The legal tech professional’s guide to legal tech podcasts
As any legal tech professional knows, staying abreast of the latest developments is critical to be competitive in an ever-changing sector. In another post, we wrote about the blogs and media outlets that cover legal tech. There are also a number of podcasts that also address this sector.
Legal tech professionals should pull up their podcast app of choice and start browsing through the many offerings out there. Some podcasts focus on leveraging technology to empower and improve law firms, while others are more appropriate for those building a startup or working in-house at a company.
Regardless of the legal tech podcasts you follow, you are bound to find information that will help you stay in the know and get on the radars of an audience hungry for business opportunities and partners. Here are a few that any legal tech professional should add to their playlist.
Everything Except the Law
For legal tech professionals who work in a law firm environment, the Everything Except the Law podcast is a must-listen. An offshoot offering from Answering Legal, one of the earliest answering services for law firms, Everything Except the Law explores topics covering what its title advertises: every issue that intersects with law practice and running a law firm that doesn’t require a law degree to handle.
While legal PR considerations and video marketing tips are among the topics covered, the podcast also covers many tech issues applicable to solo-attorney, small and middle-market firms. Recent tech-centered topics include product tours on legal practice management platforms, tips on leveraging technology to take firms virtual and case studies showing how the strategic use of technology tools elevated specific practices.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: The hosts at Everything Except the Law podcast are eager to hear from new guests across various companies and law firms. Start-up founders, legal ops managers and tech-savvy attorneys are all the types of guests this podcast will consider — so long as they have something unique and practical to offer in helping attorneys improve the ways they run their practices.
An experienced legal PR team can work with you to develop a plan for approaching the show’s podcast hosts, and help tie your experience or service offerings to broader themes and pain points that the podcast would want to highlight.
The Future Law Podcast
Some legal technology professionals and evangelists work at law firms; others operate in an in-house or startup environment. Listeners in the latter category want to get into the weeds of legal transformation and emerging legal tech industry trends — and, as a result, will turn to The Future Law Podcast.
Co-hosted by Dan Hunter and Mike Madison, The Future Law Podcast focuses on the trends and action underpinning industrywide changes in how technology and alternative legal services providers (ALSPs) are shaping the legal industry and opportunities for new lawyers and graduates. Recent episodes have covered what it takes to break into legal tech, how AI can help expedite legal analysis and how women in legal tech are changing the industry.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: Dan and Mike regularly welcome new guests onto their show to talk about all things legal transformation, as well as emerging trends involving the intersection of technology and the law.
Interested guests will need to approach them with intriguing topic ideas, and lay out how their deep knowledge and experience can lend valuable perspectives for listeners interested in seeing how emerging trends and tech are revolutionizing legal practice.
A legal PR agency that regularly works with key podcasters in the space can provide the warm, trusted introduction you need to receive priority consideration for a guest spot. In addition, it can craft your introductory pitch to cover angles and topics they are interested in, but have not yet covered.
The Legal Ops Podcast
A solid, high-performing legal ops team is important to ensure the legal department properly coordinates with other departments. A good amount of those efforts center on how teams can optimize their tools and workflows to generate value, efficiency and profitability.
The Legal Ops Podcast, hosted in Australia by lawyer-podcaster Elliot Leibu and PwC NewLaw senior manager Alex Rosenrauch, explores some of these issues and more. The podcast is a great listen for staying up to date with legal tech investment news, thought leadership topics from key players in the contract lifecycle management (CLM) and ALSP spaces, and hearing from key figures in the space.
Past guests on the show have ranged from legal transformation evangelist Mark Cohen and the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) president Mike Haven to legal social media influencers Colin Levy and Alex Su.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: With its high-profile guests and deep exploration of topics, The Legal Ops Podcast should be a required stop for any legal tech professional or founder’s speaking circuit. Our analysis of past guests found that The Legal Ops Podcast considers talking with stakeholders at high-profile and up-and-coming companies in the legal tech and legal ops space, along with guests with a strong presence on social media.
Professionals looking to get noticed by this podcast should explore ramping up their content and social media initiatives that showcase their authority, expertise and popularity. A legal public relations team can work with you to identify opportunities to build your profile on other outlets and on platforms such as LinkedIn, which can help build your value as a guest speaker for The Legal Ops Podcast.
Technically Legal
While talking about the trends and latest developments in legal tech will always be important, hearing the stories of the innovators steering the legal technology movement can prove equally invaluable — and inspiring.
Technically Legal, hosted by attorney and Percipient founder Chad Main, is an excellent resource for this type of content. This podcast is devoted to interviews with the innovative minds driving advancements in law and legal technology. Chad’s guests often talk about how they are creating, implementing or using legal technology to create opportunities, streamline workflows, and enhance the capabilities of the law firms and legal departments where they work.
The Technically Legal podcast’s prior guest list includes legal tech C-suite members, legal transformation figures at BigLaw firms and lawyers at the leading edge of new practice areas and initiatives involving blockchain and other revolutionary technology.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: Technically Legal welcomes all types of guests, including newcomers to the legal tech scene. Any guest that comes on has to offer valuable stories and tidbits and time their submission to cover topics not recently discussed on the podcast.
A legal PR team can review Technically Legal’s episode list and prior guest lists and make informed recommendations regarding when to apply and what discussions and talking points to emphasize when pitching this podcast on an appearance opportunity. Such a team can also work with you to develop guest appearance pitches along the lines of those we’ve found to have gotten Technically Legal’s attention.
Legal Tech Startup Focus
A podcast that discusses the trials, tribulations and advancements in the legal tech startup world can be a helpful resource for anyone in the startup space. The Legal Tech Startup Focus podcast, hosted by Charlie Uniman, does just this.
Legal Tech Startup Focus delves into the startups and key figures at the forefront of all services and products falling within legal tech’s umbrella. Through in-depth interviews, Uniman explores discussion topics ranging from start-up life and investing to revenue models, pricing, sales and marketing.
Uniman’s list of prior guests is diverse, consisting of not just legal tech startup founders, but also customers, investors and others engaged or interested in the legal tech sector. Previous guests include the CEOs of Evisort and Clifford Chance Applied Solutions as well as law school professors and stakeholders at emerging companies.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: While this podcast has an online form that allows anyone to submit suggestions — including host proposals — you will have a greater chance of having your proposal considered if offered by a trusted public relations professional.
Submitting proposals through a PR professional, particularly one focused on legal tech media, demonstrates to a podcast host that you are a thoroughly vetted leader and professional who can offer value and great stories to the podcast’s community.
In addition, an experienced legal PR representative can also tailor your pitch to focus on the aspects of your account, professional journey and product and service offerings that would appeal most to the host and podcast community’s interests based on prior pitching experiences and a thorough analysis of the host’s interests and publication calendar.
ILTA podcast
While many of the podcasts on this list come from individual thought leaders, you can find many good resources from trade groups and organizations active in the legal tech space. One group worth following — and adding to your podcast playlist — is the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).
ILTA is a staff-managed, volunteer-powered association that dedicates itself to educating the legal sector on the power and potential of legal technology. Its long-running podcast exemplifies this mission. ILTA’s podcast covers various topics relevant to law firms and legal tech evangelists. Past episodes have focused on eDiscovery, information security, “dark data,” eSign programs and more.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: ILTA welcomes a wide range of guests onto its podcast, ranging from litigation support managers and attorneys to CEOs and information governance experts.
A legal public relations agency can work with you to highlight the key aspects of your background when approaching ILTA’s podcast hosts, and also craft a compelling guest appearance pitch that demonstrates how your appearance and discussions will add to the breadth and depth of conversations for ILTA’s membership. Speaking of membership, it may not be a bad idea to join the organization to stay abreast of developments in the legal tech field.
The Digital Edge
It is also critical to include a podcast that is as much about career development and success as it is about legal tech news and developments. For this, any legal tech professional should tune into The Digital Edge, hosted by attorney Sharon D. Nelson and Oklahoma Bar Association management assistance program director Jim Calloway.
This podcast, which is part of the Legal Talk Network family of informative legal podcasts, offers career success tips and tools in addition to news about legal technology advancements. Recent episodes have focused on topics as varied as cyber insurance, legal tech training in law schools, law practice management software and even DEI initiatives.
How to get on this podcast’s radar: Nelson and Calloway do not accept pitches from individuals, companies and their PR agencies for guest appearances. The individuals they do invite onto their show, however, are often noted speakers, authors and legal technologists with a solid publication background and social media following.
A legal public relations team can help you get on their radar by planning a roadmap for you to build your brand, secure bylined article opportunities and more to increase your professional profile. Having a long series of bylined articles and speaking appearances attached to your name or venture will help the hosts of this podcast find you and view you as a viable guest option.
Staying on top of the latest trends and issues in legal tech is essential not just for professional development reasons, but also for the growth of any legal tech professional’s public profile. Listening to and approaching the hosts of the key podcasts and shows in the space can go a long way toward building and attracting a professional following in one of the most interesting, emerging communities of the legal space.
