This Legal Life: Lessons Learned from a Life in Legal

Nexl

Join host Ben Chiriboga, Chief Growth Officer at Nexl as he interviews guests to get their lessons learned from a life in legal. From overcoming practice silos to fostering collaboration and battling toxic work environments while building strong client relationships -- This Legal Life leaves no stone unturned.

  1. The Human Side of Law: How Zack Anstett Reconsidered Success in Private Practice

    MAR 3

    The Human Side of Law: How Zack Anstett Reconsidered Success in Private Practice

    In this episode of This Legal Life, Ben Chiriboga speaks with employment lawyer Zack Anstett about how a life-altering medical diagnosis reshaped his perspective on success, ambition, and balance in private practice. Zack shares what it’s like to continue practicing law while navigating serious health challenges—and how that experience changed his relationship with billable hours, titles, and long-term career expectations. The conversation offers an honest look at resilience, flexibility, and the often-overlooked human realities behind legal careers. About Our Guest: Zack Anstett defends Southeast-based employers when the workplace becomes a legal battlefield. On the defense side, Zack has defended hundreds of employment cases in state and federal courts and before investigative agencies such as the EEOC and the Department of Labor. He understands how plaintiff attorneys build their cases because he has spent years strategically dismantling them. On the prevention side, Zack’s litigation experience gives him a clear view of where companies tend to make mistakes that lead to lawsuits. He helps employers make difficult personnel decisions, develop practical HR policies, and draft employment agreements designed to reduce risk and keep disputes out of court. Outside of work, Zack enjoys learning Farsi, cooking with his Persian mother-in-law, and losing at pickleball to his five-year-old daughter—while his three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter cheer from the sidelines with their mom. 🔗 Read Zack’s full bio: https://www.parkerpoe.com/attorneys/zack-s-anstett#tab/overview 🔗 Connect with Zack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zackanstett/

    1 hr
  2. Building the Law Firm of the Future: Joe Green on Innovation, Leadership, and Career Pivots

    JAN 15

    Building the Law Firm of the Future: Joe Green on Innovation, Leadership, and Career Pivots

    In this episode of This Legal Life, Ben Chiriboga sits down with Joe Green, Chief Innovation Officer at Gunderson Dettmer, to explore how law firms are evolving — and what it takes to lead that change from the inside. Joe traces his journey from practicing corporate law through legal tech experimentation and his time at Practical Law at Thomson Reuters. He shares how stepping outside the traditional partner track allowed him to develop the skills and confidence needed to return to Gunderson and help shape a future-ready firm. The conversation offers timely insight for law firm leaders thinking seriously about innovation, talent, and long-term strategy. About Our Guest: Joe Green is the Chief Innovation Officer of Gunderson Dettmer. In this role, he leads Gunderson’s innovation strategy to transform the firm's service delivery platform and business model, with a focus on providing a more modern experience for clients, lawyers and business professionals. He was recognized by Lawdragon as one of the 100 leading AI and legaltech advisors. Joe is a Lecturer in Law at Penn Carey Law, where he teaches a course on startups and venture capital. He has authored dozens of articles on startup-related issues, the business of law, legal technology and the future of the legal industry. He speaks regularly on these topics at industry and academic conferences, law firms and law schools, and his academic work has been cited by SEC commissioners and staff in public speeches and reports. Joe was previously a senior associate at Gunderson and left to join Thomson Reuters as a Senior Legal Editor at Practical Law, the premier online legal know-how service for business lawyers. Joe began his legal career as a securities lawyer with Simpson Thacher in New York. Connect with Joe: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joegreen1/

    25 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Join host Ben Chiriboga, Chief Growth Officer at Nexl as he interviews guests to get their lessons learned from a life in legal. From overcoming practice silos to fostering collaboration and battling toxic work environments while building strong client relationships -- This Legal Life leaves no stone unturned.