Are the traditional days of the "tournament of lawyers" finally over? In this episode of the Law and Beyond Show, Chantal McNaught speaks with Mel Storey - Founder of Council Media, host of the Council Podcast, and the internet's favourite "Career Big Sis" - to pull back the curtain on the realities of the legal profession.

Mel has spent 15 years in commercial practice and shares her journey from private practice to in-house Head of Legal in tech, and why she's now taking a "permanent corporate gap year". We get into the nitty-gritty of what private practice lawyers get wrong about going in-house, the hidden hurdles for first-generation lawyers, why Gen Z law students are refusing to inherit broken systems, and why putting yourself out there online requires paying the "cringe tax" every. Single. Day.

We also cover:

• Practical advice for law students trying to navigate opaque clerkship processes.
• How AI is democratising legal knowledge and disrupting tertiary education.
• Navigating the ethical frameworks and governance of LLMs in legal practice.
• Overcoming the fear of new technology and staying curious.
• The reality of corporate restructuring and why blind loyalty doesn't pay off.
• Why law firms need to be more transparent in their hiring (and why the "Gen Z stare" isn't what you think it is).

Follow Mel:

• @careerbigsis (Instagram)
• @mel.a.storey (TikTok)

🎙️ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

At LegalTechTalk 2026, David sat down with Tim Follett, CEO and Founder of StructureFlow, to discuss how visualising complexity is transforming legal work.

A recovering lawyer himself, Tim founded StructureFlow after experiencing first-hand how difficult it was to map complex transactions using traditional tools.

Today, that vision is helping legal, tax, finance, and investment teams understand structure faster and make better decisions.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

↳ Complex legal work becomes easier when people can visualise the structure

↳ AI can automate much of the manual work, freeing lawyers to focus on strategy

↳ Structure helps both people and AI better understand complex information

↳ The future of legal tech is connected platforms, not disconnected tools

As AI continues to evolve, one thing remains clear:

Understanding the structure is the first step to understanding the problem.

#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #LegalTechTalk #AIinLaw #LegalInnovation #FutureOfLaw #Visualisation #StructureFlow #LegalAI

🎙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀.

At LegalTechTalk 2026, Redmond sat down with Simon Bedford from Nova8 to discuss where people fit in an AI-driven legal industry.

Despite all the excitement around AI, one thing remains true:

Clients still need human judgment.

The opportunity isn't choosing between people and technology.

It's bringing the two together.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

↳ Demand for legal talent remains strong, even as AI adoption accelerates

↳ The future belongs to lawyers who can work alongside AI, not compete with it

↳ Technology alone doesn't solve business problems. Implementation and change management matter just as much

↳ The most successful organisations define the problem before choosing the technology

AI can make lawyers more efficient.

But it can't replace trust, judgment, or human connection.

The future of legal isn't people or AI.

It's the best of both worlds.

#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #AIinLaw #LegalInnovation #LegalTechTalk #FutureOfLaw #ChangeManagement #LegalTalent #Nova8

🎙️ 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘄.

At LegalTechTalk 2026, Redmond sat down with Ira Gupta to explore how legal technology could help accelerate the future of renewable energy.

A qualified lawyer from India, Ira shared her journey to the UK to study renewable energy and why legal technology is becoming an essential part of that transition.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

↳ Legal tech is expanding beyond drafting and document management into areas like legal spend and project delivery

↳ AI is now becoming a standard part of legal budgets and client expectations

↳ Technology can dramatically speed up land due diligence for renewable energy projects

↳ Faster legal processes can help accelerate renewable infrastructure and investment

As Ira explained, sometimes the biggest innovations aren't the most visible.

Making due diligence, financing, and project delivery faster could have a real impact on how quickly renewable energy projects become reality.

Legal tech isn't just changing law.

It's helping change industries.

#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #LegalTechTalk #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #AIinLaw #LegalInnovation #FutureOfLaw #Sustainability

🎙️ 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝘁-𝗼𝗻.At LegalTechTalk 2026, David sat down with Ben Wightwick, CCO from Autologyx to discuss why successful AI isn't just about the model.It's about the process behind it.💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:↳ AI and deterministic workflows work best together↳ Governance is essential for trusted AI adoption↳ Knowing who did what, which model was used, and how AI was applied matters↳ AI should improve how the business operates, not just make individual lawyers more productiveAs AI becomes embedded across law firms, governance is shifting from a nice-to-have to a business essential.The next wave of legal AI isn't just about adoption.It's about governance.#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #LegalAI #AIGovernance #LegalInnovation #FutureOfLaw #LegalOperations #LegalTechTalk

🎙️ 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻. 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

At LEGAL INNOVATION & TECH FEST, Roni Millard, Founder and Health & Wellness Consultant at The Wellbeing Edge, sat down with Peter Baumann, CEO and Founder at ActiveNav to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing law firms in the age of AI.

And it isn't AI.

It's data.

As Peter explained, law firms are sitting on enormous volumes of unstructured data across document management systems, cloud platforms, file shares, and countless repositories.

The challenge isn't finding new AI tools.

It's making sure the data behind them is fit for purpose.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘀:

↳ AI adoption is accelerating faster than any previous technology cycle

↳ Law firms are increasingly focused on preparing and curating data for AI

↳ Unstructured data represents both enormous value and significant risk

↳ Good governance remains the foundation of successful AI initiatives

↳ There are no shortcuts when it comes to data quality

One statement that stood out:

"AI is effectively only as good as the data you put in."

Before firms can unlock the full potential of AI, they need to get their data house in order.

Garbage in. Garbage out.

#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #AIinLaw #DataGovernance #LegalInnovation #FutureOfLaw #InformationGovernance #LegalAI #DataManagement

In this special People in Legal roundup from the Lexnova Guild's Communitas conference, Dr Jason Fox joined Chantal McNaught for a thought-provoking conversation about the "provocation and curse of efficiency".

Jason, a complexity practitioner and self-described wizard, challenged one of the biggest assumptions shaping modern professional life. That faster, more optimised, more automated always means better.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:
↳ Efficiency can create the illusion of progress, while distancing us from what really matters
↳ Default thinking may help us move faster, but it can also narrow how we see the future
↳ In law, future relevance may depend less on hyper-rationalisation and more on human judgement
↳ Burnout, legacy systems, and machine-like ways of working are signs that something needs to change
↳ The real opportunity is not to outcompete the machines, but to become more deeply human in how we work

One idea that really stood out:

"Is this meaningful progress, or are we potentially perpetuating a rich delusion of progress?"

It is a sharp question. Especially for legal professionals navigating AI, change, and increasing pressure to do more with less.

This is a short promotional special, but the ideas inside it are anything but small.

This People in Legal episode is proudly sponsored by Smarter Drafter by Tensis.

David sat down with Steve Hantos, CEO of Tensis, to discuss entrepreneurship, legal innovation, and why automation remains critical in the age of AI.

Steve's journey started early, from running a lawn mowing business as a child to investing in technology companies and eventually leading one of legal tech's most exciting automation platforms.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘀:

↳ AI is powerful, but legal work still requires governance and control

↳ Automation delivers consistency, trust, and repeatability

↳ The future isn't AI or automation. It's AI and automation working together

↳ Law firms are moving from drafting documents to engineering knowledge

↳ Better technology improves both productivity and quality

One statement that stood out:

"Probably right isn't good enough."

As Steve explained, AI is probabilistic.

Automation is deterministic.

And in law, where trust, compliance, and risk matter, that distinction becomes incredibly important.

The future isn't choosing between AI and automation.

It's knowing how to use both together.

#PeopleInLegal #SmarterDrafter #Tensis #LegalTech #AIinLaw #DocumentAutomation #LegalInnovation #FutureOfLaw #KnowledgeEngineering