Legal Management Forum brings together the elite legal profession to respond to technological challenges | Legal

this Legal Management ForumA milestone in the legal industry, the event culminated in the plenary meeting it opened this Wednesday. Cristina SancoPresident of the Wolters Kluwer Foundation and Director of Corporate Affairs at LA LEY; Emilio Martinez, COO of Cuatrecasas and chairman of the business law Think Tank Inkietos; Y Jorge Gutierrez, Chief Justice at Banco Santander. Journalist hosted the event Gloria Serra.

Behind yesterday session, Since 9:15 this morning, legal professionals and legal communications, networking remotely in the career of lawyers. As noted, it’s not surprising that those who know how to move forward in this “uncertain age” of engagement by harnessing the power of virtual interaction, maintaining robust remote conversations and connecting with colleagues will lay the foundations for “future opportunities”. . The lawyer spoke about it Ari TigerThe founder of Ari Kaplan Advisors is in the Mutua Madrileña auditorium, where the entire plenary session is held.

“The important thing networking Knowing who you want to meet and who will add value to you the most. “You have to ask yourself the question of who you want to meet,” Kaplan said at a conference held entirely in English.What is your bottled water?? (What makes you different?) That’s a really big question.” “I just made podcasts to meet people. It can be very useful. This gave me the opportunity to meet people I wanted to connect with. I don’t do things to be busy. Everything I do has a meaning,” he stressed.

Virtual Advocacy and metaverse

At the Law Management Forum, the challenges and opportunities of virtual law practice, which the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred and imposed on firms’ internal affairs, were also discussed. Cristina RetanaAs director of innovation and content at LA LEY, he led a dialogue on: virtual lawyer (as this application is known) is the section where the activities that can and should be done with technology are explained.

he joined Andy RamosPérez-Llorca, a partner in Intellectual Property, Industry and Technology, pointed out that currently “everything that can be modeled in terms of IT is virtualizable.” In the field of public administration, Concept Areas, PhD in Law and co-director of Red Localis assured that the key is to set realistic goals and have the right team. “You have to involve them in the change and let them know what they are gaining from the change.” on his behalf jose perezUría Menéndez, director of technology and innovation, added: “To adopt a tool, you have to start by feeling that there is a need. It is crucial to involve a user in this selection process.” They were sure to adopt. machine learning (machine learning). The goal is to allow machines to do more repetitive work, giving lawyers more time to add value to their work. Expertise.

Another of the topics studied is Metaverse implications for law firms and employment law advice. They talked about this topic Oscar marriedLegal director of Telefónica’s Privacy and Digital Business department, and Vincent OrtizManaging partner of Vicox Legal, managed by moises neighborhoodCouncil of State attorney.

In this sense, Casado has identified different areas where metaverses can assist legal counsel’s work, both in terms of internal organization and the possibility of holding business meetings with avatars. “The key is whether they help us solve a problem,” he said. However, there is still a long way to go, as the linking of startup platforms is missing. “We’re in version 1.0,” added Ortiz, managing partner of Vicox Legal, the first Spanish law firm to buy some plots on a metaverse platform in the midst of a pandemic. Despite this, he encouraged lawyers to approach this new world without fear and without “fixing”. He assured us that what was coming was “hyperrealism” and that it would make us not want to leave this new digital universe.

Commitment and sustainability

this Attorneys’ commitment to their companies This was one of the axes that structured the session this Wednesday. Fernando Nafriaco-founder and director of Galea Bespoke Shoemakers; Blanca Rodriguez-Lainz, Director of Human Resources at CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo; Y Christina SantosHis counterpart at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo analyzed the key issues facing law firms under his leadership. Thomas PeredaDeputy director general of the máshumano Foundation.

As Cristina Santos explains, the key to retaining talent is reconnecting with the profession and social value of the profession. In addition, “careers or ways of working should be made more flexible” and the younger generation should be taught pedagogy about “reflections of what they have done”. Flexibility and courage are the motto for Rodríguez-Lainz. “Let’s listen to our teams and create a win, win and win model together,” he advised. Nafría, who radically changed her profession after fifteen years of work at Cuatrecasas, also insisted on the importance of flexibility. “The idea of ​​being a partner did not interest me at all and there was no alternative. I didn’t want to keep doing the same thing for thirty years,” he admitted.

this The paradigm shift that sustainability represents Strategies of law firms were also analyzed in a session moderated. Lydia Zommermanaging partner of legal marketing agency Mirada 360º and participating Inkietos member Michael KlingenbergGeneral Manager of Repsol Legal Affairs; elizabeth bacon, Vice Chairman of the Board of Banco Santander Spain and former Minister of Environment; Y Pink BlackberryManaging partner of Garrigues Sostenible and global managing partner of Garrigues’ labor department.

Isabel Tocino started her speech by referring to the moment in which we live, marked by the energy crisis, raw materials and inflation. A scenario that puts sustainability on hold but needs to be adapted to schedules. “We are at a pivotal moment to connect sustainability and profitability, but our aim is always to add value, human and societal meaning.” Klingenberg added that at Repsol, the ESG criteria have “transcendent” value and the legal space is responsible for monitoring compliance. “Outside of Spain, there have been some situations in the process. due diligence “We were unable to contract with suppliers because they did not comply with our code of conduct.” In this sense, Rosa Zarza emphasized that sustainability “will affect us all”, so “the sooner we anticipate, the better” because “customers will value it”.

The rise of ALSPs

this The rise of ALSPs, alternative legal services providers have been another of the strengths of the Legal Management Forum. They talked about the functioning of these companies. crayon chapelCommercial director of Mindcrest (DWF) and Crystan RichardsProject manager at Konexo (Eversheds Sutherland), mercedes carmonaHead of Legal Iberia for Becton Dickinson and general secretary of Inkietos.

Craig Chaplin explained that ALSPs were born as a result of the 2008 crisis because many customers did not have enough budget to face the legal costs of traditional firms, which forced the industry to consider new ways to deliver services. As a result, this new model has grown from an initial billing of around 4,000 million Euros to the current 15,000 million Euros worldwide. As she herself puts it, ALSPs “simplify the administrative challenges of being a lawyer, allowing professionals to add value to their work by freeing them from empty tasks.” Crystan Richards added that such providers offer assistance in improving legal processes, technology and people. Thanks to technology, “we take advantage of people’s skills. Without them, technology is useless.” According to him, traditional law firms are increasingly recognizing the strengths of ALSPs and considering their benefits in areas such as M&A.

Finally, Jose Ramon ChavesJudge of the Asturias Supreme Court of Justice and editor of the blog delaJusticia.com, The role of lawyers as influencers. As he said, “ignoring the direction of new technologies” is not an option. “Reputation used to be word of mouth, now it’s social networks.” However, to become a Twitter star, you need to take the time. And it’s the same for running a blog like him. You have to keep the balance between “news, information and respect” and “new content” to contribute. “No one makes a blog to copy the BOE,” he stressed.

Organized and honored by LA LEY and Inkietos King Felipe VIThe main sponsors of the Legal Management Forum were Banco Santander and Mutua Madrileña. He has also collaborated with companies such as Garrigues, Cuatrecasas, Uría Menéndez, Pérez-Llorca, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, Ontier, RocaJunyent, CCS Abogados, Ejaso, Linklaters, Auren, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, KPMG or Squire Patton. boggs.