Ep 173: Natalie Knowlton on ‘Succession Planning for an Outdated Legal Industry’

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On her</span> <a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieanneknowlton/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">LinkedIn profile</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, Natalie Knowlton describes her work as “succession planning for an outdated legal industry.” It is an apt description for someone who has spent her career studying reform of the U.S. legal system — and particularly now, as she launches</span> <a href="https://www.a2jventures.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Access to Justice Ventures</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a think tank devoted to reinventing the legal system to provide justice for all by eliminating systemic barriers. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the past 14 years, Knowlton has been at the</span> <a href="https://iaals.du.edu/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">at the University of Denver, most recently as director of special projects, leading the organization’s work in family justice and regulatory reform, and where she remains an advisor on regulatory innovation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But she is now devoting the majority of her time to her new think tank, which she is launching together with</span> <a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachariahdemeola-75498a9/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Zack DeMeola</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, who was previously director of legal education and the legal profession at IAALS (and who was on an episode of this podcast last year</span> <a href= "https://www.lawnext.com/2021/08/lawnext-reregulation-of-legal-services-a-panel-of-five-leading-experts-discuss.html"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">discussing reregulation of legal services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">), where their immediate focus will be on reforming the rules that regulate legal services delivery to allow broader classes of providers. </span></p> <p><span styl