“People in Legal: Stories and Insights from the Human Side of the Legal Tech Industry." Join us as we explore the personal journeys, challenges, and triumphs of professionals in law, legal tech, education, and academia. Each episode features candid conversations with industry experts, sharing their unique career paths and growth stories. We'll uncover tales of resilience, mentorship, ethical dilemmas, and career-defining moments. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just curious about the field, “People in Legal” offers inspiration and insights for everyone.
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People in Legal - Andrew, Chantal, David, Grace, Jonathan, Roni, Tim
Heath Harris on Applied AI, Legal Transformation & What Firms Should Do Next | ILTACON 2026
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴?
At #ILTACON2026, David (https://www.linkedin.com/company/101768354/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true#) sat down with Heath Harris, MBA (https://www.linkedin.com/company/101768354/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true#), VP, Applied AI, Enterprise Transformation at NetDocuments (https://www.linkedin.com/company/101768354/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true#), to talk about what AI transformation actually looks like inside a law firm.
Heath works with firms around the world on designing and implementing AI strategies, then brings those lessons back into product development at NetDocuments.
One thing that stood out was his approach to AI investment. Rather than starting with the product, start with the activity.
- What do you need for workflow?
- Search?
- A chat assistant?
- And how do you deploy those capabilities responsibly without buying five tools that solve the same problem?
They also talked about NetDocuments’ work with Google Gemini and Legora, the role of MCP, and the growing challenge for firms around governance, security and avoiding a “shadow DMS” as more AI tools enter the business.
And perhaps the most useful message for firms feeling behind:
𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴.
You don’t need to have everything figured out today. Progress matters more than chasing every new thing that appears.
💡 A great conversation about cutting through the AI noise and focusing on what is actually practical.
#PeopleInLegal #ILTACON2026 #WeAreILTA #LegalTech #LegalAI
6 Oct 2026
Alex Smith on AI, Knowledge & Smarter Legal Search | ILTACON 2026
𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.
At #ILTACON2026, Tim Kenney (https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#) sat down with Alex Smith (https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#), Global Product Lead, Knowledge, Search & AI at iManage (https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#), to talk about what legal AI needs in order to become genuinely useful inside firms.
Alex’s point was simple: firms don’t just need more data. They need the 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲, 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲.
They also got into what iManage calls its “𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰”, a structured layer designed to connect matter, client, people and document information so AI can find the right things with much more precision.
From there, the conversation moved into 𝗠𝗖𝗣, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵, and how firms may start moving from individual AI tasks into more connected workflows and processes.
One thing I liked was Alex’s caution around the “agent” conversation. We’re not at the point where someone presses a button and an entire matter runs itself, but we are getting much closer to chaining tasks together in a more intelligent way.
#PeopleInLegal #ILTACON2026 #WeAreILTA #LegalTech #LegalAI
5 Oct 2026
Mathew Kerbis on the Billable Hour, Alternative Fees & Legal AI | ILTACON 2026
At #ILTACON2026, Tim Kenney (https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#) sat down with Mathew Kerbis (https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#), Co-Founder and CEO of Practi (https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#), to talk about one of legal’s longest-running headaches: the billable hour.
Practi is taking a different approach, focusing on 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁-𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, with the idea that firms should be rewarded for getting work done faster, not for taking longer.
Mathew put it simply:
“𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.”
If AI helps lawyers work faster and handle more matters, the commercial model needs to keep up. Instead of measuring success by hours billed, firms can start thinking about efficiency, margin and how much more value they can deliver.
Practi is only eight months into market and already has 80+ firms on the platform, making ILTACON its first major exhibition opportunity.
A really interesting conversation about what happens when you start separating 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 in legal.
#PeopleInLegal #ILTACON2026 #WeAreILTA #LegalTech #FutureOfLaw
Who has been a guest on People in Legal
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Rachael Karlyl
Kathleen Killin
Paul
Neil Blum
Elena Tsalanidis
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
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Questions about People in Legal
Who hosts People in Legal?
Chantal McNaught and David Woolstencroft and Tim Kenney and David host the show. Published by People in Legal - Andrew, Chantal, David, Grace, Jonathan, Roni, Tim.
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