Today, we revisit one of our most thought-provoking conversations, this time with Dr. Megan Ma. Since she joined us on the podcast, Dr. Ma has co-founded and become the Executive Director of the Stanford Legal Innovation through Frontier Technology Lab—otherwise known as liftlab. With a rich background in political science, economics, health law, and economic law, Dr. Ma brings a truly interdisciplinary lens to the future of legal education and technology. In our conversation, she shares her insights on how we train the next generation of lawyers, why mentorship and thoughtful design matter, and what it means to build a future-ready legal profession. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just starting your career, this episode is full of wisdom and perspective on where the law is headed and how we will get there.
Our guest this week is a leading thinker on the application of generative AI in the legal profession. Dr. Megan Ma is the associate director of Stanford’s Law, Science, and Technology Program, as well as the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics—better known as CodeX. She also teaches courses in computational law and insurance tech. Dr. Ma has a background in a variety of fields: She majored in political science and economics, has master's degrees in health law and economic law, and earned her PhD in law. Additionally, Dr. Ma is an advisor to the PearX for AI program, and serves as editor-in-chief for the Cambridge Forum on AI, Law, and Governance, as the managing editor of the MIT Computational Law Report, and as a research affiliate at Singapore Management University in their Centre for Computational Law.
We had a fascinating conversation about Dr. Ma’s lifelong interest in linguistics, how "empathetic" large language models can be for users, how generative AI could change lawyer mentorship, and her thoughts on the future of technology in the profession.
Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_Bestof_Dr.MeganMa.pdf
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37:07
Farrah Pepper
Today, on Pioneers and Pathfinders, we're joined by Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel at Marsh McLennan—and a true force in the world of legal innovation. Farrah has built a career at the intersection of law, technology, and strategy, from founding Gibson Dunn's Global eDiscovery practice to leading GE's Discovery Center of Excellence to shaping the future of legal innovation at Marsh McLennan. She also plays a key role at Legal Data Intelligence, helping professionals unlock the power of legal data to solve real-world challenges.
In our conversation, Farrah shares what drives her boundless energy, how to build community in the legal tech space, and why the design phase is critical to innovation. We also talked about the importance of leadership support and the lessons she's learned along the way. Farrah was thoughtful and inspiring, so don't miss an episode with one of the leading voices in legal transformation.
Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_FarrahPepper.pdf
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35:06
Christina Wojcik
Our guest this week is Christina Wojcik, Head of Innovation & Partnerships at Pierson Ferdinand LLP—and a true pioneer in legal tech and professional services. Christina's career started on the business side of law, where she built high-performing teams and supported major transactions and reviews. As technology began reshaping the legal landscape, she leaned in, becoming one of the early leaders in AI-powered document analysis and helping to find a new era of legal service delivery. Now, at Pierson Ferdinand, an incredibly new and fast-growing law firm, Christina leads strategy around innovation and partnerships, working to deliver smarter, more efficient solutions for clients. She is also the founder of the Tampa Legal Network, a group that brings in-house legal professionals together across roles—lawyers and allied professionals alike—with an emphasis on inclusion and collaboration.
In our conversation, Christina reflects on what we learned from the shift from paper to electronic communications, how she stays ahead in a fast-moving tech environment, the exciting work she is doing at Pierson Ferdinand, and her advice for anyone looking to build a career in legal tech. It was a great conversation with one of the field's most forward-thinking voices.
Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_ChristinaWojcik.pdf
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36:34
Melissa Lauderdale
We’re joined this week by Melissa Lauderdale, an executive director for a large company, and someone who is a true force in legal innovation. Melissa has spent her career transforming how legal teams operate, driving efficiency and building inclusive, high-performing teams in the fast-paced world of corporate law. From her work modernizing legal operations at Exelon to securing industry-first regulatory approvals at Constellation, she has been at the forefront of reshaping compliance and legal processes through technology and smart strategy. Melissa continues to lead change, designing risk mitigation strategies, automating compliance systems, and helping her organizations stay both agile and accountable. She has also earned honors for her work in DEI, like the 2023 DEI Champion Award and 2020 ACC Value Champions. Additionally, she frequently shares her insights in legal ops leadership with top-industry forums.
In today's episode, Melissa shares her journey into the legal world, how she inspires legal teams to embrace technology, her approach to building inclusive workplaces, and the principles that have guided her leadership along the way. It was a conversation full of practical insights and inspirations.
Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/Pioneers_MelissaLauderdale.pdf
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29:32
Rudhir Krishtel
As lawyers ascend to leadership roles within their firms and organizations, they often face difficult challenges such as the need for guidance and coping with feelings of isolation. Our guest this week, Rudhir Krishtel, is dedicated to supporting legal professionals in navigating these issues. As an advisor, Rudhir provides spaces for lawyers, law firms, legal departments, and companies to have meaningful dialogue and growth around well-being, collective engagement, leadership, and business. He and his team use mindfulness-based practices to work with teams and individuals on identifying their particular challenges and finding solutions. Rudhir practiced law for 15 years, being a law firm partner with a patent litigation practice, and then worked as in-house counsel of IP transactions at Apple. He ultimately transitioned to advisory work, drawing on his prior professional experience and business principles he learned, in order to assist clients with overcoming their obstacles.
In our wide-ranging conversation, Rudhir discusses his mindfulness-based approach to advising clients, how organizations can initiate cultural innovation, the aspects of practice that are often missed in lawyer training, and his advice for lawyer well-being in day-to-day work.
Read the full transcript of today's episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/pioneers_RudhirKrishtel.pdf
Pioneers and Pathfinders is a podcast about the people driving change in the legal industry. Interviews will focus on how their unique journeys inform their thinking about the profession, the business of law, the solutions they create, and where the industry is going next. The podcast will feature guests with multiple backgrounds and perspectives drawn from a number of areas including talent, technology, diversity and inclusion, social justice, education, training, and the business of law. The host of Pioneers and Pathfinders is J. Stephen Poor, chair emeritus of Seyfarth Shaw. During his 15 year tenure as chair and managing partner, the firm pioneered the application of Lean Six Sigma in legal service delivery. Today, he co-leads Seyfarth Labs, the firm’s technology research and development team and continues to serve as an advisor to firm leadership and as executive sponsor of strategic initiatives focused on innovation and growth. Steve brings his own experience as a legal industry pioneer to these conversations, resulting in insights that are both fascinating and instructive.
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