Zach Abramowitz Principal

Killer Whale Strategies

Zach Abramowitz is the founder of Killer Whale Strategies and an investor in disruptive legal startups. Killer Whale Strategies works with AmLaw 100 firms, Fortune 500 legal departments and other organizations looking to capitalize on the current wave of disruption sweeping over the legal industry. Zach writes longform essays for Legal Evolution, publishes webinars twice monthly and maintains an active newsletter on legal technology startups that reaches thousands of attorneys and entrepreneurs.  He is regularly quoted in industry news on legal disruption and wrote a regular column for Above the Law from 2015-2019. Zach is an NYU Law trained attorney who practiced as an M&A associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel before leaving to launch a startup. Prior to starting his legal career, Zach worked as a standup comedian and a producer for ESPN Radio.

Andrea Alliston Partner, Knowledge & Practice Innovation

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Andrea is an experienced leader and innovator versed in strategy, project implementation and operations across diverse areas including developing precedent and legal resources collections, thought leadership and disseminating legal and practice developments, implementing KM infrastructure technology such as enterprise search, piloting and selecting innovative and emerging technologies, developing automated and productized services, and various data and information management initiatives.

As part of her practice, she leads client mandates to collaboratively develop solutions using a blend of legal knowledge, technology acumen, and process improvement and project implementation skills, including identifying new roles and skill sets required to address client needs.

Prior to joining Fasken, Andrea was a partner at another major Canadian law firm where she led the knowledge management, innovation and education strategies and programs. Earlier in her career, she practiced corporate law focusing on mergers and acquisitions and a broad range of other corporate and commercial matters.

Pablo Arredondo Co-Founder, Chief Innovation Officer

Casetext

Pablo Arredondo is Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Casetext, a legal technology company that develops sophisticated research and drafting tools to improve access to legal research and help attorneys practice more efficiently. Pablo's innovations, including Casetext's pioneering brief analysis tool, CARA A.I., have been recognized by the World Economic Forum, the American Association of Law Libraries, and the American Bar Association. In addition to his groundbreaking contributions at Casetext, Pablo is a CodeX Fellow at the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, where he focuses on civil litigation in common law jurisdictions, with an emphasis on how litigators access and assemble the law. Prior to becoming a trailblazer in legal tech, Pablo was a litigator at Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel, where he represented leading technology companies in patent litigation at both the district court and appellate level. Pablo is a graduate of Stanford Law School and the University of California at Berkeley, and is a member of the New York and California bar.

Amol Bargaje Global Chief Innovation Officer

Mayer Brown LLP

Amol has been a student of the Big Law ecosystem for almost two decades. Starting with project management, he spent some time leading the IT function, and most recently stepped in the world of Big Law innovation. Prior to legal, he has learnt from global manufacturing, management consulting and software development industries. His under-graduate is in electronics engineer, followed by a master’s in business administration.

Andrew Brinkman Global Director of Knowledge Management

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

As Global Director of Knowledge Management at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Andrew works with a team of client-focused KM professionals to introduce greater innovation and efficiency across the firm’s practices, systems, and processes.

Before joining Fried Frank, Andrew served as a leader in Knowledge Management and practiced as a litigator.

Philip Bryce Global Chief Knowledge Officer

Mayer Brown LLP

Philip Bryce, Global Chief Knowledge Officer at Mayer Brown LLP, received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University and his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law, was a law clerk for the late Hon. T.F. Gilroy Daly in the District of Connecticut, and spent nearly five years as a litigation associate with Bingham, Dana & Gould. Prior to joining Mayer Brown, he was Knowledge Resources Counsel at White & Case, and before that Manager of Knowledge Resources at Debevoise & Plimpton.

Kate Cain Senior Director of Knowledge & Innovation Delivery

Fenwick

Kate Cain is a legal knowledge management and marketing technology veteran with more than two decades of experience leading initiatives spanning knowledge management, data analytics, marketing, finance, information technology, and operations. At Fenwick, she leads a team focused on delivering solutions to impact client service delivery, firm strategy, and practice growth, building on her previous roles at Sidley Austin, Winston & Strawn and Kirkland & Ellis. Prior to joining Fenwick, Kate worked with Foundation Software Group (later Litera), leading product design and management efforts. A recipient of the Monica Bay STEM Leadership Award and the ILTA Distinguished Peer Leadership Award, Kate is a long-time ILTA volunteer having served six years on the Board of Directors. She continues to be a frequent speaker and writer for ILTA, LMA, ARK and others.

Paul Casey Data Operations and Analytics Manager

Frost Brown Todd

Paul is the Data Operations and Analytics Manager for Frost Brown Todd. Paul and his team are dedicated to all things data, from collection to analysis, managing data to making it meaningful, and developing solutions to deliver strategic insights for the firm and its clients. Paul joined Frost Brown Todd in 2018 as a Financial Analyst after graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s in Finance.  

Kieron Champion Partner

Fireman & Company

Kieron Champion, a Partner at Fireman & Company, is recognised as a thought leader in digital and knowledge-based programs and solutions and brings 25+ years of experience and success in leading and executing large-scale transformational programs in complex professional services environments. Kieron has held global CKO positions at Cleary Gottlieb and KPMG, and was part of the team that built Accenture’s leading practice knowledge management function.

As a trusted business leader and advisor to leadership teams and boards, Kieron is sought after for his ability to translate business strategies and user requirements into innovative solutions that maximise value for firms, lawyers, and their clients. Strong leadership skills, and expertise in organisational design and change management strategies, ensure he is able to organise and direct high quality work efforts that maximise team and organisational performance.

Kieron’s functional experience includes: organisational design and change management; content architecture and taxonomies; digital workspace and collaboration technologies; enterprise search; research and competitive intelligence; offshoring and shared services; and technology selection and implementation.

Kieron is a guest lecturer at the University of Manchester’s School of Law, as part of their Law, Money, and Technology initiative. He is also a mentor as part of the Legal Geek program.

Kieron offers our client’s an unparalleled insight into KM leading practices developed across professional services organisations.

Ken Crutchfield Vice President & General Manager of Legal Markets

Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, U.S.

Ken Crutchfield leads the Legal Markets Group and is responsible for setting the vision and strategic approach with a focus on developing leading digital products. The Legal Markets Group within Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. provides legal professionals across a wide range of markets with expert content and analysis and leading workflow solutions.

Ken brings three decades of experience to his new role. Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., he was the Senior Vice President & General Manager for the Bloomberg Tax Technology division of Bloomberg BNA. Crutchfield also served in executive-level positions at organizations including Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis. Throughout his career, he has successfully led the growth of multiple businesses in varying industries, including tax & accounting and legal.

Ken earned an MBA from Wright State University and holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

Emily Cunningham Rushing Director of Competitive Intelligence

Haynes and Boone, LLP

As the Director of Competitive Intelligence (CI) for Haynes and Boone, LLP, Emily leads the intelligence, database, research, and technology teams in supporting client service, competitor and market analysis, lateral recruitment, and strategic growth. Emily and the intelligence team supports the creation, deployment, and administration of new technologies and innovation resources.

Emily has contributed to several publications, including the International Bar Association (IBA), American Bar Association (ABA), bar journals, blogs, and other legal industry periodicals. Recent speaking engagements include: AALL, Ark, SLA, ILTA, LMA, SCIP, and regional and international professional associations.

Emily holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) from the University of Houston Law Center and a Master of Information Sciences from the University of North Texas (UNT). She has served on several boards, including the 2019-2020 UNT College of Information Leadership Board. Emily was honoured by the NAACP Houston Branch with an Award for Legal Excellence for her work with the legal aid clinic.

Areas of Experience include: Research; Databases; Instruction; Competitive Intelligence (CI); AI; Business of Law; OSINT; Knowledge Management (KM); Technology; Strategy and Vision; Business Intelligence (BI); Market Intelligence (MI); Law Library; Legal Research; Business Development; CRM; Lexis InterAction; Salesforce; Einstein Analytics; Tableau; Westlaw; Lexis; Survey; Data Science; Statistical Analysis; Law Firms; Project Management (LPM); Process Improvement; Workflow Automation; Change Management

Brenna DeVaney Chief Pro Bono Officer

Skadden

Ms. DeVaney also is involved with the Skadden Honors Program in Legal Studies at The City College of New York, part of the firm’s effort to increase diversity in law schools and the legal profession. Additionally, she regularly consults with corporate legal departments on their efforts to develop in-house pro bono programs.

In 2017, Ms. DeVaney received the Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service awarded by the City Bar Justice Center and the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts award for outstanding pro bono counsel. In 2016, she was awarded the Public Interest Law Leadership Award by the Legal Aid Society for her commitment to the organization and its clients, as well as for her leadership role in the Association of Pro Bono Counsel and as the chair of the New York City Bar Association Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee where she has developed best practices in pro bono used around the country. In 2014, Ms. DeVaney was presented with the Abely Pro Bono Achievement Award by Sanctuary for Families’ Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services for her advocacy against sexualized violence and her support of Sanctuary for Families and its clients, including victims of domestic violence and their children. In 2011, she was honored by Sanctuary for Families with its Above and Beyond Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Advocacy. Additionally, Ms. DeVaney was recognized by The Legal Aid Society as one of the recipients of the 2011 Pro Bono Publico Awards for her outstanding service and leadership to expand access to justice for low-income New Yorkers. She also has been the recipient of the New York Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program Pro Bono Service Award on multiple occasions.

Ms. DeVaney serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is a frequent lecturer and presenter at both national and international convenings focused on access to justice.

Prior to her role as the firm’s first pro bono associate, Ms. DeVaney was a member of the Government Enforcement and White Collar Crime Group, where she represented individual and corporate clients in federal and state criminal and regulatory matters and conducted internal corporate investigations.

Patrick DiDomenico Founder

InspireKM Consulting

Founder of InspireKM Consulting (www.InspireKM.com), Patrick DiDomenico is an innovation and knowledge management advisor to law firms, in-house legal departments, and legal technology companies. Author of the book “Knowledge Management for Lawyers,” published by the American Bar Association (www.KMforLawyers.com), he has been in the legal innovation and knowledge management industry since 2005. Patrick is the recipient of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) Knowledge Management Professional of the Year Award. Before his knowledge management career, he was a practicing litigation attorney for more than eight years.

Patrick has held positions as Chief Innovation Officer for Jackson Lewis, P.C., and Chief Knowledge Officer for Ogletree Deakins and for Gibbons, P.C.

In his spare time, Patrick manages the 11,000+ member Knowledge Management for Legal Professionals LinkedIn group, the 7,000+ member Legal Project Management LinkedIn group, the 800+ member Artificial Intelligence for Legal Professionals LinkedIn group, and the new Innovation for Legal Professionals LinkedIn group, all of which he founded.

He is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, and has spoken about KM, innovation, and legal technology at hundreds of conferences on five continents. Patrick is also an advisor to and investor in legal technology startups (LegalMation, Time by Ping, PatetPal, Qase, Capacity, etc.), angel investor, real estate investor, loves practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and is an aspiring minimalist.

Lucy Dillon KM Strategist

eSentio Technologies

Lucy Dillon is a high profile knowledge, information and innovation leader with a track record of combining knowledge with tech and project management to improve performance in global law firms. A disputes lawyer by background, qualified in England and France, with an MBA in professional services.  Lucy has experience of global multi-cultural matrix environments and is internationally regarded as a highly influential knowledge management and innovation practitioner. She is a frequent commentator, writer and speaker on legal tech, innovation and knowledge, in both Europe and the US.

Lucy’s vast experience and past positions include: Chief Knowledge Officer at Reed Smith LLP,  Director of Knowledge Management at Berwin Leighton Paisner and earlier in her career Lucy was a Professional Support Lawyer in the Dispute Resolution Department at Linklaters.

Lucy has recently joined eSentio’s esteemed team of Knowledge Management professionals. Her areas of expertise include: knowledge and information management (strategy and implementation), legal technology, search engine and content management, digital optimization, innovation (strategy and methodology), project management, process improvement, design thinking, and change management.

Yvonne Dornic Founder, President and CEO

eSentio Technologies

Yvonne Dornic has more than 30 years of consulting experience with large global law firms and corporate legal departments.  

A recognized leader within the industry, Ms. Dornic works closely with the senior leadership at the industry’s largest law firms to strategically align technology initiatives with the business of the law firm and improve upon the strategic value of their technology investments. 

Under Ms. Dornic’s leadership, eSentio has emerged as a leader within the legal technology industry with a reputation for innovative thought leadership.  She was the driving force behind eSentio’s highly regarded CIO Roundtables and the more recently launched Knowledge Management Roundtables. eSentio has become a trusted advisor to many of the AmLaw 100’s largest firms through a fierce commitment to driving business value for her clients and an unwavering focus on client service. Ms. Dornic oversees all aspects of firm-wide operations including strategic planning, strategic business alliances, business development, as well as consulting and implementation. Her focus on excellence and dedication to client service has played a vital role in shaping eSentio’s leadership position within the industry.

Prior to founding eSentio, Yvonne led the legal vertical market strategy and operations of two prominent consulting organizations and founded another highly successful consultancy in the Washington DC area.. She is a noted industry speaker and author on Strategic Planning, Information Governance, Change Management and User Adoption, Document Management Trends and Innovation and Knowledge Management.

Patrick Dundas Knowledge Management Special Counsel

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

Patrick Dundas serves as the knowledge management (“KM”) special counsel for the Investment Management Group. In this role, he collaborates with attorneys and firm business departments to establish and maintain systems and processes that enable the firm to provide prompt client service of the highest quality by harnessing the collective knowledge of the firm for the benefit of the firm’s clients.

Patrick has experience in form/precedent development, document assembly technology (including programming), document management systems, experience systems, legal project management, contact relationship management systems, learning management systems, artificial intelligence technology, intranets, extranets and enterprise search, among other legal processes and systems. He has built a reputation for practical, solution-focused KM by applying his experience as an attorney to the discipline of systems design, working regularly with major legal technology vendors to ensure technology meets the needs of attorneys and clients. Patrick regularly speaks on KM topics at industry conferences, including ILTACON, LegalTech and ARK KM, and has authored works on KM topics and the laws governing private funds. He is a member of the New York City Large Law Firm Knowledge Management Group and a co-chair of the New York City Practice Support Lawyer Knowledge Management Group. Before adopting his KM role, Patrick advised hedge funds and investment advisers in connection with their structuring, formation and ongoing operational needs, general securities laws matters, and regulatory and compliance issues.

Anne Falvey Chief Knowledge Officer

Sidley Austin LLP

ANNE FALVEY serves as the firm’s chief knowledge officer. In this role, Anne oversees Sidley’s knowledge management efforts, translating content and current and emerging technologies into practical tools that lawyers and clients will find compelling and easy to use.

Prior to her role as CKO, Anne was a partner in Sidley’s New York office. She has broad experience in the areas of project development and project financing.

She earned her A.B. from Smith College and her J.D. magna cum laude from Boston College Law School.

Paul Farrell Principal Consultant

eSentio Technologies

As a Principal Consultant at eSentio Technologies, Paul leverages more than two decades of experience consulting with law firms on their KM and data management strategies, together with the technologies that power them. With an expertise across Document and Transaction Management, as well as Enterprise Search, the management and governance of the data landscape is always at the forefront of any defined solutions.

To ensure success, Paul works with firms to identify the specific business drivers that fuel the solutions that he recommends.  Using experience gained from consulting at countless law firms around the world, Paul works with KM, Practice and IT teams to identify opportunities, the potential of technology to support those opportunities and the ultimate value to the firm.

Joshua Fireman Founder, Managing Director

Fireman & Company

Joshua is Fireman & Company’s Founder and Managing Director. He has practiced law with two of North America’s largest law firms and was in-house counsel at a multi-billion dollar multinational corporation. Joshua is recognized as one of the leading experts in law firm strategic consulting and is a recognized thought leader in areas such as knowledge management and change management.

With a decade of consulting experience, Joshua has advised clients on the development of firm strategies, knowledge management, change management and client collaboration strategies. He has led complex engagements executing strategic plans, including the implementation and integration of portals, enterprise search, file, document and email management, and records management. He is a frequent speaker at law firm retreats and industry conferences.

Tim Fox Director of Practice Intelligence and Analytics

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Tim is the Director of Practice Intelligence and Analytics at Ogletree Deakins.  He joined Ogletree Deakins in late 2020 to build out the firm’s Practice Intelligence group, which is tasked with using data, AI, and analytics to develop tools and solutions to improve the firm’s use and understanding of data.  At Ogletree, Tim leads a team of data scientists, developers, statisticians, and analysts in developing a number of data-focused products and solutions for the firm and its clients.  Before joining Ogletree, Tim helped found and lead LegalMation as its Chief Information & Product Officer.  Prior to helping form LegalMation, Tim  was a practicing attorney for over 7 years, and before all that he spent over 5 years in the tech space as a DBA & system integrator for a Fortune 100 company.  Tim graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cal Poly with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems, and obtained his J.D. from USC Law in 2011.  Tim is also a part-time Lecturer-in-Law at USC Law.

Chad Gilman Research Services Lead

Fish & Richardson, P.C.

Chad Gilman is the Research & Knowledge Services Lead for Fish & Richardson and has been with the firm since 2015. In his current roll Chad guides the Research and Knowledge Services team in providing expert IP, CI and litigation research to all of the firm's practice groups and business development teams. Prior to that he was a Faculty Librarian at Minneapolis Community and Technical College teaching Information Literacy and Library Technician courses.

Michael Grupp CEO/Co-Founder

BRYTER

Michael Grupp is CEO and Co-Founder of BRYTER, the no-code automation platform that enables legal and regulatory professionals to build and run digital applications, without any programming. BRYTER is one of the fastest growing SaaS companies with customers across the globe from corporates like McDonalds and ING through to law firms like Paul Hastings and Simmons and Simmons.

Michael began his career as an international litigation and arbitration lawyer before finding his passion in building companies. He publishes and speaks on topics of legal technology and innovation and speaks as a guest lecturer at the University of Frankfurt and Bucerius Law School.

He's a big fan of seafood and fast-talking people.

Amanda Gudis Stuart Client Value Lawyer, Special Projects

Shearman & Sterling LLP

Amanda is Shearman & Sterling’s Client Value Lawyer of Special Projects. Recognized as a 2021 ILTA Young Professional to Watch, she leads transformative cultural and systematic changes that modernize the firm and increase value for clients and lawyers. Some of her projects include development of the firm’s matter experience search, intranet redesign, precedent search, and optimizing email management. 

Shearman's Client Value Department is one of the most innovative in legal, and Amanda works on some of the most challenging projects in the industry. Amanda is a former practicing lawyer, worked for the legal tech solutions vendor Casetext, and has been a part of two of the industry's most accomplished teams in KM and Innovation at Cleary Gottlieb and Ogletree Deakins

Amanda received her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and her JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Hunter Jackson Chief Knowledge Officer

McDermott Will & Emery

Hunter Jackson is the Chief Knowledge Officer at McDermott, Will & Emery in Dallas, TX.  Hunter was a practicing corporate real estate lawyer for 10 years at several large firms.  He moved into data, innovation and legal knowledge management in 2011 and participated in building the KM programs at both Paul Hastings and Sidley Austin. 

In January, 2021, Hunter started at McDermott to be in charge of the knowledge management and digital transformation strategy for the Firm.  At McDermott, Hunter is working on several major AI data profiling and market study projects for M&A, Private Equity and Healthcare and the deployment of Foundation as a lawyer-facing search platform starting in 2023.  In September, 2021, Hunter launched proprietary AI search system for McDermott called “Form Finder”, which is now a finalist for “Best Use of Technology” by the American Lawyer Industry Awards.  The Form Finder team uses AI to analyze a draft purchase agreement or credit agreement sent from opposing counsel, instantly compare it to every purchase agreement or credit agreement McDermott has done and, based on a similarity score, determine whether the Firm has ever prepared comments or fully negotiated this same form of purchase agreement or credit agreement before. 

Jon Jelenko Head of Sales

Documate

Jon Jelenko is Head of Sales at Documate, the leader in no-code legal automation. Jon is a legal technology evangelist with a focus on using technology to modernize and streamline the delivery of legal services. He has worked in the legal technology space for nearly a decade and has supported law firms, legal service organizations, and In-house legal teams alike. Jon has also contributed on several Above the Law articles, and prior to working in the legal technology space he served in the US Army.

At Documate, Jon educates legal professionals on how they can modernize their processes with logic-based data collection, complex document automation, and client-facing legal apps.

Patty Johansen Knowledge Management Director & Counsel

Goodwin Procter LLP

Patty Johansen is Goodwin’s Director of Knowledge Management for Business Law and also serves as Counsel. Ms. Johansen focuses on knowledge management and practice innovation to enable the firm's Business Law lawyers to deliver high value legal services to their clients. Ms. Johansen and her team are responsible for artificial intelligence, document automation and other new legal technologies that enhance attorney workflows and processes. Ms. Johansen directs a staff of KM lawyers tasked to develop know how, monitor legal developments, and deliver practice tools. She also oversees the capture and leverage of the firm’s business law experience.

Prior to rejoining Goodwin in 2005, Ms. Johansen was a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery, and prior to that, Senior Legal Counsel at Fidelity Investments. Ms. Johansen started her legal career at Goodwin as a corporate associate.”

Scott Kaiser Practice Innovation and Knowledge Attorney

Paul Hastings LLP

Scott H. Kaiser is a Practice Innovation and Knowledge Attorney at Paul Hastings LLP. Mr. Kaiser works with the firm’s Employment, Complex Litigation, Securities Litigation, and Antitrust practice areas and is based in the firm’s New York office.

Mr. Kaiser‘s work with the Practice Innovation and Legal Solutions department focuses on optimizing and creating efficient legal processes and workflows, identifying and developing innovative tools and content delivery systems, and leveraging innovative practice technology that ensures practice and client service excellence. Mr. Kaiser works on high-level knowledge initiatives to assess internal knowledge needs and collects, creates, and delivers critical legal content to the attorneys in his practice areas to support their efforts to provide the highest level of substantive legal advice to clients.

Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Kaiser was a Senior Legal Editor at Practical Law for four years, creating legal know-how content to help litigation attorneys provide better, more efficient service to their clients. Before that, Mr. Kaiser was a practicing attorney for over twelve years, working primarily as an associate at Bryan Cave LLP in that firm’s commercial litigation, labor and employment, and securities litigation and enforcement practice groups. Mr. Kaiser was also Of Counsel at a litigation boutique firm. Mr. Kaiser graduated from Harvard Law School and Duke University.

Sukesh Kamra Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer

Torys

Sukesh Kamra is a multi-award-winning executive who leads the firm’s knowledge and innovation practice. He manages a team of practice innovation lawyers and professionals, as well as the technology learning and development team and library services globally. He is responsible for driving the highest level of efficiency by leveraging innovative technology and the effective application of process to streamline the delivery of legal service. With close to 20 years of experience, Sukesh develops new frameworks and approaches to capture and disseminate our deep knowledge to our people and our clients. He is also a strategic and instrumental figure for Torys’ Legal Services Centre.

Sukesh holds a yellow belt certification in Legal Lean Sigma and Project Management and is a certified mental health first aid officer.

Jennifer Klyse Senior Consultant

Fireman & Company

David Majors Director, Knowledge Management Strategy & Operations

Sidley Austin LLP

Dave Majors is the Director of Knowledge Management Strategy and Operations at Sidley Austin.  Dave helps to lead the development and further expansion of the Knowledge Management department at Sidley, primarily responsible for oversight and execution of the KM strategy and initiatives firm-wide in order to drive efficiencies for both lawyers and staff and to ultimately improve client service.  Prior to joining Sidley, he spent 15 years in litigation consulting, focusing on fraud investigations, forensic accounting and damages quantification.

Caroline Manley Executive Director

Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL)

Caroline Manley has served as CDEL's Executive Director since September of 2019.  As Executive Director, Caroline is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization and maintains strong relationships with CDEL's many supporters. During the pandemic, Caroline worked quickly in leading CDEL’s staff to transition its programs to remote settings by implementing multiple new technologies.

Caroline began her legal career at CDEL by starting CDEL's Community Clinics.   As a Borchard Foundation Center on Law & Aging Fellow, Caroline first implemented legal clinics in four of Cook County’s suburbs.  She later expanded the program to ten communities throughout Cook County as an Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by The Chicago Bar Foundation.  Caroline has represented clients in CDEL's full range of civil legal services including housing, end of life planning, family law and collections defense. 

Caroline has a lifelong passion for working with older adults.  Before attending law school, she served as Program Coordinator at Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly where she worked with socially isolated seniors. 

Caroline attended the University of Illinois for her undergraduate degree in Sociology. She earned her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from DePaul University where she was an active member of the Center for Public Interest Law and the Article Selection Editor of the DePaul Journal for Social Justice.  Caroline is a recipient of the Chicago Bar Foundation Sun-Times Public Interest Fellowship and a past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Elder Law Committee. 

Lauren May Global Head of Transactional Knowledge Management

Sidley Austin LLP

Lauren May is the Global Head of Transactional Knowledge Management at Sidley Austin. In her current role in the organization, she oversees all transactional knowledge management lawyers and technology reviews for practice specific tools.

Christopher O'Connor Director of Solutions

LexisNexis

Chris leads LexisNexis' Drafting and Integrations legal technology product portfolio in the UK and North America. The team manage a suite of workflow, productivity and analytics solutions that help lawyers improve delivery and enhance the quality of their work.

This product portfolio includes:

• Lexis Create - a drafting support and automation tool helping transactional lawyers and litigators prepare and check contracts and court documents
• Lexis Search Advantage - a set of document enrichment and classification capabilities that help enhance the DMS search experience to retrieve and reuse firm knowledge
• Lexis APIs, our set of content- and analytics-as-a-service offerings which deliver LexisNexis intelligence and services in 3rd party platforms and bespoke client applications

Chris is also responsible for leading LexisNexis' new product development in the drafting, knowledge and data enrichment space - experimenting with new and established technology and engineering processes to develop the next generation of legal tech tools for lawyers.

Robin Porter Head of Practice Innovation & Change Management

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Robin leads the Innovation, Business Transformation, Library, Knowledge Management and Legal Research teams at Blakes.

She has led large-scale transformation efforts in Canada and the U.S. for over 25 years in a variety of industries, including law, financial services and manufacturing.

Damien Riehl Leader

SALI (Standards Advancement for the Legal Industry)

Damien Riehl is a lawyer and technologist with experience in complex litigation, digital forensics, and software development. A coder since 1985 and for the web since 1995, Damien clerked for the chief judges of state and federal courts, practiced in complex litigation for over a decade, has led teams of cybersecurity and world-spanning digital forensics investigations, and has led teams in legal-software development. An appointee of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Connected and Automated Vehicles, he has helped recommend changes to Minnesota statutes, rules, and policies — all related to connected and autonomous vehicles. At SALI, Damien has greatly expanded a taxonomy of over 10,000 legal tags that matter, helping the legal industry's development of AI and analytics. At Fastcase, Damien helps lead the design, development, and expansion of Fastcase's various products, integrating AI-backed technologies to improve legal workflows and to power legal data analytics

Evan Shenkman Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer

Fisher Phillips

Evan Shenkman is a member of Fisher Phillips’ Executive Leadership Team and leads the firm’s Knowledge Management, Innovation, and Library functions. Constantly at the forefront of change in the legal profession, Evan was named to the 2021 Fastcase 50 List, recognizing “50 of the smartest, most courageous, innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law,” and he received the 2020 Legal Innovator of the Year Award, recognizing his team’s numerous innovations during the coronavirus pandemic. At Fisher Phillips, Evan’s responsibilities include harnessing the power of A.I. and data analytics to the benefit of firm attorneys and clients; creating processes, practices, and software to allow firm attorneys to work smarter, faster, and more in sync; creating internal and client-facing collaborative tools; and introducing innovative technologies and approaches to help firm attorneys and clients thrive in the modern workplace. Before entering the KM field in 2011, Evan was a labor and employment litigator for nearly a decade. The seamless integration across the Executive Leadership Team truly sets Fisher Phillips apart as it enables collaboration, innovation, and diversity of ideas.

Rachel Shields Williams Director, Knowledge Management Enablement & Insights

Sidley Austin LLP

Rachel Shields Williams is the Director, Knowledge Management Enablement & Insights at Sidley Austin. In her current role with the organization, she blends her 18 years of marketing and business development experience with her passion for knowledge management and technology. She helps lawyers understand how they can apply technology to their business activities in order to increase their effectiveness, operational efficiency and get results.

Leanna R. Simon Director, Research and Knowledge Management

Honigman LLP

Leanna R. Simon is Director of Research and Knowledge Management at Honigman LLP in Detroit, Michigan’s largest law firm. As creator of the firm’s knowledge management program, she responsible for execution, training, and advising attorneys with best practices across all practice areas. Ms. Simon is active in the law library and knowledge management communities and currently sits as the chair of the Private Law Librarians and Information Professionals (PLLIP) Strategic Directions Committee and member of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Leadership Development Committee.

Kate Simpson Chief Knowledge Officer

Bennett Jones LLP

Kate is responsible for developing and implementing the knowledge management and library strategy as well as innovation initiatives at Bennett Jones, and leads a team of KM specialists in delivering practice tools and resources that leverage the firm's intellectual capital. Prior to Bennett Jones, Kate was a consultant to many Canadian, UK and global law firms advising them in the design and implementation of useful, usable and engaging KM solutions that benefited both the lawyers and their clients. Since the early 2000s Kate has been involved in the design, development and adoption of enterprise search systems, content-rich knowledge collections and extranets, as well as innovative practice apps and technologies. The future of KM and LegalTech is chockablock full of exciting opportunities and you'll be hard-pressed to shut Kate up about it – either through her regular column 'Legal Innovation Now' for the Canadian Lawyer, or when she's asked to speak on such matters.

R. Amani Smathers Senior Practice Innovation Specialist

Chapman & Cutler

R. Amani Smathers is a senior legal solutions professional with experience helping legal teams find better and faster ways to accomplish their legal work, operational tasks, and goals. Her career has so far spanned the legal technology and practice innovation groups at three Am Law 100/200 law firms: Seyfarth Shaw (SeyfarthLean Consulting), Davis Wright Tremaine (De Novo), and Chapman and Cutler (Practice Innovations). Her focus is on projects that demonstrate a real, positive impact on a team’s processes and outcomes, whether it comes from process improvement and new workflows; document automation; tracking, visualizing, and analyzing data; or other tailored solutions. These projects also give her the pleasure of working with multidisciplinary teams that include lawyers, clients, process specialists/project managers, software developers, and other professionals. Amani is a proponent of continuous improvement and loves working with colleagues and clients who push beyond the status quo. Since early 2021, Amani has also had the opportunity to teach law students about modern legal service delivery models as an instructor with the Center for Law, Technology & Innovation (f.k.a. ReInvent Law / Legal RnD) at Michigan State University College of Law.

Barry Solomon Vice President, Advisors, Evangelists, and Sales Engineers

Litera

As Vice President, Advisors, Evangelists, & Sales Engineers at Litera, Barry Solomon leads a team of subject matter experts – legal, technical, and business – who help legal teams use technology to win and deliver high quality legal services. Prior to the company’s acquisition by Litera, Barry was on the leadership team of Foundation.

Barry practiced law at Sidley Austin LLP, where he focused on commercial transactions and securitization. He left his practice to help found Interface Software, the maker of InterAction. When LexisNexis acquired the company, Barry was retained as vice president and general manager for several subsidiaries of LexisNexis, winning the Leadership Excellence Award. Prior to joining the Foundation team, Barry was Chief Marketing Officer for Microsystems (now Litera) and then Sidley, overseeing global business development, marketing, and communications strategies.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Barry was named to The National Law Journal’s inaugural list of 50 Business of Law Trailblazers & Pioneers. Barry holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago.

Julie Strachan Haiber, Esq. Global Client Director Global Large Law Firms

Thomson Reuters

Ms. Strachan Haiber is an attorney and Global Director with Thomson Reuters, where she has worked since 2005. In her role, she works with the world’s largest law firms on document automation, knowledge management, and workflow initiatives.

She earned her law degree from New York Law School and her BA from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with a double major in English and Theatre.

Jill Strand Director, Research & Knowledge Services

Fish & Richardson, P.C.

Jill Strand is the Director of Research & Knowledge Services for Fish & Richardson and has managed and worked in law firm research operations for three firms since 2004. Prior to that she developed a library for a division of Target Corporation and worked as a regional sales manager for Simon & Schuster. Jill has been an active member of SLA since 2000, was named an SLA Fellow in 2010 and served as President in 2015. In addition to presenting at a wide variety of conferences, Jill has written for multiple professional publications and blogs and authored a chapter on cost recovery for The Handbook of Information Management (Emerald Publishing.)

Abby Walters Research Systems Lead

Fish & Richardson, P.C.

Abby Walters is the Research & Knowledge Systems Lead for Fish & Richardson. She oversees the technical services and electronic research systems for the firm. Abby has worked in law libraries for over 16 years, the past 3 with Fish.  Prior to that she served as the Library Director at the MN Attorney General's Office, and Library Manager at Maslon LLP in Minneapolis. In 2021-22, Abby served as chair of the American Association of Law Libraries Continuing Education Committee, working on facilitating webinars, eLearning, and microlearning videos for law librarians across the country.

Eleanor White Manager of Legal Technology & Innovation

Shearman & Sterling LLP

Eleanor White is the Manager of Legal Technology and Innovation at Shearman & Sterling LLP and has over ten years of experience as an information professional. Starting in Data Management within the energy sector she moved into Knowledge Management where she currently works as part of the Client Value Team.

Eleanor leads a team focused solely on evaluating and onboarding legal technology, promoting engagement for increased legal tech adoption and educating legal teams through in person training and an online library of on-demand resources.

Eleanor gained her MA in Library and Information Studies from UCL and was recently nominated for a European Women of Legal Tech Award.

Keli Whitnell Director of Firm Intelligence

Troutman