Jim Gast:   0:00
Hey, guys, this is Jim Gast from SpliceNet Consulting coming back to you with a No Law Firm Left Behind podcase. I'm happy to announce that I'm sitting here with Vicente Del Valle longtime law firm technology extraordinare. He was with us quite a long time ago and all I have to say is he's baaaack. How does it feel to be back? Vinny?

Vicente Del Valle:   0:20
Feels great. I'm very excited to be back on team. Yeah, and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with some old friends.

Jim Gast:   0:28
We had a great time in the past. I really enjoy working with the law firms that we did in the past. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how much of your customers loved you? How did you do that is quite amazing. I actually think they all hated me.

Vicente Del Valle:   0:42
I don't think that's quite sure, but I think the most important thing is developing a relationship with folks. Yeah, that relationship is really what keeps that business relationship going as well.

Jim Gast:   0:57
Yeah, you know why? It's kind of interesting. And I think we're all seeing it right now with with this code thing. Um, we're doing business now different than before that it's one thing to go see somebody at their office, right? But when you do meeting face to face virtual meeting like we do with teams with someone, I to the whole right, you're different, kind of. We have a different kind of relationship now, don't you think?

Vicente Del Valle:   1:25
Yeah, I think Oneness meetings, virtual meetings. It's new to a lot of folks. Spaces that they're in is something that's new as well. And so people, I think, react differently in meetings. When they're working out,

Jim Gast:   1:42
they dio. I mean, there's there's, there's nothing more disarming than being a team's meeting with someone and their dog there starts to Barker, their kids walk into the room. You become part of that person's life with that point. Not not that has never happened to me. Right now, my kids seem to stand at the door whenever I'm in a meeting. Teams meeting just kind of hover my 16 year old 18 year old 14 year old, and they seemed to hover, and it's like they don't understand what's going on. Dad, uh, can I do this out of the other? And I'm like, you know, it's kind of embarrassing, Really. But, I mean, that's what you kind of have to expect right now, right? So what I've been doing all these years,

Vicente Del Valle:   2:30
um, I've been doing a lot of different things. I spent some time over at ThyssenKrupp. Bill Stein assed there, engineer for the infrastructure. Yeah, from there I went on to Apex Supply Chain Technologies Company here in Cincinnati. That makes smart vending machines.

Jim Gast:   2:48
That was a great company. I like what they did was really smart.

Vicente Del Valle:   2:52
I really did like what they did as well for them. I managed their help desk for a while. Then I went down to manage their operations thing. That infrastructure operations team, which included Dev Ops. So, application support and all the systems. They had an application that had to be up and running 24 7 and we had a goal of 49 So not

Jim Gast:   3:13
like any of our wall from

Vicente Del Valle:   3:14
customers. No. No. And so on. We monitored, and we had metrics that we had to meet, and we made sure that the systems that the application ran on were up old time. And that included upgrading the application as our development team Post op new code.

Jim Gast:   3:35
And then and then So here we're back, right? And we're more excited to have you than ever before. And I can't wait to see what you're gonna bring the table. But, you know, as any as any things go, I got a couple questions I gotta ask you. Okay, Andi. So I'm gonna start off with something that's near near our hearts, and obviously you're coming into an interesting time. And so a lot of law firms are currently being told they need to pivot right now, Whether you like, you know, phrases like this or not. You know, it's not anything. It's a new conversation. But I think it's more important now than ever to evaluate. What does it really mean for a law firm to pivot today? Given that here, we're gonna be coming out of quarantine here. Pretty soon it's gonna get less and less, and not that the threats gone. But, you know, we're going to get back to work, right? So what are what are our law firm customers gonna have to do into What does that mean to you first?

Vicente Del Valle:   4:34
So I think it's not only law firms, but we're talking about law firms today. But businesses in general law firms, they have to change the way they interact with the customer and the way they do business. Pre cove it versus what? What's gonna be afterwards on? And that means utilizing Technologies Mawr for remote sessions for Elektronik signatures on things of that nature of Microsoft teams is a great tool. I love it. It's a great collaboration tool for working with a group of people in a bunch of different locations, right? And so learning these new technologies implementing these new technologies, I think it's gonna be important for further law firms to to be able to continue on a

Jim Gast:   5:21
going forward. And how do you see that translating itself? What do they need to do for their clients to for the clients? Obviously needed pivot the way they work. But tell me how that relates to their clients and what they should be doing to. I mean, let's face it there. Customers have to see that they're pivoting. That's the whole idea. Pivoting is that you do because of competitive forces and, you know, maybe to stay ahead of competition. So for the clients, what should they be doing in your mind, generally speaking so that their clients concede there pivoting,

Vicente Del Valle:   5:52
I think, as they start asking the customers to meet in different ways. Like two teams, the kind will see that they are making that effort forward, making other systems available for maybe encrypted emails so that they can received communications securely. Things of that sort that that touches the customer. I think it's important.

Jim Gast:   6:17
Yeah, I have an opinion that lawyers should probably in order to pivot, should get out there more socially. And when I say so, See, I don't mean going to events. I mean social, social media linked and Facebook. Twitter, Tic tac, for that matter mean every last tic tac. But let's face it, man, there's a reason people are talking about it. You know, it's a tremendous platform. And whether you like him or not, Gary V swears by it, right? It's the next one Next big one. So what do you think like lawyers should be doing to communicate with their clients and mass on social media?

Vicente Del Valle:   6:53
I think a way to reach the customers or their clients. I think they can utilize things like LinkedIn or Facebook or other social mediums out there so that they can connect with their clients on a more regular basis. Yeah, yeah. You know what? I'm a big proponent of information dissemination, you know? I mean, we can be telling our customers first off, not not all of our law from customers. Not all of their clients understand. You know, their legal needs, right? They just don't know. It's what you don't know. And I think social media, especially Facebook, um is a great way for a lawyer to start telling people you know what? They don't know, right? You know what? If you're considering a divorce, here's some things you don't know about divorce. Some options you do have. You know, if you're considering personal injury cases, you know, maybe you're a car accident. You know, you may not understand what it means when your when your insurance company says they want a subway gate. Well, sure you involved with honey or not. And so those opinions are very valuable coming from social media. My so

Jim Gast:   8:04
Okay, so you know, we don't want to take too much of everyone's time, but I really want meaning opportunity to kind of talk. Let me ask you many any particular technologies you work with in the past that you remember that were just awesome. Technologies mean, let's talk about some of the older

Vicente Del Valle:   8:20
technologies work with in the past, when I was working with the law firms tools like jurors and manage, um, and, uh, other B c legal form. Um, legal bar? Yeah. Actually, yeah, they Some of those tools are the ones that come to mind. They're not gone. They're still there. There are heavily relied upon even more so Yep. And so and some others. They're also local to us. Yeah. So I look forward, Teoh. I know they've changed since then. A little bit. And so I look forward to a refresher and get right back in the game. Yeah, we're working with a lot of cloud based technologies right now. Specifically, everyone's moved to the Microsoft 3 65 platform, and we're trying to help people get the most out of those. And then he's got a lot of experience around this area, and then the Microsoft Azure platform, the Windows Virtual Desktop replacing the on premise technology is going to be mawr and mawr important. And I'm glad your experience with that also. And then we were talking about our citric on phone system earlier as well. How? How voice over I p is now you know the voice. Your I ps has transcended just the desk phone itself, right? And now I've got a phone app,

Jim Gast:   9:33
right? That actually I talked through and message through. Actually, it's a text messaging with my phone app. You were in my office number directly. So, actually, now, if you call 513 to 5 to go to 12 you can call it evenly. Voicemail. Or you can text it now, too. So it's those kind of technology plus off, ah, phone lists

Vicente Del Valle:   9:51
application on my on my my laptop, my surface. Right. Those are incredible technologies and the ability to take those anywhere. Oh, my God. Yeah, when I was at McKee, no, I just grabbed my desk phone, plugged it in a home. No. Yeah, I had my extension there, and I was able to work for a couple of months from You know what? It's great, and it's nice to have that desperate, but you know what? You need it now. Honestly, I take phone calls. Citric um, my sister. Calm voice over I p r. Phone system here at the office. I take phone calls all the time on the APP. It's it's really changed the game. Reuters and staff you guys need to be doing this to. This is a lesson right now on some of the things that the specific technologies that you should

Jim Gast:   10:32
start to use. What are some of the other newer technologies you think

Vicente Del Valle:   10:34
they should probably start tapping into to give it? I think one of the important areas for everyone and it's on everyone's mind is how to secure all these things, how to know where your vulnerabilities are. So security is a big, important piece, especially when now you're spreading that network out into people's homes, and that's varies in so many different ways. So how do you protect your company assets during that time and the connectivity to those assets? So things like vulnerability management Oh, are, you know, breach detection indicators of compromise to maintaining security mind cast to make sure that the emails coming in and being monitored and filtered properly security at yeah, a little those security areas and make sure people like sending out credit card information or healthy health care information. R P I. P h i. By email that they shouldn't be sending out right, that's what and those things you can control through time but also how to connect around Lee. You know, moving your moving your servers to the cloud right so that you can access them from from anywhere without having toe have, ah VPN connection right, which requires licensing and hardware and so on and so forth. So much to take care of it, you know? And so I think that as we move more to the cloud, I think it leverages your ability to be able to work from anywhere and sustain a working from home situation. Yeah, because that's really what it's about. It's keeping that productivity up while you're at home as well. So I'm gonna close to stop real quick

Jim Gast:   12:08
here, because again, I don't want to take too much of everyone's time. But I'm really excited to announce that Vinnie's gonna actually become part of our new low from the Left behind network. Obviously, it's a natural thing for him to do, since it's because since he's joining back up, but he'll be talking Maurin podcasts and webinars and writing Mawr blocking Maurin actually use, um, some social media activities as well as we're gonna have you on your own email threat. I know you don't know that yet. We're gonna have to be posting some some emails and tips, if you will. So more this to come from many. Yeah. If you're not a member of the no law from left behind, we've got a great group linked, and all you do is go linked in and search for no law from left behind. Asked to join and inventing is an administrator and announce, so he'll be ableto let you into it. But if you have any questions, look for that group or reach out to me. A gym. It's place dot net at or call 513 to 520212 But if you want to reach many, come your email address?

Vicente Del Valle:   13:05
Yep. My mail dresses. Vinnie with a Why at sliced, Not

Jim Gast:   13:10
Don't worry. The misspelling we've got you covered. Okay. Good place. You gotta take all answer. Thanks a lot for talking to you saying

Vicente Del Valle:   13:18
look for senior