Reimagining Justice

In this episode no. 10, I interview lawyer and entrepreneur Suzanna Kalendzhian. Suzanna is Co-founder and CEO of Legal Advice Middle East, the AI-powered legal services marketplace which operates in 13 countries across the region and helps people to access justice by allowing them to find, communicate and transact with lawyers online. In this episode Suzanna shares her personal journey as a female legal entrepreneur working in the middle east, why she believes in the vision of Legal Advice Middle East and how she maintains that belief during challenging times. From this discussion you’ll gain an understanding of key factors for change management and how to gain momentum in your business or practice, options for what to do when you are faced with practising in an area you don’t specialise in, the best combination of skills for a legal tech start up and how to maintain a positive mindset. You will want to listen to this episode if you are interested in entrepreneurship in a legal context and the role of regula

In this episode no. 9  I interview Professor of Law Lois R Lupica who is currently visiting Melbourne Law School as a fulbright senior scholar.  As lawyers we sometimes struggle to understand the complexity of legal information. This is magnified for those without a legal education especially if they are experiencing stress in their lives. While Lois’ research is all about making legal self-help materials easier to understand, this episode will be of interest if you’ve ever had to transform any kind of complex information into plain language and especially if it was important that people should take action based on that information. We discussed how to know if a product or service you’ve developed is effective.  After all, just because someone uses it doesn’t mean it is useful. Lois shares her view about the real issue underlying the access to justice crisis. This episode will appeal to those of us who are required to communicate challenging concepts and anyone who would like to understand how to measure the

In this episode no 8 I speak with Indian based lawyer Kanan Dhru. Kanan is a legal innovator with over 10 years of experience in the areas of law, policy-making and justice innovations.  She is a strong believer in the benefits of simplifying legal information and in 2014, won the “Innovating Justice Award” at the International Court of Justice in the Hague for her groundbreaking work as founder of Lawtoons, LawForMe and the Research Foundation for Governance in India. In a country that is one of the major players in the tech world, more people have access to technology than justice and this influences how Kanan informs people about the law.  She questions “When the world around us is increasingly moving online, why should the law be an exception? In a world where people use graphics and visuals as a language, why should the law stay bound to dusty law books?” You will be surprised by Kanan's thoughts on who is most likely to disrupt the profession. She shares how the definition of community has changed with

In this episode no. 7, I speak with Chrissie Lightfoot, a London based lawyer, creator of Robot Lawyer Lisa and CEO of Entrepreneur Lawyer, a global consulting company. Chrissie is an international speaker and author and last year was named one of the American Bar Association’s Law Technology Resource Center’s Women of Legal Tech. The theme for this episode is “robot lawyers and automating legal expertise” with a tagline “it’s all about the customer” as this is a big driver for Chrissie. In the conversation we cut through the hype about robot lawyers to describe what they really are and what they really do. We also talked about regulation of lawyers and law tech products and people’s trust and uptake of technology. Chrissie shares the experiences that led her to this point and by the end of the episode you will have heard how AI can be incorporated into legaltech and law tech products, understand Chrissie’s purpose and just what it takes to be an entrepreneur working at the cutting edge of legal innovation fo

In this episode I speak with Katie Richards, lawyer, founder and CEO of online law firm Virtual Legal.  Katie and her team are achieving their ambitious vision to deliver a sophisticated public self service legal system. Katie shares how she went from corporate lawyer to running an online law firm; practical and regulatory challenges she’s faced, how she came back from an incident that nearly destroyed her company - and her tip for action towards the end of the interview is gold. You will hear about her commitment to corporate social responsibility and what a fire extinguisher has to do with her business model.  We also talked about pie… If you run a business you’ll empathise with much of what Katie shares. You will especially appreciate this interview if you are trying to incorporate more tech into your practice or interact with clients in more user friendly ways. Links: Virtual Legal Law on Earth Disc Personality Profiling LexisNexis Roadshow KPI Program Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkie

Today we hear from lawyer Melissa Moss, an access to justice strategist based in Florida. With her extensive experience in legal aid organisations, Melissa has strong views on the best uses of technology, explains what “community lawyering” is in simple terms, and on a more personal note shares how she keeps up with all the latest information and how to incorporate what she learns into the projects she’s working on. The theme for this episode is taking time to understand the problem and learning by doing and collaborating, and it will appeal to you if you are a strategic thinker, systems designer or interested in technology and human centred design as it applies to legal aid, grassroots or community lawyering. Melissa’s thoughtful and considered approach is exceptional in this era of a bias towards action and the rush to release the next big thing. If you are new to the podcast find out more about me and why I started this podcast in the trailer. Thanks for tuning in! Links Florida Justice Technology Centre

Andrea talks with Luke Geary, founding partner of the world’s first social enterprise law firm, Salvos Legal.    Luke is a creative and strategic thinker but also someone who makes things happen. We covered so many topics including how he came up with the idea of a social enterprise model for a law firm, the challenges of running a business, his work to end modern slavery, investing in local communities, what he considers to be legal innovation and how technology can minimise legal disputes, and towards the end we discuss how a fortune cookie shaped his career! Did you know there are over 15 000 people in modern slavery in Australia today?  We recorded this interview in December 2018 a couple of days after Human Rights Day which coincidentally was when the Modern Slavery Act was passed into law and which we talk about in this episode. The theme for this episode is innovation to address significant social wrong through business. This episode will be of significant interest to you if you are struggling with sus

Andrea speaks with Shannon Salter, chair of one of the world’s first online dispute resolution tribunals! Shannon was very open about the challenges of establishing the Civil Resolution Tribunal, made surprising observations about how the service is being used by Canadians and the benefits of resolving disputes online.   Her comments about how online dispute resolution is strengthening communities is fascinating.  Also listen in to find out what a wall has to do with the success of the tribunal (you can probably guess it’s nothing like the wall that’s been in the news lately!). The theme for this episode is modelling a successful legal innovation project and it will be of interest to you if you have ever led a new project, work in the public sector or see the potential for online justice. Tune in to Reimagining Justice to become part of a global community of changemakers in the law. Links Civil Resolution Tribunal ("CRT") CRT satisfaction statistics Sir Zelman Cowen Centre Sir Zelman Cowen Centre ODR Sympo

Andrea talks with Mark A Cohen, a global thought leader with decades of deep and varied experience in the legal industry.  Mark is the CEO of Legal Mosaic a legal business consultancy; Distinguished Fellow at Northwestern University Law School; regular contributor to Forbes where he has a column on the global legal marketplace; and sought-after international speaker. Mark was recently appointed by the Singapore Academy of Law to serve as its inaugural LIFTED “Catalyst-in-Residence” and he has won numerous awards as a legal innovator.   Mark was an early adopter of legal tech as well as fixed-price billing, flex-time, and an agile workforce and it is this and many other topics that we discuss in this episode. It is a very lively and candid discussion and while all his views are proffered with empathy and deep insight Mark offers critiques about professional regulation, lawyers and not-for-profit organisations. Mark questions the status quo, reveals his views on what professional regulation should really achiev

Andrea starts close to home in this first episode, in speaking with Mollie O’Connor, an Aboriginal law student whose family is from Minjerribah (also known as Stradbroke Island) near Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. As coordinator of its first access to justice hackathon Mollie is doing ground-breaking work as a founding member of The Legal Forecast, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to advance the legal profession through innovation and technology.  She is a purpose driven individual, a humble and quiet achiever working on big things!  In this episode Mollie reveals why a group of law students set up a not for profit organisation, what drives her career choices and the factors that will make the most difference for those innovating in law. Mollie may just be the cover girl for this podcast as she embodies its themes of innovation in law and a commitment to social justice. But in all seriousness, Mollie – and people like her - will be the guardians and leaders of the profession in the future. The the

In this episode Andrea Perry-Petersen, Australian based lawyer, social justice advocate and legal innovator, introduces her new global podcast shining a light on issues at the intersection of law, social justice and innovation.  Andrea shares what you can expect to learn, who she will interview, the frequency and duration of each episode and just why she started this podcast. Whether you are a legal business owner or legalpreneur wanting to expand your market, run a purpose driven business or improve your service delivery model; a legal professional or law student curious about a career in social justice or legal tech (or both!); interested in systems design or proven ways to make positive social change - or simply looking to be inspired, then this is the podcast for you! Tune in to Reimagining Justice to become part of a global community of changemakers in the law. Links: andreaperrypetersen.com.au  Email - andrea@andreaperrypetersen.com.au LinkedIn - Andrea Perry-Petersen Twitter - @ReimaginingJ Facebook -