Last week, more than 70 international legal leaders gathered in London for the annual UnitedLex Summit, where the “Power of Partnership” took center stage.
The morning began with a keynote address by Dr. Daniel Susskind, bestselling author and research professor, who helped the group better understand AI’s global impact on the economy: how other sectors are managing this major technological shift, and which industries and professions will rely on human contributions more than ever. Susskind noted that while resources are finite, ideas are infinite.
A series of panel sessions covering topics in IP, AI and law firms, litigation, contracts, in-house tools, and legal’s value to the C-Suite, offered attendees a wide range of insights and new perspectives. The consistent theme of partnership guided many of the discussions and provided some notable takeaways:
- Strategic partnerships in IP are essential: You can’t do everything, and you can’t be everywhere at once. Relying on partners who are flexible and able to evolve with business needs – especially as it relates to anti-counterfeiting
solutions – is a must for in-house counsel. - Whether you like it or not, law firms must start building AI into their strategy: Seek partnerships internally and externally who can help identify the tools that add value to the client and the firm and are not just the latest trend.
- The role of litigation leaders is evolving: This position has a unique insight into how things can (and do) go wrong, but you must think beyond the courtroom and be a business partner that aligns strategy with positive commercial outcomes.
- Leaders must invest time in relationships: It may seem counterintuitive to deprioritize delivering outcomes in your first year as a leader, but when your team trusts you, motivation is easier and engagement is higher, so you can get more done in the future.
- AI is not the trusted partner for contracts (yet): The excitement around AI is evident across many business functions, but focus first on data quality and centralizing data sets before investing in and training a new model.
- In-house counsel has a powerful role to play with new tools: Engage with teams early and often to understand concerns, conduct risk assessments, and establish what a new tool’s purpose is today and how it can be adopted for future uses.
- Legal should expect to be challenged by leadership: Successful legal leaders must align their strategies with commercial outcomes, which often means proving operational effectiveness and assuming a role that is beyond purely legal.
Each panel also emphasized the value of trust when establishing and maintaining effective partnerships. As UnitedLex CEO Renee Meisel noted in the final session of the day, “Building trust pays forward, because when you build that open relationship where you can speak freely and you can debate, then you’re the person that they’re going to come to – and that’s what you want.”
Beyond the educational content, attendees took advantage of the intimate group setting and ample opportunities to network throughout the historic Pewterer’s Hall, a space dating back to the 14th century. New connections and the reunion of long-time friends made those moments particularly special.
In the next few weeks, we’ll provide more insights from the summit and share strategies and tools for success from leaders at organizations such as Rio Tinto, Leo Capital, Richemont, Norton Rose Fulbright, GSK, Rolls Royce, MSC Cruises, Colt Technologies, Interactive Brokers, Lex360, and others. In the meantime, feel free to reach out. We’re always eager to discuss how we can best deliver value to you as the business partner for legal.
