The Buzz Newsletter (August 2026)
We are excited to see many of you next month at ILTACON in Nashville! You can learn more about where our team will be and how to schedule time with us on our event page here.
Our team is proud to have been invited to speak on four conference panels:
- From Intake to Destruction: Mapping the Modern Data Lifecycle
- Unifying M365: Hidden Capabilities Transforming Collaboration and Automation
- Legal Taxonomies and the modern DMS
- Preparing Today’s Neurodivergent Attorneys
We are also hosting several briefings, on hot topics including AI Adoption and SharePoint as a DMS, which you can read more about below.
As we prepare for ILTACON, we would like to highlight some new and several popular resources and capabilities from InOutsource:
- Microsoft Purview + Data Security Audits — We will be sharing fresh insight and practical use cases for adopting Purview, protecting firm information, and advancing a governed approach to AI adoption
- Intake Intelligence — Our new risk performance metrics and dashboard add-on capabilities for Intapp Intake. (Think of it as like BI for your risk operations)
- New Case Filing Intelligence (NCFI) — Accelerating business development by integrating court filing and other public data streams to enable rapid firm engagement of new and existing litigation clients. Built on Microsoft, NCFI also enhances firm CRM and KM efforts.
- Intapp Cloud Migration — With on-premises development for key products dormant, and Intapp Celeste creating a compelling cloud catalyst, we are seeing increasing interest from firms looking to advance their cloud journeys.
- HiveMind Client Care — We also continue to see strong interest from clients on this concierge service offering, which offers on demand support, advisory, and professional services. It is a powerful way to easily tap into our organization’s collective experience and skill.
A New Partnership Unlocks New Opportunities — Welcome Epona!
At ILTACON we are officially announcing a new partnership with Epona. InOutsource is now an Epona reseller, implementation partner, and support provider.
Epona provides solutions that enable firms using Microsoft365 (SharePoint, OneDrive, or File Shares) for document and information management to easily add a “firm-aware” user interface that provides a DMS-like experience, strong governance, and controlled AI integration.
Closing Thoughts
As you plan for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027, our (growing) team of technologists, business analysts, attorneys, and project managers stands ready to assist you and your firm in defining and executing projects on time and on budget. (You can hear perspectives from several of them below in video recordings and other content featured in this issue of The Buzz.)
If you would like to schedule time to discuss how our team can support yours in 2026 and beyond, we would love to connect.
Founder and CEO
Chief Operating Officer
A Word from Nancy & Eric
Hear our perspectives on the mission of InOutsource, how our staff shines, and what it is like to work with our team:
InOutsource @ ILTACON
We are eagerly preparing for ILTACON 2026. If you are planning to attend, we would love to book some time to catch up!
You can see the names and bios of who is coming, book time for a meeting, find our demo room, and learn more about other programs we are involved in at our: ILTACON 2026 Resource Page where you can read more about:
- How we are aligning our team, our consulting focus, and our software solutions to address critical challenges facing law firms
- The names and bios of InOutsource team members who will be attending ILTACON
- How to book time with our experts
- Our booth (#606) and demo room locations, if you would like to meet up informally
- Details on conference sessions we will be presenting at
CONFERENCE SESSIONS:
- From Intake to Destruction: Mapping the Modern Data Lifecycle
- Unifying M365: Hidden Capabilities Transforming Collaboration and Automation
- Legal Taxonomies and the modern DMS
- Preparing Today’s Neurodivergent Attorneys
INOUTSOURCE PRESENTATIONS:
- Governance at the Seams of AI – How to Move from AI Pilot to Proven Success
- SharePoint as a DMS: Turning Microsoft 365 into a Legal Work Platform with Epona
PRODUCT BRIEFINGS:
- Intake Intelligence
- New Case Filing Intelligence
- Audit Letter Response
OUR TEAM AT ILTACON:
InOutsource in Brief
INSIGHT INTEGRATED WITH EXECUTION:
Covering the Entire Client Lifecycle
As we increasingly talk to stakeholders across multiple departments, we have worked to distill and sharpen how we concisely explain the broad and unique scope of what InOutsource offers.
This chart represents our latest attempt at “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Our practices teams are focused on addressing key elements of the client matter lifecycle, providing diligent support, implementing effective governance, and enabling firms to harness emerging forces of innovation and change driven by AI.
- EXAMPLE: We are applying our knowledge of key technologies (Intapp Walls, Microsoft Purview, DMS/RMS solutions, and Microsoft 365), combined with our best practices expertise, to help firms adopt and use Copilot safely and effectively.
See something intriguing? Let’s connect and explore!
Event Replays
WEBINAR RECORDING: New Business “Intake Intelligence” — Dashboards and Reporting that Enable New Levels of Insight and Action
Law firm risk leaders looking to increase team productivity and deepen their understanding of departmental efficiency and business impact need better operational insight.
But when it comes to extracting key data and building essential reports, many teams look to build on the native capabilities of their new business acceptance software to gain deeper operational insight.
In this webinar, we explored how risk leaders are pursuing “Intake Intelligence” — adopting modern analytics tools, and configuring custom reports to address a wide variety of critical compliance and client service objectives.
If your firm is looking for:
- More detail and drill-downs into matter opening volume and composition
- More granular understanding of staff productivity and work patterns
- More clarity around exceptions, escalations, bottlenecks, and surge traffic flows
- More insight to help manage capacity and better serve partners
You won’t want to miss this recording!
WEBINAR RECORDING: The State of the OCG Landscape: What's Challenging, What's Changing, What Choices Should Your Firm Be Making?
Negotiating, implementing, and managing Outside Counsel Guidelines requires continuous diligence from law firm risk teams. With clients increasingly tightening cost controls and introducing new complexities around AI governance, managing OCGs requires constant attention.
In this roundtable webinar, a panel of risk leaders took stock of the current state of the OCG landscape and shared their real-world observations, perspectives, and recommendations for keeping up with industry trends and good practices.
Panelists:
- Katie Rutherford, Compliance / New Business Administrator — Fox Rothschild
- Christine Hunter, Senior Counsel, General Counsel’s Office / Director, Information Governance — Blake, Cassels & Graydon
- Leandra De Freitas, Director, Conflicts & Risk Management — Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
- Alissa Mann, Senior Director and Counsel, Risk & Compliance — Blank Rome
Focused on real-world experience and practical guidance, they explored:
- How their firms are adapting policy, process, and technology to manage client OCGs
- Existing and emerging trends in client terms of engagement
- Advice for flagging and navigating client contradictions — particularly around firm use of AI
- Thoughts on navigating escalations management
Perspectives on team organization, staffing, and skills alignment
WEBINAR RECORDING: Risk Roundtable: Exploring New Risk ROI Opportunities
In this session, we shared our perspective on how firms are investing in enhancing their risk management capabilities, boosting team efficiency, and streamlining day-to-day operations in 2026.
Our panel reviewed real-world stories, commented on existing and evolving trends, and offered advice for firms in risk areas touching policy, process, technology, data management, and staffing.
Topics included:
Policy, Process & People:
- Lateral hire workflow, HR systems integrations, and process optimization
- Improving OCG, terms of business, and engagement letter management
- Staff training, development, and retention
Technology:
- Risk cloud software migration strategies and best practices
- Taking advantage of licensed but unused or under-utilized software product capabilities
Data and Insight:
- New Business Intake reporting and dashboard intelligence
- Third-party data integration & process optimization innovations
Enhanging Intapp
INTAKE INTELLIGENCE: Unlock Risk Performance Insights: Efficiency, Timing & Trends
Drawing on InOutsource’s cross-functional expertise in Intapp Intake and Conflicts, analytics, and the broader risk management best practice landscape, Intake Intelligence provides firms with a standard set of reports and dashboards that can be further extended and customized to meet their organization’s specific needs.
Built on Microsoft Power BI, and supporting Intapp both on-premises and in the cloud, this solution enables firms to get data-driven answers to critical questions about intake turnaround timing, volume patterns, team productivity, exceptions management, and more. It presents not only aggregated, departmental-level summaries, but also breakouts and drill-downs across key criteria including: practice groups, matter profiles, geographies, and staff resources.
Data and Dashboards Delivered
Unlocking new levels of real-time information and reporting enables organizations to better understand how new clients, matters, and lateral hires are onboarded. This understanding creates a data-driven roadmap for adapting policies, practices, staffing, and escalations to create an even better experience for all stakeholders in the business acceptance and continuance lifecycle.
Intake Intelligence provides event-level detail, summaries, and reporting across a variety of areas, including:
RESOURCE: Intapp Cloud Migration: Assessment and Planning Services
We are working with a growing number of firms on Intapp cloud migration projects.
For those ready to move in 2026 or looking to lay a foundation for 2027 (or beyond), we have the experts and experience ready to make your projects a smooth success.
If your firm is at the “thinking” stage, we recommend some focused review, analysis, and planning now.
To help organizations avoid uncertainty, scope projects accurately, and execute migrations on schedule and on budget, we have developed a proprietary assessment.
Executing a detailed technical review and expert analysis, our practice team will evaluate your environment and needs — producing detailed recommendations, a tailored roadmap, and unique insight.
Our Amazing Team
WE ARE HIRING: Expanding Our "A-Team" to Deliver "A+" Results for Your Firm
There’s no other consultancy like InOutsource. Our culture, our breadth of skill, and our reputation speak volumes about our values and commitment to client success.
If you know someone looking for a fresh professional adventure that might be a good fit for our team, please sent them our way!
In the meantime, here are some new video perspectives from several familiar faces at InOutsource.
Beeswax (Industry Insight)
INTAPP INTRODUCES: “A world of pure imagination!”
People are buzzing about Intapp’s new Agentic AI platform — Celeste. It’s much more than a wrapper on a reference LLM model, it’s a paradigm shift for the legal industry!
Launched at the recent Amplify event with a sizzling highlight video and soundtrack, Celeste: “knows your firm and gets work done with compliance built in, not bolted on.” It addresses use cases including:
- Agent-supported business planning
- Proactive cross-sell nudges
- Strategic business selection
- AI-supported matter intake and conflicts clearance
- Continuous conflicts monitoring
- Automated time capture and budget monitoring
- Lateral integration
- Automated experience processing
State Bar AI Opinion Updates
California: “Practical Guidance for the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law” Read More
Oregon: “Formal Opinion No. 2026-208 details use of AI agents and chatbots on law firm websites” Read More
New York State: “Formal Opinion 2025-6: Ethical Issues Affecting Use of AI to Record, Transcribe, and Summarize Conversations with Clients” Read More
“AI and Attorney Ethics Rules: 50-State Survey”:
RECORDING: InfoGov Hot Seat — LIVE
InfoGov Hot Seat recently hosted another live discussion. Focused on AI, panelists and participated
- Data Quality as the Foundation for AI Performance
- The Rise of “Shadow DMS” and Governance Guardrails
- Shift from “Prompt Engineering” to Deep AI Literacy
- Overcoming “Pilot Mode” and Procurement Friction
Competitive Threat of AI-First Law Firms
Watch Jim Merrifield and Leigh Zidwick and their guests here:
More Resources & Updates:
Conflicts, Confidentiality, and Business Risk — Lateral Departures Lead to Big Law Partnership Agreement Reveal and Review, Lateral Leaver Accused of Confidentiality Breach, Firing Lawyer Denies DQ
Risky Business — Litigation Funder’s Rules Revealed
Clients and Conflicts — Client Selection Concerns and Conflicts, Positional Conflict in Crypto/Kalshi Matter
Conflicts — Judge’s Mediator Must Recuse in Subsequent Matters, Co-Conspirator Representation Ruled Conflict
The Bee's Knees
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