The Kennedy-Mighell Report

Recent Episodes

1. Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Ariana Paulino

   Sep 18, 2026

   Ariana Paulino, a technical services and reference librarian at Panza Moore Law Library at Nova Southeastern University, discusses her unique perspective on legal technology, AI tools, and vendor relationships from the law library vantage point. She emphasizes the importance of intentional technology adoption, strong foundational legal research skills, and building direct relationships with legal tech vendors to address real problems students and lawyers face. The episode explores how librarians serve as critical intermediaries between vendors and users, identifying and communicating gaps in how technology is implemented and communicated.

2. Should You Be Wearing AI?

   Sep 4, 2026

   Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell examine the rapidly growing market of wearable AI devices—including smart rings, recording pendants, and AI glasses—exploring whether these gadgets solve genuine problems or represent solutions in search of a market. The hosts analyze the legal and ethical concerns around continuous recording, privacy violations, and courtroom bans, while Tom shares his newly redesigned second brain system powered by Claude AI and Obsidian for knowledge retrieval.

3. AI’s Role at Your Law Firm: Ethical Delegation to AI Assistants

   Aug 21, 2026

   Maddy Martin, GM of Legal at Smith.ai, joins Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell for a roundtable discussion on AI assistants in law firm intake and client acquisition. The episode examines AI through a "jobs to be done" lens, exploring real attorney pain points, effective task delegation to AI, and the critical importance of seamless handoffs between AI and human staff. The conversation emphasizes that successful AI implementation requires documented processes, proper expectation-setting, and integration with existing firm systems rather than AI-only solutions.

4. Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Adriana Linares

   Aug 7, 2026

   Adriana Linares, law practice consultant and founder of Lawtech Partners, returns as a guest on the Kennedy-Mighell Report to discuss legal technology trends, lawyer technology competence, and practical AI adoption. With over 20 years of experience training lawyers on technology implementation, Linares emphasizes that small and mid-sized firms have unprecedented access to affordable tools and that the real challenge remains teaching lawyers to master foundational software like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat—a problem AI has not yet solved.

5. Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Julia Montgomery

   Jul 24, 2026

   Julia Montgomery, Director of Practice Enablement at King & Spalding, discusses her behavioral science-informed approach to technology adoption and change management in law firms. The episode explores how lawyers' unique psychological traits—skepticism, autonomy, and argumentation—require tailored communication strategies, particularly regarding AI tools. Montgomery shares King & Spalding's integrated change management model within the PMO and reflects on the cognitive load of AI supervision versus usage, the pace of vendor innovation, and career pathways for law students into non-traditional legal tech roles.

6. Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Christian Puzder

   Jul 10, 2026

   Christian Puzder, CEO of Case Friend, discusses AI in legal practice with an emphasis on governance, accountability, and practical implementation. A lawyer and former Westlaw product developer, Puzder argues that AI's real problem isn't hallucinations but accountability, and advocates treating AI like an overachieving summer associate that requires human review. The episode covers Case Friend's AI-native case management system for workers' compensation and litigation, document processing workflows, and how small firms can make better legal tech decisions.

7. Legal Technology Literacy and Leadership

   Jun 26, 2026

   Dennis Kennedy discusses his Legal Technology Literacy and Leadership course taught at Michigan Law School, focusing on preparing law students for practice in an AI-embedded environment. The course emphasizes the concept of the "2026 associate" and teaches students to think strategically about technology adoption, client value, and their professional identity beyond software training. Kennedy and co-host Tom Mighell explore the course's simulation exercises, the innovative final paper assignment using AI-generated drafts with human refinement, and practical lessons for law firm leaders.

8. Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Debbie Foster

   Jun 12, 2026

   Debbie Foster, CEO of Affinity Consulting and co-author of the forthcoming book 'Be a Next Level Leader,' discusses leadership and technology adoption in law firms. The episode explores how law firm leaders can communicate technology value to lawyers by focusing on outcomes rather than tools, examines the cascading impact of AI on business models and compensation structures, and argues that successful AI adoption is fundamentally a leadership problem, not a technology problem. Foster emphasizes the importance of collaboration, the four cornerstones of leadership (leading self, people, operations, and strategy), and the evolution from expert to architect roles.

9. The Expanding Minefield of Legal AI

   May 29, 2026

   Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell, co-hosts of the Kennedy Mighell Report, discuss the expanding risks of legal AI beyond hallucinations, including semantic flattening, drift, and overconfident AI marketing language. They examine how AI tools obscure important legal distinctions, gradually move away from user intent through long sessions, and how vendors use misleading terminology like 'legal OS' and 'context fabric.' The episode emphasizes the need for lawyer supervision, proper information governance, and skepticism toward AI vendor claims.

10. Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Anastasia Boyko

    May 15, 2026

    Anastasia Boyko, a legal innovation consultant with experience across Big Law, legal tech, law firm operations, alternative legal services, and legal education, discusses her career path navigating the legal ecosystem and shares perspectives on generative AI adoption, lawyer competence with technology, the AI competence penalty affecting women in legal tech, and the critical importance of training, leadership development, and operational excellence as foundations for sustainable legal innovation.