My LawNext podcast features conversations with the “innovators and entrepreneurs who are driving what’s next in law.” But in 2020, “what’s next” was anybody’s guess.

In this list of the 10 LawNext episodes that were most popular during 2020, it may be little surprise that my April interview with legal futurist Richard Susskind was the most popular, as we all sought to answer that question of what’s next. In fact, Susskind’s interview is now my most-downloaded ever.

We were also captivated and ultimately uplifted by the brink-of-death story of David Lat, the legal recruiter and journalist best known as the founder of the blog Above the Law, whose serious case of COVID-19 early in the pandemic seemed to defy what we understood about the risk to those who are young and healthy. We had the first podcast interview with David, at a point when he was still hoarse from the intubation.

One of my favorite stories of the year was that of Judge Scott U. Schlegel, chair of the Speciality Treatment Courts in Jefferson Parish, La., who, even as courts across the nation seemed stymied by shutdowns, managed to forge ahead with delivering justice online, doing it almost entirely with off-the-shelf software he cobbled together himself.

But even in a year dominated by the pandemic, listeners continued to be interested in episodes focused on innovation in legal practice and legal technology. Among my top episodes were two panel discussions recorded live at Legalweek in New York, just weeks before everything came to a halt, one on analytics and the other on innovation.

There was also big interest in my interview with Deloitte principal Mark Ross on the Big Four firm’s newly announced Legal Business Practice in the U.S., and in my interview with the guru of design thinking in legal, Stanford’s Margaret Hagan.

Also earning top spots: My interview with Axiom founder and now-Knowable CEO Mark Harris, a look at using Microsoft Teams to manage legal matters, and an interview with a GC on starting a corporate legal department from scratch.

Note that these rankings reflect unique downloads during 2020. These are not the most popular episodes of all time. In the all-time tally, as I mentioned above, Susskind holds the top spot, followed by my 2018 interview with Avvo founder Mark Britton.

1. Legal Futurist Richard Susskind on Coronavirus, Courts and the Legal Profession

2. Legal Analytics Super Session from #Legalweek20

3. David Lat on His Brink-of-Death Battle with COVID-19

4. The Innovation Advantage – A Panel Discussion with Leading Experts in Law Firm Innovation

5. Deloitte Principal Mark Ross on the Big Four Firm’s New Legal Business Practice

6. Designing for Justice, with Stanford’s Margaret Hagan

7. Mark Harris on the Post-Pandemic Tsunami for Corporate Contracts

8. Managing Legal Matters with Microsoft Teams

9. Building a Legal Department from Scratch, with Help from Tech

10. How One Tech-Savvy Judge Jury-Rigged An Online Court

You can also check out the list of 2019’s most popular episodes.

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Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.