Author: Patrick J. McKenna

SIMON DRANE Simon has held numerous positions within the professional services sector over the last 25 years – at a FTSE 100 legal information solution provider, a legal technology consultancy, a law firm, an accounting firm, and a legal membership organization. Simon has qualifications in law and tax, and deep experience in commercial product strategy. Simon has board level experience of both executive and non-executive roles, and as CEO of a technology start-up. He has a strong track record in creating innovative product strategies resulting in multiple new multi-million pound high growth lines of business. Simon led the new investments product strategy area at Lexis Nexis and created and launched many of the next generation content and workflow product offerings for lawyers. At the Law Society Simon ran the commercial arm of the organization and restructured a set of commercial investments through taking board seats. He also implemented a new commercial strategy including a significant shift in focus to legal technology innovation, including the launch of a legal tech-focused Barclays Eagle Lab accelerator. Simon has also held senior knowledge management roles in both law and accounting firms. Simon established earlsferry advisory towards the end of 2018 to help people with their product strategies, whether they are technology businesses, professional services businesses or investors into these spaces. JENNIFER ROBERTS Jennifer Roberts manages the strategic research function at Intapp, responsible for the analytics and research component that supports product development and thought leadership for new initiatives. Leveraging her skills to advocate, evangelize and build data-fueled products and insight, she examines theprofessional services industry to drive analytical intelligence that informs strategic decisions and solves organizational needs. Prior to joining Intapp, Jennifer received her MA from the University of Minnesota in advanced statistical methodology and performance measures. ROBERT MILLARD Robert Millard is founder and a partner at Cambridge Strategy Group, a management consultancy based in Cambridge, UK, focused primarily on law and other professional service fi rms and other deep knowledge enterprises. Rob is immediate past co-chair of the IBA”s Law Firm Management Committee and currently serves on the steering committee of the IBA”s President”s Task Force on the Future of Legal Services. KATHERINE THOMAS Katherine Thomas helps legal service providers across the world grow, adapt and increase profitability with her company Katherine Thomas Consulting. With a reputation for strategic thinking combined with a large dose of pragmatism, she advises on strategy, sales, client development and the launch of new products and services. Now a consultant, speaker and coach, she previously established and led the well-known UK newlaw business Vario, a legal services provider with an emphasis on flexibility, for commercial law firm Pinsent Masons. As a result, she has a deep understanding of how alternative approaches to legal services delivery can increase competitiveness. CLARE HARMAN CLARK Clare Harman Clark is a senior professional support lawyer at Taylor Wessing LLP, building on a legal career that began with nearly a decade at Clifford Chance and a stint at Russell Cooke. Before retaining as a lawyer, Clare worked as a journalist and within a government press office, and still regularly publishes articles in national and trade press. JANVI PATEL Executive chairwoman & founder of Halebury. Janvi Patel is a New Law pioneer and has been spearheading operational, structural and cultural change within the legal services industry since starting New Law firm Halebury in 2007. Her aim: to create an entirely original business model to service the needs of clients and lawyers at the senior end of the market by offering a range of strategic resourcing options. Ten years on the firm has grown to a team of 35 senior in-house lawyers and has partnerships with clients such at BT, Sky and Virgin Media. It is highly ranked in the Legal 500 for its work in Technology, Media and Telecoms. Halebury has particular expertise in advising on and implementing legal transformation projects for in-house teams and businesses, a consultancy service delivered by former General Counsels and Heads of Legal from businesses such as Cisco, Fremantle Media and ATOS. PHYLLIS WEISS HASEROT Practice Development Counsel ARTHUR G. GREENE Principal, Boyer Greene LLC ZEV J. EIGEN Zev J. Eigen is the founder and chief science officer of Syndio, and a data scientist focused on AI and machine learning applications in HR, labor and employment law, and legal services broadly. He was honored as one of the Financial Times” 10 most innovative lawyers in 2016, as a Fast Case50 Innovator of 2016, and as one of “40 Under 40 Rising Legal Stars” by the National Law Journal. He is frequently quoted in the media as an expert on big data solutions, predictive analytics and machine learning, especially as applied to HR and legal services and products. CHRISTIE GUIMOND Christie Guimond is an experienced strategy and innovation manager at Bird & Bird LLP, who has worked at the forefront of disruption in the legal industry for over a decade. Her experience includes developing a legal project management capability, introducing widespread legal and operational process improvements, including the implementation of initiatives such as smarter working and the adoption of emerging technology solutions. She also monitors the changing legal landscape and advises senior executives and in-house teams on how to respond to these changes. LANGDON MORRIS Founder, Innovation Labs PATRICK J MCKENNA Author, lecturer, strategist, and advisor to the leaders of premier law firms MICHAEL ROSTER Michael Roster was formerly managing partner of Morrison & Foerster”s Los Angeles office, co-chair of the firm”s Financial Services Practice Group worldwide, and a member of the firm”s policy committee. In 1993, Mike was appointed general counsel of Stanford University, Stanford Medical Center, and Stanford Management Company. He was subsequently executive vice president and general counsel of Golden West Financial Corporation. Mike has also served as chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel, as outside director and vice chair of Silicon Valley Bank, chair of the Stanford Alumni Association, steering committee co-chair of ACC”s Value Challenge, and chair of two start-up companies. He currently teaches Contract Drafting and Analysis at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and is a director of MDRC in New York, a nonprofit organization that evaluates the effectiveness of government and other programs affecting lower- and moderate-income families and individuals. AILISH HOGAN Ailish Hogan qualified as a solicitor in 2002 and spent four years specialising in corporate finance before joining Taylor Root, a legal recruitment consultancy, in January 2007. Together with her colleague Lucinda – and their collective 20 years recruiting for private practice firms at Taylor Root – she established a dedicated PSL team. They now focus on recruiting professional support lawyers and knowledge managers into a range of City, niche and West End law firms, and work with a wide spectrum of candidates, from those wishing to make their first move into a PSL role to experienced PSLs considering new opportunities. PATRICK J LAMB Patrick J Lamb is one of the founding members of Valorem Law Group, LLC. After spending 18 years at an Am Law 100 firm, including several years as an equity partner, Pat left the firm to join a litigation boutique, where he spent seven years, including six as a member of the firm”s management committee. During these years, he was an avid proponent of budgeting and non-hourly fee arrangements. Ultimately coming to the conclusion that firms could not exist in both the hourly and non-hourly worlds, Pat and three colleagues, all big firm refugees, formed Valorem, which began in January 2008 as a non-hourly, value-fee firm. The firm represents businesses in complex disputes, and has more than doubled in size since its inception. Described by one in-house lawyer as “one of the few lawyers who gets it”, Pat was named a legal rebel by the American Bar Association in 2009 and is a frequent speaker on value fees and the role of project management in the successful use of value fees. He began writing the popular blog `In Search Of Perfect Client Service” in 2005.