Retaining Top Legal Talent in 2026: The Playbook by Karen Mesmer
Between the Briefs · 2026-01-22 · 38 min
Episode notes
Retaining top legal talent often feels like an uphill climb. Unless you have Karen Mesmer’s playbook. In this episode of Between the Briefs, Karen, Legal Services Manager at Shook, Hardy and Bacon, joins hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens to explore how premier litigation firms are evolving their operations in the face of technological disruption. What You’ll Learn: How to evaluate AI tools without replacing institutional knowledge The essential soft skills that no technology can replicate Why technical fluency in platforms like Excel and document management systems is now table stakes The retention secret of fostering a culture of deliberate care and shared responsibility How to structure career pathways that grow talent internally The discipline of vendor evaluation & prioritizing transparency and fair value exchange The legal industry is nothing without its people. So, it’s time we started paying attention to them.