LegalTechTalk Uncovered Ep 3 – Chris O’Day 

Transcript

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

Chris O’Day: Hi, my name is Chris O’Day. I’m Chief Executive Officer at The Cashroom, and I’m delighted to be here joining Robert today.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, it’s great to meet you in person again. I know we met a little while ago, actually, up near where I relocated to at Ribby Hall Village, where we have an event taking place. How are you finding this conference so far?

Chris O’Day: It’s been great, actually. Obviously, the first time they’ve ran this conference. And the whole vibe, it’s very positive. Lots of disruptors here in LegalTech. And there’s just a great vibe here on the day.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, and people can sense the energy, probably from this recording as well. Here are all the people around us, buzzing around, networking, meeting. I love coming to these sort of in-person, getting that human connection buzz going. Can you briefly describe your focus over at The Cashroom?

Chris O’Day: Yeah, so at Cashroom, we provide a full outsourced finance function to law firms. And really what we’re doing is we’re bringing a tech-enabled focus to that and developing our own technology as well as working with all of the practice management systems, being system agnostic. So we work with whichever systems our clients use. And it’s really about enabling law firms to get the best out of the technology that’s available to streamline that finance function, which is often a big pain point for a lot of firms.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, and again, I’ve been speaking to a lot of people at this whole conference around, everyone has these visions, everyone has these goals, everyone’s embracing technology in some capacity, hence why they’re here today. But it’s never straightforward. And there are challenges and these need to be overcome. So what’s been the main challenge or challenges you’ve identified specifically in the legal sector and how are you really getting to the bottom and addressing them?

Chris O’Day: Yeah, so at Cashroom, being focused on the finance function for law firms, as you know, there’s a heck of a lot of money that goes through lawyers’ client accounts or trust accounts across the world. And compliance and risk is a massive problem there for a lot of law firms. And really what we are trying to do is bring the best use of technology to maximise efficiency within that function, while minimising risk and ultimately ensuring compliance.

So things like open banking technology and features like confirmation of PE, which we’ve just launched within our portal, really are adding layers of security to payment processes where there’s billions of pounds flowing through law firms that is a real risk area. And the more we can do to use technology to improve that risk profile, then the better for everyone generally, not just across the profession, but across general public who are consumers of legal services ultimately.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, it’s 360, isn’t it? And it’s a great example of what I call tech for good, you know, and what you’re thinking about. And, you know, there are so many things when it comes to risk, compliance, and people get a little bit scary, but I love how you kind of simplify this and how you really partner with the law firms as well. I know it’s a little bit early days into the conference, but has there been a standout moment for you thus far or something that’s really stuck in your mind?

Chris O’Day: I think standout moment is just really seeing all of the different suppliers who are here. And as you mentioned, seeing the energy and the innovation and the disruption and the transformation that’s going on in the legal sector. There’s a lot of suppliers here who I wasn’t aware of. I’m coming across for the first time. And obviously AI is the big buzzword at the minute. And it’s fascinating to see the journey that is going on with AI generally and how different businesses are adopting that specific to the legal sector and the advancements that’s going to bring.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, I don’t think I’ll do an interview over the entire miniseries where AI isn’t discussed because it’s so prevalent. And we are in this new revolution. I love that organisations like yourself are at the cutting edge of that and you’re putting yourself in the right spaces and getting yourself out there. And even me who likes to think I’m in the legal community, I’m learning of new suppliers and new things that are happening. And that’s the benefit of coming out and getting live in these conferences as well. Where can people find out more about Cashroom? Where’s the best website, social media handles, best way for them to get in touch? Feel free to shout them out.

Chris O’Day: Yeah, so we’re on LinkedIn. You’ll see a lot of content going out within LinkedIn. You can visit our website at www.thecashroom.co.uk. And we will also be out and about at various conferences, including yours, in a few weeks, Rob. Looking forward to that one.

Robert Hanna: Yeah, absolutely. We’re super excited for the first ever Great Big Legal Offsite on July the 3rd. Super, super pumped for that. But Chris, it’s been great having you on the show. Loving what you’re doing at Cashroom. And you’re kindly supporting us over there at that event as well. Wishing you lots of continued success. But for now, from all of us on show, 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!