LIVE Wednesday 20th May 2026
14:30 – 15:30 BST
Law firms are under unprecedented pressure to do more with less, adapt faster, and operate with greater precision. In this one‑hour Workday‑supported webinar, we explore how AI and modern cloud‑based systems are reshaping the foundations of law firm operations – making them more efficient, resilient, and strategically agile.
We’ll delve into how AI can free up valuable fee‑earner and business‑services time, streamline workflows, and help firms identify and deploy the right skills at the right moments. But technology alone doesn’t drive change – embedding AI into everyday practice requires thoughtful design, change management, and a cohesive systems architecture.
This session will examine:
- What “agility” really looks like in today’s legal operations
- How modern platforms like Workday create the backbone for adaptable, insight‑driven firms
- Where AI delivers the greatest productivity uplift—and where firms often over- or under‑invest
- Practical steps to embed AI into culture, processes, and talent models
By the end, attendees will understand how to build a future‑proof operating environment – one that empowers people, optimises resources, and positions the firm to thrive in a rapidly changing legal landscape.
Speakers
Jay Connolly
Global Chief People Officer
Baker McKenzie
Jay Connolly is the Global Chief People Officer at Baker McKenzie and is based in London. Jay has extensive experience leading teams globally, having lived and worked in Europe, UK and the US. Bringing commercial understanding and significant experience leveraging people relationships across organisations to deliver results. A trusted adviser and accomplished leader of teams. Jay has written numerous articles and contributed to leading publications on topics from leadership to inclusion and beyond.
Kelly Watts
AI Strategy Advisor
Workday
Kelly guides law firm leadership on the impact of emerging technologies on talent and performance. Her work focuses on the impact of AI within the HR function, as well as supporting the change and cultural dynamics required to drive adoption among lawyers and partners.
Helen Goldberg
COO & Co-Founder
LegalEdge
Helen is COO at LegalEdge and runs the business together with CEO Donna to bring their fractional in-house counsel service to scaling companies.
Helen and Donna set up LegalEdge to provide a commercially focused and cost-effective legal solution that helps growing businesses scale faster and more effectively. Helen’s aim is to continue to simplify ‘legal’ for companies and to help them integrate it into their operations efficiently. Developing lean and scalable documentation and processes to manage work and reduce risk, and get deals done quicker.
She hates ‘over-lawyering’ and is passionate about ensuring legal solutions are pragmatic, straightforward and commercial. She advocates an ‘inside-out’ approach with a focus on helping clients prioritise what’s important so they can proactively manage legal strategy, processes and budget.
Sponsor
Workday is a leading enterprise platform that helps organisations manage their most important assets – their people and money. The Workday platform is built with AI at the core to help customers elevate people, supercharge work, and move their business forever forward. Workday is used by more than 10,500 organisations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 60% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.co.uk.