
SOLID Past Speakers 2023
Drew Amerson
Director of LexLab @ UC Hastings
Law School- Nex Gen Training and Externships
​For law students, going in-house is often seen as the holy grail. At UC Law San Francisco, many of our students arrive with that goal in mind. Traditionally, the advice has been that companies don’t hire directly out of law school, looking instead for a few years of Big Law experience. But that trend is shifting, and through our innovative curriculum and experiential programs, we are preparing our students to work in-house upon graduation.


Josh Kreamer
Head of Legal Services @ AstraZeneca
From eDiscovery reporting to legal to leading an independent legal services department
Josh Kreamer is reshaping the vision of a corporate legal department at AstraZeneca with his "Legal As A Service" concept, emphasizing data-related capabilities to offer flexible and cost-saving services to various stakeholders. His approach has already saved AstraZeneca over $20 million in the last three years, covering areas such as regulatory transparency, drug divestitures, internal investigations, and traditional eDiscovery.
Julia Hasenzahl
Co-Founder & CEO at @ ProSearch​
Changing the Way We Measure Diversity
​Who owns a business man or woman) should not be the determining factor for a company’s diversity status. Julia will challenge the status quo and discuss the need for real change with meaningful diversity metrics.

Transforming Leadership Skills In Just 12 Minutes A Day
If you can commit 12 minutes a day to focus on your leadership capability, capacity, and skills, then you can reach a whole new level. During the pandemic, Dera Nevin committed to writing a book. She committed just 12 minutes daily to writing and discovered how little bits of committed time add to transformation. Her journey has transformed her leadership and her team. You will return from this talk with an action plan to start day 1.
How to get things done? Shut up and listen…
With the idea of getting things done, you need to :
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listen and learn
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then you need to teach what you’ve learned,
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then you need to sell your project
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then you need to learn what is working and what isn’t before you teach the improvements and changes.
Charisma Starr will share her unique perspective on how to successfully design, build, and implement long-lasting, well-accepted technology for Legal. ​
Digital Transformation Best Practices
"Evolving Roles and Big Law - The New Career Jungle Gym"
David will be discussing evolving Roles that are rapidly emerging and shaping the legal profession, including data scientists, anthropologists, legal chief operating officer, and of course,, the chief innovation officer.

Hal Brooks
CEO @ HaystackID Group Holdings
Unwinding the Complexities of Legal Tech Acquisitions and Mergers
In this expert talk, Hal Brooks, CEO of HaystackID and respected figure in the legal technology industry, addresses the intricate dynamics of today's legal tech mergers and acquisitions. Leveraging his extensive knowledge and experience in the M&A arena, Brooks discusses essential factors in the current market, ranging from detailed due diligence and accurate valuation, to ensuring culture compatibility and smooth technology integration. He also highlights the main hurdles, such as stringent regulatory oversight, data privacy concerns, and market instability, shaping these deals. This session is set to provide invaluable insights for anyone keen on understanding the evolving LegalTech sphere.
Chat GPT, Dalle and Lensa, Oh My. Cat Casey will discuss the 800 lb. elephant in the room, Generative AI. Cat breaks down the risks, rewards, and transformative impact GAI is already having on legal. She covers from now to next in the fast-moving Generative AI Renaissance.
How to Become Famous
The idea of becoming famous is something most of us shrink at. But we know exposure to new people is the path to better and bigger opportunities - for our careers and for our organizations. Let's talk about fame and how we can leverage it to become more successful.
Madeline Boyer
Director, Innovation Lab
@ Reed Smith LLP
Evolving Roles - Why Hire a Cultural Anthropologist?
Madeline Boyer, Ph.D. is on a mission to make work better. Dr. Boyer is an organizational cultural anthropologist bringing a new approach to identifying and solving problems in the legal field. In this talk, she will share how the Reed Smith Innovation Lab uses ethnography and human centered design to inform future initiatives and drive innovative thinking at the firm.

As legal departments evaluate their technology modernization options, leaders are wrestling with how to increase the speed of innovation. What has held legal back in the past when it comes to innovation? What can help legal move faster to the future? PwC's Jeffrey Seymour will explore paths to the democratization of law and how innovation plays a key role in its success.
Amy Sellars
Vice President, Global Legal Operations @ CBRE
Good Change Management
Good change management increases efficiency, automation, and the bottom line. It goes well beyond “new software training” and requires well-coordinated communication plans, agreements on what’s in it for the whole team, and strategies to bring everyone along on the change journey.
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Industry Snapshot, AI & Data: Set Your Team Up For Success