LegalTechTalk 2026: AI for Good: Legal Innovation with Real Impact – Monika Koestner – E16

You can hear Rob and Monika discussing:

Connect with Monika Koestner here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-koestner/

Transcript

What happens when the brightest minds in legal, technology, and innovation come together to shape the future of our profession? Welcome to the Legally Speaking podcast Legal Tech Talk 2026 miniseries. As the UK’s number one legal podcast and show ranked in the top 1% of podcasts globally, we’re delighted to be returning as the official media partner for Legal Tech Talk for the third time. Having supported this event since the beginning.

We’ve witnessed firsthand how it has become Europe’s largest legal technology conference, bringing together the people, ideas, and innovations transforming the legal industry. Across this special series, we’ll be speaking with some of the world’s leading legal professionals, founders, technologists, change makers to explore what’s next for law. Because our mission remains the same: inspiring legal minds, transforming legal futures. Let’s get into it.

Hello everyone and welcome to the Legally Speaking podcast recording live here at Legal Tech Talk 2026. Joining me now is another fantastic guest. Please kindly introduce yourself, name, title, and organization. Absolutely. well first I want to say thank you for having me on this. I really appreciate it. My name is Monika Koestner. I am the co-founder of Artificial Intelligence for Global Good. Absolutely, and doing some incredible things.

The big shift and focus this year at Legal Tech Talk is all around transformation. In your view, what’s the biggest shift happening right now in legal and why can people no longer afford to ignore it? It’s the component of using AI in the legal industry. We’ve seen the change where even like certain companies that started two, three years ago, they’re now being big players in the industry, where they’re now incorporating

AI into legal workflows and it actually does help, you know, there’s always a backlog in court, there’s backlog cases, a lawyer can have up to how many claims a day and now they’re using incorporating AI tools to help them, you know, not regulate the whole process, but you know, assist in getting the claim done and filed on time to help the plaintiff or the defendant, whoever they’re representing. So I think that’s the AI and legal component is the biggest shift. Like it. Okay. And we hear

Live Legal Tech Talk. What drew you to Legal Tech Talk 2026 and what’s been a highlight or best insight you’ve picked up thus far? So I actually attended last year for their legal tech talk hackathon and which we came became a finalist in which was amazing. But it was just like from last year to this year, holy cow be conservative, holy cow, it’s such a dramatic difference is that it’s increased dramatically. There’s more companies coming here, the same corporations.

And you’re meeting like minded individuals in the space, which is hard to find, and it’s all in one location. So instead of me going on LinkedIn and trying to, you know, cold message, cold call or cold email people, it’s like they’re all one space. We can get like minded individuals to talk about the same concepts, same ideas, and we’re all the movers and shakers in the industry that are here in one spot. Absolutely. And you’re at the forefront of the industry. What’s the legal problem or challenge you’re passionate about solving and why should people care?

The passion that I’m really about right now is the access to justice for the vulnerable. We find that it’s that David and Goliath battle, especially with artificial intelligence for good, for global good, AI for teaching for short, is meet is doing the whole Aaron Brockovich Meets Henry Floyd component. So it’s the typical thing is one case, one law firm.

one group action or whatever it is, it’s now here’s a portfolio where it can be scalable that a law firm could do multiple cases throughout the year, get the access for justice for the vulnerable because you see that again, like I said, David Glide battle where an individual or plaintiff thinks, well I’m alone, I’m just one person. The corporation has deep pockets. How can I feel whole again if I don’t have the funds to do it? Here’s the opportunity that we’re doing that. You can scale the justice through this what we’re anticip trying to anticipate to do.

Okay, and from access to justice then to human impact, because we’re hearing a lot about technology, automation, innovation, and it may go deeper on your your previous response, but if we get this right, what will be the human impact? How will this improve life of lawyers, law firm clients, and overall society? How it would help is that the human impact would be again, you know, as I mentioned before

Lawyers and law firms are incorporating the AI to scale their claims to be able to file them and properly properly to the courts and get them done in a timely manner. Plaintiffs or defendants, whoever’s on the side, can feel whole again by getting the justice they they deserve, that they’ve been wronged by a corporation or by an individual or somebody here is now using AI to get that justice they want, to feel whole again and to move on with their lives. Well said. Okay, let’s fast forward a few years now. What will seem completely obvious in say 2030 that legal professionals are still ignoring today?

That is an excellent question. quickly obvious. I think they’re underestim I think a lot of the legal firms are underestimating how powerful the AI world can be, especially when you’re corporating these two industries together to make it like a better like to move progress further into the future. Like the way I see it is it’s like a two plus two equals five scenario where two great industries coming together for the bet for the best. So legal so lawyers as I kept saying in this interview is that

They’re getting their claims filed, they’re doing it better, they’re incorporating tools that they never had before to get the claim to be finished, completed, and filed the courts and the human side individuals can be, okay, well I can use AI to get my claim going and feel good about it. Well said. Okay. If you have the attention of every law firm leader, general counsel, legal operations professional, litch listening or watching this podcast right now, what’s one action they could take or should take in the next ninety days?

To prepare for a better future, one action. One action, learn AI. Learn AI. Learn AI. That’s all I can say. And what’s one belief you hold about the legal profession, legal technology, future of law, you hold it strongly that other people may disagree with? Belief. I do bel like my the one belief in the legal technology in the legal world is that AI is like

I honestly believe that AI will not replace lawyers. I believe it’ll be like an assistant component of it now, but more advanced. Like it’s like it’s not like draft this whole thing for me and file it for me. It’s more like what am I missing in this brief that can make it better and what can I incorporate to my legal brief or my my f my case file. Okay, like it. And before we let you go, final question. The legally speaking podcast is all about inspiring legal minds, transforming.

Legal futures, we’ve been taking the show around the world since twenty nineteen. So my final question is what’s one skill, behavior, or mindset you think will separate the leaders of tomorrow from everyone else? Adaptability. If you’re not gonna adapt to what’s currently going on in the world or the legal or if you’re not moving with the legal world or in the the AI world, you will not you will not survive. I it’s like that saying that goes, it’s not the strongest that survive, it’s the ones that are most willing to adapt to change, will survive. And if you’re not in that

Mindset, I’m sorry, but I believe you’ll be left in the dust. Adapt and thrive, right? Look at it from a growth perspective. Okay, and if finally people want to learn more about yourself, your organization, what you’re working on, feel free to share on your websites, any social media handles. We’ll also share them with very special episode for you too. So unfortunately, all I have is LinkedIn right now, and you can find me at Monika with a spell with a K, not a C, Costner, K-O-E-S-T-N-E-R. You’re more than welcome to connect or send me a message and find out more about what we’re doing.

And just leads to say thank you so much for joining me live here at Legal Tech Talk in London for the 2026 version of the Legal Speaking Podcast sponsored by Clio as part of our mini-series. Wishing you lots of continued success with your mission and passions. But from all of us, over an hour. And that wraps up the Legally Speaking podcast, Legal Tech Talk 2026 mini-series sponsored by Clio. A huge thank you to Legal Tech Talk for having us back as the lead media partner.

To every brilliant guest who joined us and to everyone who watched, listened, and supported the series. We’ve covered everything from AI, innovation, legal careers, leadership, community, and the human side of legal tech. As always, our mission stays the same: inspiring legal minds, transforming legal futures. And we’re only just getting started. More on the legally on the move adventures coming soon, road trips, exciting show moments, lots to look forward to. But for now, from all of us on the Legal Speaking Podcast, over and out.