'From The Inside Out' With Hannah Samendinger Of Alt Legal

Non-obvious insights from in-house legal departments to law firms and other lawyers on the outside.

Ed. note: The following is a summary and highlights of Part 1 of our podcast series “From the Inside Out,” bringing non-obvious insights from in-house legal departments to law firms and other lawyers on the outside. “From the Inside Out” is hosted by Ian Connett of Evolve the Law and sponsored by Lake Whillans, a commercial litigation finance firm with offices in California and New York.

In our first installment, we sat down with Hannah Samendinger, the General Counsel and Product Manager at Alt Legal, the creators of trademark and patent docketing software. Hannah discussed with us her unique perspective on traditional law firm practice and what she looks for when she’s dealing with outside law firms as the GC of a small legal tech company.

Hannah started with Alt Legal as an intern while she was in law school, getting involved in legal research as well as the product side of the business. After graduating, she joined the company full-time as a product manager and took on more of a legal role, eventually becoming the company’s GC. As a small company without infinite resources, Alt Legal tries to handle as much legal work as they can in-house. Their small in-house legal team is adept at handling most of the straightforward legal issues that arise at the company, but they do look to outside counsel when complex challenges or new and niche questions of law arise.

What goes into the decision-making process of whether to give work to an outside law firm or keep it in-house?

A lot of it is comfort level. Because we have a fairly solid understanding of basic law and are capable of researching new issues, we look to outside counsel as someone who will serve as an expert to confirm that we’re understanding and applying the law correctly.

Is it crucial for new hires at Alt Legal to have law firm experience?

Because I never worked at a law firm, it would be unfair to hold others to that standard. More important is how people got from A to B and why they made the choices they made. A non-traditional path can be just as valuable as firm experience if they’ve worked hard and explored their options.

What’s the one thing that law firms don’t understand about managing an in-house budget?

Some law firms don’t understand how helpful it is to prioritize transparency in communication. Clients, especially small companies, want to know how the case is progressing in the budget and how close they are to getting the answers they need. Tech vendors are good about making this information clear, but law firms tend to be more closed off. They don’t seem to understand how valuable information can be.

What do the best law firms do consistently well?

Anyone who can pack a punch with concise advice is going to be of particular value to us. We want straightforward answers to complex issues that tell us what we need to do, not exhaustive legislative histories, legal memos, and long briefs.

What about the perception that law departments are purely cost centers as opposed to revenue centers?

For a lot of people, the cost center idea comes from not understanding the value that the law department brings. Just because something costs money now doesn’t mean it’s not going to save you lots of money and headaches in the future. If you think it’s a cost center, that’s likely because you’re not able to equate the value you’re getting with the cost you’re paying.

If you were dealing with a litigation, would you be open to pursuing litigation finance as a means to prosecute or defend a case?

Litigation finance is the perfect example of something we would turn to outside counsel for — to explain to us the ins and outs and whether or not it would make sense for us.

How could the legal industry be changed for the better?

I would advocate for continuing to democratize legal resources through the increased use of solo practices, because they’re able to offer legal services at lower cost and in more specific areas of the law, which ultimately will lead to more people engaging with lawyers and developing a healthy dialogue. Traditional law firms can be intimidating and cost-prohibitive, so when people do need actual legal advice they’re not able to reach out to people who can help them.

Listen to our entire discussion with Hannah Samendinger here to gain more insights from the in-house world.

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