Trust and Human Judgement Are the Legal Currency of Today ft. Bill Ryan

March 19, 2026 Joe Stephens

Litigation Strategy Legal AI Legal Industry Trends

Law firm operations are undergoing a massive overhaul in the age of AI. In this episode, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Bill Ryan, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at AT&T, to explore how enterprise legal departments can harness AI to disrupt traditional workflows and what this means for enterprise compliance.

What You’ll Learn:

How to build organizational trust as the foundation for technological change
Why dedicated teams outperform wide AI operation
Why “vision without execution is just hallucination”
How to approach outside counsel partnerships in an AI-driven market
Why human judgement becomes more critical as technology scales
The dual risk-opportunity dynamic in AI democratization

Tune in to learn the leadership principles that make technological transformation actually work.

Want to watch this episode of Between the Briefs instead? Get the full video on YouTube.

About the Contributors

Joe Stephens

Joe Stephens, J.D., is Steno's Director of Legal Solutions as well as a Clinical Lecturer at Texas Tech University School of Law. With over 15 years of experience in criminal defense and public service, he founded and led Texas' largest rural public defender office, which serves a 12-county area. A graduate of The University of Texas School of Law (cum laude) and Vanderbilt University (B.A.), Stephens currently serves as a Board Member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association (TCDLA) and sits on multiple State Bar of Texas committees. His expertise spans the intersection of legal practice and technological innovation in the justice system.

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Adrian Cea

Adrian Cea is Steno's Social Media Manager, leading content strategy, audience engagement, and digital brand-building across platforms. He also produces and co-hosts Between the Briefs, Steno's podcast covering the intersection of legal technology, court reporting, and the future of litigation. With a background spanning content creation, field marketing, and sales at companies like Sell Better and Chili Piper, Adrian brings a multi-disciplined lens to making complex legal tech topics accessible and engaging.

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