LegalTechTalk Uncovered Ep 5 – Patricia Gannon  

Transcript

Robert Hanna: Welcome to the Legally Speaking Podcast, LegalTechTalk Uncovered mini-series powered by Clio. Please introduce yourself.

Patricia Gannon: Hi there, I’m Patricia Gannon, and I’m the Founder at Platforum9.

Robert Hanna: A super exciting platform we’re going to dive into, but firstly, how are you finding the conference?

Patricia Gannon: Love it. I have to say, it has more than met my expectation. I’ve been talking to Bradley about this for over a year, and the day has finally come when he has broken the glass ceiling on how to do a LegalTech conference.

Robert Hanna: Very high praise and well-deserved high praise, and people will be able to hear from the background noise. The buzz that’s in the air from this conference has to be said. Can you describe briefly what you do?

Patricia Gannon: I’ve just built a social audio app for the legal profession. So essentially, we are looking at an interactive podcast type product. It’s an app that lawyers have on their phone, that helps them connect with each other around the practice area and issues that matter to them.

Robert Hanna: And you know I’ve been a fan and following your journey from sort of start to where you are. And I think this is going to be absolutely huge and I’m excited by it, because I think there’s a real need for this. And you also bring a good community element to the tech that you’re providing. But anyone trying to build anything, there’s always a challenge. So, you know, what’s been the sort of challenge you’ve identified specifically within the legal sector and how are you going about addressing it?

Patricia Gannon: I think connectivity and communication. I think access to events like this for younger lawyers. There’s a massive amount of vulnerability out there as they, you know, working remotely, intergenerational challenges, influx of technology. I think there’s a huge need to be connected, to be part of a community, and to find a really effective way of connecting over topics that matter to you. Live interactive sessions, having your voice, having a safe space to speak to each other, getting interesting content that will give you a competitive edge as a lawyer.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, and again, you know, I feel like it’s just not there at the moment and what you are producing is, quite frankly, the most innovative forward thinking and way to connect people. So I always talk about the power of community and this human to human connection. It’s not B2B, it’s not B2C, and that’s undoubtedly what you’re gonna be able to do on terms of Platforum9. What’s been kind of a standout moment for you thus far, being at this conference, anything that’s particularly stood out to you?

Patricia Gannon: Well, I just said it to Bradley when I came in this morning. The fact that we had live music coming up the stairs, we already had a really different vibe. I think there’s an energy here that is different to anything I’ve seen. I’ve done the IBA, the International Bar Association, all of my life. I’ve been to multitudes of conferences, which is why when I see one, that’s more like a tech event. It is legal tech, obviously, but it’s around legal topics as well. This is something that sort of stands out for me.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, and it’s all the richer for having you here. And it’s great that we finally been able to meet in person. I know it’s been a long, long time. What are your future plans then with Platforum9?

Patricia Gannon: Well, yeah, we’re sorry to interrupt, but we’re nearly there. We’re in the App Store. We’re beta testing this summer with select law firms and lawyers who’ve been on the waiting list for a while. If somebody had told me like building anything in tech, takes double the time and double the money, now I know it for sure, but we’re ready to rock. We’re going to be beta testing during the summer. We look forward to anybody download at www.platforum9.com. We have a free waiting list. We welcome everybody with your ideas.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, absolutely. And I guess in terms of other social media handles or where people can find you specifically, or if they’ve got a question about Platforum9, what’s the best way for them to get in touch?

Patricia Gannon: Just get down to me at LinkedIn. I’m not anywhere else really.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, well, there you go. Simple as that, Patricia Gannon on LinkedIn. It’s been so nice to finally record with you in person. Talk about what you’re getting up to. But for now, from all of us on the Legally Speaking Podcast, over and out.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode. If you like the content here, why not check out our world leading content and collaboration hub, the Legally Speaking Club over on Discord. Go to our website, www.legallyspeakingpodcast.com for the link to join our community there.

Over and out.