Legal Geek Live

Hans Albers - The growing gap in legal AI adoption and why strategy matters more than tools

Recorded at the Legal Geek Conference in Amsterdam, this episode gets to the heart of why so many legal AI projects stall after the first workshop. Hans Albers, Director of Legal Management Consulting & Managed Services at Deloitte Legal, advises law firms and in-house legal teams on AI strategy, operating models, and change management. Before Deloitte, he led worldwide legal operations at Juniper Networks and served as EMEA General Counsel at both Juniper and Cisco. In conversation with Hidde Bruinsma, Hans shares what he sees on the ground when legal organisations try to make AI work: * Why law firms are adopting AI faster than in-house teams, and why competition is driving that speed in a way that internal legal departments simply don't feel * The firm where senior associates were quietly thriving with AI but didn't dare mention it, because the partners above them weren't ready for that conversation * How a workshop with one law firm's leadership revealed that the tone from the top was positive all along, they just hadn't realised it needed to trickle down * Why "communication, communication and communication" is Hans's answer to every AI adoption question, and why one business case presentation is never enough * How an insurance company went from months of manual claims review to processing ten thousand documents in two weeks, at a price the client would actually pay * Why lawyers treat AI like a finished product they can buy and install, and why even the iPhone after 25 years is still not done * The temptation of building your own legal AI tool with Copilot and Office 365, and why Hans has seen it go wrong: "The man who built it left five years ago, so we have no idea how to fix it" * Why junior lawyers should be training the partners, not the other way around, and the co-creation model that makes that work * How AI is quietly threatening the billable hour from two sides: firms can no longer charge for work that takes minutes, and clients are starting to do it themselves * Why "start small" is only half the advice, the other half is to stop thinking about efficiency and start rethinking how legal services are delivered entirely Hans offers a refreshingly practical perspective on what legal AI adoption actually requires, not just the right tool, but the strategy behind it, the patience to keep communicating, and the willingness to accept that the product will never be finished. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Joris Willems - AI at NautaDutilh and why you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable

Recorded at the Legal Geek Conference in Amsterdam, this episode is a front-row seat to how one of the Netherlands' leading law firms is navigating the AI revolution from the inside. Joris Willems, partner and head of the Technology Group at NautaDutilh, has been a tech lawyer for over 25 years, and even he had to walk on his toes to keep up. In conversation with Hidde Bruinsma, Joris shares the real story behind NautaDutilh's AI journey: - How NautaDutilh got embedded inside Prosus' AI engineering team during the build of their internal tool Toqan, not writing memos from the sidelines, but joining standups and design decisions - The deliberate choice to first build their own AI tool with a startup, before switching to Legora for firm-wide rollout - The "AI virus": how organic adoption made it impossible to take the tool away, and how that became the smartest pitch to the partnership - Why two junior lawyers chatting at the in-house barista about a five-minute Legora translation says more about the future than any strategy deck - The generation gap: juniors who embrace AI instantly versus senior partners who are still processing what just happened - How the profession will change and why nobody, including Joris, has all the answers yet - Why value-based billing will replace the billable hour as the default, and what that means for firm economics - The culture of a 302-year-old firm where senior partners see themselves as custodians handing the keys to the next generation, not owners protecting their share - What it was like negotiating with OpenAI when the Italian regulator suddenly intervened mid-call - Why "get comfortable being uncomfortable" is Joris' most important advice for young lawyers, and why it has nothing to do with AI Joris offers a refreshingly candid perspective on what it actually takes to land AI inside a traditional law firm, not just the tooling, but the culture, the patience, and the willingness to experiment while the profession reinvents itself around you. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Bert Vries - Lessons from one of legal's biggest AI deployments

Recorded at the Legal Geek Conference in Amsterdam, this episode takes you inside one of the largest generative AI rollouts in the legal industry. Bert Vries, Director of Information Technology & Innovation at CMS Netherlands, led the global deployment of Harvey across 7,000+ lawyers in over fifty countries a journey that started with a simple email in 2023 and is still going. In conversation with Hidde Bruinsma, Bert shares the real story behind CMS's AI transformation: - How CMS went from pilot to global rollout, and why it took two and a half years - The shift from horizontal, firm-wide AI features to vertical, practice-specific use cases - Why Banking & Finance uses Harvey differently than Labor Law or Corporate M&A - The concrete example of reviewing 10,000 invoices and why no lawyer signs up for that - How AI doesn't just drive efficiency, but can genuinely improve the quality of legal advice - Why the ROI of legal AI isn't measured in euros saved, but in changing how people feel about their work - How the billable hour model is being challenged, and why Bert believes in a nuanced, hybrid approach to pricing - What the dotcom era taught Bert about innovation hype and why today's AI wave feels eerily familiar - Why so many firms get stuck in analysis paralysis, and Bert's Columbus analogy for breaking free - How CMS chose Harvey: no lengthy RFP, no feature matrix just experimentation and momentum Bert offers a refreshingly honest perspective on what it actually takes to land AI in a global law firm, not just the technology, but the patience, the conversations, and the willingness to experiment while others are still analysing. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Jeremy Coleman – Don’t Be Scared of Agentic AI: A Blueprint for Legal Teams

Recorded at the Legal Geek Conference in London, this episode dives into the fast-moving world of agentic AI with Jeremy Coleman, Vice President, Legal Research & Development at ContractPodAi. Jeremy breaks down the shift from GenAI experimentation to real-world implementation, and explains why legal teams should be planning, not panicking. In conversation with Hidde Bruinsma, Jeremy explores: * What agentic AI really is, and why it’s not as scary as it sounds * How agents bring more control, not less, by working within user-defined guardrails * Why we’ve already been preparing for this through workflow automation, machine learning, and GenAI * How legal work will shift from individual tasks to coordinated agentic systems * Why the biggest opportunity lies in connecting departments, not replacing them * How ContractPodAi’s platform Leah helps in-house teams build real-world agentic workflows * Which legal tasks (e.g. real estate, regulatory prep) are ripest for automation * Why law firms may not become tech companies, but already operate like them Jeremy offers a clear-eyed view on what’s changing in legal tech, what will remain the same, and how to build smart AI systems that augment lawyers rather than replace them. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Jody Glidden – From Introhive to Postilize: The AI Playbook for Rainmakers

Recorded at the Legal Geek Conference in London, this episode features Jody Glidden, serial entrepreneur and founder of Postilize (and previously Introhive), sharing how AI can transform the way legal professionals build relationships, generate revenue, and stay ahead of the billable hour crunch. In this dynamic conversation with Hidde Bruinsma, Jody breaks down: * Why law firms must shift from reactive to proactive business development * How the billable hour is being eroded by AI, and what should replace it * What he learned from working with the top rainmakers at 50+ global law firms * How his framework turns signals into new legal matters using automation * Why relationships are still the most valuable asset in the age of AI * How lawyers can build scalable, empathetic, high-value connections * Why sales, empathy, and strategy are the future-proof skills every lawyer needs * The real reason so few associates become rainmakers, and how AI levels the playing field With insights from a founder who’s worked on both sides of the legal table, this episode is a practical, energizing roadmap for lawyers looking to thrive in an AI-first, relationship-driven future. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.