About

Leadership Experience That Understands Your Challenges

Steve Smith isn't just an AI consultant—he's a former operator with 25+ years as CEO, CFO, and SVP who now helps law firm leaders adopt AI with CLE-eligible workshops, 90-day sprints, and embedded case support.

1,000+

Legal professionals trained

4+

CLE partner organizations

100+

Documented legal AI use cases

Steve Smith, Founder

Steve Smith, Founder

From the Executive Suite to AI Strategy

Steve Smith brings a unique combination of executive leadership and technical expertise to legal AI consulting. With 25+ years as CEO, CFO, and SVP at technology companies, he understands the real questions managing partners face: What's the ROI? How do we manage risk? How do we get our team on board?

Unlike consultants who only understand technology, Steve speaks the language of business outcomes. He's managed P&Ls, built global operations teams, navigated complex transformations, and driven profitable growth. That experience informs every recommendation he makes.

After seeing how AI was transforming business operations, Steve recognized that law firms faced a unique challenge: mountains of AI hype but little practical guidance on what actually works in legal practice. He founded Intelligence by Intent to bridge that gap—translating AI complexity into clear, actionable strategies that deliver measurable results.

Background

Credentials & Experience

  • MBA, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • 25+ years executive leadership (CEO, CFO, COO, SVP)
  • Former roles at leading technology companies
  • Global operations experience across multiple continents
  • Built and scaled revenue operations teams
  • Presented to 1,000+ legal professionals
  • CLE-eligible AI programs delivered alongside accredited sponsors
  • 100+ legal-specific AI use cases developed
  • Keynote speaker at bar associations
  • Featured speaker: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

Speaking

Speaking Engagements

Steve is a sought-after speaker at legal conferences and bar associations, known for transforming AI from intimidating to actionable.

Upcoming

  • Spring 2026 — Keynote Speaker, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) National Conference
  • Additional engagements being scheduled

Past Engagements

Differentiators

Why Law Firms Choose Steve

Peer-Level Perspective

Steve has made the same decisions you're facing: evaluating ROI, managing change, getting buy-in from skeptical partners. He's not a vendor selling tools—he's a former executive who understands your world.

Business Outcomes First

Every recommendation is grounded in business impact: revenue growth, cost reduction, competitive advantage, risk mitigation. Technology is the means, not the end.

Legal-Specific Expertise

100+ use cases across every practice area means Steve demonstrates solutions with your documents, your workflows, your challenges. Not generic business examples.

Steve's Approach

Straightforward methodology: understand your practice, demonstrate what's possible, train your team, measure results.

1. Start with Business Problems, Not Technology

What challenges keep you up at night? That's where we begin—not with AI features.

2. Demonstrate Before You Invest

See it working with your documents before committing. No leaps of faith required.

3. Train for Adoption, Not Just Understanding

Knowledge doesn't drive results—adoption does. Training focuses on building new habits.