LEGAL INNOVATION
FORUM

TORONTO

MAY 5, 2022
8.15AM - 5.00 PM

board of trade

The Legal Innovation Forum returns with its in-person forum in Toronto on May 5th - the premier event focused on innovation for the Canadian legal sector.

This year’s forum is centred on its unifying theme: Sustaining innovation: taking stock and maintaining momentum.

As the legal sector enters what we hope is the later stage of the pandemic, examples of change are ubiquitous. The sector is rapidly becoming technology-enabled and primed for acceleration in this sphere. Process management, ways that practitioners collaborate and the way that legal services are delivered is being re-imagined. And the battle for talent is more competitive than it has ever been. Innovation is no longer a buzzword for the legal sector; it’s an imperative.

In the face of these shifts, the legal sector now has an opportunity to take stock of the innovation story over the past two years and what it means for the sector moving forward.

overview

  • Provide a platform for legal practitioners to take stock of the acceleration of innovation during the pandemic and what it means for the legal sector

  • Identify and share stories of innovation initiatives that have succeeded (and failed) and discuss why

  • Consider ways to sustain innovation to help continue to shape the Canadian legal ecosystem’s forward trajectory

  • Build a network of innovators focused on driving change in Canada’s legal sector

purpose of forum

structure

  • Full day event held in Toronto (May 5th, 2022) 

  • 6-panel discussions  

  • 1 fireside chat between a senior partner of a law firm and general counsel of a legal department 

  • Breakout discussions with the audience and speakers

  • This program contains 7 hours of Professionalism Content from the Law Society of Ontario.

  • ** COVID-19 Policy**

  • For the safety of all involved in this event, either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result taken within 72 hours prior to the event will be required.

  • Rapid tests will also be available on site for anyone who wishes to use one, and masks will be encouraged where possible.

  • If the Covid-19 pandemic impacts our ability to host the event on May 5th, we will reschedule the date to Fall 2022. We will honour your registration for the future date and refunds for registrants will be available upon request.

    Please email: andrew@adbinsights.com for further information.

Event Outline

STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP

  • Fireside Chat: How are law firm and legal department leaders leading in a sector undergoing rapid change?

SECTOR STRUCTURE

  • The evolving role of alternative legal service providers and what it means for Canada’s legal sector 

  • The people puzzle: how are law firms and legal departments attracting, developing and keeping talent in an era of change 

LAW FIRMS 

  • How are law firms putting innovation at the core of their business strategies? 

  • How are law firms leveraging people, processes and technology to deliver results for their clients and their firms? 

LEGAL DEPARTMENTS

  • How to make the business case to deliver change in your legal department

  • How are legal departments optimizing people, processes and technology to be value centres in their organizations?

Themes

MEET OUR SPEAKERS

agenda

THEMES + AGENDA

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8.15 - 8.45 am: Registration and Breakfast

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8.45-8.55am: Welcome to the Forum

Andrew Bowyer, Founder, The Canadian Legal Innovation Forum

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8.55-9.35am: Fireside Chat: How are law firm and legal department leaders leading in a sector undergoing rapid change?

The legal sector continues to witness significant shifts in response to a rapidly evolving market, retaining talent and the evolving role of technology.

For law firm and legal department leaders, navigating this changing landscape presents both challenges and opportunities. In our opening session, our speakers will review the key drivers and trends that are shaping Canada’s legal sector both now and in the future. And what strategies they are employing to stay ahead of the curve.  

Speakers:

Chair: Andrew Bowyer, Founder, The Canadian Legal Innovation Forum


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9.40 - 10.30am: How are law firms putting innovation at the core of their business strategies? 

Law firms are facing increasing competition, client expectations and continued disruption from technology. In order to succeed, they must place innovation as a key pillar of their business strategies.

This session - with innovation leaders from Canadian law firms - will outline how they are putting innovation at the center of their growth strategies.

Themes covered will include:

  • Why do law firms need innovation strategies? Here we’ll outline the business case for innovation including how it can create new revenue streams, enhance client relationships and help maintain an edge in a competitive marketplace.

  • How to build an innovation culture and deliver results in a law firm? Here we’ll review areas related to innovation including ideation, prioritization, collaboration, technology and people.

  • Where does innovation fit into a law firm’s structure? Best practices for how innovation groups can succeed within existing law firm structures.

Speakers:

Chair: Amir Reshef, Founder + CEO, dealcloser

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10.30 - 10.55am: Networking Break

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10.55 - 11.45am: How to make the business case to deliver change in your legal department

Facing increased pressures, delivering value for their organizations must form a key pillar of legal departments’ strategy. To deliver value requires a focus on identifying pain points, creating a strategy to address them, prioritization and making the case for investment.

On the panel we’ll focus on how legal department leaders are defining, developing and implementing strategies to deliver value for their organizations.

Our discussion will include perspectives on:

  • How to identify pain points within organizations. What areas do legal departments play a key role in identifying and solving for? 

  • Prioritizing innovation initiatives. Areas such as contract review, collaboration, compliance and budget/spend management ranked at the top of the list for our recent CANLIF Legal Department report. Here we’ll look at how legal departments are prioritizing innovation initiatives to drive change in their organizations?

  • Building the business case for change. How are in-house leaders making the case for investment in the legal department?

Speakers:

Chair: Gary Kalaci, Founder + CEO, Alexa Translations

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11.50am - 12.40pm: The evolving role of alternative legal service providers and what it means for Canada’s legal sector 

The role of alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) in the Canadian legal sector is growing in importance. For consumers of legal services - based on CANLIF’s 2021 Legal Department Report - their paramount considerations centre on providers delivering legal expertise through better responsiveness, leveraging technology and collaboration. All at a lower cost.

In response, both law firms and traditional ALSPs are stepping up to meet these challenges through enhanced service delivery models. These new approaches centre on employing better processes, implementing scaled technology solutions and deploying talent in new ways.

During this session, our speakers will focus on:

  • What does the current Canadian ALSP landscape look like? How are law firms integrating ALSPs into their operating models? And how are independent ALSPs gaining market share by moving up the value chain?

  • What do consumers of legal services want from their service providers? And how are these requirements being met by ALSPs versus traditional legal service providers ?

  • What jurisdictions are leading when it comes to ASLPs and what can Canada learn from them? And how is Canada’s emerging ALSP landscape unique in contrast to them?

Speakers:

Chair: Mark Doble, CEO, Alexsei

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12.40 - 1.40pm: Lunch Break

Welcome from Gary Kalaci, Founder + CEO, Alexa Translations

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1.40-2.30pm: The people puzzle: how are law firms and legal departments attracting, developing and keeping talent in an era of change 

The legal market is witnessing an unprecedented shift when it comes to talent. And the pandemic has accelerated this shift. Lawyers are changing firms, moving to ALSPs or in-house, taking on international roles and in some cases moving out of the profession entirely. This is having a significant impact on the shape of the sector and promises to continue for years to come.

On this panel, we’ll review the following:

  • What are the key drivers and trends shaping the battle for talent in the legal sector?

  • What are law firms and legal departments doing to attract, develop and retain talent in a dynamic marketplace?

  • Passion, purpose and generational change. A new generation of lawyers is taking the reins in the legal sector. Purpose driven, portfolio careers must be matched with authentic organizational values (flexibility, diversity and inclusion, collaboration). What does this mean for the legal profession moving forward?

  • Portfolio careers. What types of new career paths are available to lawyers versus traditional ones?

    Speakers:

Chair: Sahil Zaman, Head of Legal Transaction Management, iManage

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2.35 - 3.25pm: How are law firms leveraging people, processes and technology to deliver results?

Operating in an increasingly complex legal marketplace, many law firms are embracing the idea that to compete and evolve they must provide legal services in new and innovative ways to deliver value for their clients.

Innovation in legal service delivery is anchored in improved processes, leveraging talent and supporting both with technology to deliver results. On this panel, we’ll look at specific examples of how law firms are innovating on the ground, including:

  • How are law firms leveraging people, processes, technology and content to deliver results?

  • Examples of how law firms are evolving their business lines. Productization, leveraging content, sectoral focus versus practice areas, consulting and being technology aggregators.

  • What does the future look like for innovation models being incubated in law firms going mainstream? What are the drivers of this? What risks are facing law firms who do not?

Speakers:

Chair:

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3.25 - 3.45pm: Networking Break

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3.45 - 4.35pm: How are legal departments optimizing people, processes and technology to deliver value for their organizations?

In order to make an innovation strategy a reality and deliver value to their broader organizations, legal departments must focus on people, refining processes and harnessing technology. To get there, effective change management and employing the principles of legal operations is key.

On this panel - our speakers will focus on:

  • How is the focus on operations in legal departments changing the game? Legal operations focuses primarily on improving processes, leveraging talent and making both more efficient through the use of technology. How is the role of legal operations evolving in organizations both with and without dedicated legal operations functions?

  • How, where and why are legal operations having the largest impact on organizations? Here we’ll review key areas related to change management: process design and improvement, strategic planning, people, engagement and budget management.

  • The role of technology. Where is technology having the greatest impact in areas such as document management, matter management and collaboration? And how can legal department leaders choose the right technology to solve the right problems?

Speakers:

Chair: Jason Moyse, Director, Autologyx

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4.35 - 6.00pm: Conference Close + Networking Drinks

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OUR SPONSORS