FROM SUPPORTING TO STRATEGY:
ENGINEERING THE NEXT-GEN LEGAL DEPARTMENT
Agenda Day 2
8:00 am - 8:30 am
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:30 am - 8:40 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
8:45 am - 9:30 am
PANEL DISCUSSION: THE NEXT FRONTIER - OVERCOMING IMPLEMENTATION FAILURES TO SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOY AI
As legal operations departments accelerate their adoption of AI, many are confronting the realisation that implementation is far more challenging than initial conception. Fragmented tech stacks and integration limitations mean that embedding tools into "business-as-usual" workflows can seem to be a never-ending uphill battle. But AI adoption is inevitable, so how can legal operations leaders establish a pragmatic roadmap to tool integration that means they can leverage and scale AI as a component of their core ecosystem?
- Unpack why legal tech deployments often fall short, and what lessons can be learnt from implementation failures
- Explore the customisation and structural challenges that derail even the most promising tools
- Learn proven ways to create seamless integration and long-term success
- Gain insights into designing effective AI to ensure systems are reliable, and capable of signalling uncertainty
9:30 am - 10:00 am
PRESENTATION: THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAYBOOK - ENSURING AI READINESS AND EXCELLENCE THROUGH COLLABORATION, UPSKILLING, AND USE CASE DEVELOPMENT
With the implementation of AI throughout the legal function continuing to be a constant challenge for legal operations leaders, a proven framework can seem hard to find. Enter the three magic ingredients: collaboration, upskilling, and use case development. All must be in place to ensure AI is implemented in those legal processes where it can offer the highest value add. By taking a results-driven approach to each of these pillars, the uphill battle to AI literacy can be eased, and go beyond initial enablement to sustained, productive engagement.
- Actively encourage company-wide transparency to improve collaboration throughout siloed business functions
- Improving AI familiarity by starting with known tools such as Copilot before embedding AI-specific processes
- Incorporate engagement surveys into results gathering to optimise upskilling initiatives
- Identify active business use cases to evaluate AI necessities based on team experience and feedback
10:05 am - 10:35 am
THINK TANK: CONGA
11:15 am - 11:45 am
LIGHTNING DEBATES
In this quick-fire round of dialogues, attendees will have the opportunity to hear and share different views on some of the most contentious topics currently facing the legal operations community. Join this session to better understand where you – and your peers – stand in different debates.
10:40 am - 11:10 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:15 am - 11:45 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:50 am - 12:20 pm
PRESENTATION: THE ART OF THE (AI) DEAL - ACHIEVING SMARTER, FASTER CONTRACTING THROUGH EFFECTIVE TOOL DEPLOYMENT
With legal operations teams expected to deliver increased efficiency year on year, the usefulness of AI in contracting is clearer than ever. From contract review and information extraction to intake management and workflow automation, organisations are experimenting with a mix of agentic and GenAI to drive performance. But legal operations leaders are navigating a crowded landscape of tools that still require human oversight, so how can they turn AI ambition into operational reality in legal workflows? Whether early in their AI journey or scaling existing capabilities, they must implement flexible, user-friendly solutions that can evolve with business demands.
- Determine where AI can deliver tangible value when implemented to shoulder admin and contracting tasks
- Explore how to deploy agentic AI as a "virtual associate" that undertakes contractual work to support, not replace, human expertise
- Understand the importance of setting governance guardrails and maintaining lawyer oversight to combat the risk of hallucinations
12:20 pm - 12:50 pm
PRESENTATION: SMART SPENDING - SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTING EBILLING TO CONQUER INVOICE SCRUTINY
Within legal operations, eBilling has emerged as a critical tool for driving transparency, accountability, and cost control, ultimately freeing up in-house lawyers to focus on high-value work. But successfully leveraging eBilling goes beyond implementing a tool. Leaders must reshape their billing practices, manage resistance from both lawyers and law firms, and ensure the tool is set up for conscious use that is continually engaged.
- Learn the importance of preparation, from curating firm lists to billing protocols
- Understand when and how to have clarifying conversations with external firms to set clear expectations
- Gain insights on engaging internal teams and aligning with finance
- Grasp how to use reporting, rules, and AI-enabled review to enforce compliance and confidentiality
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm
LUNCH
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm
ADVANCED THINK TANK: TOOL TALK - COMPARING, CONTRASTING, AND RECOMMENDING LEGAL TECH THAT WORKS
In a landscape crowded with solution providers promising seamless integration and end-to-end capability, legal operations teams remain unconvinced that the true "right" platform exists. The reality is that some tools restrict integrations to preserve their own ecosystems, ultimately causing tension between customisation and standardisation. To build a connected, cost-effective, and scalable legal tech stack in a resource-constrained environment is a challenge many leaders are trying to overcome. In this closed-door, end-user-only think thank, you can unpack a critical question: what tools actually integrate well in practice?
- Debunk the "all-purpose" tool myth, and explore the gap between vendor promises and operational reality
- Examine the rise of non-legal tools adapted for legal use and how they compare with traditional legal tech
- Discuss the limits of self-service and agentic tools that continue to require human oversight
- Recommend impressive, helpful tools that have actually made a valuable difference to your team
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm
COFFEE BREAK & NETWORKING
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
3:00 pm - 3:05 pm
LIVE POLLS
3:05 pm - 3:35 pm
PRESENTATION: COUNSEL, MEET AI - POWERING BETTER TECH DECISIONS THROUGH TRUSTED EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS
To tackle the challenge of choosing the best AI tools for the legal function, some legal ops leaders are considering turning to their suite of law firms as a test bed for various products. Where in-house teams are lacking the resource and funds to trial a plethora of options, they can save on this costly endeavour by building trusting relationships with external counsel who can advise on best-in-class solutions providers. If the right questions are asked, and findings are meticulously assessed, legal teams can bring a carefully chosen set of AI tools into their own evaluation pipeline without incurring direct costs themselves.
- Determine which of your law firms can be trusted on to give an accurate representation of vendor suitability
- Solidify optimal communication with external counsel representatives to understand the full cycle experience of each service provider
- Establish how to be selective about which tools to trial in-house as a result of law firms' feedback
3:35 pm - 4:05 pm
PRESENTATION: THE (GOOD KIND OF) PYRAMID SCHEME - A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSFORMING CONTRACT TURNAROUND
Reducing contract turnaround time is a persistent challenge for legal operations teams running under growing commercial pressure. But by establishing a framework based on standardisation and prioritisation, resources can be better allocated, low-value tasks can be removed from internal talent, and senior leadership can refocus on strategic responsibilities. Learn how one legal operations leader transformed the function with a structured, behaviour-led framework that recalibrated mindsets, deepened company-wide collaboration, and drove lasting efficiency.
- Discover a "pyramid" model that redefines how legal work is triaged and delivered, enabling teams to use their time more economically
- Explore the critical role of risk articulation in facilitating faster decision-making
- Address the cultural challenge of prying lawyers out of low-risk comfort zones and introducing a new value-driven model of behaviour
- Assess the implementation of self-serve tooling to resolve and action low-risk tasks
