From Lawyer to Legal

Technologist
Bucerius Legal Tech Essentials
July 2, 2020
Becoming a Lawyer

September 2005 – February 2012

Litigation Attorney
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP @AlmaAsay
 Becoming a Legal Technologist

November 2017 – August 2019

Chief Innovation Officer
Integreon

February 2012 – November 2017 March 2020 –

Founder & CEO Evangelist
Allegory Litera Microsystems

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Learning from My
Early Mistakes

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Mistake #1 Bringing a lawyer mindset
to entrepreneurship

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Mistake #2

Underestimating the demands of

starting a business

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Mistake #3

Jumping into Build mode

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Mistake #4

@AlmaAsay Hiring the wrong people

Mistake #5

Picking the wrong co-founder

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Mistake #6

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Not doing real market research

Mistake #7

Building an amusement park

instead of a ticket booth and
@AlmaAsay a roller coaster
Mistake #8 Selling for quantity vs. quality of clients

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 Not appreciating the art and power of
Mistake #9 sales + marketing

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Mistake #10

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No change management strategy

A Thing I Did Right: Networking

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The Best Early Advice I Received

Focus on process, not product.

You can have your cake and eat it too.

Don’t over-answer the question.

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10 Things I Wish I’d Known as a Lawyer

• Technology providers can’t build “it” if you don’t tell them what “it” is
• Lawyers and technologists don’t speak the same language
• Stop and listen to the person trying to replace your square wheel
• You only get what you put into adopting technology
• Make professional friends outside the firm (even with opposing counsel)
• How helpful library, knowledge, practice services, etc. professionals can be
• The importance of paying invoices on time
• Clients are focused on more than winning (budgets, process, etc)
• All the many opportunities to become a better lawyer – outside of law practice
• The power of social media

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Ask Me Anything.

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