If the legal profession wants to lead in the Age of AI, then we need to think beyond and bigger than how AI can/will help us do work the way we now work. Now, more than ever, we need the lawyer brain to exhibit curiosity, creativity, and an experimental mindset.

Throwback Thursday: Here is this week's Throwback Thursday post, courtesy of our August 2007 cover and magazine! Read more here: ow.ly/Vg1U50Ppnmk #throwbackthursday #abajournalthrowback #TBT

In recent months, I have heard from 10 Chairs/MPs of BigLaw firms who have told me they are going to step down. Some have announced publicly, others haven’t yet. Some term-limited, some not. Some frustrated, some not. Takeaways on what’s happening: 1/

A tremendous loss to everyone who knew him: perhaps an even greater loss to so many others who didn’t, but who will benefit from his brilliance, tenacity and grace. I wish his family and inner circle peace. He didn’t break the mold, he invented a new one we should all model.

⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩ ⁦Corporate Counsel⁩ ⁦Law.com⁩ conference opens w/ a packed house for the ChatGPT discussion. ⁦Lucy Bassli 🦄⁩ killing it as part of an all-star faculty.

Damn, girls! … Look at this power panel - ⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩ ⁦Corporate Counsel⁩ … legal professional royalty have landed in New Orleans.

A fascinating/real conversation - on risk tolerance and balancing client priorities: in-house relationships drive risk assessment, advice and decisions; law firms can be captive to risk quantifications that lack situational nuance.⁦⁦ Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩ ⁦Corporate Counsel⁩

Another amazing lineup for the panel on change management - it’s no surprise they’re all ops goddesses. Suzanna O’Donohoe (Lexis) Mary Baker (US Bank) ⁦@Indira Cortez⁩ (Marqueta) ⁦@StephanieACorey⁩ ⁦UpLevel Ops⁩ ⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩ ⁦Corporate Counsel⁩

People, Processes, Technology: in that order. Indira Cortez hat-tips @StephanieACorey for providing this frame for change thinking. Tech comes after you spend the necessary time with your people and processes: anything else is “cart before horse.” Women, Influence & Power in Law Corporate Counsel

Mary Baker, SVP/Legal Ops for USBank, offers a terrific observation on the challenge to find the right talent for changed roles. As Boomers retire, each hire has to be assessed not for what they did, but what the role requires going forward. Women, Influence & Power in Law Corporate Counsel

Suzanna O’Donohoe of LexisNexis Legal & Professional w/ a fundamental truth: even if your change initiative has full buy/in, your team will still suffer discomfort and disruption in their work, and you need to get in front of that, including training and upskilling. Women, Influence & Power in Law Corporate Counsel

One more item off the bucket list … going to ⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩ events means the men’s rooms are converted for use by the most important people at the conference. They even brought us flowers. Hurray! Roosevelt Hotel and ⁦Corporate Counsel⁩ ⁦Law.com⁩

⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩- Pure pleasure listening to Julisa Wdwards, Laura Wood, Leah Yardeger, and ⁦Heather D. Nevitt⁩ of ⁦Corporate Counsel⁩ discuss small legal team efficiency and innovation. Smaller teams are more driven, self aware and flexible in exploring solutions.

Liz Lugones of ⁦UpLevel Ops⁩ leads a panel to help legal leaders learn the language of business/better communicate with the CFO and business leaders about the value of legal work or the quantification of risk - with Jaci Lee of Flynn Restaurant Group. ⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩

Pure gold - a decision tree for how to tell the story of a legal matter that requires explanation to the business… focusing on the numbers builds trust and u der scores value. Liz Lugones of ⁦UpLevel Ops⁩ ⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩

Communications w/biz people should be ongoing (not just end of year) and data driven (connected to corp strategies/metrics); present them as finance leaders consume numbers. A side benefit is that this also helps biz people better understand legal risk, too. ⁦Women, Influence & Power in Law⁩

Former LTN EIC Monica Bay, Mentor to an Entire Legal Tech Community, Passes Away at Age 74 at.law.com/t6KAX1?cmp=sha… via Legaltech©news - a loving tribute from the LTN team for a powerhouse influencer and mentor in our profession. You will be missed, Monica!

Absolutely! Which states are likeliest to be considering next?