NEOSUMMIT SPEAKERS
the voices reimagining.
Explore the NeoSummit speakers who reflect thoughtful, forward-looking perspectives across law, technology, and legal operations.
Amanda Knox
Keynote Speaker
Author, Activist, Exoneree
Amanda Knox is an exoneree, public speaker, author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Waiting to Be Heard, host of the podcast Hard Knox, and author of FREE: My Search for Meaning. She is also an Executive Producer of the 2025 series The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. Between 2007 and 2015, she spent nearly four years in an Italian prison and eight years on trial for a murder she didn’t commit. She has since become an advocate for criminal justice reform and media ethics. She sits on the advisory council for the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice, serves as an Innocence Network Ambassador and is on The Innocence Center Board of Directors. She is also the recipient of the 2024 Innocence Network Impact Award.
Matt Lautz
CEO & Founder
Neostella
Matt Lautz is one of the few technology leaders who came to legal tech from the outside—and that’s exactly what makes his perspective different. After 20+ years founding enterprise software companies across telecom, mortgage, and CRM, including ventures acquired by a Fortune 1000 company and Shoretel/Mitel, Matt brought that operator’s instinct into legal tech. He has spent years embedded inside hundreds of mid-market and enterprise law firms, learning firsthand where workflows break down and where technology keeps overpromising and underdelivering. That experience is what drives his mission with Neostella.
Lawrence LeBrocq
CEO & Managing Partner
Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq PC
Lawrence A. LeBrocq brings over 36 years of experience scaling personal injury practices to consistent profitability. As Managing Partner of the Personal Injury Department at Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C., he developed a jury-focused preparation system that drives multimillion-dollar outcomes while supporting high-volume, high-quality case handling. He also serves as a Superior Court Arbitrator and Mediator for the Supreme Court of New Jersey and is the author of the #1 bestseller Victim to Victory.
Vivek Rao
CEO
Foundation AI
Vivek Rao is Co-Founder and CEO of Foundation AI, a legal tech company automating document-driven workflows for litigation firms, from classification and naming to data entry. Before founding Foundation AI in 2019, he led the medical lien unit at a major California workers’ compensation firm and advised startups across digital media and healthcare analytics. He began his AI journey as general counsel of Enlightiks and later brought that expertise to legal, where Foundation AI now processes millions of documents each month.
Josh Schmerling
Chief Strategy Officer
LawPro AI
Josh Schmerling is Co-Founder of LawPro.ai and a personal injury attorney who helped scale Zirkin & Schmerling Law from 15 to more than 700 active cases, securing tens of millions in client recoveries. Appointed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to the Judicial Compensation Commission, Josh has been recognized by Super Lawyers and National Trial Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40. He combines firsthand legal experience with technology innovation to help firms improve efficiency, increase case value, and drive stronger firm performance.
Brandon Speaks
Senior Vice President
Provana
Brandon Speaks is a senior executive at Provana, where he leads business transformation initiatives for personal injury and legal services organizations nationwide. He specializes in legal process optimization, helping firms unlock operational efficiency through strategic outsourcing, workflow redesign, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled automation. Brandon partners with firm leadership to modernize case operations, improve cycle times, and implement scalable performance frameworks that support measurable growth and long-term competitive advantage.
Charles Hatley
CEO
Melone Hatley, PC
Charles Hatley is the CEO of Melone Hatley, P.C., a multi-state family law and estate planning firm that has grown more than 7,000% in four years. Joining in 2020, he helped scale the firm from a solo practice into a 100+ person organization recognized by the Inc. 5000, Law Firm 500, and Best Places to Work lists. He focuses on the realities of scaling, leadership alignment, culture, accountability, and systems that support sustainable growth. An operator at heart, Charles shares practical lessons on building strong leadership teams, developing talent, and leading through rapid expansion while maintaining clarity, values, and long-term vision.
Samantha Hamiel
Chief of Staff
Neostella
Samantha Hamiel is Chief of Staff at Neostella, where she bridges strategy and execution for Neostella. With roots as a litigation paralegal and nearly a decade in customer success in legal technology, Samantha brings rare depth to her role. She has lived the operational realities she now works to solve. Her focus is building the connective tissue that lets Neostella’s teams move faster and with greater clarity: clean systems, honest communication, and infrastructure. She believes clarity, even when uncomfortable, is the secret to success.
Lashay Dodd
Operations Manager
Legal Operations Leader
Lashay Dodd is an Operations Manager with more than a decade of experience optimizing law firm systems and integrating emerging technologies. She specializes in workflow design, cross-departmental strategy, and the responsible adoption of AI in high-stakes legal environments. Lashay helps organizations modernize operations while preserving professional integrity and accountability. She has delivered professional training for legal teams and presented to international bar associations on operational excellence and technology integration.
Rob Busch
Vice President, Sales & Partnerships
Neostella
Rob Busch is VP of Sales & Partnerships at Neostella, bringing over 25 years of enterprise sales leadership to legal tech. His career spans Microsoft, Workday, Salesforce, and Slack — where he led national teams selling to the country’s largest enterprise accounts. Rob has a proven track record of scaling revenue, building high-performing teams, and driving growth at every stage from startup to enterprise. At Neostella, he applies that depth to expanding the company’s sales motion, channel partnerships, and footprint in the legal industry.
Matt McClellan
CEO & Co-founder
Hona
Matt McClellan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hona, where he drives business development, partnerships, and operations while wearing many hats across the company. Before Hona, he co-founded and successfully ran HMC Solutions, a Southern California-based commercial cleaning company, for over four years before leading its sale. His blend of entrepreneurial experience, operational leadership, and personal dedication defines both his professional and personal life.
Joseph Y. Shenkar
Attorney
Marc J. Bern
Joseph Shenkar is Of Counsel at Marc J. Bern & Partners, where his work focuses on AFFF litigation representing clients harmed by toxic “forever” chemicals. He previously supported the firm’s opioid litigation team, advocating for counties and municipalities impacted by the opioid crisis. Before joining the firm, he served as General Counsel for the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and as both an Assistant District Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting pharmaceutical drug diversion cases. He has published in the South Carolina Law Review.
Brian Mayer
Vice President, Product
Neostella
Brian Mayer is VP of Product at Neostella, where he leads a team building scalable legal tech software. A technologist and product leader with a background spanning enterprise consulting, creative direction, and software development, Brian brings a rare blend of technical depth and human-centered thinking to every problem he tackles. His work is driven by a simple belief: give people better tools and they’ll do better work. At Neostella, that philosophy shapes every product decision he and his team make.
Wes Lewis
CEO
LexRight
Wes Lewis is Founder and CEO of LexRight, where he leads a team building scalable legal tech solutions that modernize workflows and improve service delivery for legal organizations. A technology executive and solution architect with over 20 years of experience, Wes has held leadership roles at Nortal, RapDev, Wiley, and Microsoft, where he drove enterprise architecture, cloud transformation, and large-scale system integrations. He specializes in translating operational needs into long-term technology roadmaps that increase productivity and drive measurable growth.
Scott Bickley
Vice President, Partnerships
Neostella
Scott Bickley is VP of Partnerships at Neostella, bringing over 20 years of experience building partner ecosystems and turning them into revenue engines. His career spans global markets across industries including legal tech, healthcare, and enterprise software. Scott specializes in designing high-performing partner models that unlock pipeline and accelerate go-to-market. Known for a practical, no-nonsense approach, he builds relationships that drive results. Outside of work, he’s a proud family man who enjoys golf, travel, and time on the water.
John Berry
CEO
Berry Law
John S. Berry is CEO of Berry Law and a fierce advocate for veterans in the courtroom and beyond. A former Company Commander in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, he concluded his military service as a National Guard Battalion Commander and was inducted into the Nebraska National Guard Regional Training Institute Hall of Fame. Recognized among the National Trial Lawyers’ Top 100 Trial Lawyers for over a decade, John is also the author of Veteran Led and host of the Veteran Led Podcast. Berry Law has served more than 30,000 veterans, recovering over $500 million in backpay awards.
Jessica Lockhart
Chief Technology Officer
Duffy & Duffy PLLC
Jessica Lockhart is Chief Technology Officer at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC, where she leads the firm’s technology strategy and data initiatives. Specializing in legal tech, process design, and data analytics, she transforms complex operational data into actionable insights that drive smarter decisions and scalable growth. Jessica is passionate about helping law firms modernize their workflows and embrace emerging technologies — positioning them for long-term success through thoughtful innovation, operational clarity, and the strategic use of data.
Colleen Joyce
CEO
Lawyer.com
Colleen Joyce is CEO of Lawyer.com, a leading legal marketplace connecting consumers with attorneys through marketing, technology, and 24/7 intake solutions. Passionate about helping law firms scale through smarter client acquisition and AI-driven innovation, Colleen is known for her energetic, no-fluff approach to the business of law. She has spoken at major industry events including the Lawyer Growth Summit, LawDiGras, and NeoSummit, delivering practical strategies on branding, intake, and profitability that firms can put to work immediately.
NEOSUMMIT 2026
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