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Marie Widmer is the founder of next-generation project management software designed for legal operations leaders, Amplifi Ops. Widmer is leveraging over ten years of scaling processes and software for law firms, startups, and big tech to bring cutting-edge technology to an industry that is well-known for lagging behind technologically.
Widmer also founded Legal Ops Uncensored to build a global, inclusive community with a focus on those in the legal operations industry. Learn more about Widmer’s focus on being honest about who you are, the value that technological innovation could have provided her in the past, and how seeing clients struggle to receive fair treatment impacted her decision to pursue law.
Who was your first fictional legal inspiration and why?
Unconventional take here but I was never inspired by a fictional lawyer, or even the lawyers I worked under as a paralegal! What inspired me to shift from working as a paralegal to attending law school was the clients—I saw their struggles accessing legal services and receiving fair treatment, saw where/how the experience could be better, and wanted to be a part of changing the legal practice from the consumer side.
What is one of the biggest misconceptions about being an attorney or the legal function itself?
A lot of my peers (and myself) assumed the core of legal work was acting as an advisor—and while that is part of it, there is so much going on behind the scenes in terms of admin, IT, and operations. Operating a law firm or legal practice (even in-house) requires a stack of skills that law school did not prepare us for – such as project management, accounting, web design, and more.
What’s a piece of unconventional advice you’ve received that was helpful?
To be honest about who you are, your mistakes and experiences. Lawyers aren’t perfect—nor do they have to be, to excel at their jobs. Moving from a place of worrying about external perception and being seen as unshakeable, versus being open about my weak points and asking for help—that was a game changer not only for my career but my mental health.
What is the most meaningful case or pro bono experience you’ve worked on?
I have a few PI cases that are stuck in my memory, mostly the ones where I know that we (the firm) could have done better by the client had we modernized our processes and not had a “take it or leave it” attitude with how we processed cases. Hence why my focus since has been on automation, operations and efficiency.
What song or album motivates you the most?
There is no way I can choose one—but anything by Arijit Singh!
Find Marie Widmer on LinkedIn.
