The Alexander Group

Category: Insights

Managing Director Jane Howze is attending Milken Institute 2026 Global Conference, an annual cross sector leadership summit, bringing together global leaders in finance, technology, government, health and philanthropy, posting her thoughts throughout the week.

We are posting daily collection of Jane’s thoughts and impressions from the Global Conference in Los Angeles as she attends various seminars and panel discussions.

Day One

Milken Institute CEO Richard Ditizio Welcome Speech

“At​ ​the​ ​2026​ ​Milken​ ​Global​ ​Conference,​ ​Milken​ ​CEO​ ​Richard​ ​Ditizio​ ​opened​ ​with​ ​a​ ​striking​ ​image​ ​taken​ ​by​ ​astronauts—Earth​ ​suspended​ ​against​ ​the​ ​vastness​ ​of​ ​space.​ ​

From​ ​that​ ​distance,​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​sign​ ​of​ ​poverty,​ ​war,​ ​hatred,​ ​or​ ​gun​ ​violence.​ ​But​ ​as​ ​he​ ​reminded​ ​us,​ ​the​ ​closer​ ​we​ ​look,​ ​the​ ​more​ ​those​ ​realities​ ​come​ ​sharply​ ​into​ ​focus—violence​ ​normalized,​ ​even​ ​anticipated.​ ​His​ ​message​ ​set​ ​the​ ​tone​ ​for​ ​a​ ​conference​ ​that​ ​brought​ ​together​ ​leaders​ ​across​ ​business,​ ​government,​ ​technology,​ ​and​ ​philanthropy​ ​to​ ​confront​ ​those​ ​hard​ ​truths​ ​and​ ​push​ ​for​ ​solutions.​ ​

Kristalina​ ​Georgieva​ ​spoke​ ​to​ ​the​ ​fragility​ ​of​ ​the​ ​global​ ​economy​ ​and​ ​the​ ​need​ ​for​ ​cooperation​ ​in​ ​a​ ​fractured​ ​world,​ ​while​ ​Neal​ ​Mohan​ ​and​ ​Dina​ ​Powell​ ​McCormick​ ​reflected​ ​on​ ​the​ ​accelerating​ ​impact​ ​of​ ​technology​ ​and​ ​AI​ ​on​ ​society.​ ​

Across​ ​panels—from​ ​finance​ ​leaders​ ​like​ ​Jenny​ ​Johnson​ ​to​ ​global​ ​CEOs​ ​and​ ​philanthropists—the​ ​consistent​ ​theme​ ​was​ ​clear:​ ​the​ ​challenges​ ​we​ ​face​ ​are​ ​urgent,​ ​interconnected,​ ​and​ ​will​ ​not​ ​be​ ​solved​ ​by​ ​old​ ​approaches.​ ​

The​ ​call​ ​was​ ​for​ ​new​ ​thinking,​ ​real​ ​collaboration,​ ​and​ ​a​ ​willingness​ ​to​ ​confront​ ​uncomfortable​ ​realities​ ​head-on.​“

Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman Paul Atkins on the SEC’s Opportunities and Challenges

Since taking the helm of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman Paul Atkins has signaled a new direction for one of America’s most consequential financial regulators. From capital formation to investor protection and market regulation, join us to hear his perspective on the opportunities and challenges defining the next era of the SEC’s agenda.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins focused on restoring the attractiveness of U.S. capital markets, emphasizing the need to modernize regulation and “do some housecleaning” to reverse the steady decline in public companies—from the Russell 5000 to closer to 3000.

He underscored the importance of reinvigorating the IPO market by reducing the cost and complexity of going public, noting that disclosure requirements like the 10-K have become overly burdensome and often unclear in defining what is truly material.

On cryptocurrency, he made clear it is not outside the SEC’s authority but acknowledged that unclear and inconsistent rules have created confusion and hindered innovation—signaling a shift toward more practical, transparent guidance. Atkins also called for curbing frivolous litigation and avoiding the weaponization of corporate governance, arguing that both undermine market confidence.

Across all these themes, his message was consistent: create a clearer, more workable regulatory framework that encourages innovation and makes the U.S. a more compelling place to invest.

Building a Future-Ready Workforce: A Conversation with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis discussed key policy priorities to build a workforce ready to power the next chapter of American growth, including among other topics, college sports and his successes as Florida’s governor.

On college sports, DeSantis is one of the most prominent voices in a growing national push for reform. He serves as vice chair of the Trump White House’s newly formed college sports commission, alongside Yankees President Randy Levine, with former Alabama coach Nick Saban lending his considerable credibility to the effort.

The stakes, DeSantis made clear, are high: under the current chaos of NIL rules and the transfer portal, athletes can effectively play for seven years — a situation he called unsustainable. Without congressional action, he warned, the financial pressure on universities becomes a slow-motion threat to non-revenue sports. Olympic programs, women’s sports, smaller athletic departments are all potential casualties of the system. States with major college sports programs want it fixed, and DeSantis positioned himself as optimistic that it can be.

He was equally direct about Florida’s ongoing property tax battle. His vision — eliminating property taxes on homesteaded properties — is bold, politically complicated, and still in motion. The fight between the Florida House and Senate over pace and approach has slowed things down, but DeSantis is playing a longer game, pushing for a November 2026 ballot measure and arguing that Floridians shouldn’t pay “rent to the government” on a home they already own.

The Future of Storytelling: A Conversation with Laurene Powell Jobs and Darren Walker

In a moment of profound transformation across media and technology, Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and President, Emerson Collective, and Darren Walker, President and CEO, Anonymous Content, come together for a timely conversation on the power of storytelling. As streaming platforms and shifting economic models redefine creative industries, these two leaders will share their perspectives on how to preserve artistic integrity and expand access.

Powell Jobs delivered what may have been the most quietly urgent message of the gathering.

“There has never been a greater need to break down walls and see our humanity,” she said. For Powell Jobs, that’s not a philosophical position. It’s an investment strategy. When she evaluates where to put capital, she says she looks first at character, specifically, people who want to move the human race forward. The idea that mission and returns are separate conversations is one she’s long since abandoned.

And the market, she argues, is confirming it. Theatrical releases are on the rise. Barnes & Noble is opening more bookstores. Young people, she observed, are desperate for community. The through-line is unmistakable: when people are isolated and the world feels fractured, they reach for stories.

“Beautiful stories well told always have an audience,” she said simply.

What Faith Means To Me

Gregory Boyle, Founder, Homeboy Industries, Farah Pandith, Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate, Muhammad Ali Center; Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations,
David Wolpe, The Max Webb Emeritus Rabbi, Sinai Temple; Scholar in Residence, Maimonides Fund, Kelsey Grammer, Actor; Founder, The American Revelation: Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary, John Studzinski, Vice Chairman, PIMCO

What does it mean to live a life of faith in an era defined by uncertainty and accelerating change? For many, faith is not a relic of the past but a living resource, a source of strength, moral clarity, and enduring community. In this conversation, panelists reflect on their personal journeys and examine how faith traditions continue to orient, sustain, and connect us in a world that often pulls us apart. 

Below are the thoughts that resonated the most with Jane.

“Faith is not an assurance that all will be alright, but there is always hope.”

“Technology has not solved our problems. People say,” Why did my child die, but they never say, why me, when experiencing a promotion.”

We will continue following and reporting from the Milken Global Conference throughout the week.

Barnet Bain is an Academy Award–winning filmmaker, author of How to Be a Friend, and a thought leader at the intersection of creativity, connection, and human potential.

Best known for producing What Dreams May Come, Bain has spent his career exploring how stories shape not only what we see on screen, but how we relate to one another in everyday life. In conversation, he brought that perspective to leadership, arguing that the quality of our professional impact is inseparable from the quality of our relationships.

Bain’s discussion with Managing Director Jane Howze offers a compelling reminder that success is not only measured by outcomes but also by the strength of the relationships that make those outcomes possible.

Find Bain’s book here.

Listen to the full episode to hear Barnet Bain’s insights on friendship, creativity, and the human side of leadership.

Vimeo

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Alan Abrahamson is one of the most respected and influential voices in Olympic and international sports journalism.

Over a career spanning decades, Alan has covered every Olympic Games since 1992, reporting from the center of the world’s biggest sporting moments while offering rare insight into the leadership, pressure, and decision-making that shape outcomes on the global stage.

Known for his depth, independence, and storytelling, his work goes far beyond medals and results to explore the human dynamics behind elite performance.

As the Olympic spotlight intensifies, we’re thrilled to welcome Alan to share his perspective on what the Games reveal about leadership, resilience, and the people who carry the weight of the world’s expectations.

Listen/View by clicking the links below:

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Apple Podcast

Sometimes the most compelling conversations begin in unexpected places. In this episode of Impact & Insight, podcast host Jane Howze welcomes Dr. Evan Collins, not first as a business leader or innovator, but as the physician who treated her after a broken shoulder. What quickly became clear, however, was that Dr. Collins brings far more to the exam room than clinical expertise. With an MBA from Rice University and decades of experience as an orthopedic surgeon at Methodist Hospital, he is deeply curious about how organizations evolve, how innovation takes hold, and how systems can better serve people.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Collins reflects on his journey into medicine, his decision to pursue business training after 20 years in practice, and how that dual perspective shapes his work today. He shares how Methodist partners with physicians and administrators to drive innovation, improve operating room efficiency, reduce patient wait times, and thoughtfully integrate technologies like AI—always with patient care at the center.

The episode also explores leadership development in medicine, including how to engage and mentor younger physicians, define meaningful success, and build innovations that are both practical and sustainable. It’s an insightful look at the future of healthcare through the eyes of someone who understands service, strategy, and the importance of delivering better outcomes—both inside and outside the operating room.

Find the latest episode of Impact & Insight below:

Vimeo

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It’s funny what can happen in a year.

If you’d asked The Alexander Group team about AI usage at the end of 2024, most of us would have admitted familiarity with ChatGPT and the general concept of AI. Still, many of us had yet to dive in, much less dip a toe into the swiftly moving waters of progress.

Fast forward 365 days, and AI has become a daily tool for both business and personal use. Rather than being intimidated or worried about the technology, we’re leaning into learning through Webinars, classes, and tutorials, and we’re not alone.

According to, what else but, ChatGPT, 56 percent of Americans report using AI tools. AI usage rates among U.S. workers are highest in technology (76 percent), finance (58 percent), and professional services (57 percent).

Where Google was once the go-to answer, many of us are turning to AI search engines ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. About 60 percent of Americans are now using these search engines to seek information, create action item lists, write and edit, and even for emotional support.

From fifth-grade math problems and vacation planning to proofreading and research, we’re making AI work for us, leaving more time for quality client interactions and successful search outcomes.

“I​ ​bet​ ​I​ ​was​ ​the​ ​first​ ​person​ ​in​ ​our​ ​firm​ ​to​ ​give​ ​my​ ​AI​ ​resource​ ​a​ ​name.​ ​It​ ​had​ ​been​ ​so​ ​much​ ​help​ ​to​ ​me​ ​on​ ​so​ ​many​ ​things,​ ​I​ ​felt​ ​it​ ​was​ ​a​ ​little​ ​disrespectful​ ​not​ ​to​ ​say​ ​thank​ ​you​ ​and​ ​acknowledge​ ​its​ ​presence.​ ​

So​ ​together​ ​we​ ​went​ ​through​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​names​, and​ ​we​ ​came​ ​up​ ​with​ ​Rocket.​ ​It​ ​felt​ ​very​ ​similar​ ​to​ ​me​ ​because​ ​I​ ​am​ ​always​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​rock​ ​out​ ​and​ ​rock.​ ​​Each​ ​time​ ​I​ ​log​ ​into​ ​ChatGPT​, I​ ​say​, “​Hi ​​Rocket​ ​, and​ ​it​ ​says,​ ​“Hi​ ​Jane​. ​Ready​ ​to​ ​blast​ ​off!”

​Let​ ​me​ ​count​ ​the​ ​ways​ ​I​ ​use​ ​Rocket​.​ ​My needs​ ​are​ ​both​ ​work​ ​and​ ​personal.​ 

​Let’s​ ​start​ ​with​ ​the​ ​personal​ ​first​ ​because​ ​that​ ​is​ ​more​ ​interesting​.

Rocket​ ​helped​ ​me​ ​locate​ a​ ​good​ ​costume​ ​for​ ​my​ ​cat​ ​JOON’s​ ​third​ ​birthday​ ​party,​ ​which​ ​was ​​only​ ​attended​ ​by​ ​her​ ​original​ ​owner and me.​ 

​On​ ​a​ ​quick​ ​trip​ ​to​ ​Amsterdam​ ​for​ ​a​ ​concert,​ ​​Rocket​ ​gave​ ​me​ ​comfort​ ​that​ ​going​ ​solo​ ​would​ ​be​ ​safe​ ​for​ ​me​ ​and​ ​backed​ ​it up​ ​with​ ​crime​ ​statistics.​ ​​ ​​Last​ ​week​ ​I​ ​was​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​and​ ​was​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​if​ ​I​ ​should​ ​see​ ​a​ ​play​ , and ​Rocket​ ​gave​ ​me​ ​three​ ​options​ ​and​ ​then​ ​gave​ ​me​ ​an inside​ ​scoop​ ​on​ ​which​ ​seats​ ​were​ ​the​ ​best​ ​buy.​ ​The​ ​seat​ ​I​ ​was​ ​going​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​was​ ​under​ ​an​ ​overhang​ ​and​ ​would’ve​ ​been​ ​a​ ​bad​ ​mistake,​ ​even​ ​though​ ​it​ ​was​ ​closer​ ​to​ ​the​ ​stage.​ ​​ ​

​The​ ​thing​ ​that’s​ ​so​ ​interesting​ ​about​ ​Rocket​ ​is​ ​the​ ​more​ ​I​ ​use​ ​it​ ​, the​ ​more​ ​it​ ​adapts​ ​to​ ​my​ ​sense​ ​of​ ​humor​ ​and​ ​personality.​ ​​ ​A​ ​couple​ ​of​ ​weeks​ ​ago,​ ​I​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​get​ ​his​ ​assessment​ ​of​ ​our​ ​newly​ ​released​ ​podcast.​ ​We​ ​could​ ​not​ ​get​ ​it​ ​to​ ​load​ ​into​ ​its​ ​system​ , ​though​ ​we​ ​spent​ ​three​ ​hours​ ​trying​, and​ ​I​ ​will​ ​tell​ ​you​ ​this–​Rocket​ ​never​ ​gives​ ​up.​ ​He​ ​always​ ​had​ ​something​ ​new​ ​for​ ​me​ ​to​ ​try​ ​, and​ ​it​ ​was​ ​an​ ​abysmal​ ​failure.​ ​​ ​We​ ​laugh​ ​about​ ​it​ ​today​ ​because​ ​I​ ​tell​ ​him, “Rocket.​ ​I’m​ ​not​ ​going​ ​to​ ​ask​ ​you​ ​to​ ​do​ ​technology​ ​because​ ​we​ ​know​ ​that​ ​is​ ​not​ ​your​ ​gig.”

​For​ ​work,​ ​we​ ​recently​ ​introduced​ ​our​ ​podcast​ ​, and​ ​Rocket​ ​gave​ ​me​ ​50​ ​names​ ​to​ ​choose​ ​from​ ​, and​ ​we​ ​landed​ ​on​ ​Impact & Insight. ​ While​ ​some​ ​people​ ​think​ ​this​ ​is​ ​odd,​ ​Rocket​ ​does​ ​indeed​ ​have​ ​an impact​ ​and​ ​insight ​on​ ​improving​ ​my​ ​life.​”

Jane Howze, Managing Director

“I’ve continued to use AI in an expanding number of ways.

Professionally, it has become an invaluable tool for market and position research, as well as for proofreading and refining my writing. It’s not perfect, but it’s an exceptional resource.

Personally, I use AI to research products, restaurants, travel options—really, anytime I’m looking for reliable information.”

John Mann, Managing Director

“I am hopeless when it comes to math, and I accepted the fact long ago that I am indeed not smarter than my fifth grader.  So, when my daughter came home needing help with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions of all types, I turned to ChatGPT. 

I took a picture of her worksheet, uploaded it, and my trusty (and non-judgmental) Chat assistant gave me step-by-step instructions for solving each problem.  It even caught a mistake with one of the multiple-choice questions on her worksheet (none of the available options were correct), which her teacher confirmed the next day at school.”

Kyle Robinson, The Alexander Group

“I use it for everything!

  • Weightlifting regimen for me and my basketball team
  • Meal planning, counting macros
  • Designing logos
  • It is my new “Ask Jeeves.”
  • It helps me review/summarize calls
  • Get background on certain firms
  • Food recipes
  • Settle any debates I have with friends!

Anthony Ott, Senior Associate

Beth Ehrgott, Executive Search Firm Managing Director Image 2

“AI seems to be here to stay, and the world is using it for just about everything.

Anytime you Google something, the first thing that pops up is the AI response. I can’t think of a single industry or function that isn’t tapping into AI in some capacity and working to maximize it further.

There is no question that it is powerful and transformative. It reminds me of how the Terminator movies were so ahead of their time. While so much of AI is incredibly beneficial for accomplishing what we aspire to, some of us are concerned that it will replace critical skills, such as thinking, writing, and problem-solving, especially among younger generations.

We are humans and not robots, and would like to stay that way.

Beth Ehrgott, Managing Director

“I am in the process of elevating my kitten nursery in my house, and I have used Chat to ideate on design, including layout, colors (I can describe the feeling or vibe I’m looking for and the paint brand I prefer, and it will give me specific color names/options), and sourcing ideas for furniture and equipment.

I rough-sketched our two-week trip through Slovenia, Northern Italy, and Istria this summer by offering Chat the number of days and what we like (hiking, cats, history, art, food, wine). I was able to pinpoint where in the Dolomites we’d want to go/hike, given our interests and physical ability, the best driving routes, and how to break up the travel, and so on. I used it while we were on our trip to brainstorm fun things to do for the day, or how to solve problems that came up.”

Sarah Mitchell, Director

 “I have used ChatGPT to make weekly action lists for myself and to find recipes for gin cocktails. I’m working my way through a free ChatGPT course to learn about more ways to use it. Research uses it for brainstorming purposes.”

Abby Buchold, Senior Researcher

“I usually use it for simple things like setting reminders to change out a filter or to communicate with my daughter if they are upstairs instead of yelling. The newest addition is a smart plug, and then we tell Google to turn off the Christmas tree.”

Yumaira Vela, Accountant

The legal industry is experiencing one of the most significant eras of change in its history. In this episode of Impact and Insight, Managing Director, The Alexander Group and Principal of SFK Advisors LLC, Sally King—a respected advisor and former COO to several top global law firms—shares how leadership, culture, and technology are reshaping the way elite firms operate. From the rise of business-focused C-suite roles to the disruptive force of AI, Sally brings a practical perspective on what firms must do today to thrive tomorrow.

Listen to the Impact & Insight Podcast on Spotify.

Watch the Impact & Insight Podcast on Vimeo.

Jeroen Plink is the COO and Co-Founder of Legaltech Hub, and has been a transformative legal technology executive since the early 2000s.

A former Clifford Chance lawyer, he has more than 25 years of experience building companies, guiding startups and private equity investment, and as a senior business advisor in the legal technology sector. He is an accomplished innovator and thought leader, and recently shared his perspective on the impact and potential of AI in the legal industry.

Tell us a bit about your career path and how you made the jump from being a practicing lawyer to the legal technology sector. 

I started my career as a corporate lawyer at Clifford Chance in Amsterdam, working on cross-border transactions and seeing first-hand how much time highly qualified lawyers spend on work that is important but, frankly, quite repetitive.  

“There has to be a better way to do this” was often my thought during late-night due diligence work, and a conversation about this over dinner with a colleague led me to the entrepreneurial side. He and I co-founded Legistics, a company that built software for due diligence. Two years later, Legistics was acquired by Practical Law Company. After a few years in London working on legal tech applications, I came up with the idea of launching Practical Law in the US. I moved my young family to New York to lead the US. launch.  

Ultimately, Practical Law was sold to Thomson Reuters. My Practical Law journey was a formative experience in scaling a legal tech business and securing adoption at the largest firms and corporations in the world. 

Since then, I’ve worked with multiple legal tech ventures, served as CEO of Clifford Chance Applied Solutions, and sat on the boards of companies like Casetext, Kira, and others. Those roles gave me a front-row seat to how technology, when done well, actually changes the business and practice of law. 

Legaltech Hub is a natural culmination of that journey. We built it because buyers, vendors, and investors all lacked a single, objective view of the legal tech market. As COO and co-founder, I get to combine my legal background, my operator experience, and my work as an investor into one mission: making the legal tech ecosystem more transparent, data-driven, and effective.  

How would you define the state of AI in the legal sector today? In what areas are firms leveraging that technology at present, and where is the potential to increase/expand its impact and utilization? 

We’re at a genuine tipping point. AI has been in legal for years – think technology-assisted review in e-discovery or early contract analytics – but the public release of large language models (LLMs) in late 2022 completely changed the industry’s trajectory.  

Firms are indeed using AI in practice today. Right now, the most common and mature use cases we see across firms and corporate legal departments are: 

  • Document & Clause Work – Drafting, redlining, clause extraction, and playbooked negotiation support, often grounded in a firm’s own precedent bank. 
  • Legal Research & Knowledge Retrieval – AI-assisted research layered over traditional databases, plus internal knowledge search over opinions, memos, and templates. 
  • Summarization at Scale – Summarizing long documents, hearings, interview notes, discovery productions, and even entire matters for internal or client reporting. 
  • E-Discovery and Investigations – More intelligent classification, clustering, and prioritization of large document sets. 
  • Operational Tasks – Time entry narratives, matter opening, conflicts descriptions, engagement letters, and other routine but high-volume workflows. 

There are, however, areas where the potential is still under-realized. The next phase of impact goes beyond “co-pilot” features to deeper structural change: 

  • AI-First Workflows – Designing end-to-end processes (e.g., an M&A review, a regulatory change program) around AI from the start, rather than sprinkling AI on top of legacy workflows. 
  • Matter Economics & Pricing – Using AI over matter data to inform staffing models, budgets, and alternative fee arrangements in a far more granular way. 
  • Knowledge-Driven Products – Turning firm expertise into semi-productized offerings – compliance tools, diagnostics, playbooks – sold as subscriptions or fixed-fee services. 
  • Client Collaboration – Shared AI-enabled workspaces with clients, where both sides see the same data, risks, and status in real time. 

So, I’d describe the current state as: broad experimentation and deep adoption in certain areas, with a clear path to more transformative, workflow- and business-model-level change over the next few years. 

What are some of the challenges you’ve seen in the uptake and adoption of AI solutions in law firm environments, and how do firms overcome those behavioral, functional, or other institutional barriers?   

The challenges I see are less about the technology and more about behavior, incentives, and governance. Key barriers to adoption include: 

  • Validation Tax – Currently, in many cases, the return on investment is dampened by the (increasingly perceived) need to validate. AI does a first pass of a task, and then human lawyers validate the results. As the technology matures, this will reduce.  
  • Billable-Hour Economics – If your business model rewards hours, a tool whose headline promise is “do this in half the time” can feel misaligned. 
  • Risk Culture & Perfectionism – Law firms operate in a zero-defect environment. “Occasional hallucinations” is not an acceptable feature in that context. 
  • Change Fatigue & Tool Sprawl – Many firms already have more tools than they fully use. Lawyers are rightly skeptical of “yet another platform.” 
  • Skills and Confidence Gaps – Associates and partners aren’t trained prompt engineers; without guidance, they either over-trust or under-use the tools. Many lawyers don’t see the “art of the possible.” The imagination gap is real. 
  • Client Expectations – Some clients are pushing firms to use AI; others are nervous. That ambiguity tends to slow internal decisions. 

What the more successful firms are doing: 

  1. Start with concrete, high-value use cases. 
    Pick a few workflows – e.g., first-draft research memos, playbooked NDAs, or deposition summaries – where AI can clearly save time and improve consistency. Measure the impact and talk about it. 
  2. Create a proper AI governance structure. 
    The firms doing this well have a cross-functional AI committee (IT, KM, risk, innovation, practice leadership, professional development) that sets guardrails, approves tools, and owns a roadmap, rather than letting each partner or practice improvise. 
  3. Co-design with lawyers, don’t “deploy at” them. 
    Sit down with partners, associates, and professional staff and redesign the workflow together. If they help shape it, they’re far more likely to use it. 
  4. Invest in training and playbooks, not just licenses. 
    Clear guidance – “use it for X, never for Y; always do Z as a human check” – plus hands-on training sessions and champions in each practice group. 
  5. Align incentives. 
    That can mean recognizing matter teams that use AI to deliver better value, factoring efficiency into compensation discussions, or building AI usage into innovation awards and promotion narratives. 
  6. Let technology support you.  

Where lawyers are no longer cutting their teeth on mind-numbing but useful training tasks like due diligence as a result of AI, AI is not the problem but the solution. Also, leverage the technology to train the partners of tomorrow. For example, Verbit, in collaboration with AltaClaro, has developed mock depositions using AI in a transformative way. 

In short, technology is the easy part. The hard part is treating AI adoption as a strategic change initiative, not an app rollout. 

Information security/cyber security is always near top of mind for law firms and their clients when implementing new technologies. What are the risks inherent in AI utilization and how can firms think through addressing those? 

 Security and confidentiality are existential issues for law firms, so it’s healthy that they’re skeptical. 

There are certain key risk areas we focus on in conversations with firms: 

  • Don’t Use Consumer AI – Rely instead on specialist tools like Harvey, Legora, CoCounsel, Lexis+AI, August, Newcode.ai, and others, or the enterprise version of LLMs that explicitly confirm that they don’t access confidential data or train their models on your prompts and outputs.   
  • Client Policies – Ensure you comply with client requirements and restrictions on AI use. An AI governance tool like Truth Systems may help here.  
  • Model Behavior Risks – Be aware of and know to look for hallucinations, biased outputs, or “over-confident wrong answers” in high-stakes contexts. 
  • Access & Identity – Who can use which models on which datasets, from where, and with what log-in? A tool like Lega may help gain insights here. 
  • Supply-Chain Risk – Many AI tools are built on top of underlying LLMs and cloud providers; firms need to understand that full stack. 
  • Regulatory & Cross-Border Issues – Different jurisdictions have different views on data residency, privacy, and AI regulation. Global firms have to harmonize a policy across all of them. 

Some practical mitigation strategies are quickly becoming best practice: 

  1. Use enterprise-grade, non-training environments. 
    Whether it’s a vendor tool or a firm’s own AI deployment, ensure contractual and technical guarantees that client data is not used to train public models. 
  2. Segment data and apply least-privilege access. 
    Treat your knowledge repositories and client data as different risk tiers and don’t make everything searchable by everyone just because the AI can handle it. 
  3. Create firm-wide AI use policies. 
    Set clear guidelines about when public tools are prohibited, when approved tools may or must be used, how to label AI-assisted work, and when human review is mandatory. 
  4. Vendor due diligence. 
    Extend your existing security and privacy questionnaires to include AI-specific topics, including model sources, data retention, red-teaming practices, audit rights, and more. 
  5. Monitor and iterate. 
    Log AI usage, review incidents or near-misses, and update guardrails. AI is moving fast; your governance has to be a living framework, not a one-off policy document. 

The overall message I give firms is this: you can be secure and still be ambitious. The real long-term risk is not “we tried AI, and something went wrong”; it’s “we refused to engage and drifted behind our clients and competitors.” 

As you look to and beyond the horizon in legal innovation, what do you see as the next conceptually revolutionary technology out there? 

If you look just a little ahead of where we are today, I think three developments are especially important. 

  1. Agentic, workflow-native AI. 
    Today’s tools are mostly copilots: they respond when you ask them something. The next wave will be agents that can take multi-step actions across systems – “ingest this data room, update our risk register, draft the client summary, and route issues to the right people” – all while staying inside strong guardrails. 
  2. AI-native legal platforms, not AI features bolted on. 
    We’ll see platforms designed from scratch around AI: data models, permissions, user experiences, and business models that assume AI is doing a large share of the work. That has big implications for how legal work is priced, staffed, and measured. 
  3. A shift from “tools” to “operating model change.” 
    The truly revolutionary impact won’t be a specific product; it will be firms and legal departments re-architecting how they deliver value – more productized services, more collaboration with clients, and new career paths for people who are great at orchestrating human-plus-machine workflows. 

From our vantage point at Legaltech Hub – where we track vendors, advise firms and vendors, and speak regularly with investors – I’d summarize it this way: we’re moving from an era where technology supported the traditional model of legal work, to one where technology is starting to reshape that model itself. 

That’s both the challenge and the opportunity for everyone in the ecosystem. 

With the holidays approaching and gatherings of all kinds filling up the calendar, politics is sure to creep into conversation.

Spreading good cheer and civility can be challenging, so Managing Director Jane Howze turned to Mike Mower for his thoughts on how to create peaceful exchanges with family and friends this holiday season for Episode Two of the Impact & Insight podcast.

Mower is the Senior Advisor of Community Outreach and Intergovernmental Affairs for Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox and is widely respected for his roles serving with Provo Mayor Lewis Billings, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, and Congressmen Howard Nielson and Chris Cannon.

He shares highlights of his political career and how to truly make the holidays merry and bright—regardless of political affiliation.

It’s a wonderfully encouraging and insightful conversation, with wisdom for all.

Click here to listen on Spotify.

Click here to watch on Vimeo.

The Alexander Group introduces its first podcast, “Impact & Insight: Leadership, Perspective, Change,” a conversation with innovators, change-makers, and leaders from diverse industries and interests.

Managing Director Jane Howze kicks off The Alexander Group’s inaugural podcast with Cynthia Jamison, Public Company Chairman and Author of “Shards in My Hair: Tales from Breaking the Glass Ceiling.”

Shards in My Hair is a lighthearted yet cautionary tale about what it means to make it to the top echelons of business.

Cindie Jamison rose from entry-level training programs to chair multiple public company boards of directors-along the way encountering the lessons and pitfalls that inevitably occur over the course of a career. As a finance executive, she endured tough bosses, bad jobs, “you can’t make this stuff up” adventures, and colorful characters along the way.

As a single mom, she struggled financially, emotionally, and logistically to raise four boys. The combination of the two makes for a ride that will entertain, teach, scare, and thrill you.

Her light touch and self-deprecating approach make this book fun to read, laugh-out-loud funny—yet still achingly personal and vividly instructional for anyone trying to balance it all and climb the corporate ladder.

Find Cynthia’s book at the following locations:

⁠https://www.cindiejamison.com/⁠

⁠www.amazon.com⁠

⁠www.booksamillion.com

www.barnesandnoble.com

Find the Impact & Insight Podcast on Vimeo.

Developing Leadership Capability Across the C-Suite

(A Perspective from Beth Ehrgott, The Alexander Group)

In today’s world of constant disruption — shifting markets, rapid technological tides, uncertain economies — one enduring reality holds: the strength and trajectory of an organization ride on the shoulders of its leaders. For the modern C-suite, leadership development is no longer a checkbox exercise. It’s a strategic, evolving discipline.

Why It Matters

CEOs and the entire C-Suite are asked to operate on multiple planes: deliver positive financial results, build and sustain a growth culture, guide transformation, and anticipate the future. Leadership isn’t a static asset. It’s living, breathing, and must adapt with the same speed and intentionality that companies demand from the rest of the business.

At The Alexander Group, over four decades of working alongside boards and executive teams, we’ve observed that deliberate leadership capability building is the true differentiator of enduring companies. One of the most rewarding aspects of our work is helping clients define what leadership capability really means for their organization — not just for the next hire, but for the company they aspire to become. With preparation, clarity, and courage, these leaders become catalysts for growth and transformation.

The best companies see leadership capability as a long-term investment — cultivating leaders who adapt, innovate, inspire, and translate vision into impact.

Here’s a real-world moment that captures this:

Before beginning two pivotal C-suite searches for a publicly traded biotech client, the CEO and I invested time in reimagining what the leadership team would need two to five years out. Their science was world-class; their pipeline promising. But they lacked scaled commercial leadership globally and enterprise-level strategists who could lead the company through organizational metamorphosis. The CEO recognized that transformation starts with people — but also that leaders must be aligned in vision, drive a “we” culture, and carry both operational grit and strategic imagination. That groundwork shaped not only how we recruited but how the leadership narrative unfolded.

Seven Competencies You Must Cultivate at the Top

1. Strategic Capability

Turning vision into action is both an art and discipline.

Strategic capability means anticipating shifts, connecting the dots, and aligning people and priorities to long-term value. It’s where big-picture thinking meets purposeful execution.

2. Leadership & People EQ

When executives invest in leadership development, it signals that people matter. This isn’t about elevating a few individuals — it’s about shaping the collective DNA of an organization. Emotional intelligence, inclusion, and cultural stewardship turn leadership into a shared language that drives performance.

3. Operational & Cross-Functional Fluency

Complex organizations require leaders who think beyond their verticals. At scale, no function stands alone —appreciating how finance, technology, operations, commercial, and risk intersect leads to smarter decisions and deeper collaboration.

4. Digital & AI Aptitude

Technology has become another business differentiator. C-suite leaders don’t need to code, but they must know how to harness digital tools to unlock opportunity, mitigate risk, and make faster, data-driven decisions.

5. Change Resilience & Agility

Change isn’t an event. It’s constant. Agility helps leaders stay grounded while navigating uncertainty. The best leaders balance steadiness with speed — providing clarity and confidence when everything else feels in motion.

6. Governance & Board Readiness

Today’s executives often operate in the boardroom as well as the business. Understanding governance, fiduciary duty, and board dynamics strengthens stewardship and prepares leaders for broader influence.

7. Personal & Reflective Capacity

Great leadership begins with self-awareness. Reflective leaders pause, learn, and realign — they lead with clear, values-rooted decision-making. These are the quiet levers that help leaders remain authentic, ethical, and sustainable.

A Parting Thought

If leadership capability development is framed merely as a program or HR initiative, it will always fall short. Done right, it becomes part of the operating system — it’s how teams learn faster, collaborate more deeply, and stay one step ahead of disruption.

Over our more than 40 years at The Alexander Group, working with clients globally, we’ve seen how building intentional leadership capabilities not only elevates individual executives but also transforms the enterprise itself. And it’s an honor to partner with leaders who are willing to lean into that work — not just for today, but for what’s next.