LIVE Wednesday 11th November 2026
13:30 – 14:30 GMT
Law firms are entering a new phase of strategic decision-making, where growth ambitions must be balanced with sustained profitability, disciplined investment and rising expectations across the board from clients to talent. As technology, AI, operating model change and cost pressures reshape the legal sector, leaders need to look beyond incremental improvement and focus on where value can be created, released and reinvested across the firm.
This webinar will explore how leading firms are responding to these pressures by accelerating value realisation, modernising business services and maximising returns from technology investment. The session will offer a practical leadership perspective on how firms can strengthen performance today while building a more scalable, resilient and competitive platform for the future.
Audience takeaways:
- Understand the strategic pressures reshaping law firm performance, investment choices & operating models
- Identify where value may already exist within the firm & how it can be released to support future growth
- Explore how optimised business services can improve efficiency, scalability, fee earner experience & client outcomes
- Consider how to move technology investment from adoption & implementation to measurable business value
- Gain a practical leadership lens on balancing innovation, risk, profitability & long-term competitiveness.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding AI’s Influence: Gain insight into how AI is redefining legal roles and shifting career trajectories.
- Talent Retention Strategies: Learn the key drivers behind attrition and how to foster loyalty and purpose in a tech-driven environment.
- Culture & Capability Building: Discover how to cultivate a culture of adaptability, inclusion, and continuous learning.
- Practical Solutions: Hear real-world examples and actionable strategies from firms leading the way in AI adoption.
- Leadership Insight: Benefit from the strategic perspective of the thought leadership panel on navigating change and future-proofing your team.
Moderator
Christina Blacklaws
Managing Director
Blacklaws Consulting
Christina studied Jurisprudence at Oxford and qualified as a solicitor in 1991.
Christina Blacklaws is a former President of the Law Society of England and Wales, the representative body of over 200,000 solicitors.
She is an innovator in the legal field, having developed and managed one of the first ‘virtual’ law firms and set up the UK’s very first Alternative Business Structure with the Cooperative Group. She was also one of the first Directors of Innovation at a top UK firm.
She now runs her own consultancy business providing strategic advice particularly in the areas of transformational change, technological developments and diversity and inclusion.
Christina is a non-executive director for 3 large law firms and for a lawtech business specialising in resource management and provides bespoke advice to many more.
Christina is the Head of Faculty of the Legal Technology and Innovation Institute.
She holds a range of public appointments including chairing two UK Government bodies in lawtech- The LawTech UK Panel and Innovate UK’s Next Generation Services Advisory Group. She is a member of the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Support Advisory Group.
Christina is appointed to the Queens Counsel Selection Panel.
Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Christina is the former representative for the Women Lawyers Division on the Law Society of England and Wales Council and a current active member of Thomson Reuters Women in Leadership in Law Advisory Board. She also sits on the editorial board of Women Lawyers.
As President, she spearheaded the largest ever global research on women in law involving thousands of lawyers over 20 countries and resulting in three reports and a UK government backed Pledge.
Christina is the UK representative on the International Bar Association Council and the UK President of the World Jurist Association.
Christina speaks internationally on a wide range of business, legal and ethical topics and is a multi-award winning (for innovation and diversity and inclusion) published author, lecturer and frequent media commentator.
Speakers
Lucy Murphy
Chief Growth Officer
Linklaters
For the past two decades, Lucy has been a member of the Executive Committee at three global law firms. In these roles, she has been instrumental in reorienting the organisational strategy towards client-centricity. Her experience includes leading corporate strategy, reputation management, corporate communications, government relations and product development.
Lucy is renowned as an outcomes-based leader with extensive experience in designing and leading transformations encompassing operational, financial, infrastructural and strategic goals in complex environments across multiple markets. In recognition of her capabilities, she was named one of Europe’s most transformational leaders in professional services in 2019 and one of the world’s most influential leaders in the field in 2023.
Mike Strotz
EY-Parthenon Director, Professional Services, Strategy & Execution
Ernst & Young
Having spent over a decade driving successful strategy and transformation programs across the professional services sector, covering legal, consulting and accountancy, Mike’s primary focus is identifying trapped value in people businesses. He works with leadership teams to create and execute strategies that improve profitability and generate long-term value for stakeholders. He has deep experience in driving change within partnerships at both a country and a global level.
Mike studied Physics at the University of Durham, with a focus on Quantum Physics and the Higgs boson.
How Mike is shaping the future with confidence
Mike has shaped strategy and operating models for global professional services firms, including accountancies, consultancies, and law firms across partnerships and private equity-backed organisations.
He works to continuously deliver measurable value through improved client outcomes, enhanced employee experience, and more sustainable, responsible business practices, alongside mentoring and supporting talent development initiatives.
Sponsor
The legal market is undergoing rapid transformation driven by AI, evolving client expectations, and new competitive pressures from technology platforms and multidisciplinary providers. At the same time, increasing regulatory complexity reinforces demand for expert judgement. Leading firms are responding by redefining operating models – embedding AI, differentiating services, adopting outcome-based pricing, and building talent models that combine legal, technology and operational skills. EY brings a distinctive perspective, with deep experience across professional services and hands-on AI transformation. Our sector insight, technology capability and practical accelerators help firms make strategic choices and build sustainable advantage in the future legal market going forward globally.