FROM SUPPORTING TO STRATEGY:
ENGINEERING THE NEXT-GEN LEGAL DEPARTMENT
Agenda Day 1
8:00 am - 8:30 am
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:30 am - 8:35 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM IQPC
8:35 am - 8:45 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Justin Turman -
Founder, Owner,
Automate Office Work
8:45 am - 8:50 am
LIVE POLLING
8:50 am - 9:20 am
CASE STUDY: THE LEGAL AI MATURITY MODEL - A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR GOVERNANCE, COMPLIANCE AND COMPETITIVENESS IN AN ERA OF UNCERTAINTY
Saideh Ahmadloo -
Global Lead Counsel,
Kraft Heinz
Legal teams are navigating a paradox: while AI adoption promises efficiency and innovation, fragmented systems, unclear regulations, and increasing compliance demands create deep uncertainty. In this environment, success depends not on tools alone but on maturity, the structured ability to integrate AI responsibly, govern it effectively, and align it with business strategy. This session introduces the Legal AI Maturity Model, a seven-stage framework designed as a self-assessment tool for legal teams. Drawing on real-world examples, we will explore the challenges faced at each maturity stage and the practical strategies to overcome them. The discussion will highlight how AI maturity directly impacts business competitiveness, governance structures, and regulatory compliance. We will then consider the role of trust by design as a foundational governance principle and look briefly toward agentic AI as an emerging technology that reinforces the importance of maturity today. The session concludes with reimagining the legal profession at the intersection of human judgment and AI capability. Key Takeaways • Learn how to apply the seven-stage Legal AI Maturity Model as a self-diagnostic framework.
• Understand how maturity strengthens business competitiveness by enabling safe and strategic AI activation.
• Explore how governance evolves across maturity stages, including the principle of trust by design.
• Gain insights into the role of maturity in navigating regulatory complexity and compliance uncertainty.
• Consider how emerging technologies like agentic AI reinforce the importance of maturity foundations.
• Reimagine the future of legal professionals through the lens of the digital sapien lawyer.
9:20 am - 9:50 am
CASE STUDY: LEGAL TRENDS 2026 – WHAT TO EXPECT & VIEWS BASED ON DATA FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE
Dan Ruderman -
Director Strategic Alliances,
CounselLink
Chloe Doyle - VP, Client Engagement, Harbor
Technology has the transformative power to improve the efficiency of in-house legal teams allowing lawyers to spend more time on valuable tasks ultimately driving the productivity of the whole team, leveraging AI and automation tools. Technically advanced legal teams have implemented tools to automate processes such as contract management, e-discovery, legal research, compliance-specific tools and even scanning contracts to highlight and suggest improved clauses.
- Hear real-life case studies where AI and technologies have improved the efficiency of day-to-day menial tasks
- Learn how to identify automation opportunities and select the appropriate tools to implement
- Gain insight into the implementation process to ensure this is effective from day one and you can realise their benefits immediately
9:50 am - 10:05 am
NETWORKING BINGO
Tim Waller - General Counsel, LHV Bank
In today's dynamic business environment, legal innovation is crucial for driving value and ensuring exit readiness. Delve into strategic approaches to legal agility, risk management and where to begin with your AI implementation journey to create streamlined, efficient processes.
• Explore how leveraging AI can empower lean legal operations at a global scale, enabling smarter contracting to empower business users without increasing headcount.
• Strategies for maintaining legal’s capabilities during crises.
• Discuss how legal teams can transform from traditional gatekeepers to strategic partners, as well as the best practices for aligning legal operations with broader business initiatives, creating value and competitive advantage through innovative legal solutions.
Candice Dawe-Poultney - Legal Operations Manager, Royal London
Whether you're stepping into legal operations for the first time or steering a mature function across global teams, the fundamentals matter. Legal operations leaders in this day and age must take stock of what they have, design for what they truly need, and lead others through adoption and enablement. From structuring your team to embedding sustainable tool usage, it’s a blueprint for setting up legal operations that actually works—today, tomorrow, and beyond. The goal is to create systems that empower, not confuse, build trust across stakeholders, and evolve with intention.
• Learn how to assess and articulate your current legal ops setup – processes, people, tools – and align it with future goals
• Explore techniques to drive adoption, manage change fatigue, and support the end user beyond rollout
• Discover how foundational clarity enables smarter growth, better cross-functional collaboration, and long-term tool sustainability
11:55 am - 12:40 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: DRIVERS OF CHANGE, PIONEERS OF DEVELOPMENT – WHAT WILL THE FUTURE OF LEGAL OPERATIONS LOOK LIKE?
Arta Koxha -
Senior Legal Operations Manager,
Collinson Group
Anastazja Zimowska - Senior Director, Head of Legal Operations and Chief of Staff, Ciena
Gaurav Gupta - Global Head Contract Operations & Digitalization, Nokia
Gabriel Buigas - Executive Vice President, Contracts, Compliance & Commercial Services, Integreon
A recent study suggested that nearly 20% of in-house lawyers would consider leaving their roles if their department did not invest in AI, with 65% stating technology skills would be crucial in the next three years. It comes as no surprise, then, that 44% also believed legal operations would become increasingly critical in the coming years. While this is already the case, it is becoming more and more clear that legal operations are the key to whether a legal department falls behind or not – it is up to them to drive and lead the change proactively rather than wait for it to happen to them.
- Assess the role AI will play in reshaping the role of legal professionals, and what new skillsets will be necessary to adapt to the new functioning of the legal team in future years
- Discuss the role legal operations will have to play in the ethical matters concerning the AI tools they choose to establish, and what new ways of thinking they might have to adopt to navigate growing complexity and continuous change
- Explore the changing role of legal operations as it continues to move from support function to central driver of organizational strategy, and what it means to shape business outcomes as opposed to simply enabling them
Gabriel Buigas
Executive Vice President, Contracts, Compliance & Commercial ServicesIntegreon
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
LUNCH
Budgets are limited, desks are piled up with work, and the legal department continues to face a bad reputation as a project staller or a cost centre. However, legal operations are instrumental in quashing these issues, as they have the tools to gather information around the logistics and functions of the department. With the right ones, and the power of AI, the goal is to showcase the tangible value of the team, in this way building relationships and securing buy-in. But another question also poses itself – how can legal operations provide visibility of the intangible value of their team to members of the C-suite? Increasingly, they are having to bridge the gap between the legal team and the business, meaning that a business-minded approach is now imperative. Join this session to discover the now, next and later aspects of AI and how they will help you deliver better work products faster while cementing your operations group as the substrate that holds the department (and the company) together.
- Delve into the expectations of each member of the team, and what you can provide within your significant role to help move the collaboration along
- Weigh in on a variety of different strategies to present your case to the rest of the business and secure buy-in and support
- Explore different tools to help you access the right data and metrics for your team to help kickstart a conversation with the rest of the business
2:20 pm - 3:05 pm
MENTOR MATCHMAKING
Justin Turman -
Founder, Owner,
Automate Office Work
3:05 pm - 3:20 pm
QUICK FIRE CASE STUDY: INSIDE L’OREAL’S COMMUNITY – SKILLS OF THE FUTURE FOR LEGAL
Isabel Abella Bule -
Global Legal Operations Manager,
L'Oréal
When managing global functions, choosing the right model of local vs global (or glocal!) in processes, standards, teams, and technologies is a highly complex and strategic decision. Whether you're managing cross-border teams or simply trying to align tools and processes across departments in the same building, achieving consistency without sacrificing flexibility is a big challenge. This session will explore the models in how to think about this challenge and practical steps to implement transformation at a global level – from navigating regional nuances, aligning stakeholders with varying priorities, and ensuring your tech stack works cohesively – even when your teams don’t share a time zone or a floor.
- Explore strategies to balance global standards with local flexibility across teams and jurisdictions
- Learn how to create alignment between disconnected tools and workflows without over-engineering
- Delve into managing communication and stakeholder engagement in fragmented or hybrid environments
