A Better Place to Be - AI and the Law

Ian Hull & Suzana Popovic-Montag

Welcome to A Better Place to Be: AI and the Law: a new podcast series focused on the emergence and issues pertaining to AI, the law and its use in legal practice, with hosts Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag of Hull & Hull LLP, brought to you by CNSL.ai.

Episodes

  1. 2 Oct

    Introducing FRED: Our Proprietary AI Systems Connector

    In this episode hosts Ian Hull, LSM, & Suzana Popovic-Montag discuss Hull & Hull LLP's development of an AI connector called FRED, which integrates multiple software platforms including Claude, CoCounsel, Slack, and Monday.com into a single system. The connector allows lawyers to search across all databases simultaneously and access client information more efficiently, though they implemented usage governors and modified search parameters to control costs after concerns about excessive token usage. The firm has successfully deployed this system across their 20-lawyer practice in Toronto, with in-house AI engineers helping to address friction points and maintain economic viability.

  2. 18 Aug

    AI Adoption and Change Management: Training, Governance, & Technology Advancement

    In this episode of "A Better Place to Be, AI and the Law," Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag discuss their firm's approach to AI adoption and change management. They highlight implementation of Monday morning training sessions led by Doug Higgins from CNSL.ai which helps lawyers learn and apply AI tools like Co-counsel and Claude in their practice. Ian and Suzana focus on their five-component AI adoption plan, including governing principles, platform usage, integration into daily practice, and unbreakable rules such as maintaining human oversight and not delegating complex legal reasoning to AI.  Lessons from Jeff Wood's book "The AI-Driven Leader" about the importance of adaptation over simple adoption, drawing parallels to historical technology revolutions like the printing press and assembly line are presented. This episode highlights how AI tools are helping the firm shift away from traditional time-billing models to focus more on client relationships and strategic work.

  3. 24 Jul

    AI Implementation First-Hand Learning

    In this episode Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag discuss the integration of AI into their legal practice at Hull & Hull LLP, highlighting client expectations and the importance of managing AI use to protect client confidentiality and privilege. They share insights from various resources, including Scott Galloway and Jeff Wood's book "The AI Driven Leader," emphasizing the need for lawyers to view AI as a strategic thought partner rather than a threat. They explore the balance between human capital and token capital in adopting AI tools like Claude, and discussed how AI can help with data analysis, increasing efficiency, and aligning short-term efforts with long-term vision. The conversation also touches on change management challenges and the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the legal profession.

  4. 1 Jul

    AI Use and Its Impact on Understanding and Performance

    Hosts Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag discuss AI use in their legal practice and how it impacts legal understanding and performance of their lawyers.  They talk about a study by Professor Daniel Schwarcz, University of Minnesota Law School, who examined how AI affects law students' cognitive development. The research found that AI actually enhances students' understanding of legal materials and improves their performance when applying law, contrary to initial hypotheses about cognitive impairment with AI usage. Key guidelines from Schwarcz's work are highlighted, including using AI for specific tasks rather than broad reasoning, maintaining active oversight of outputs, avoiding over-reliance in high-risk contexts, prioritizing skill development through mentorship, and continuously reassessing AI developments. They also discuss a book called "The AI-Driven Leader" by Geoff Woods, which emphasizes the importance of strategic thinking and using AI as a strategic thought partner rather than just managing the technology.

  5. 16 Jun

    Organizational Impact and Blind Spots in AI Implementation

    In this episode of "A Better Place to Be, AI and the Law," Ian Hull and Suzana Popovic-Montag discuss the growing adoption of AI in legal practices. They highlight insights from the STEP Barometer survey, which identifies document drafting and review, administrative processing, and research as the top areas where AI is most useful for professionals.  The discussion also touches on concerns about AI replacing human roles in law, emphasizing that AI cannot replace the critical human elements of judgment, legal knowledge, and client interaction.  Guest Doug Higgins, from cnsl.ai, provides a hands-on demonstration of AI usage in legal practice with CoCounsel AI Transcript Analysis and a review of prompt scripts developed. They discuss key AI blind spots identified in a 2026 Thomson Reuters report regarding AI implementation in law firms. The main blind spots discussed included treating AI as a project rather than a strategic shift, ignoring cultural change requirements, missing business case benefits beyond legal work, confusing risk management with avoidance, and not being transparent with clients about AI usage.

  6. 2 Jun

    Practical Considerations when Implementing AI

    In this episode of "A Better Place to Be, AI and the Law," hosts Ian Hull and Suzana Popovic-Montag welcome Doug Higgins, Chief Innovation Officer at cnsl.ai, to discuss practical considerations when implementing AI tools in a legal practice. Doug shares his transition from practicing law to advising on AI innovation.  Doug explains how cnsl.ai helps law firms evaluate and implement AI tools effectively touching on the consultation process, efficiency gains, tool selection, cost management, and data confidentiality. The conversation also addresses on the challenges of technology adoption in law firms, the role of legal education in AI, and how AI is becoming a talent management consideration for firms.

  7. 19 May

    Implementation and Use AI Tools in Our Practice

    In this third episode of "A Better Place to Be, AI and the Law," hosts Ian Hull and Susanna Popovic-Montag, of Hull & Hull LLP, discuss their firm's adoption and implementation of AI tools. They share first-hand experience and practical learning.  Ian and Suzana discuss the evolution of the tools they use from notetaking to client management and the integration of these tools with their knowledge management system.  Issues of confidentiality, security and law society compliance are addressed. A Better Place to Be: AI and the Law is brought to you by CNSL.ai.

  8. 4 May

    AI Tools and Use in Legal Practice

    In this the second episode of "A Better Place to Be: AI and the Law", co-hosts Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag, of Hull & Hull LLP, discuss their firm's experience implementing AI tools and use of closed-system AI tools like Co-Counsel and Copilot, emphasizing the importance of maintaining client confidentiality. They outline their firm's approach to tracking AI usage, providing in-house training through Monday morning sessions with Council AI, and integrating AI tools into their day-to-day operations through platforms like Slack and Monday.com. They stressed that successful AI adoption requires leadership buy-in, hands-on training, and a gradual approach to implementation, while addressing common concerns about AI "hallucinations" by emphasizing the importance of lawyers reviewing and verifying AI-generated work. A Better Place to Be: AI and the Law is brought to you by CNSL.ai.

  9. 20 Apr

    AI Adoption in Legal Practice

    Welcome to the inaugural episode of our podcast "A Better Place to Be: AI and the Law" with hosts Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag of Hull & Hull LLP, brought to you by CNSL.ai. In this episode Ian and Suzana introduced their new podcast and discussed the current landscape of AI adoption in Canadian law firms and shared their firm's experience implementing AI tools. If you have any questions or comments, please contact our office at info@cnsl.ai. Thank you!

  • 9 Episodes

About

Welcome to A Better Place to Be: AI and the Law: a new podcast series focused on the emergence and issues pertaining to AI, the law and its use in legal practice, with hosts Ian Hull, LSM, and Suzana Popovic-Montag of Hull & Hull LLP, brought to you by CNSL.ai.

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