What does it really take to embed AI into a law firm?   In this episode of Compliance by Design, Avantia COO Hannah Thompson joins host Laurence Baker to share the operational reality of building a tech-enabled law firm. From her journey as a litigator to leading operations, Hannah explains why traditional law firm models reward inefficiency, how lawyers actually respond to AI tools, and why trust and human judgment remain at the heart of legal services.   We cover: Why the billable hour is the enemy of innovation How to overcome lawyer scepticism and drive adoption of AI Turning messy legal processes into workflows ready for automation The reality of AI in law today — and what the future holds If you have any questions about anything discussed on the show, or to contribute to a future episode, please email laurence@avantialaw.com.

The legal AI market is buzzing with new tools — but how much of it is hype, and what’s actually working inside law firms? In this episode of Compliance by Design, Laurence sits down with Avantia’s CTO, Paul Gaskell (ex-BlackRock, Bloomberg), to unpack the state of play. They discuss why the first wave of AI “platforms” fell short, how legal teams should think in workflows not point solutions, and the three critical questions every GC and CCO should be asking their legal tech providers. Plus, Paul shares how Avantia built its own AI, Ava, to integrate directly into Word and Outlook — and why the future of AI might just involve rocks and octopuses...

In the first ”Compliance by Design” episode, hosts PD and James Sutton welcome Rob Johnston of Lowenstein Sandler to discuss US AML compliance updates, focusing on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and new FinCEN AML rules. Johnston explains the confusion and uncertainty for registered investment advisors under the Bank Secrecy Act, as the clock is counting down to the Jan 1 deadline. He advises asset managers to document processes and strengthen internal policies, especially for private transactions, and we discuss AI’s potential in compliance.