ITCC: Melanie Chaney on why LCW built its own chatbot (and the future of mid-size law)

Mid-size law firms are getting squeezed from both sides. Big Law has the capital to invest in AI and the salaries to attract top talent. Boutiques can specialize tightly and move fast. So where does that leave everyone in the middle?

Melanie Chaney, firm-wide managing partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, has a front-row seat to that question. LCW has grown from 45 attorneys to 120 over the past two decades, and Chaney -- just a few months into her tenure leading the firm -- is candid about the challenges that come with that position in the market: recruitment, AI costs, and figuring out how junior attorneys develop their skills when the tasks they used to learn on are being automated away.

In this episode of In the Counsel's Chair, she makes the case that mid-size firms still have a real value proposition -- but that a long track record is no excuse to stop innovating.

About Melanie: Melanie L. Chaney is the Firm-wide Managing Partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, California's leading education, public sector, nonprofit, and labor & employment law firm serving public agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits. She brings decades of experience advising cities, school districts, and public safety departments on complex and high-stakes labor relations matters. Her practice includes collective bargaining under the MMBA and EERA, handling labor disputes before the California Public Employment Relations Board, and representing public entities in employment litigation in state and federal court. She also conducts workplace investigations, counsels agencies on personnel policies, and regularly provides training on labor and employment issues.