This week on The Geek in Review, Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert talk with Curt Meltzer, principal of Meltzer Consulting, LLC. Meltzer has over 40 years of experience in the legal and legal tech industry. He discusses his interest in pro bono and community outreach programs in law firms and legal tech companies. He notes that while 95% of AmLaw 200 law firms highlight pro bono work on their websites, many legal tech companies do not prioritize these efforts.
Meltzer emphasizes that pro bono and community work is good for business. It enhances company culture, helps with recruiting and retaining top talent, and strengthens customer relationships. He argues that legal tech companies should consider emulating their law firm clients' community programs. This could include donating software or services, allowing employees paid time off for volunteer work, or collaborating directly with organizations that law firm clients support.
Meltzer highlights LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters as leaders in the legal tech industry for their work promoting access to justice and the rule of law around the world. However, he notes that companies of any size can contribute, whether through recognizing employees who volunteer or donating resources. He published a list of 41 legal tech companies that do highlight community outreach on their websites to raise awareness, though he found 39 companies with no mention of such efforts.
Meltzer sees both opportunities and challenges ahead. Private equity investment in legal tech companies may prioritize short-term profits over community programs. However, companies that do not respond to customer interest in their pro bono and corporate social responsibility initiatives risk losing business to competitors. Overall, Meltzer aims to foster conversations about strengthening the relationship between the legal tech community and the broader community. Corporations that embrace ESG programs and give back to the communities they serve will thrive.
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Twitter: @gebauerm, or @glambert
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Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Music: Jerry David DeCicca
Transcript
Hotshot's Ian Nelson on Modernizing Attorney Professional Development
Anne Tucker and Ben Chapman on Georgia State University's Law & Business School's Collaborate on The Institute for Insight
And the Survey Says... - Kevin Clem on the HBR Law Department Survey
The Legal Tech and Innovation Pipeline - Can Law Schools and Law Firms Better the Process?
NYU Law and Tech Conference: Serving it Up East Coast Style
Makerspaces in Law Schools with Ashley Matthews and Sharon Bradley
Andie Kramer and Al Harris on Their New Book, It's Not You, It's the Workplace
Andre Davison - Winning with Diversity and Technology
ALM's Dylan Jackson on the Issues of Mental Health and Overall Value of Law Firm Staff
Sameena Kluck on the Measuring the ROI of Pro Bono Work
Jason Wilson on Small and Regional Legal Publisher Survival in Today's Market
Ian McDougall on LexisNexis' Rule of Law Foundation
Anusia Gillespie on the New Big Law's Innovation Confusion Disorder
vLex's Faus and Gerami on Foreign Legal Research - France's Judicial Analytics (Over)Reaction - AALL Recap
Tom Gaylord on SCOTUS Taking Up Georgia's Copyright Claim Over Its Statutes
The Pros and Cons of Working Remotely
Matt Homann Says Binders of Strategy are Useless... And You Should Listen to Him!
Brad Blickstein on Legal Operations and #CLOCAfterDark
Erin Levine on the Efficiency of Divorce as a Service
Ep. 39 - Hannah Bloch-Wehba on Who is Governing the Algorithms?
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