The State of Innovation in Professional Legal Services

The Professional Law Institute (PLI) is delighted to host the launch of a new report on The State of Innovation in Professional Legal Services compiled by Spiranti, Meridian West, and Earlsferry Advisory, presented with support from the PLI.

The authors, Ben Kent and Simon Drane, will begin by explaining what their research tell us about the drivers and limits on innovation, the implementation of legal technology, and how firms can benefit from the report’s benchmarking tools. Q&A moderated by the PLI’s Chris Howard, featuring additional panellists Tamsin Anatasi Pace (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) and Richard Kemp (Kemp IT Law) will follow. Carrying forward many of the themes of the PLI’s successful Future of Legal Practice series, this online session will conclude with details of how you can get hold of a copy of this important report.

Tamsin Anastasi-Pace, Head of Client Solutions, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Before joining Freshfields last year as Head of Client Solutions, Tamsin was Deputy Director for Digital Technology at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), overseeing the integration of multiple digital teams into a central service to develop products for the UK public and for EU Exit. Prior to that she spent 8 years at The Economist Group in London, New York and Dubai in multiple roles, latterly as Global Head of Operational Change, where she led the Media Businesses’ digital transformation programme. Digital operations was a natural evolution after many years in digital marketing, including building a global production team. Tamsin has led the Social Media and e-Business Marketing module at the University of West London and is currently awaiting accreditation as a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Simon Drane, founder of Earlsferry Advisory

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 organisation. 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 startup. He has a strong track record in creating innovative product strategies resulting in multiple new multimillion pound high growth lines of business.

Simon led the new investments product strategy area at LexisNexis 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 organisation 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 EagleLab 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.

Richard Kemp, Founder, Kemp IT Law

Widely recognised as one of the world’s top IT lawyers, Richard has built an outstanding reputation for commercial legal solutions to the business challenges of IT development, deployment and regulation. In 2019 he was named in Legal 500’s inaugural Hall of Fame and by Who’s Who Legal as one of their 20 global data law thought leaders, singling out his “strategic advice” and his ability to “marry the law with the commercial implications in often yet to be known areas”. Richard established Kemp & Co in 1997, Kemp Little in 2003 and Kemp IT Law in 2014.

Ben Kent, founder of Spiranti and Meridian West

Ben started his career as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields. He set up Meridian West in 2001 and has spent the last two decades advising professional services businesses on how to design and implement client focused strategies. His clients include the Financial Times, Kemp Little, Linklaters, Farrer & Co., Hogan Lovells, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper and Addleshaw Goddard.

Ben publishes widely and is regularly asked to present at seminars and at conferences on various aspects of the client-focused firm, innovation within the professional services sector, and the changing needs of buyers of professional services.

Ben is also a contributing author to Professional Services Marketing Handbook, and co-author of Professional Services Leadership Handbook alongside Alastair Beddow, Adrian Furner and Nigel Clark. Along with Gail Jaffa, Ben founded Spiranti.