Influential Women in Legal Technology: Honoree #3, Leah Molatseli
Since 2020, ILTA has annually honored five outstanding women leaders in the global legal technology community. Each March, during International Women's History Month, honorees are selected based on their history of mentorship and level of impact on Legal Technology.
This year, ILTA is pleased to share the list of the 2022 recipients:
-Ebru Metin, Founder and CEO, Legal Design Turkey
-Dorna Moini, Founder and CEO, Documate
-Leah Molatseli, Head of Business Development, Legal Interact
-Joy Heath Rush, CEO, ILTA
-Naomi Thompson, Senior Vice President, Legal Solutions EMEA, Exigent Group Limited
Today, we are pleased to highlight our next 2022 Influential Woman: Leah Molatseli.
Leah Molatseli is a lawyer, published author, speaker and Legal Tech and Innovation Specialist who currently holds the role of Head of Business Development at Legal Interact. She focuses on the intersection between law, innovation and technology, using her expertise to educate and empower the legal market. She is a Guest Lecturer at the University of Cape Town where she develops and teaches legal tech and innovation related courses to the broader legal industry. She is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a University of Notre Dame alum who enjoys everything that speaks to using technology and innovative processes to empower lawyers in whatever roles they find themselves in, from practicing lawyers to inhouse legal teams. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Global Legal Tech Hub, a country member for the Global Legal Tech Consortium and is one of 2022’s ILTA’s Most Influential Women in Legal Tech Honourees.
Earlier this year, we sat down with Leah and asked her to dive a little deeper with ILTA. Here are some insights into the third of our five 2022 Influential Women in Technology:
Describe your role as if you are speaking with a child.
I create and tell stories about cool toys that we build to help lawyers do their work better and faster using technology and imagination at Legal Interact. I make friends, speak to different people and the media to bring attention to what we do in a way that can also help us make money.
What accomplishment in the legal space are you most proud of?
I think I have achieved a lot in the small time that I have been in the legal industry, but my biggest achievement is probably being able to shape my career in the way that I want it and for it to be in line with my personal passions and vision. When I do what I do, it just feels like an extension of who I am and what I believe, it doesn’t feel like work. I don’t think a lot of people get to merge their personal believes and passions with their work, but through being in the legal tech industry specifically, I have managed to curve a way for myself in a way that is authentic. I don’t have to augment myself just to make a living. And that to me, is incredibly important.
I have also began realizing that through living my dreams, being authentic and sometime vulnerable. It somehow gives other women who look like the confidence to be themselves. I often am reminded of Marianne Williamson’s talk on the Liberation that greatness gives to other people, just a small snippet below:
“And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.”
How do you make sure there are seats at the table for women in the industry?
The only way I can do this is constantly, is by being loud about my journey, whether I am having a good or bad day. But more importantly sharing those stories of people who look like me in the legal tech industry. Because from an African perspective the industry is still at its infancy there is an inherent responsibility to be intentional about how we shape and tell our stories. Therefore, I started #legaltechwithleah Twitter Spaces where I not only talk on the industry, but to share my thoughts and bring along people who have followed alternative legal careers on the continent. I periodically share informative Twitter threads sharing legal tech content. I also mentor young female lawyers interested in the legal tech industry or who are looking to make a shift.
On a broader and impactful scale, I sit on the South African Chapter for Women in Tech which was formed on a broader scale to empower young women and girls in STEM, in South Africa we focus more on training and development, creating empowerment opportunities for women to enter this space.
What is one challenge within legal technology you hope to help solve?
Given where we are in South Africa, from a legal service delivery and average people being able to get access to quality legal services, I think for me, it’s not necessarily a pain point to solve (because we know it exists), but more of creating awareness to my colleagues in the industry that, this is a viable career option. Because I believe the more, we build solutions to help the man on the street, the better from an access to justice perspective. If more lawyers come in, it will further destigmatize this concept that ‘affordable legal services” are not worthy. The demand exists, but there are not enough voices, solutions to meet this demand. The fear is often that we may not be able to make a proper living outside of what we are trained to do, it takes courage to step out and do law differently and the more of us whether outside like me or internally in law firms through innovation and tech initiatives and Alternative Legal Service departments, I think we can do incredible things to move the needle.
If you could spend one hour with someone who you feel has had a significant impact on your success (directly or indirectly), who would you spend it with and what’s the one question you’d ask them?
There are so many of them, I am not particularly sure where to start or simply just pick. Purely because I have taken snippets from a variety of people at different stages of my career to propel me to whichever stage I needed to get. So, for example, when I made the shift from traditional law to entrepreneurship, I was heaving the #buildyourlegacy on Twitter and through I made incredible people in the business space and gave me the confidence to actually step out and build Lenoma Legal.
The biggest influence is probably Oprah Winfrey though, from a living your truth and passions through your work perspective. The one question, I would really enjoy hearing her thoughts on is probably: “How to remain consistent, relevant and financially sustainable in your career through different iterations and changes in your personal passions” This is purely because she has managed to change her direction so often, but still is able to be relevant and considered a thought leader in her industry.
Additionally, check out our ILTA video with Leah, to learn more about her!
Join us, next week, as we learn more about our next 2022 Influential Woman in Legal Technology!
And, for more information on the 2022 recipients, and the ILTA Influential Women in Legal Technology awards, please click here.