By Steve Salee, CEO, Wildfire Strategies
There’s a photo from Legal Geek Growth that I think captures the day perfectly. I’m standing next to Kindred Group founding partner Fred Brown, who is as wonderful to work with as he is a true wealth of knowledge, both of us wearing grins that matched the energy in the room. Behind us, a wall of Post-its tells the real story. This wasn’t a traditional sit-and-listen session. It was an interactive, human-centered workshop designed to help small and medium-sized law firms tackle the messy, human side of legal transformation.
Fred and I designed the session around those Post-its as a living map: ideas, constraints, fears, and aspirations, captured in color and stuck to the wall for everyone to see. Every note contributed to a conversation about people, teams, processes, and culture. Because technology and change only take on meaning when they serve people.
The “Now What?” Moment
If there was one theme echoing through the event, it was this: the technology is here. AI platforms, automation tools, and point solutions are everywhere. But as I found myself saying in conversation throughout the day, the real question is: Now what?
How do small and mid-market firms actually engage with this wave now, next month, and in the long term? Richard Susskind, who spoke earlier in the day, outlined six hypotheses for how AI might play out over the coming decades. Whether you believe scenario one (AI is all hype), scenario six (AI replaces us all), or a scenario in between, the imperative is the same: firms need to be able to think and talk across time horizons. What does it mean to transform into a different kind of organization, one that leverages technology to deepen client relationships and enhance advisory roles?
That opportunity is thrilling. It is also scary for many. And, that is okay and expected.
The Missing Piece
Walking the exhibition floor, you could see the breadth of innovation on display. There were dozens of vendors, point solutions for this, AI tools for that. But listening to managing partners move through the space, you could sense the underlying question: How do you choose among fifty different solutions? Who helps you stitch them together? Who is in your corner for what happens after the software is purchased?
That’s the gap. This is not a technical challenge. It’s a human one.
What these firms need is help with the humanity of change, the people-side of change: the change management, the conversation architecture, the courage to sit with uncertainty. The most critical decision a firm can make right now might not be which platform to buy tomorrow. It is how they empower their people to see a vision of the future in which they are at the center, and genuinely excited to be there.
Why SME Firms Are Poised to Win
If I were running a small or medium-sized law firm today, I would be super excited. I mean it. These firms are agile. They have the freedom to create entirely new approaches to client service, to experiment, and to build things they can take directly to market.
That agility is a superpower. But it only works if the people inside the firm feel safe enough to explore.
What struck me most at Legal Geek Growth was the participants’ openness. Managing partners weren’t just on stage delivering polished keynotes; they were sitting in workshop sessions with their peers, wrestling with what comes next for their organizations and the industry. That takes vision. It also takes vulnerability—the courage to admit that the pace of change is uncomfortable, that none of us has all the answers, and that the best way forward is to talk about it openly.
Because here is the truth we all know but rarely say out loud: we are all feeling the uncertainty, even if we’re not talking about it. When leaders create space for those honest conversations, something shifts. People stop bracing for change and start exploring it, with curiosity and possibility.
The Human Work of Transformation
At Wildfire Strategies, we exist to help leaders and teams navigate that exact shift. We don’t sell point solutions. We help firms make sense of them. We get leaders ready for change and help them and their teams move through it…together. Whether it is mapping the future across multiple time horizons, building a culture where curiosity outpaces fear, or simply creating the language and rituals to talk about what’s next, our work is about putting people at the center of transformation.
The Post-its on our workshop wall were evidence of a conversation that matters. Every color, every note, every hesitation and hope scribbled in marker was a reminder that legal innovation is about creating organizations where humans and technology work in service of each other.
Looking Ahead
I left Legal Geek Growth more convinced than ever that the future belongs to the brave and the agile. The small and mid-market firms that will thrive are the ones that stop looking for a single magic bullet and start investing in their people’s capacity to change, adapt, and dream in decades rather than quarters.
Fred and I are already looking forward to next year’s Legal Geek Growth. If you’re navigating these questions inside your firm or if you have the technology in front of you but aren’t sure how to bring your people along for the ride, we would love to connect.
Because the technology is here. The people are ready. Let’s build what comes next…together.
I’m grateful to Legal Geek for putting on another great event, to Fred for bringing his energy, insight, and that signature smile to our workshop, and to our amazing teammates, Woody Emeny from Mattermatics, and Tracy Whiting and Julia Whitney from Wildfire, for making both our workshop and all of Legal Geek Growth a rollicking success.