Law firm leaders face the future: How AI and innovation are rewriting the rules for UK law firms

The critical role of business support services in legal practice is being fundamentally reshaped by an unprecedented wave of transformation. To explore this evolution, Williams Lea hosted its third annual Law Firm of the Future symposium at the London offices of A&O Shearman. Moderated by Chris Bull, Principal at Edge International, and featuring a keynote from innovator and award-winning lawyer, Jenifer Swallow, the event brought together operational leaders and managing partners from top law firms to explore the ‘how’ of legal transformation. Joe McSpadden, EVP North America at Williams Lea, and Nick Morgan, Chief Technology Officer, Williams Lea, joined a panel of top industry experts from leading law firms to debate, challenge, and reimagine what it means to deliver legal services in 2025 and beyond, and dig further into the rapid evolution of the resources, tools, and support services that lawyers depend on. From the rise of agentic AI to the reinvention of business support models, hybrid working, and the evolving partnership structure; the agenda was packed with frank discussion and practical insight on how law firms can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.

Here are the top three takeaways from the event:

The lawyer experience must be deliberately engineered for success

Keynote speaker Jenifer Swallow set the stage by showing how the day-to-day reality of legal professionals and their experience of their work is changing, and where that change is heading next.  From iteratively planning, producing and checking work in ‘partnership’ with AI models, to use of analytics, behavioural science, financial modelling, visualisation and ‘agentic’ tools that act like worker bees, to baking knowledge and legal advice into scalable digital solutions, many innovative approaches are gaining traction today.  She proposed that the next transformation frontier is not just about adopting new technology, but about intentionally anticipating and shaping the lawyer experience with and around technology as a ‘secret ingredient’ to maximise business outcomes.   As she noted, “The universe of the possible has shifted, and our future reality with it… (the lawyer) experience impacts client experience and business outcomes, whether positive and intentional or otherwise”.

Drawing lessons from the tech industry, Jenifer presented law firm leaders and operational teams with the opportunity to take a more active and deliberate role in this aspect of transformation. She highlighted that the most innovative companies worldwide treat their internal environment as a product or service in itself, as she said, “Tech companies… curate very deliberately the experience of their people, because they know that that has an impact on the delivery to and experience of their customers, and thereby on their business success. And it does have a material impact”. She presented a five-element framework for engineering a superior ‘user experience’ or UX for lawyers:

• Purpose: Firms re-setting their business purpose and regularly articulating that purpose so everyone is clear on the shared ‘why’.  
• Platform: Creating a dynamic and integrated technology stack that not only works really well every time, but that enables teams to shape and co-develop the technology that works best for them.
• People: This element is about connecting with the wider ecosystem, bringing in adjacent ideas and different perspectives to enrich the work environment, and thinking more deliberately about the incentives that sit behind high delivery, high innovation environments.
• Place: Law firms can curate their physical and virtual environments to foster energy, collaboration, and “serendipity”.
• Perception: This is the crucial outcome of the other four elements—how professionals feel about themselves and their ability to succeed within the firm’s environment, which then creates a virtuous cycle.

Jenifer demonstrated that this is not a theoretical exercise; the future is happening now.  She highlighted new ways of working, such as creation of data and visualisation-rich presentations through text prompts to aid board decision making, using AI to develop and govern ethical case strategy, and contracts that can self-initiate actions like payments or compliance checks and reporting, opening the door to new, non-billable hour pricing models. Ultimately, she argued, the “operational element is where the actual magic happens,” and firms that master it will be the ones that thrive.

Behavioural change and leadership: the real drivers of transformation

Technology alone does not drive change—people do. Panellists emphasised that successful innovation depends on understanding and influencing lawyer behaviour. Lucía Elizalde-Bulanti, Director of Behavioural Innovation at Dechert, pointed out: “The only way we get a return on technology investment is if people use it at scale every day. That means we need to focus on the behaviours that drive adoption—not just roll out new tools and hope for the best. It’s about making technology fit lawyers, not forcing lawyers to fit technology.” demonstrating how behavioural science now plays a key role in driving adoption. Firms must involve lawyers in technology decisions, design tools around their needs, and leverage peer-to-peer training to build credibility and engagement. The biggest predictor of technology adoption, Lucía argued, is whether lawyers see it as genuinely useful and easy to use.

This theme was echoed by Tom Roberts, Partner at A&O Shearman, who described how his firm’s Markets Innovation Group was designed to “disrupt from within”, embedding innovation into the firm’s structure and culture. “We’re not just rolling out tools—we’re building products, changing incentives, and creating space for lawyers to engage with technology meaningfully. That’s how we’ve scaled AI adoption across the firm.”

Nick Morgan, Chief Technology Officer at Williams Lea, noted that its clients are increasingly demanding innovation partners—not just service providers. “Every RFP now asks about our AI roadmap. Clients want to know how we’re investing in transformation. They’re not just looking for trusted delivery—they want partners who will help reinvent their business.”

Backing this up, Jenifer Swallow reminded the room that transformation is not just about systems—it’s about mindset. “Innovation is quite addictive. Once you start, you can’t stop. But it only works when people see what is possible and feel empowered to experiment, to think differently, and to shape the change – not just be told to accept it.”  

Therefore, successful transformation requires more than tools. It demands leadership that champions change, cultures that reward efficiency and experimentation, and a deep understanding of the human factors that determine whether innovation sticks.

Operational excellence and new support models are reshaping the lawyer’s world

The second panel shifted the discussion from high-level AI strategy to the practical and urgent need to overhaul law firm business services. The discussion made it clear that operational excellence is no longer a back-office function but a critical component of the lawyer experience and a key driver of competitive advantage. The starting point for many firms is a deep-seated frustration with outdated internal processes. Moderator, Chris Bull, summarised this common frustration as the “digital downgrade” lawyers face when they come to work, where their professional tech experience pales in comparison to their personal lives. Chris Pannell, Global Head of Data Governance at A&O Shearman, provided a powerful, real-world example from a former managing partner: “Why is it when I get out of bed in the morning, I can organise my life on my mobile phone … but after I’ve walked through the revolving doors here in the office, I go back 20 years? Where is the consumer-grade experience at work with the tools and the systems that I’m using? Why is there so much friction and grit in everything that we do?” To tackle this friction, Pannell’s team is building a solution to streamline the firm’s matter inception process, which could involve up to 350 data points. Their new mobile app uses AI to read a client’s email, extract the relevant information, and pre-populate the required forms, reducing a cumbersome process to a quick review and click.

This drive to reinvent support models is often accelerated by demographic shifts. Joe McSpadden, EVP North America at Williams Lea, identified the “ageing out imperative” as a critical trigger for change, with many firms facing a wave of retirements from their most experienced administrative staff. He shared the perspective of a law firm COO client who he had met with and is grappling with this reality: “I’ve looked at the population that I have… and I know that one out of three are going to retire in the next three years… I’ve got to do something. And how do you help me with that transition?”.

This pressure is compelling some firms to take radical action. Stewart Vandermark, CEO of Nelsons (part of Lawfront), shared his firm’s “big bang” decision to outsource its administrative support model over a decade ago—a bold move to break through internal resistance. He argued that true transformation requires a culture that is prepared to be modern, even if it means challenging partners who resist: “We’re trying to create a culture where people are prepared to be more modern and stretch themselves… If I have partners refusing to do it, I’d be having a conversation about just whether we’re the right culture for them”. Ultimately, these operational transformations cannot be siloed initiatives. Jonathan King, Chief Operating Officer at Penningtons Manches Cooper, stressed that successful change must be underpinned by a clear and unified vision, “The competitive advantage that you’re generating as a business is all of those things added together,” he said, “When I’m looking at change… it’s ‘what do we want to be’, and therefore, can we bring together that change in a way that it makes sense to everyone?”.

The legal industry at an inflection point

The law firm of the future will not be defined solely by its technological prowess, but by its ability to engineer a superior lawyer experience, foster a culture that embraces change, and build modern, efficient operational models that deliver value to both its people and its clients. Success will require a holistic approach, where leadership, culture, and strategy are seamlessly integrated to turn the promise of innovation into a practical reality.

Learn more about how Williams Lea can help law firms boost efficiency within their legal support services and evolve for the future here. For further insight into these themes and how they might apply to your firm, reach out to Sian-Elizabeth Sogbesan at se.sogbesan@williamslea.com.