Lawyer to Legal Innovation: Insight into Lawtech Careers

LawtechUK interviewed eight "trailblazers"—people working in legal innovation and transforming all aspects of legal services. In these short videos, they share their journeys, insights into their roles, and lessons learned along the way.

Erika Pagano

Head of Legal Innovation & Design, Simmons Wavelength

Erika Pagano shares her insights on the importance of a positive and adaptable mindset when looking to move to a role in lawtech. She reflects on the wealth of opportunities that exist in legal innovation and emphasises the value of building meaningful professional relationships. Drawing on her own experience, Erika acknowledges that your dream lawtech role might not yet exist and shares tips on how to future proof your skills and career.

Shruti Ajitsaria

Head of Fuse, Allen & Overy

Shruti Ajitsaria talks about how and why she decided to move into legal innovation, what her day looks like as the Head of Fuse and how innovation helps lawyers serve their clients better. She discusses how, at the time, the move from lawyer to legal innovation practitioner was a difficult, but brave one, and how rewarding it has been to create a new, authentic and ambitious role for herself.

Karima Noren

Co-founder, The Privacy Compliance Hub

Karima Noren talks about her career journey and what moving from a law firm, to in-house at Google, to founding a lawtech start-up taught her. She speaks about the impact on her own career of working with visionary, inspiring leaders and her philosophy around solving problems for clients.

Nick West

Chief Strategy Officer, Mishcon de Reya and Founder of the MDR Lab

Nick West discusses the five skills and mindsets which are most important in his role, including curiosity, tenacity and a structured thinker. He discusses the importance of understanding a problem and how you can go about solving it, as well as his advice for anyone aspiring to develop a career in lawtech.

Lorraine Robinson

Head of Legal, Farewill

Lorraine Robinson shares her experience developing will-writing software in various roles throughout her career journey, and discusses the four key skills required in her current role. She speaks about the importance of being a ‘legal octopus’ - attuned to context and adaptable to different roles - and of ensuring a user-centric approach in the design of legal services.

Andrew Thornton

Barrister at Erskine Chambers and CEO, FromCounsel & Sparqa Legal

Andrew Thornton talks about his career as a barrister and also a founder of multiple legal businesses, which stemmed from his interest in technology. He discusses the potential for legal technology to improve access to justice and the business model of legal practices, together with a firsthand account of the opportunities that cross-expertise collaboration can bring.

Rafie Faruq

CEO, Genie AI

Rafie Faruq describes a day in his life as CEO of a lawtech startup, and how he aims to keep his company unique in an age of shared knowledge and networks. He also speaks about the challenge of encouraging a more innovation-friendly attitude towards risk within the legal industry, in order to make legal data and knowledge transparent and accessible for all.

Chris Fowler

General Counsel for Technology, BT Group PLC

Chris Fowler speaks about his former role as Chief Operations Officer of BT Legal and the rewarding lessons from having ventured beyond his comfort zone in taking up the post. He also discusses the process and benefits of defining long-term technology strategies, and shares his vision in democratising the legal industry.