On this episode of The Geek in Review podcast, hosts Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert interview Kris Martin, Executive Vice President at Harbor, to discuss innovation, AI, and the future of technology in the legal industry.
They open the show by talking about Harbor's upcoming LINKS conference and its keynote focused on exploring human potential in the age of AI. Kris provides background on how the conference originated from an annual survey Harbor conducts to take the pulse of the legal community. He explains Harbor's goal is to support legal organizations through insights, research, and events like the LINKS conference.
The discussion moves to AI trends and Jean O’Grady and Harbor's strategic start/stop survey results. The survey reveals 93% of firms are actively exploring AI tools, with top vendors being Casetext and Thomson Reuters. Kris emphasizes law librarians play a crucial role in evaluating new AI technologies and guiding procurement decisions as firms adopt these tools.
However, with tight budgets at most firms, Kris Martin points out it's also important to audit usage data of existing resources. This helps inform negotiations with vendors to find cost savings on research contracts. He notes legal research tools will inevitably integrate more tightly into lawyers' daily workflows in the future. To facilitate this, Kris introduces the concept of "citizen coders" - enabling lawyers to articulate their needs and processes in technology and code terms rather than just legal terms.
Shifting gears, Kris elaborates on Harbor's recent rebranding from HBR Consulting, which brought six previously merged companies together under one unified brand and mission. He explains that true integration requires deep alignment across the merged organizations on culture, vision, and values. This allows Harbor to provide end-to-end solutions for legal organizations.
Looking to the future, Kris predicts legal research will become even more embedded into lawyer workflows over the next 2-5 years, rather than a separate step. He sees law libraries' roles evolving as AI capabilities increasingly integrate into legal processes and tools. Rather than going to a separate platform for research, lawyers will access these AI-enhanced tools in their daily workflows.
Overall, the wide-ranging discussion provides insights into Harbor's efforts to support the legal community through conferences, research, and integrating emerging technologies. Kris highlights the importance of law librarians evaluating and implementing new AI tools while also managing costs through audits. He leaves listeners with an optimistic vision for the future where legal research and lawyers' needs are more tightly connected through technology.
Links:
Observing the Black Box: Transcend's Brandon Wiebe's Insights into Governing Emerging AI Systems
Fast, Smart, and Empathetic: How DISCO's Culture Drives Legal Tech Innovation (TGIR Ep. 217)
Deploying Cutting-Edge Legal AI: Travers Smith's Cautious, But Open-source Approach. (TGIR Ep. 216)
Laura Leopard on Law Firms' Current Succession Planning: Step One - Do Nothing
Trellis' Nicole Clark on Leveraging State Court Data for Competitive Advantage (TGIR Ep. 214)
You Still Need to Put in the Work: Hyperdraft's Ashley Carlisle and Tony Thai on the AI Hype Cycle
Thomson Reuters' Kriti Sharma on Responsible AI and the Path to Trusted Tech in Law
Cybersecurity in the Remote Work Era: AI, Employees and an Integrated Defense - With SessionGuardian's Jordan Ellington and Oren Leib, and Katten's Trisha Sircar
A Literal Generative AI Discussion: How AI Could Reshape Law
The Rise of "Post-Truth" Litigation: ALM's Isha Marathe on How Deep Fakes Threaten the Legal System
The Rising Cost of Legal Services: Insights from 10 Years of Data from CounselLink's Kristina Satkunas
Curt Meltzer on Why Legal Tech Companies Should Give Back: The Business Case for Pro Bono, A2J, and Community Outreach
Christian Lang on Governing the Rise of LLMs: How LEGA Provides a Safe Space for Law Firms to Use AI (TGIR Ep. 206)
Michael Bommarito on Preparing Law Students for the Future, and His Quest on Bringing Order to the Chaos of Legal Data (TGIR Ep. 205)
Unleashing Potential: Laura Terrell on Transforming Legal Careers through Executive Coaching (TGIR Ep. 204)
LexisNexis Bets Big on AI Transforming the Legal Industry: Jeff Pfeifer on the Launch of Lexis+ AI (TGIR Ep. 203)
Lawyer vs. AI or Lawyers + AI: Embracing the Future of Legal Practice with BriefPoint.ai's Nathan Walter and Bridget Albiero
Richard Tromans on the Future of Legal Innovation and The Legal Innovators California Conference (TGIR Ep. 201)
Rethinking Law Firm Strategy: The Road to Growth and Success with Toby Brown and Nita Sanger (TGIR Ep. 200)
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