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Content provided by Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer, Greg Lambert, and Marlene Gebauer. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer, Greg Lambert, and Marlene Gebauer or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
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The Wild West of AI: A Legal Tech Reckoning with Ken Crutchfield
Manage episode 498248135 series 3068634
Content provided by Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer, Greg Lambert, and Marlene Gebauer. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer, Greg Lambert, and Marlene Gebauer or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
This week, we welcome longtime friend and legal tech veteran Ken Crutchfield, founder of Spring Forward Consulting. Ken brings his extensive experience from major legal information vendors like Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, and Wolters Kluwer into a timely and candid discussion about the current phase of artificial intelligence in the legal industry. Comparing today’s generative AI surge to the American Industrial Revolution, Ken describes this moment as the “Wild West” era—full of promise, hype, overinvestment, and, critically, few rules.
Drawing historical parallels to railroads, oil barons, and steel magnates, Ken illustrates how unchecked growth and technological innovation can outpace regulation until market forces or policy catch up. He notes the resurgence of large-scale infrastructure investment, now not in steel or steam, but in compute power and data centers. Just as J.P. Morgan helped stabilize chaotic markets in the 19th century, Ken suggests today's AI frontier needs a similar recalibration, and possibly new rules of engagement.
The conversation shifts toward the practical realities of legal tech adoption. Ken emphasizes that law firms' expectations of perfection often collide with startups’ resource limitations. Vendors need to rethink how they engage with firms by building credibility, focusing on integration, and delivering actual use-case wins. Firms, in turn, must move beyond the billable hour mindset and consider new metrics like Return on Experience. Adoption is no longer optional, it’s strategic, competitive, and increasingly client-driven.
Ken also unpacks the looming implications of content rights and data ownership in the age of AI. If firms aren’t investing in data hygiene now, they risk being left behind when more sophisticated AI tools demand clean, structured, and secure datasets. AI isn’t just about automating workflows, it’s about being ready to plug into a future where interoperability, metadata, and permissions will dictate who thrives and who gets leapfrogged.
Finally, Ken calls for scenario planning: not just reacting to what OpenAI or Anthropic might do next, but anticipating it. Firms and vendors alike should double down on what works, define success before launching new projects, and invest in meaningful adoption strategies. In a world moving this fast, it’s no longer about who gets there first, it’s about who gets there with a plan.
Listen on mobile platforms: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
[Special Thanks to Legal Technology Hub for their sponsoring this episode.]
Blue Sky: @geeklawblog.com @marlgeb
Email: [email protected]
Music: Jerry David DeCicca
Transcript
316 episodes
Share
Manage episode 498248135 series 3068634
Content provided by Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer, Greg Lambert, and Marlene Gebauer. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer, Greg Lambert, and Marlene Gebauer or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
This week, we welcome longtime friend and legal tech veteran Ken Crutchfield, founder of Spring Forward Consulting. Ken brings his extensive experience from major legal information vendors like Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, and Wolters Kluwer into a timely and candid discussion about the current phase of artificial intelligence in the legal industry. Comparing today’s generative AI surge to the American Industrial Revolution, Ken describes this moment as the “Wild West” era—full of promise, hype, overinvestment, and, critically, few rules.
Drawing historical parallels to railroads, oil barons, and steel magnates, Ken illustrates how unchecked growth and technological innovation can outpace regulation until market forces or policy catch up. He notes the resurgence of large-scale infrastructure investment, now not in steel or steam, but in compute power and data centers. Just as J.P. Morgan helped stabilize chaotic markets in the 19th century, Ken suggests today's AI frontier needs a similar recalibration, and possibly new rules of engagement.
The conversation shifts toward the practical realities of legal tech adoption. Ken emphasizes that law firms' expectations of perfection often collide with startups’ resource limitations. Vendors need to rethink how they engage with firms by building credibility, focusing on integration, and delivering actual use-case wins. Firms, in turn, must move beyond the billable hour mindset and consider new metrics like Return on Experience. Adoption is no longer optional, it’s strategic, competitive, and increasingly client-driven.
Ken also unpacks the looming implications of content rights and data ownership in the age of AI. If firms aren’t investing in data hygiene now, they risk being left behind when more sophisticated AI tools demand clean, structured, and secure datasets. AI isn’t just about automating workflows, it’s about being ready to plug into a future where interoperability, metadata, and permissions will dictate who thrives and who gets leapfrogged.
Finally, Ken calls for scenario planning: not just reacting to what OpenAI or Anthropic might do next, but anticipating it. Firms and vendors alike should double down on what works, define success before launching new projects, and invest in meaningful adoption strategies. In a world moving this fast, it’s no longer about who gets there first, it’s about who gets there with a plan.
Listen on mobile platforms: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
[Special Thanks to Legal Technology Hub for their sponsoring this episode.]
Blue Sky: @geeklawblog.com @marlgeb
Email: [email protected]
Music: Jerry David DeCicca
Transcript
316 episodes
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Similar to The Geek In Review
Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
…
continue reading
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continue reading
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continue reading
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It didn’t all change in March 2020. Not really. The UK high street has been in the throes of a gradual revolution for decades. From the rise of ecommerce, to the birth of mobile, social commerce, and a growing emphasis on experience, change has been underway for a while. In fact for many, the pandemic has acted as a wake-up call. Digital transformation was no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a matter of survival. Necessity sparked innovation and customers are enjoying more flexibility and conveni ...
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