2024 Tech Trends Unveiled: Strategies for Small & Mid-Size Law Firms

Stephanie Wilkins is the Editor-in-Chief of Legaltech News at ALM. She has spent the better part of the past decade following the evolution of legal tech and learning how it can help in-house counsel, law firms and others in the legal industry. As a former practicing litigator, she is particularly interested in how legal tech can and should be used in real-life practice and the valuable differences it can make. Stephanie is also keenly interested in shining a light on the ways legal tech is being used to help the greater good.

Ari Kaplan, an attorney and legal industry analyst, is an inaugural Fastcase 50 honoree, a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and a finalist for ILTA’s Thought Leader of the Year award. He is the author of Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace (Wiley, 2011) and The Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development (West Academic, 2nd Ed. 2016). Kaplan serves as the principal researcher for a variety of widely distributed benchmarking reports, hosts the Virtual Lunch daily on Zoom, has been the keynote speaker for events worldwide, and is the founder of the Lawcountability® business development software platform and iPhone app. He is an avid swimmer, a self-taught, struggling, but hopeful, python coder, and a two-time Ironman triathlon finisher.

Sheetal Gupta serves as the Chief Information Officer at Patterson Belknap. She is responsible for leading the Firm’s information technology function and ensuring that the Firm’s information technology strategy is cohesive with the overall Firm strategy. She collaborates with Firm leadership to ensure that we are driving maximum value from our technology investments, while continually looking to innovative technology solutions that can improve our colleagues’ and clients’ experience. She is an experienced senior technology executive with a track record of successfully building and leading technology organizations, while delivering complex large-scale transformational initiatives.

Raphael Lopez is the VP of Product at CARET with responsibility for gathering customer insights to drive product evolution of the company’s award-winning practice management platform, CARET Legal. He has spent nearly a decade devoted to legal technology, with responsibilities spanning leadership of product strategy and product engineering teams. Under Lopez’s leadership, CARET Legal has grown to serve the end to end practice management needs of firms nationwide. Raphael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from The State University of New York at Old Westbury. When not focused on building software, Lopez collects records and DJs in his home of Long Beach, New York.

As the Chief Information Officer of U.S. Legal Support, Lee Wielenga oversees all information technology and systems in support of rapid growth and improved customer satisfaction, combined with a strong culture of innovation. A proven technology executive with expertise in leading global technology groups, Lee believes that when applied strategically, technology can be a strong enabler for business success and a powerful differentiator in any market segment. His tenure within the information technology domain includes experience as a Developer, Architect, Manager, and Chief Information Officer supporting business clients in Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to joining U.S. Legal Support, Lee held senior positions at Oracle, Chase, Ernst & Young and Invesco leading global application development, infrastructure and support teams.