Bio
Fiona Morris is Lead Counsel, Innovation, and Technology at Accenture plc. In her role, Fiona is responsible for strategy and oversight of legal innovation and technology programs for the benefit of 2800 in-house legal professionals supporting the Accenture business.
Her recent projects include the 2-year design and global implementation of a Contract Lifecycle Management platform. In the same timeframe, her team also introduced a self-service contract assembly offering for business users, as a complement to the in-house legal service. Fiona is also a leader of the internal Accenture Legal Innovation Board, which fosters and funds grassroots innovation projects. These have included the development of an automated document mark-up tool and the application of AI for effective extraction and management of obligations from signed contracts.
Contribution to Legal Tech
Fiona is inspired by the potential that technology has to redefine the role of the lawyer. But to unleash that potential, we have to challenge our existing norms and even review the fundamentals of risk. One of Fiona’s key tenets is “simple is good”. In other words, the first step in any innovation is to be bold in the stripping back process. Only then should we move thoughtfully towards tech enablement. Over her 15 years at Accenture, Fiona has held roles as a Market Maker, negotiating major engagements with many of Accenture’s blue-chip clients. Prior to her current strategy role, was Director of Legal Services for France, Benelux, and Nordics. Fiona also has a keen interest in education and development, having devised and led two flagship legal training programs, delivered in more than 20 Accenture locations worldwide. Fiona speaks regularly on the topic of legal innovation and technology, both in industry forums and with Accenture’s clients. Prior to joining Accenture, Fiona trained and practised at Clifford Chance LLP.
