I spoke with Jeny Maier and Rachael Philbin, the Managing Partner and the new Chief Innovation Officer, respectively, at Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider, a law firm focusing on antitrust, intellectual property, and complex commercial litigation. We discussed why this is the right moment for a law firm to invest in dedicated innovation leadership, the benefits of working alongside practicing lawyers in an embedded capacity to help drive change, and what meaningful AI adoption looks like inside a law firm.

I spoke with Jonathan Friedman, the Founder and Managing Partner of Friedman Williams, a specialized recruiting firm serving law firms and corporate organizations across legal, finance, HR, marketing, IT, and administrative staffing. We discussed how the role of law firm C-suite leaders has evolved, best practices for hiring legal executives, and the leadership traits that are becoming most valuable for success in law firms today.

Ari Kaplan speaks with the following leaders at the 2026 International Legal Technology Association Annual Conference:

Faith Benson, Vice President of Marketing, SimplyAgree Ross Guberman, Founder and CEO, BriefCatch Gabriel Karawani, Co-Founder, ClearPeople Dan Malgran, Vice President of Marketing, Steno Eileen Penta, Senior Account Executive, Clarra Joy Heath Rush, CEO, International Legal Technology Association Anthony Seale, Founder and CEO, Legatics Ginger Shimp, Vice President of Marketing, Fulcrum Global Technologies Beth Thompson, VP of Market Strategy and Legal Evangelism, Actionstep Beau Wysong, Chief Marketing Officer, Opus 2

*Music credit: JMHBM - Lucky

I spoke with Pete Palladino, the Director of Restaurant & Hotel Operations-NJ at Fearless Restaurants, about running Daddy-O, among other properties on Long Beach Island. We discussed building a hospitality culture, the staffing challenges unique to a seasonal vacation market, and how rising guest expectations elevate a team's performance.

I spoke with Sabastian Niles, the President and Chief Legal Officer at Salesforce. We discussed how corporate legal teams can leverage agentic AI, how to balance being AI-first with human judgment when delivering legal guidance, why law firms need to lead with trusted, agentic AI to gain a competitive advantage and meet client expectations, and the importance of developing unified client intelligence.

I spoke with Frederic Beylier, the CEO of Questel, a provider of intellectual property solutions, including AI-powered modular software and expert services. We discussed how AI has changed the IP sector, the key challenges that brand owners and innovators face in the current climate, where IP professionals are realizing the greatest benefits from AI, and new data on the state of AI in IP.

I spoke with Debbie Foster, CEO, and Stephanie Everett, Chief Growth Officer, at Affinity Consulting Group, about their new book "Be a Next Level Leader: The Four Cornerstones of Law Firm Leadership." We discussed leading with intention in law firms, the benefits of remaining calm under pressure, building credibility and influence when partnership dynamics complicate one's authority, and distinguishing transactional trust from genuinely developing people.

I spoke with Tony Muljadi, the General Manager of Large Law at LexisNexis. We discussed how law firms are adapting their AI strategy from novelty to expectation, why integrating authoritative legal content and trust into existing workflows matter more as AI capabilities begin to converge, and how a genuine strategic technology partnership can fuel a law firm's success.