting old processes and start building the foundation that makes everything else possible. People. Process. Data. Technology. AI. When those five things ar...
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