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.

Bio

Eleanor White is the Legal Technology Advisor at Shearman & Sterling LLP. Having over ten years of experience as an information professional, she started in data management within the energy sector before gaining her MA in Library and Information Studies from UCL. After transitioning into Legal Knowledge Management she found her interest in legal technology and currently drives Shearman & Sterling’s innovation efforts as part of the Client Value Team.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Eleanor works closely alongside legal teams to match legal technology solutions to lawyer requirements, overseeing product evaluation and implementation and advising clients on the uses of legal technology within the current landscape. 

She co-led the project to define and centralise Shearman & Sterling’s legal technology governance framework and continues to lead adoption efforts through internal projects focused on increasing efficiency and productivity using legal technology. 

Recently collaborating as part of the Barclays Innovation Consortium, she also contributed to the forthcoming edition of BIALL’s Legal Information Management journal sharing her experiences of running successful proofs of value based on projects resulting in the meaningful implementation of legal technology solutions.

Bio

Carolin Monsees is a senior associate at Taylor Wessing’s Technology, Media & Telecoms group in Germany and advises clients in the tech industry in data protection and IT law. She focuses on the contractual aspects of international digitalization projects as well as European and international data protection requirements. Being an expert in the field of privacy litigation, she represents clients in court and conducts negotiations with the competent supervisory authorities.

Contribution to Legal Tech

From the implementation of new KI algorithms to the design of legally compliant consumer platforms: Carolin’s advisory and consulting service is to enable digitalization. This work is indispensable without appropriate legal tech tools. Therefore, Carolin uses and further develops Taylor Wessing’s legal tech tools for managing complex contract structures and modules.

Bio

Priya is a corporate finance lawyer by background. She moved into knowledge management in 2009-10 when the legal industry began to grapple with the ‘more for less’ challenge. Inspired by the disruption in other industries, Priya started to focus on (Legal Operations) process design and use of technology to disrupt and innovate the practice of law and future proof the profession.

As a woman charting her own path, Priya believes we need to break down silos between disciplines, increase collaboration and improve diversity and inclusion to accelerate the pace of change in legal. She co-founded She Breaks the Law on International Woman’s Day 2019 – bringing together a community of 1000s of women from across the globe. She Breaks the Law supports and empowers women (#lawbreakers) of all backgrounds and disciplines in their strive for change and a more progressive, collaborative and inclusive legal ecosystem and gives them a safe space to come together and connect, develop, share and create.

Contribution to Legal Tech

A long-standing champion of human-centred design and legal technology, Priya has streamlined hundreds of legal processes and led transformational projects in private practice and corporations (including a Fortune50 and several FTSE100 clients). She is dedicated to helping legal teams adopt new ways of working that are supported by the effective use of technology and automated solutions to enhance the efficiency of legal service delivery and improve user experience. 

In addition to her day job and her work at She Breaks the Law, Priya mentors and advises legal-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs as well as students and young professionals, sharing her industry knowledge to inspire the next generation.

Bio

Lawyer by day and a (future) self-taught programmer by night, Barbora is passionate about the ongoing transformation of the legal profession. She graduated summa cum laude from Charles University, where she set herself up for a big law path, thinking she would spend her professional career drafting, analysing, and pleading. Upon joining Dentons, however, she was quickly swept off her feet by the challenge of bringing innovative approaches to client work, and by the endless possibilities that the legal tech universe has to offer. She hasn’t stopped being excited about it ever since.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Barbora usually acts as a bridge between legal and tech within the broader Dentons innovation strategy. Her goal is to streamline and make implementation easier and innovation more accessible for everyone. Aware of the importance of excitement and positive change management and excitement, Barbora acts as an Innovation Ambassador, which is an internal innovation advocacy group that reaches minds at Dentons all around Europe. In particular, she likes to spark collaboration on client-facing solutions, educate her peers, and facilitate discussion among lawyers, IT and business services professionals. She is honoured and humbled to be recognised among so many inspiring women.

Bio

Maria has 5+ years in consulting IT and digital companies in the spheres of Data Protection, Intellectual Property, Marketing Compliance. She is a 2020 TEDx speaker with a topic on cybersecurity. She studied law at the National Ukrainian University and she is now heading a leading position in AVITAR law firm.

Contribution to Legal Tech

Maria is an ambassador of the Women in Tech (W.Tech) community on legal matters. She regularly consults rising startups free of charge and guides them in their legal path. Also, she is an official consultant in the Governmental organization that is responsible for the digital transformation of Ukraine. (diia.business)