Centre for Legal Innovation

We’re back with another fabulous session in the Centre for Legal Innovation's FREE Legal GenAI Conversations Series! You can register here: https://lnkd.in/gr9JrMtg It has been amazing to see how much this series is resonating with everyone – thank you – it’s a joy to chat with people who really know their stuff and share – and that brings me to our next session… There has been a lot, A LOT, discussed on the topic of "Will GenAI kill the billable hour...ever?" but much less by people who have lived it; created new, cutting edge and different business models around it; tested it; and made significant decisions about work and talent based on it…THESE legal leaders have done all that and more: *Melissa Lyon, Executive Director & Experience Designer, Hive Legal and CLI Advisory Board member *Gene Turner, Managing Director, LawHawk and CLI Advisory Board member *Tessa van Duyn, CEO and Practice Leader, Moores and CLI Advisory Board member If you are thinking about this, grappling with it, want to know the how, what, when, where and why of this unavoidable intersection of tech and law firm revenue…PLEASE. DO. NOT. MISS. THIS. SESSION. See you there! #CLI2025 #legalgenai #legalai #ai #lawfirms #legal #inhousecounsel #legalpractice #billablehour #legaltech

It was just a matter of time… “You’ve heard of lawyers using AI to do their research or even draft briefs, but sending an AI Avatar to deliver the oral argument is a new one. And it’s not a popular one with the judges!” Thanks to Amy Salyzyn for sharing.

Huge thanks to Natalie Gauld for the write up about my presentation and ensuing discussion at the Queensland Law Society's In-house Lawyer Committee breakfast earlier this week: https://lnkd.in/gg5qiBk5 Great event, excellent questions and THE best way to start a day. Thanks so much again for having me QLS!

Huge thanks to the Queensland Law Society, Cameron Bell and the QLS In-house Lawyers Committee for inviting me to kick off their amazing 2025 series of events this morning with a presentation on "Catching Lightning: Managing Legal Risk in an AI-Accelerated World." Huge thanks also to Committee Chair Philip Ware for the warm welcome and to Matthew R. for the very kind intro. Love the in-house counsel community so, any excuse to hang out with them, share, collaborate and chat about all things tech and AI is such a treat AND a fabulous way to start a day - amazing people doing wonderful work! #CLI2025

Thank you so much to the fabulous Sharon Morris and the wonderful World Commerce & Contracting Association for the opportunity to chat with the amazing WCCA members this evening at the Brisbane WCC Connect event. Really appreciated being able to showcase the WCCA wonderful Inspiring Women Program 2025 (so honoured to be a part of it), chat about our work at the Centre for Legal Innovation, and all things AI. Fabulous keynote by Nicholas Leask - CISSP (Associate Director, Grosvenor), and panel session too (Facilitator: Hanelie Lategan, Chief Procurement Officer, Queensland Government (also a recipient of the WCCA Inspiring Women Program 2025) with Panelists: Jason Bingham, Chief Procurement Officer, Brisbane City Council; Fiona Johnstone, Group Owner - Commercial and Contract, Telstra; and Justin Butcher, General Procurement Manager, Incitec Pivot) - learned so much - fantastic and thank you! It was one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve had for some time - love, love, love the WCCA members and so very glad you have all adopted me!

Huge thanks to the ACT Law Society for inviting me to MC the Tech Essentials - March Mastery event in person and online in Canberra today. Such a pleasure to learn from Fiona McLay, Annie Haggar and Amanda Kate Wescombe and then facilitate a fab panel session with them on “Responsible Practice in 2025 Ethics, Risks and Managing AI Challenges.” Loved the questions, the conversations and the wonderful participants - there is so much opportunity with legal AI and it starts, advances and evolves through days like today. Huge congrats Jaime Shields, Kara O'Brien and the whole amazing team at the ACT Law Society for an excellent event and day!

Huge thanks to the Queensland Law Society for the opportunity to join Elizabeth Shearer, Ben Gouldson and David Bowles to chat about “General Practice and AI” at the QLS Symposium yesterday. Fabulous audience and a very full room made for an excellent, practical discussion about what’s changing and how it’s impacting legal practice for small and medium sized firms. Thanks so much for having me along, loved it and soooooo enjoyed catching up with a bunch of amazing peeps too!

Another fab session this week in the Centre for Legal Innovation’s Legal GenAI Conversations Series with three law firm leaders from Australia and New Zealand. Our topic was Legal leaders in the AI era – Are we there yet? *Simon Newcomb, Partner, Clayton Utz *Dan Proietto, Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers *Prue Tyler, Founder and Director, SHIFT Advisory Limited You'll find the video here: https://lnkd.in/ggM-RX4y And the podcast here (and everywhere): https://lnkd.in/g3gTaQ-S We chatted about how every aspect of legal practice is transforming before our eyes with AI as the catalyst and the enabler. And my additional comment….it’s a challenging time for law firm leaders - it’s definitely not a role for the faint hearted. Here’s a little more detail about what we got into: *Whether law firm leaders need to think differently and lead differently in the AI era *Whether AI demanded a fundamental rethink of law firm structures, billing models, and governance and if so, how? *How you reskill lawyers, attract new talent, create multidisciplinary teams, and redefine roles to thrive alongside AI *How you introduce and embed AI without overwhelming everyone in the process *With AI democratising legal knowledge and making legal services/products/solutions more accessible, how law firms can stand out, create, and sustain unique value *Where law firms need to be on the AI Maturity Scale in the next 12 months, why, and how they will know if they have hit the mark Do take an hour to watch or listen to this one…you’ll be glad you did! #CLI2025 #legalai #law #lawfirms #legal #legalgenai #legalleaders

Generative AI has created a critical role for educators. Everyone is learning something new, and educators know how to make that meaningful and stick. In this session, we chatted with three professors in the US who took their individual experiences with generative AI, and their learnings in their respective disciplines, to create a resource and community for legal educators to learn, share and do more with this tech – they called it The Law Profs GenAI Sandbox. Our discussion with the fabulous founders of the Sandbox was enlightening and inspiring:  *Will Monroe, Assistant Director for Instructional Technology, LSU Law Library, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center;  *Tracy Norton, Assistant Professor of Law, Erick Vincent Anderson Professor, LSU Law Center; and  *Susan Tanner, Assistant Professor of Law, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville. We chatted about GenAI in higher education; delved into how the Sandbox started and where it might go next; and concluded with benchmarking where and how educators can embrace the tech. If you are working in education and particularly legal education, you will not want to miss this one! You'll find the video and podcast links here: https://lnkd.in/gtJ59Wma #CLI2025 #legalai #legaleducation #law

The Centre for Legal Innovation is thrilled and delighted to support this fabulous event and collaboration - thank you so much LEGAL INNOVATION & TECH FEST!