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Tag: innovation

Marriage counselling for the client-lawyer relationship: building trust in an age of innovation

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Legal innovation is often discussed in terms of technology, adoption and efficiency. At this year’s LegalTechTalk, our director of innovation, Michael Vasalos, joined a panel where the focus of discussion was firmly on the client experience, and whether innovation is making legal services clearer, better communicated and more trusted.

The discussion explored the pressures currently shaping relationships between law firms and their clients. Clients increasingly want strategic partners, not just reactive advisers, while firms are looking to build loyalty in a market where work is often spread across multiple providers.

Against this backdrop, the panel considered how firms can move beyond transactional service delivery and build stronger, longer-term relationships. Topics included transparency around pricing and scope, the importance of clearer communication, and how difficult conversations can help strengthen trust and alignment.

The speakers also discussed the role of AI and emerging technology in reshaping aspects of legal delivery, particularly where work is repeatable or process-heavy. However, the discussion underlined that technology alone is not the answer. Its value comes from helping firms deliver a better experience for clients and making the work clearer, better scoped and easier to navigate.

LegalTechTalk is one of Europe’s leading legal technology and innovation conferences. Find out more here.

Innovation without inertia: How law firms can move from thinking to doing

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

How can law firm leaders address the difficult decisions behind change and ensure that innovation is successfully embedded across the firms they manage?

This was one of several questions posed to our co-managing partner Charlie Leveque and chief operating officer Andy Wansell in our fireside chat at this year’s LegalTechTalk. Chaired by Line Lolk Thomsen, chief transformation officer at Plesner, the discussion centred around the challenges faced by law firms which often stall progress and the approach leaders can take to overcome the many obstacles.

Charlie and Andy spoke of their respective experiences, highlighting the importance of embracing innovation and seeing it, and the rapid development of AI and technology, not as a threat but as an opportunity to strengthen relationships with clients by meeting their evolving expectations. The most successful firms will be those that are agile and ensure that they act quickly and decisively. In addition, firms must have the bravery to halt a project that isn’t working and moving onto something new – what you aren’t doing is as important as what you are doing.

LegalTechTalk is one of Europe’s leading legal technology and innovation conferences, taking place on 17–18 June at the InterContinental London, The O2. Find out more about the event here.

LegalTechTalk 2026: Driving innovation in the legal sector

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

We will be part of this year’s LegalTechTalk, where three of our senior leadership team will be speaking on two panels to share insights on the legal innovation landscape, including how law firm leaders can successfully embed innovation across the business and the impact of innovation on the lawyer-client relationship.

Innovation without Inertia: How Law Firms Can Move from Thinking to Doing

In a fireside chat, our co-managing partner Charlie Leveque and chief operating officer Andy Wansell will discuss how law firm leaders can overcome the challenges which often stall progress and ensure a firm embraces innovation by being agile and acting decisively.

Marriage Counselling for the Client-Attorney Relationship

In a panel discussion alongside other experts, our director of innovation Michael Vasalos will explore the challenges that can put strain on the relationship between lawyers and their clients and discuss how to shift from transactional service delivery to genuine strategic partnership.

LegalTechTalk is one of Europe’s leading legal technology and innovation conferences, taking place on 17–18 June at the InterContinental London, The O2. Find out more about the event here.

Finalist for Business Services Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026

Posted on by Jess Brady

We have been shortlisted for Business Services Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026.

The Legal Business Awards is a key annual event in the UK legal sector, highlighting excellence in law across more than 26 different categories. The awards aim to showcase individuals, teams and firms in the UK legal space who have made a significant mark in the profession or within their firm. The awards ceremony will take place on the evening of Tuesday 29 September at the JW Marriot Grosvenor House London, where the winners will be announced.

Our shortlisting recognises the contribution of our business services function in shaping the firm’s strategy and driving its success, with particular focus on the achievements of our People & Culture team, including its provision of HR consultancy directly to our clients. Through our innovative Client Sight framework, which forms the architecture of how the firm operates, we put our clients and their priorities first by understanding how they see us, what they value and what they need.

Client Sight underpins the firm’s approach to all aspects of its business service function and guides our decision-making, from people and recruitment, to innovation, to business development and marketing. This enables us to foster genuine collaboration and build relationships across all functions, pushing us outside the more restrictive lines of a traditional law firm. We are delivering measurable outcomes, attracting remarkable talent and creating deeper client relationships.

This latest recognition of the firm’s business services function follows the news of us winning Business Development Team of the Year at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026. We were also recently named as a finalist for Law Firm of the Year: The Independents at The Lawyer Awards 2026.

Harbottle & Lewis partners with Legora to integrate innovative AI platform into its client offering

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

Harbottle & Lewis has announced today that it will partner with Legora (formerly Leya) to integrate Legora’s innovative AI platform into its offering to clients. This technology will maximise efficiency, strengthen operational processes and fuel collaboration in use cases primarily within due diligence work and document review.

Following a structured evaluation of leading AI platforms led by the Harbottle & Lewis innovation team with a particular focus on enhancing the firm’s document review capabilities, the decision was made to adopt the Legora platform and incorporate it into its working practices.

The partnership became effective as of 17 March 2025.

As part of its commitment to fostering a culture of innovation powered by technology, last year the firm launched its internal Innovation Fund which it uses to uncover and invest in innovative solutions to improve the way it works by streamlining legal and business administrative tasks.

Tony Littner, co-managing partner at Harbottle & Lewis and manager of the Innovation Fund, said:

“The announcement of this partnership is an exciting step forward for the firm as we utilise our Innovation Fund to invest in not only the most sophisticated technology but that which fits best with how we do things and addresses the particular needs of our business. Legora’s AI tool will enhance our offering and help to ensure that we remain ahead of the curve when it comes to using technology to deliver the best possible service to our clients.”

Michael Vasalos, head of innovation at Harbottle & Lewis, said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with Legora and adopting its collaborative AI platform and state-of-the-art data extraction technology. After a rigorous evaluation process during which we assessed a range of products from multiple AI providers, it became clear that Legora’s AI tool is the perfect fit for us and will undoubtedly optimise our current processes. Not only is the product one that will provide great value to us and our clients, but Legora’s deep understanding of the legal industry and impressive recent growth were key factors in our decision to partner with them and we are looking forward to working alongside them in exploring further use cases.”

Max Junestrand, CEO at Legora, commented:

“Harbottle & Lewis stands out as a firm that truly understands innovation, demonstrated by their very structured approach when running us through several accuracy and quality benchmarking exercises against alternative solutions. We believe they are the ideal partner for Legora. Together, we’re redefining what’s possible in legal practice; enhancing collaboration, eliminating inefficiencies and delivering meaningful outcomes for clients. This is the future of law and together we’re leading the way.”

About Legora

Legora (formerly Leya) is the world’s first truly collaborative AI for lawyers. With offices in London and Stockholm, Legora is on a mission to empower exceptional lawyers by unleashing their expertise. The platform is utilised in nearly 20 countries by over 250 clients. Legora collaborates with clients to help them work more efficiently, accurately, and devote more time to complex problem solving and high-impact, strategic work.*

*Company description provided by Legora