Bio

Katsia is an Associate at Morae Global. She has worked on several legal transformation projects including IT reviews, external legal spend management assessments, and working practice behavioral observations studies. Prior to joining Morae, Katsia was an Analyst at JandersDean International. She was involved in numerous client engagements working with senior leadership at large in-house legal departments and private practice law firms in the UK, France, and Australia. Katsia has been responsible for providing in-depth analysis, project management, and creative and innovative solutions for clients.

Prior to that, she gained valuable experience as a marketing strategist and worked on successful business development initiatives. Katsia was also an Intellectual Property Legal Advisor at Sterling Law. Her international experience includes working in London, Amsterdam, and Minsk. Katsia is a mentor of the University of Miami Law Without Walls program, a founder of multiple start-ups, and a member of the UCL BaseKX Hatchery Accelerator. As a student, she has been participating in the annual scientific and research activities organization, appointed as the Ambassador of the Economic Summit at Warwick University, as well as has to be responsible for running the Model United Nations Conference. Katsia graduated from the Belarusian State University with an LLB and has undertaken a one-year International Law exchange program at the Charles University in Prague. 

Contribution to Legal Tech

Katsia contributes to the legal technology community through her advisory and consulting in the professional services space, as well as through her role in legal design and technical development. She regularly works with international law firm and inhouse legal team management to strip back the waste from current processes and technology stacks. Katsia is involved in the identification of potential innovative interventions where workflow and decision-tree technologies can replace existing legacy approaches, and has been involved in developing some of the most complex multi-year technology roadmaps for law firms and legal departments. A champion of democratised data and intuitive design, Katsia also regularly works to develop bespoke tools in the access to justice space.

Bio

Marjan is the co-founder of L-IME. L-IME is an independent legal tech consultancy company that is focused on advising, guiding and assisting law firms to thrive in an ever-changing playing field driven by the digital transformation of our society.

As a business consultant, business change, and project manager Marjan has successfully delivered several large-scale IT projects for renowned national and international law firms. Her leadership skills, strong didactics, and over 18 years of hands-on experience are valued by many law firms, corporate legal departments, and business partners in the legal industry. Marjan is a true entrepreneur and legal tech enthusiast focussing on the human side of change.

Contribution to Legal Tech

After years of consulting and being in various leadership positions for legal IT software vendors Marjan decided to break away from the vendor arena, to launch L-IME and to team up with law firms as their go-to advisor. By sharing her in-depth knowledge of legal tech and its industry Marjan contributes to the increasing awareness of the opportunities that arise when stakeholders dare to think outside the box and start collaborating on innovative solutions for the challenges ahead. In that very position Marjan is ELTA Ambassador for the Netherlands. A group of handpicked well-connected legal tech pioneers from all over Europe and beyond, who volunteer to act as “swinging doors” between their country or region and the international level of ELTA (the European Legal Technology Association).

With L-IME Marjan not only launched the Legaltech Academy providing law firms and law students training on legal tech solutions and concepts enabling lawyers and students to get a better understanding and grip on legal tech developments, but Marjan also developed the Legaltech-Radar: a free and easy to use platform that helps law firms to find and compare legal tech and legal IT solutions based on the features they are looking for. The Legaltech-Radar goes beyond a mere legal tech map including the option to actually receive a comparison summary by mail at no costs. Currently the Legaltech-Radar is available for the Dutch market: IT-Kieswijzer and the Spanish market, managed by Instituto Innovación Legal:  Comparador Legaltech and is expanding to other countries or regions.

Bio

Leyly works as a Knowledge Management Lawyer in Berlin. She is responsible for all knowledge management related topics in the fields of Corporate/M&A and Technology, Media & Telecoms. Prior to joining TaylorWessing, she had 13 years of experience as in-house counsel of a (non-listed) stock corporation in the renewable energy segment with up to 15 affiliated companies. In addition to all legal matters of the company, she was steering project development and management, including financing and financial structuring, M&A transactions and corporate reorganizations. Templates, samples, checklists, etc as predecessors have been her other commitments since the beginning of her professional career. Leyly is a Certified (DAA) Mediator with 7+ years experience.

Contribution to Legal Tech

She acts as a link between Knowledge Management and Legal Tech in her specific additional function as Legal Tech Coordinator at TaylorWessing Germany. She is responsible for the inhouse support and project management of LAWLIFT and TW:diligence, including the  continuous improvement and development of both tools.

In addition to her law degree 2nd Exam, she successfully completed her MBA with a focus on Change Management in 2018 and her Thesis “strategic flexibility of start-ups with a focus on IT companies”.

Bio

Sara is a part of the Enterprise Legal Services & Legal Technology Team within the Digital Services Tax & Legal Department in PwC Germany, Frankfurt a.M. She completed her bachelor and master studies in Law at the University of Belgrade, as well as additional master studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. As an individual who believes in lifelong learning, Sara has recently enrolled in the Foundations of Design Thinking Online Program at IDEO U.

Driven by the impact of technology on the legal profession, Sara specializes in the field of legal transformation and innovation. Legal departments are facing different challenges, such as the increase of volume and complexity of work, as well as the pressure to reduce costs. As a strong believer in change and growth, Sara supports clients in the mindful, digital transformation of their legal and procurement departments.   

Contribution to Legal Tech

Sara supports clients to make the legal function what it should be: the lifeblood of the business it supports.

Being a part of PwC enables Sara to work with big clients that have big challenges, and the results of mindful digital transformation of the legal function with such clients are mind-blowing and have a significant impact on the future growth and success of these organizations. Some of these challenges concerned the implementation and global roll-out of the contract lifecycle management solution, as well as change management to prepare, support, and help clients in making organizational changes. In addition, Sara led the implementation of an automated document generation software, as a part of the internal digital transformation.

Bio

Lydia Torne is a Managing Associate in Simmons & Simmons’ Intellectual Property team in London.  She is a specialist in intellectual property transactions, including licensing and collaboration agreements, monetisations, consortia agreements, joint ventures and the IP aspects of corporate transactions and financings. Lydia also advises on life sciences regulatory compliance issues. Lydia has a particular interest in Digital Health, where tech meets the healthcare and life sciences sector. Lydia advises clients on a wide range of digital health issues, including on collaborations using artificial intelligence in drug discovery, re-use of patient data and regulatory compliance issues for digital health solutions.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Lydia is one of Simmons & Simmons’ Tech Ambassadors, assisting with the roll out of, and engagement of lawyers in, new legal tech to help streamline lawyers’ work and increase efficiencies. Lydia is also part of a working group developing new software applications to help clients quickly and easily obtain information and high level advice regarding common digital health issues.

Lydia has worked alongside Simmons & Simmons Wavelength (Simmons & Simmons’ team of legal engineers) on a number of recent projects to help develop new technology solutions for her clients, including automating and/or condensing legal processes or simply developing new, innovative, ways of presenting key legal information.

Lydia is active in the legal and scientific tech community. She has been recognised as a Leading Individual for Life Sciences and Healthcare in Legal 500, as well as contributing to the Institute of Global Health Innovation’s white paper on data monetisation and being published in The Lancet regarding NHS/private collaborations using patient data. She speaks regularly at events such as Blockchain Live, the Westminster Forum and those hosted by think tank Reform, regarding data monetisation issues. Lydia has also been featured on the popular blockchain podcast, Blockchain Insider, discussing data monetisation issues. Lydia is a lecturer at the forthcoming Society for Computers and Law’s lecture on legal issues for AI.

Bio

Belen Martin Rial, founding partner, is a Spanish and US lawyer, admitted to the New York Bar after obtaining a Master’s Degree in Banking, Corporate, and Finance at Fordham University Law School in New York. She has a JD in Law from the Central University of Barcelona (Spain). She is passionate about the internationalization of businesses, her professional career is focused on representing local and foreign companies in data privacy and corporate matters. She has worked in Spain, New York and Amsterdam.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Belen brings trust to the client relationship providing strategic legal solutions in alignment with its clients’ interests in a win-win scenario. She has been working hard with several blockchain initiative and lawmakers to bring trust into play.

She participated as key speaker in the 2019 Barcelona Blockchain Week, the Tech Spirit Barcelona 2020 and several investors events, to address topics such as, blockchain as a tech that can accelerate the EU fair data economy, how GDPR is impacting cryptocurrencies and blockchain and the right to be forgotten. 

Bio

Since setting up the Addleshaw Goddard Innovation and Legal Technology (ILT) team four years ago with a team of three, Kerry’s drive, passion and philosophy of ‘there must be a better way’ has seen it grow to twenty-six. It develops, tests and invests in technology-enabled legal solutions and drives behavioural change across the firm by encouraging fee earners to actively seek opportunities to introduce tech into their areas.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Innovation and legal technology are now at the heart of AG operations, not an afterthought or an add-on but integral to how they work with clients and colleagues. It is not technology for its own sake, but as an enabler of smarter practices and processes with the ultimate objective of improving a clients’ business. One of first dedicated units of its kind, it has grown to become one of the largest, a unique mix of legal technologists, developers and lawyers that marries tech knowledge with proven legal expertise to create focussed, bespoke solutions. 

Working with HR, Kerry has forged new roles and alternative career paths within the firm and is particularly proud of the fact that 50% of the ILT are female. She is an enthusiastic advocate for developing, training and equipping the lawyers of tomorrow, helping to future-proof the firm for a changing business world. She has created a secondment programme for associates across the firm allowing them to gain experience utilising tech to better serve clients. ITL also boasts the first lawyers in the profession to have qualified through working wholly within legal technology.

Kerry displays a relentless drive and energy that has embedded an ethos within the firm that ensures technology and expert legal advice are blended to deliver an enhanced offering to clients and provide a real sector differentiator. She is not an avid ‘technologist’ but a passionate believer that technology is there to be harnessed to provide answers to her perpetual question: ‘Is there a better way of doing this?’

Bio

Stacy is an experienced construction and engineering lawyer who leads the technology, process and innovation initiatives at Fenwick Elliott LLP, the largest specialist construction and energy law firm in the UK.  She oversees the development and implementation of new legal technologies and processes internally, as well as collaborates and engages with clients on technology, products and delivery. She is responsible for Fenwick Elliott’s IT and infrastructure, internal tech operations and legal workflows, and external client initiatives.

Before qualifying as a solicitor, Stacy practised as an Architect, principally designing large-scale projects such as stadiums, hospitals and education buildings in both the UK and the US. This qualification and experience prior to practising law provides a unique expertise and design background, essential for digital transformation in both the legal and construction industries.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Stacy is passionate about the interface between law, process and tech and is dedicated to the digital transformation of both the legal and construction industries.  She regularly speaks on collaboration and delivering tech-enabled innovative solutions in construction law.  Her work focuses on maximising efficiencies and productivity in workflows and delivering a client-focused service.  Stacy has a particular interest in the legal tech necessary for digital twins, robotics, off-site manufacturing, BIM and AI/machine learning in eDisclosure.

Bio

Wiebke Reuter, LL.M., graduated in law at the University of Hamburg with focus on data protection and media law. Since 2018, she works at Taylor Wessing Berlin in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) department. She advises companies on data protection and other issues relevant to technology law.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Among the various clients primarily active in the online sector are also companies that e.g. develop and provide legal tech solutions for data protection law compliance, whom Wiebke supports in the design of their product. Wiebke is also involved in the legal tech engagement of TaylorWessing. In this context she attends meetups on legal tech related topics and is committed to the internal use of new legal tech tools, particularly by participating in the pilot phase and assists colleagues in the application in practice.

In addition, she takes part in training sessions on legal tech solutions which are subject to internal assessment for possible areas of application in the firm. Besides, Wiebke also tries to make prospective lawyers aware of the relevance of legal law in practice. She is involved in the firm’s internal legal tech workshops for students, where they can experience the use of Legal Tech tools on practical examples. 

Bio

Since 2013, Lucia has experienced the rise and consolidation of entrepreneurship in Valencia (Spain) by creating synergies with the different agents of the Valencian entrepreneurial ecosystem. She is passionate about entrepreneurship. Her beginnings in the entrepreneurial world started in 2013, when some clients affected by the crisis bet and began to develop technological projects, with clear methodologies and scalability making a difference from the traditional enterprise.

She was the promoter of the creation of the TIC, Entrepreneurship and Startups Area in her first lawyers firm and actually the legal tech specialist at Bonet firm.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Through her current law firm, Lucia has developed and launched the Project www.reiniciandoempresas.com. Through this project, 6 companies from key fields (finance, legal, communications, technology, impact) provide solutions to companies affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The objective is to help them cope with the new challenges and become more resilient to the future. They are committed to implement Legaltech solutions to make companies more agile and competitive in the digital era.

Lucia has been mentoring startups in Innsomnia, open innovation hub based in Valencia and Madrid, where entrepreneurs develop Fintech, Insurtech and Legaltech projects of the Ships of the Valencia City Council and the Polytechnic University of Valencia. She provides legal advice on the processes to establish the society – according to the needs of each project-, partner agreements in the seed phase and partner agreements in the investment round phase, advice on the different types of contracts and loans for startups, intellectual property and industrial and data protection. She also acts as a connector with accelerators and incubators for the development of entrepreneurial projects.

Lucia is a regular speaker at conferences and seminars on Legaltech and how to advocate digital transformation in law firms organized by the Valencia Bar Association.